Full Circle

I'm a true believer in hard work, good luck, ambition, faith and positive energy. Nothing is impossible. Happiness is always welcomed. Today, we leave Singapore and return to New York City. I made that first trip away from Chicago exactly 5 years ago, days after our wedding.

As I look out the window of our hotel room in Singapore, I can see our last apartment building...home for 6 months. I can see the gorgeous Marina Bay view and a stretch of Indonesia. I see the wonderful 5 years I have spent with my caring, devoted, intelligent husband, who loves us, works hard for us, laughs with us and inspires us. I can see the bright future ahead of us. Today is our anniversary and we are spending it with Diego and savouring a bottle of champagne (Diego only gets a bubbly bath!). We are celebrating life, love, health and good fortune and I'm not afraid to be happy.

See you in New York.

Lots of love,

Betty

Crunch Time

The first moving company came to do an evaluation on our things today. It's on! If the next company can also assure me that no pirates will seize my cargo...then it will be tough to pick the designated handlers. The time is really here and I'm getting very excited!

We had our Goodbye/4th of July theme party this weekend and it went really well. I had to stay sober because although Diego partied along with us, I knew he would be up at 7am the next morning! I was right! For our theme, Jose served American Glories, Cosmos, Budweiser and Casuelas and I made yummy guacamole, ceviche, salsas, quesadillas and a friend brought wings! It was very Tex-Mex at our American soiree! Most people wore red, white and/or blue and we listened to the best of American music.

Now I'm trying to sell small electronics that will not function in the States. I'm also emailing agents in NY as well as preschools. Not much time to write these days but feel its important for me to keep little notes of our events!

xoxo,

Betty

Addicted

When my friend Laila spent some time with us in New York, she introduced me to MySpace. This was about 4 years ago and I laughed at her and said that the site was for kids (I had no idea that its original purpose was to share music and introduce new bands via the web). My sister was on MySpace and she is twelve years younger than me! So I clearly said, "no thanks" and continued to bother my dear friend when she logged in every night. Laila had just moved to New York and she was staying with Jose and I while we prepared to leave for Tokyo. Laila was using MySpace to stay in touch with her friends and family in Chicago and it was her little treat every night before going to bed.

When we moved to Tokyo, I emailed Laila and said, "Sorry for the teasing. You win...I'm joining. How does this work?" I decided to join MySpace because it was expensive to call home and I was clearly missing everyone. I had a need to see what everyone was up to. On my side I could update everyone quickly by posting pictures, displaying a pregnancy countdown and giving everyone a daily update on our life abroad.

Today, I can not live without my laptop. I'm thinking of buying a smaller one so I can write on-the-go and because I'm addicted to and also can not live without Facebook, Perez Hilton.com for daily Hollywood (and sometimes non-Hollywood) gossip and this blog of course. Unfortunately, there isn't much time for everything so I have given up on MySpace, rarely update Diego's Baby Jellybean website and no longer use Kodak Gallery (unless I want to order a gift for the the grandparents). Things change quickly huh? This has been my relationship with these sites in the past three and a half years and I haven't been that faithful to any! What will outlive everything else? Is Facebook on its way out too? What else will capture our interest besides Twitter? I can not live without my Facebook and it shows.

This week I was a Facebook junkie. I knew that 3 of my dearest friends/family members were celebrating 3 bridal showers and only 1 had pictures up! I was so disappointed! Living abroad and having these sites means there is no excuse for slow updates! I need to connect faster and sometimes forget that everyone else back home is in no hurry since they attended the parties! Nevertheless, I check every time I get a chance to see if my friend's friends have posted something!! Sad! (But thanks to Lis for always being super organized and adding to my daily dose)!

But, soon enough I won't be missing any of the parties. Only 2 more weeks and my addiction will come to an end. I should start withdrawing soon. Goodbye Perez, I will have the E! channel and Access Hollywood again! Hello iPhone!! Can not wait to give updates from anywhere and everywhere! And goodbye blog about me in Asia! I will be blogging about going back home and about living in New York City! I will make sure to attend all the best parties and quickly posting for my friends here in Asia and around the world! I promise to always keep in touch with the speediest, most advanced technology offered as I will always know what it really means to be away from "home".

xoxo,

Betty