Our Little Halloween Flower

I can't say that she enjoyed the experience as much as we did, but this is one cute little flower. Next year we just might venture off the front porch and do some trick-or-treating. It's hard for a 1-month old to gum candy corn...or to say trick-or-treat for that matter :)

A lot can happen in 9 months...

Moving back into the country, job hunting, positive pregnancy test, working 2 jobs plus tutoring, lesson planning, bills, will we ever have our own place to live, is it a he or a she...James or Nora?, snow turns to flowers turns to hot humid summer turns to colorful leaves falling from the trees, belly keeps growing, uncomfortable, Sergio is here for a month!, travelling to Charleston, Wilmington, Virginia, DC, the zoo, Sergio goes back to Madrid, got the teaching job at Enloe, things starting to come together, last name changes from Edwards to Tojo, Jose tutoring at NC State and private lessons, September 24 comes and goes, 41 weeks and counting, writing essays for NC TEACH application, more lesson planning, still working, Oct.3 4AM go to the hospital, Oct. 3 7AM sent home from the hospital, Oct. 3 7PM go back to hospital, Oct. 4 8:23 AM, 9 lbs 3 oz, 21.5 inches long...enters Nora Mar Tojo.












Indeed...a lot can happen in 9 months.

Big News!

Jose and I are pround to announce that around September 24th we will be "mamá y papá" :) Very exciting times. Not only did we bring the cats on the plane with us to the US, but, little did we know, we brought a little Tojo Edwards too.

Week One Stateside

It's been a pretty productive week back on this side of the Atlantic. The day we left Santiago it was snowing and when we got to Raleigh we were greeted with a winter wonderland.


Then once we got to my parents house we were greeted by my sister and 3 wonderful nieces and nephews who had decorated the house. Paco and Michu were oh so happy to finally get out of their carriers after being behind bars for almost 24 hours. They've adapted really well to their new abode and we've even let them explore the great outdoors a little bit.



This first week was dedicated to searching for the perfect car. As you all know, you can't do much in the "home of the free and the land of the brave" without a set of wheels. But after a long few days of searching and negotiating we took home our "new to us" Jeep Liberty!











Now that we have a car...the job search continues...

And the packing continues...

I've been absent from blog world for awhile, because I got lost in a pile of boxes and luggage. I never realized how much just two people could accumulate over the years in a small apartment. It's a lot. And over half of it is now shoved up into the attic. I actually fear that the ceiling might cave in on the apartment.

All I have to say is that this is not fun. I will be thrilled when we can sit down on a sofa in Raleigh, sip a Dr. Pepper and...well I can't say "for it to all be over", because it will be just the beginning, so I'll just say...see what life has in store for us there.

One of my favorite sayings in spanish is...poco a poco.

New Year, New Beginning

These last couple of days have been full of food and family. Last night we rung in the new year quietly with family. We danced in the kitchen. We drank champagne with dinner instead of wine, lovely. We sent and received new years text messages to friends. We ate turrón and our 12 lucky grapes. We talked.

I'm very hopeful and excited about what 2009 has in store for Jose and I. New jobs, new home, new country, new life.

Christmas Letter

You all remember my post about Christmas Cards, right? Well for fun this year I joined the crowd and wrote a Christmas letter...just to try out some cool newsletter stuff that I came across, of course. Anyway, for those of you who I don't have an email address for...here you go!

I've been tagged...

8 TV Shows I Like to Watch:

1. Cuentame
2. The Office
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Desperate Housewives
5. Lost
6. 30 Rock
7. Saturday Night Live
8. Fama


8 Favorite Restaurants: (in no particular order)

1. Chick-fil-A
2. Taco Bell
3. El Abrigadoiro
4. San Clodio
5. La Creperíe
6. O Beiro
7. La Taberna del Ensanche
8. Santa Lucia

8 Things that Happened Today:

1. Watched the documentary Sicko
2. Lugged boxes of books up into the attic
3. Vacuum-packed two bags of clothes
4. Hand washed two sweaters
5. Sent a resumé out
6. Discovered that the Wake County Lateral Entry Fair is 5 days BEFORE I get to Raleigh...uggg.
7. Watched Larry the Cable Guys Christmas special online :)
8. Drank about 4 Mountain Dews

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. My last day at work
2. January 20th
3. Snow
4. Finding a teaching job
5. Buying a house...at some point
6. Eating at Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell :)
7. Drinking a Dr. Pepper and a Cream Soda
8. Hanging out with Jules

8 Things on My Wish List:

1. Sanity :)
2. Someone to buy our car
3. Organization
4. A teaching job
5. Snow
6. Smooth trip with the cats
7. More energy
8. Unlimited checked baggage

8 People I'm tagging:

1. Brian

That's it!

Christmas Nooks

Trying to pack up one's life in boxes doesn't agree with breaking out the Christmas tree from the attic. A Christmas nook is all I could do this year.

The Beginning of the End to Rainy Spain?

I doubt it. I might just have to change the name of the blog to Jolly Raleigh or something like that.

It's been hush hush for months, but considering we only have a little under 2 months left in this great country I've called home for so many years, I've been thinking about the future of Rainy Spain. I'll continue to use it to update everyone on everyday happenings, but I'm also going to use it to reflect on life in Spain. I'm sure there's so much to say about cultural differences, but when you live right in the middle of it, it feels normal and you don't realize how different life really is. I'm sure those differences are going to slap me in the face once we're settled into new jobs, in a new home, with new friends in a "new" country. I'll tell you all about it!

Coming home is going to feel so foreign to me at times. I've lived in Spain for seven years and I've made it my home. It's traditions have become my traditions. It's way of life has become my way of life. It's language has become my language. It's food has become my food!

Anyway, stay tuned, because Rainy Spain isn't going anywhere yet!

Ford Focus 1.8 TDdi 2002 for Sale!!

For all my Spanish readers in the Santiago vicinity... we are selling our car. If you are interested or know of anyone who might be interested, let me know! Here are some pictures of the jewel :)

Para mis lectores españoles de la zona de Santiago... vendemos el coche. Si os interesa, o sabéis de alguien que le pudiera interesar, ¡decídmelo! Aquí os van unas fotos de la joya :)

Thoughts from Afar

It's been incredible to be outside of the US and to see the amazingly positive international reaction to President-elect Obama. Everyone here has been following the campaign from the primaries. When I say it's been fully covered on the news, I mean FULLY. Spanish networks, newspapers, documentaries, the Internet and of course CNN. I don't think many Americans realize just how horrible a global image our country has had the past 8 years. Trust me, I've been an expat for 7 of those years and I can assure you that the image is pretty darn bad. Obama hasn't even been sworn in yet, but the world already has renewed hope for change. Everyday I have people congratulate me on the election and I've been truly glowing and proud.

Facebook is a whole other story, sadly. Being the Facebook user that I am, everyday I see friends' status'. I never realized I had so many republican friends! I can honestly say I've been really disappointed by some of the hateful and intransigent comments that the McCain/Paliners have been putting on their status' in reaction to President-elect Obama. He hasn't even had the chance to lead, much less screw up, and people are already making harsh accusations that the country is going to hell and that their children's futures are in peril! He's being attacked with terms like 'socialism', 'muslim', 'terrorist', etc.

I won't get into the far-fetched muslim terrorist accusations, because it's not even worthy of discussion. However, I do think it's interesting how they've tried to associate our new President with socialism. We've gotten a few chuckles out of that one over here. Now, true socialism is one thing, but meeting basic human needs, such as healthcare, is another. As most of you know, I've lived in Spain for the past 7 years, which is a European Social Democracy (think Tony Blair). I have first hand experience in the positive as well as negative aspects (which I might discuss in future posts). Americans tend to cringe when they hear the word "Socialism", and automatically images of Fidel, Russia, and Cold war come to mind. They confuse the term with communist dictatorship or marxism. Automatically fear sets in. It's an effective strategy. False, but effective. Using fear associates the term with images of Russia, instead of, let's say...Sweden. Who the heck's afraid of Sweden? Now I'm not promoting social democracies either, there are many very positive aspects, but also many problems. Yet I think we've all seen that pure capitalism isn't the answer either. The wealth ain't tricklin', people!


We as Americans need to understand that our country is not comprised solely of white, middle-upper class families in the suburbs. The crude reality is that 50,000,000 people in the US are without healthcare. 50,000,000. That's the entire population of Spain. That right there to me is more unpatriotic than the fact that you forgot to put on your American flag lapel pin for a rally.

To sum up, I'm really excited about our country's future. I know these next four years are going to be rough for Obama, because he's inherited a country that's in shreds. But I believe in what he stands for and I'm very optimistic. So, to all the 'mavericks' and Joe the Plumbers out there showing off their pitbull growls and wishin' they could have done mavericky things, I urge you to take a deep breath and give our new President-elect a chance.