2011 Rewind!

2011 has been a fun year! I felt like I lived in Houston most of this year, which has been superb! With this current trip, I would have spent about about 10 weeks in Houston, so much for living in Scotland. This year, Gerald and I also have taken about 12 trips to different parts of the world. Talk about Born to Fly! We have been well acquainted with airport system and have both earned Gold Status on KLM.  The status thing is no joke; Gerald got a free business class upgrade coming to Houston this trip.  Loyalty does pay off, I suppose.

Well, you know how it goes here in Houston if you've been reading my blog. Family, friends, eat, and drink is the typical agenda.  We can't get enough of it!  However, I am looking forward to the New Year, new beginnings, new starts.  

If you didn't already know, I've decided to take some time off work. This time, it will be for real. The last time I tried this, it only lasted 3 months but I'm confident this time will be much longer.  I've been doing accounting for a good 6 years and as Gerald tells everyone, I'm taking an early retirement.  I don't hate accounting, but while I have the opportunity to pursue something else, I wanted to take advantage of it. I've always been a people person, and sitting behind a desk with a computer, just doesn't cut it for me.  I wanted to take the time to give back to the community and do some volunteer work, possibly some volunteer teaching, and just take up other things I've always had an interest in, like photography.  I hope everything works out, but if not, I'm sure I can go back to being a number cruncher. 

With that said, 2012 should be interesting for me.

Check out our 2011 highlight video if you have the time.

http://vimeo.com/34197

Enjoy the rest of 2011 and hope you all have a fantastic New Year!

oh, Christmas Tree

This weekend we completed our Christmas Tree with a new tree topper, bought locally here in Scotland! We didn't get to put up our tree last year since we went back to the States quite early, so I was excited about our tree this year. We bought the Santorini ornament last year and this is it's debut.  It was Gerald's idea to to get the ornament and now I'm thinking we should have gotten one in each city we visited.  Maybe that's something we can start this coming up year.

Anyhow, for those of you that don't know, I'm finishing up work on December 16th and will try out this expat wife life.  I'm not 100% sure what I"ll be up to yet, but I do have visions of doing more volunteering work, getting back into shape, and exploring Scotland outside of the working world. I'm excited and am looking forward to the new year!

Have a good one!

Thanksgiving in Scotland...

Featured in the clip below is "Team America" with a special guest. I hope you laugh as much as I did!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/aCKwJNc720bnSvl0

Have a yummy Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Right, OK...

Where do I begin? Most of you have been keeping up with me via Facebook, and I must admit, that's how I've been keeping up with everyone as well. Also, text messaging has become super convenient thanks to Whatsapp and the new iMessage. So, if you have either one, let me know and we can be friends =) With that said, face time with friends and family have become more and more precious to me.  I LOVE seeing every one's lovely faces and the past couple of months have given me just that.

Since my last posting, we met up with CleAnn and Jamie Toner in Munich for Oktoberfest, flew to Houston for Vanry's and the Jafri's wedding, came back to ABZ for a good 3 weeks and then flew across the US to Maui to celebrate Mama Lorna's 60th Birthday. We're in Aberdeen for a good month before heading back to Houston for the Holidays!

First of all, with it being Thanksgiving in a week, I just wanted to thank God for keeping us safe during all our travels and more importantly for keeping us healthy. I'm also thankful for all the wonderful friends and family we have and for all the new people we've met  this past year.  Every one of you have definitely played a special part in our lives and we are very grateful for you.

Munich seems like ages ago, but I'll let you guys know how it was.  We were hoping to meet up some of our friends for the trip, but schedules didn't work out so it ended up just being Gerald and I.  Luckily, CleAnn and Jamie were planning to take the train in for the day and we got to meet up with them.  I bought myself a Dirndl, ate some sausage and chicken, drank some beer and we called it a weekend. Well, it wasn't as easy as that.  Getting into the tents are something else if you don't have reservations.  However, in order to get reservations, you need a party of 6 or more and have to book way in advance, which we did not have.  On the first night, we went to the Hippodrom tent, only to be turned away.  We then tried the Hofbrau tent and it was jam packed. We had a walk around but couldn't find a seat anywhere.  At this point, Gerald and I just wanted a beer so we heard an American accent and started talking to this guy to see if maybe we can hang out at their table so we can get beers.  Turns out, they didn't have a table and was trying to bum off another table as well, which worked.  Some beer ladies won't serve you unless you are seated at a table but our lady was cool.  She took our money and gave us beer! Each stein is equivalent to about 3 beers, I think we had 3 each that first night...eeks! We ended up hanging out with the American and some of his German colleagues and had a great night. We gave it a rest the next night and decided to go back to the festival during the afternoon for our last day.  Since we kind of knew what we were doing, we attempted the same thing with CleAnn and Jamie at Paulaner tent and were successful. The Hofbrau tent on the last Saturday of Oktoberfest was a different story.  After pushing and shoving, pretending we have stamps on our hand to prove we've already been in the tent, and waiting a good hour, we finally got in thanks to Jamie's friend. Although we would have liked to experience the other tents, we didn't want to go through the same hassle so ended up staying at Hofbrau the rest of the day. Oktoberfest was definitely an experience and good fun. Prost!

Now, on to our double wedding trip to Houston. Ever since Gerald and I got married, we totally have a new appreciation for weddings, because we know what it takes to plan one and how important it was for our friends and family to enjoy it and have a great time.  Both of my friends did just that! Each wedding was unique in it's own and fit both couples very well.  

Vanry (Van & Henry) had a NYC theme wedding with Subway letters as the seating chart, I LOVE NYC ice sculpture, and a signature drink from the Hampton's.  Vanry was relocating to Houston the following week and brought NYC with them. We were happy to see friends that we probably wouldn't have seen in quite sometime if it wasn't for the wedding and to celebrate their special day with them.   Oh yah, I have to give props to their videographer who put together a badass clip that captured the day perfectly.  Check it out if you have a chance.

http://31films.com/vanry/

Christina and Shiraz's wedding was by far one of the cutest. They met in the third grade and reconnected a few years ago.  I must admit, I don't know Shiraz very well, but the smile on his face just shows how happy and in love he was.  I think that is my favorite part about weddings, the look on the bride and groom's face throughout the day. It was a very intimate wedding and I got to catch up with some of girls.  I do miss my girl talks=)  Since the couple met in elementary school, everything about the wedding had a classroom theme: apple centerpieces, "class roster" seating chart,  "class schedule" menus, and apple juice favors! Oh, and I can't forget the "Kaiser Elementary" school card/money box. Well done Mrs. Jafri =)

Congrats to both the Nguyen's and Jafri's! I'd fly across the pond to see you guys get married any day. Best wishes always!

Now, back to Aberdeen to enjoy the "simple" life. A great life, I must say.

I believe this blog post is long enough so I'm going to call it a night. That's what happens when you neglect it for two months. Gerald has promised me that he will write about our adventures in Maui, since he did such a great job planning everything so you'll have to check back for that update.

Tonight's movie night was a success with Crazy Stupid Love.  I always thought "cute" was better than "sexy" but the perfect combination of "cute +sexy" is that much better! I'm speaking about Ryan Gosling =)

Good night folks!

Lake Como, Italy

It's been a few days since we got back from our trip and I'm still thinking about all the good food we had. Gerald and I spent the past weekend with Mark and Rachelli in Tremezzo, Italy.  Tremezzo is one of the villages in Lake Como where we stayed. During our stay, we also visited Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and of course Como. While visiting the villages, it was only right to eat or drink while there and we did just that. It was an eating/drinking type of weekend along with lots of laughs and good conversations.  

Day 1, upon arrival, we went to Pizza Balognett in Tremezzo for dinner and discovered house wine can be good and bad. After drinking a liter in 5 minutes, we proceeded to have another and by the end of the meal, Mark had to leave the restaurant for some fresh air...haha. Imagine what jet lag and alcohol can do to your body, poor thing. We still managed to find some energy to have dessert and discovered our new word for the trip: BABA!















Day 2, we rode the ferry to Bellagio and had one of the best meals of the trip at Ristorante Bilacus; 1L of wine was also consumed.  Bellagio is the most touristy village in the area so there were a lot of shops and people around. We had a wander and then caught the next ferry to Varenna.

Varenna was a very charming town, I'd say.  We had a nice walk around the lake with Sangria to go!  Our time here was very short since the sun was setting and we needed to get back for dinner in Tremezzo; however, for the hour that we were there, it left a nice impression on me. I would like to visit it again one day.

Back in Tremezzo for dinner, the four of us did a bit of damage at Al Veluu, but every penny was worth it. Mark probably would have thought the same, if it wasn't for Gerald getting a bigger portion of the risotto with white truffle they shared.  It was a male date night and female date night dinner. Rach and I shared figs, from the owner's garden, with meats, pasta with fresh tomato and basil, and chateaubriand with béarnaise sauce. The boys had baked goat cheese, risotto with white truffle, and steak with a mustard cream sauce.  We ended the night with a shot of limoncello and tiramisu! Fantastic meal, compliments to the chef.  I forgot to mention, another 2L of wine!

Day 3, would be our last day to spend with the Benetiz's and it was kind of sad because it rained all freaking day! We made the most of it with pizza at Pizza Lugano in Menaggio, took the 1hr hydrofoil to Como, only to find everything was closed because it was Sunday.

We attempted to go to Switzerland to Fox Town for some Designer Outlet shopping but none of us had our passports, failed. Como wasn't too exciting so we headed back to Tremezzo in the pouring rain and had dinner at Mark's and Rach's hotel, Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

Another fun meal, Fondue! Cheese, meat, and chocolate! It was still raining when we got done with dinner so we decided to just hang out at the hotel for our last night.  Mark and Rach were off to the Almalfi coast the next day and we would return back to Aberdeen.

Day 4, was a travel day. Boat - train - plane, and back to work on Tuesday.  Gerald and I have been wanting to go to Lake Como since our Contiki trip 5 years ago and I'm glad we waited until now to do so.  We have a much better appreciation for relaxation, good food and wine and that's what Como is all about.

Ciao!

St Andrews, Scotland

It's been a good few weeks now since our trip, so let's hope I still remember what we did in St Andrews.  To celebrate Gerald's 30th birthday, we decided to visit the Home of Golf. St Andrews is about a 2 hour drive from Aberdeen and I'm surprised we haven't visited it before now.  Maybe Gerald was secretly waiting to go there for his 30th, I wouldn't be surprised...haha.

We left Aberdeen after work on a Thursday evening and spent a couple of nights in St Andrews and then drove to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival and Military Tattoo.  It was a nice little road trip.

Our time in St Andrews was pretty much golf related.  Upon arriving we checked into the Fairmont Hotel and went out for dinner. The local blog suggested a Thai/Japanese restaurant called Nahm Jim so we went there.  I've never had Thai/Japanese cuisine in one sitting so thought it would be interesting and it really was; sushi, curry, and pad thai? Overall, it was good and pretty cheap so 2 thumbs up in our book.  Any sushi these days is good for me, since I don't get it that often.

The next morning, we woke up at 6:30 am and were the first ones on the course at Kittocks.  Since I wasn't playing golf, and didn't want to have a spa day, I decided to be Gerald's caddy for the day.  It would also be a nice way for me to see the course, so we walked 18 holes.  Let me tell you, caddying is no joke and I had a trolley.  On top of being a caddy, I was also Gerald's photographer.  Most times I was too busy taking pictures and he'd already be half way down the fairway, oops. Despite the mowers who were in our way for the first 9, it was a nice day.  I'm not sure if Gerald though his game was up to Par, but I guess he can't complain.

After golf, we headed into town for lunch and a visit to the Old Course.  We had a nice 2 course meal at The Doll House and spent the rest of the day browsing through shops and watching people tee off on the 1st hole of the Old Course.  Everywhere we went around St Andrews, we heard Americans; for a minute I thought I was in the States.  It was a nice change.

We ended the evening with dinner at Bocci, a restaurant with a view of the 18th hole of the Old Course.  We saw a very pretty sunset and had a good meal.  I was a little disappointed with my parmesan truffle fries, because it was thick cut potato instead of shoe string, but still tasty.

The next day, we did a little bit more sight seeing around town and had lunch at Dunvegan Hotel, which is owned by an American-Scottish couple.  The husband use to be in the oil industry and ended up marrying a Scottish woman.  They bought the hotel about 10 years ago and serve up good eats! I wouldn't mind driving down for their chilli, even though it was crazy hot! The husband is from Texas, but from the wrong school but we won't hold that against him because they do great food.


Saturday evening we had tickets to the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh so drove out there after lunch. The Tattoo is a showcase of Military bands around the world.  We saw performances from The Netherlands, Brazil, Germany and of course, the UK.  It poured down rain the first 20 minutes but other than that, the show was great.

Well, that pretty much concludes our road trip and Gerald's 30th Bday celebration. Turning 30 wasn't so bad for Mr. Pena =)

Thought for 9/11

Sitting in my living room in Aberdeen, watching a recorded version of the Texas v. BYU game, I can't help but remember what today is.  Today is the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in NYC.  I was a freshman at UT when the attacks happened and I can remember it like it was yesterday.

My roommate, Linda, and I were sleeping in our dorm room at Jester West, when we were woken up by our dorm mates screaming, "the plane hit the building, turn on the TV."  I thought it was a dream, so I woke up and turned on the TV.  And what do you know, the twin tower was up in smokes.  We opened our door, and everyone was in the halls with a blank look on their face. I remember them saying, a second plan is going to hit, but don't remember if I registered it when I saw it on TV.  At this point, I was a bit confused, I never really knew of terror attacks or what it might be. I was just a college student, living away from home for the first time, and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. Classes were cancelled and from this day forward, our life and country changed, and I'd have to say, a part of me changed as well. 

Today, I will be thinking of the families of 9/11 and hope that they have found the strength to move on and forward with their lives. I will also be thinking about the soldiers who are out there fighting this war, especially my cousin, Steven, who is in Afghanistan.  It really just goes to show that you really can't take any one day for granted because you never know what that day might bring.

God Bless America!

Texas, Texas...yeehaw

After a weekend in NYC, we headed to Houston for some more friends and family time. The big event of the trip as Gi & Ray Mark's wedding, which was an absolute blast. Gosh, it felt so long ago, but it's only been 2 weeks! Leading up to the big day, we spent time with friends, eating and drinking, of course. I'm surprised though, because after all the eating and drinking I did, I managed to maintain my weight =) I think it has to do with the Texas heat, and of course, not sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day!

We started with a homemade meal at Casa de Lao, talk about seafood galore! My mom and brother made a fantastic meal of lobsters, crabs, shrimps, fried rice and soup. It was definitely a great first meal to come home to. I sometimes forget how loud being around the family can be; my dad talks non-stop and for some reason there's always music playing in the background. Some things never change but it was great to have the rowdiness after all the quiet time Gerald and I have in Aberdeen.

Round 2 was spent with friends at Christian's tailgate, our favorite spot for bar food! We caught up with the majority of our friends, had a few Shiner Bocks, and ate some yummy food. I pretty much sampled everyone's food - homemade steak fingers withgravy, chicken strips, fried catfish, onion rings and Texas toast! We also snuck in a Tex-Mex lunch at Pappasito's with Rob!

After filling our bellies with fried goodness, our friend, Mike, had a little surprise for Gerald and we ended up at a Drag Queen show with bottle service. End of Story.

In between our little get together, Gerald and I spent some time at the doctor's office and at the shopping malls. I forget how much I love Target, Nordstrom, and Central Market. Too bad there were so many things I wanted, but knew I didn't need so I came back without. That's one thing I've learned, don't buy things you don't need! There's no space to store them.

Wednesday night we had a Pena family meal at Carraba's, before the busy wedding weekend.

The out of town family arrived Thursday and it was pretty much family time from here on. Can we say babies galore? Every where I turned, there was a baby or toddler in front of me. You bet that we got asked "When is your turn?" a million times. 2013 is my answer =P I loved being around the kids and know that it will be very rewarding to be a mother, however, I also know that it takes A LOT of work and the lifestyle we are living now will change dramatically. I'm pretty much waiting for all of my friends to get knocked up so we can have the same lifestyle...haha. Just joking. These kids are awesome and I wish I could see more of them.

We sent Gi & RMC off with a pre-wedding party at Fox Hollow Thursday night.

Friday was Mani/Pedi day with the girls and bride followed by Rehearsal Dinner. 10 course Kim Son meal - Score!

Saturday was a beautiful day! We all go our hair and make up done, had some time to sit back and relax before rushing to get the bride dressed and ready to go for her special day. Both the Bride and Groom looked stunning and the wedding was beautiful. The reception was fabulous, I must say, with the bride and bridesmaid sporting their Royal Hats! It was so much fun and everyone loved it!

Saturday night ended in a blur at the Tycoon Magnificent Seven Suite.

We attended the family brunch Sunday morning and then Gerald was off to the airport back to Aberdeen. His trip was short, but mine would continue a few extra days. The few extra days were definitely needed after the week we just had. I finally got some sleep and more good eats in my belly!! My brother and I tackled a few food trucks, the new thing in Houston. We went to Houston StrEats and Oh My Gogi!. It's fun to try new food and I love supporting the locals.

Mom also took a few days off work so we did a bit of shopping. Mostly summer sales out, so I held back a bit, because we all know I don't need that in Aberdeen. I'll continue my shopping in October.

I really didn't want to come back, but knew the fun couldn't last forever. We'll be back in less than 2 months so that's okay. On the way back, it would have been my first time flying overseas all by myself, but I ended up running into a fellow AWA member, so that was nice. We even flew back with 6 Arabian horses! There was a couple on the flight that raise, and sell horses all over the world. They travel to deliver them to the buyers; this trip, they were going to Amsterdam and Saudi Arabia. Very interesting. Thanks everyone for a great time and we'll see you all soon! Love and miss you always!

Gi and the City

It's been a good two weeks of being in the States, and now it's time to recap all the festivities!

I started off my trip in NYC to celebrate my sister in law, Geraldine's, last single days. A lot of planning and organization went in to making this trip a special one for Gi and all the girls that attended. Rachelli, Gi's maid of honor, did a great job at making sure we would get the best of NYC, and we totally did. It was 4 nights of non-stop, eating, drinking, dancing, talking, etc. One thing we did lack was sleep! Coming offa 12 hour flight with zero sleep, I don't know how I managed but I did. At the end of the weekend, I was left without a voice, that would last me a good 5 days! It wasn't the best experience, considering I was trying to catch up with everyone, but somehow, someway, I got through that as well! See what the States can do to you when you only visit twice a year.

Anyhow, here's the sweet rundown of our weekend in NYC.

Rock of Ages before the weekend started

What was suppose to be a quiet night turned into a 4 am morning @ Ganesevoort Rooftop Hotel Bar

Gi and the City begins

Attempting to see Chris Brown at the Today's Show Summer Concert Event = Failed (mind you, we had maybe 1 hour of sleep from the night before)

Some girls were crazy and decided they wanted to doa FlyBarre workout class

Lunch at 5 Napkin Burger

Went on a 3 hour Sex and the City Tour of NYC

My favorite was Buddakan - where Big and Carrie had their engagement party

Pretty in purple and pink for a Night out at Marquee

Gossip Gi begins

Alice's Tea House for a Royal Brunch

(i was dazed in between brunch and our night out)

Beauty Bridal Shower

Dinner at Stanton Social - Maker's Mark shake shot

Final night out at Highline Ballroom

Farewell Brunch at David Burke Kitchen

Recovery time...or not!

We hope you had an awesome time Gi and thanks for having us share your last single days with you!

Off to Houston...

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul was all about sightseeing! We spent 2 full days touring the city with a tour guide and 1 day exploring on our own. It was my first time visiting an Islamic city so hearing the calls for prayers was something to remember, along with seeing men wash their hands, arms, and feetin public areas before prayer. We visited 3 beautiful mosques, my favourite being the Blue Mosque. I can’t really explain to you in words what it was like, but definitely check out the pictures. The details in the dome and walls were beautiful. We also visited the Haghia Sophia, which use to be a Christin Church, and is now a museum.

Me in front of my favortie, the Blue Mosque

Haghia Sophia - Church - Mosque - Museum

Apart from visiting mosques, we did a little bit of shopping. We visited the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Bazaar, aka Spice Market, and even did rug shopping! If you enjoy haggling and negotiating prices, this is the place for you. Anything you can think of, you can probably buy at one of these markets. It was good fun, but I’m pretty sure us, tourists, get ripped off!! No way people will pay $40 bucks for two small ½ bag of spices! And I bought a fake watch for the looks, of course, thinking it would probably fade or break, but never thought that it wouldn’t tell the correct time!! Haha…Serves me right for paying $15 for a Chanel Watch! Walking up and down the shops was a bit dizzing. I even had to use one of these toilets there! Go Nary!

Yah...good thing I had a dress on! You gotta go, when you gotta go!

Spice overload - but the cook in me loves them! Wish I had easy access to one over here.

Last think to talk about in Istanbul was my Turkish Bath. I really didn’t know what to expect with a Turkish bath and boy was I in for a treat. I arrived at the Hamam, paid and was pointed to the locker room. When I got into the locker room, a lady pointed me upstairs, another gave me some bottoms and a towel, and after I changed, another lady took my arm and started calling me a baby! Haha. Upon entering the hamam, I was greeted by boobs of all shapes and sizes and was told to lay on the stone circle. The dome of the hamam had holes in it to let the sunlight in, so I just stared at that for a while as I was trying to figure out what was going to happen next. After about 20 minutes, I was startled by a tub of water being thrown on me and a topless Turkish woman scrubbing away. We tried to communicate with each other, but it just wasn’t working. All I know is that while she was scrubbing me, she was probably imagining me to be her daughter or something because I kept hearing, “baby, baby," and seeing smiles. Haha. Anyhow, it wasn't the cleanest bath, as you're sharing the stone with 20 other women, who have been walking the streets of Istanbul. I'm sure some of their dead skin got in my bathing area, but whatever; my skin was smoother afterwards...hehe. Don’t think I’d ever do it again unless it was free but it was definitely an experience. I'd recommend it for anyone traveling to Turkey.

We ate very well in Istanbul and drank with caution, as drinking there was expensive. They sure do know hot to get the tourist. We had a great tour guide, who invited us back to stay with him next time so that was nice. I’d do it for the food for sure!

Us with Salem, who was getting married the day we left! Congrats!

Well, that concludes our travels for a few months. The next couple of months will be spent in Aberdeen, or exploring Scotland. It will be nice to actually “live” in Aberdeen for a bit…hehe.

Cheers!

Croatia

Now on to what’s been happening with us this past month. We took two 5 day weekend trips this month to countries I never imagined travelling. But of course, now that we’re here, why not?

We celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia. While in Croatia, we also did a day trip to the small country of Montenegro. We spent ½ aday with a local tour guide in Dubrovnik and another ½ day on Lokrum island, sunbathing! Then 2 days with a driver/tour guide to the island of Korcula and to Montenegro.

In Dubrovnik, we had a little history tour of what the city was like before the earthquake and war. We walked around the city walls and found a really cool bar. The food was delish, especially the oysters and fish. I’m such a seafood girl, and this was the place to be for it. The sun was warm and the water cold but beautiful as ever! The colors of the sea were a nice teal –so pretty.

Cliffside Buza Bar

We drove along the coast to catch a ferry to the Island of Korcula, where Marco Polo was born! There really wasn’t much to see or do in Korcula but I guess it was worth having a drive down. We stopped by a local winery and salt mine on the way and lunched at another great seafood restaurant. Black risotto, anybody?

The drive to Montenegro was beautiful. Again, not much to see or do in Montenegro but the scenery was worth it. We hoped to get in some beach time at Budva but it ended up raining on us. Budva reminded me of a mini- Miami, where most young people go to hang out and party. There were outdoor bars along side the beaches with music playing as we walked by. Wish we got to stay longer but I guess there’s always a next time. I loved that Croatia was quieter than most tourist places we’ve been. We had a lot of time to just hang out and relax instead of sightseeing, which was perfect for this occasion.