Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike came and destroyed Houston and Galveston. It was absolutely devastating, but my sister Cecy and I survived it. We were without power for nine days and only had cold water. Some days the heat was unbearable, but God blessed us with mild and cool nights otherwise, I would have gone mad. I'm so glad Cecy and I were together, we had lots of fun, played scrabble, talked smack all the time and just vegged. I hope this does not happen again but if it does, believe me, I'll be ready.

My trip to Nairobi, Kenya and Safari

I had the unbelievable experience of going to Kenya and going on Safari with my beautiful and amazing friend Donna Chabot. Because she knows everything we stayed at the best places and had the best time.

My trip to Singapore, Singapore

I thought it would be nice to go visit my dearest friend Tracy Brown. Tracy and I met in Riyadh and she's the bestest friend so I decided to go see her in her new surroundings, sadly, not thinking, I had not realized it was Easter Week, I know, I suck but I still had a great time. I went around everywhere by myself during the day then hung with Tracy in the evenings to do whatever she wanted. It was hotter than hot and humid like you can't even imagine but I had a good time. We decided we wanted to go to Phuket, Bali or Borneo anything, but because of the Easter weekend, it was impossible. So one of the ladies in consular hooked us up with some tickets to Tioman Island, that was an adventure, it took forever to get there but we had a great time. I was roasted and burnt like never before, but who cares, I'll get brown later, it's all good.I had a really had a great time and it was awesome to be able to see Tracy and hang with her. Enjoy the pics.

My trip to Male, Republic of the Maldives

The Maldive Islands, the pictures tell the story but here's my story. One very cold nite when I was living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I was depressed because that "man" issue was just not working and it was snowing outside. I was channel surfing and I love the Travel Channel, Discovery, NatGeo and when I clicked on the Travel Channel and it said "The World's Greatest Beaches" and they were about to show the number one beach at that time so I decided to watch it. They showed the Maldive Islands and I was stunned to think something so beautiful was out there in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I thought, I can dream to wish to someday be there. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd make it there so when we finally arrived and the sea plane landed next to the landing strip and we boarded the boat to the resort I completely broke down and started sobbing. I was so overwhelmed that another dream had become reality for me and all I could think was thank you God for allowing me to see the beauty of this amazing planet and thanking my parents for always encouraging me to soar and spread my wings and teach me to have no fear and always GO FOR IT!!! Enjoy

My trip to Paris, France with my brother Alfredo

Paris was the an amazing experience. I arrived and it was colder then cold but I headed to my friend, Ramona's house. Her apartment is awesome and it's close to everything. The first 8 days I was on my own and every morning I'd get up early and hit the streets and I'd go to the embassy to go home with Ramona so we could prepare dinner. Then on the 9th day, my beloved brother Alfredo arrived. I was beyond thrilled to see him there. As promised, the list of places he'd asked me not to visit I did not, so that I could live that experience with him. We had the best time, at the best food and drank the best wine. It was cold cold cold but I didn't care. My brother walked me to death and it was all worth it. On the 16th day I left Paris with a sad and heavy heart. A part of my heart is still in Paris and I will return one day but this time it will be in the Summer. Enjoy the photos.

My trip to Kigali, Rwanda

I had the unbelievable blessing to visit a friend in Kigali, Rwanda with my dearest and great friend, Donna Chabot while I was living in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The trip was magical and filled with incredible adventures. If you've ever seen the movie "Gorillas in the Mist" I went up into the Rwandan mountains to see the Silver Back Black Mountain Gorillas. The hike about killed me but we made it. We were muddied, tired, hungry but incredibly happy to have been there, so close to them. We were able to see the village children and brought some small gifts to them and they sang their national anthem for us. Later we went to the Genocide Museum where we were able to see all the horrific things that happened many years back. It was a humbling experience to say the least. Enjoy the photos.

My Riyadh lifelong friends

This a glimpse of the most amazing and lifelong friends I made while I was in Riyadh. These are the great people that made those five years sooooo incredibly amazing and worth living. They are friendships that I will treasure for a lifetime. Have fun looking at them!!

Our new home

So far, this is what our humble home looks like.