Future Letter to Myself: 2014

I’m continuing an annual tradition I began last year and writing a future letter to myself in lieu of making New Year’s resolutions. Instead of reexplaining the concept, I will just borrow from my post last year:

Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookies

Despite what I said last week about not having the time or energy to bake Christmas cookies, I broke down. Kail and I, with the assistance of our friend Christine, baked and decorated an s-ton of sugar and gingerbread cookies.

Recipe: Seven-Layer Bars

I broke my streak and did not host a cookie exchange this year. I am disappointed but I just couldn’t get it together with a busy few weeks at work and my in-laws in town for Thanksgiving. Because it’s not just about baking cookies, but preparing tasty savory dishes, decorating and one-upping myself when it

Spanish Friday: Compras de Navidad

Today is Spanish Friday: Blog post in Spanish; English translation below.Ya casi he completado todo mi compras de Navidad. Usualmente hago compras en línea, pero en algunos casos — especialmente para mi familia y amigos en los Estados Unidos — quiero darles algo salvadoreño o centroamericano. Una tarjeta de regalo es el último recurso.Kail tiene

Our Second Thanksgiving in El Salvador

It’s been a week and I’m sufficiently recovered from Thanksgiving overindulgence that it’s OK for me to be writing this post today. This Thanksgiving marked our second Thanksgiving in El Salvador. It was also our second Thanksgiving in the Foreign Service and our second Thanksgiving as a married couple.The biggest milestone: It was the first Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

http://youtu.be/-yPOZC20kKQSo I don’t write a lot about work on my blog, but I wanted to share this video about the embassy’s Thanksgiving program, which I managed this year. Around minute 3:00 you will see footage of Kail and me leading a cooking demonstration — in Spanish! There is also a short interview during which I

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Spider Cupcakes.Kail and I spent the entire night baking Halloween treats to share at work. But these spider cupcakes have been a year in the making.

Wordless Wednesday: Jack-o-Lantern

Long Weekend in Granada

Cathedral of Granada.Kail and I took a road trip to Granada, Nicaragua for the Fiestas Agostinas long weekend. It was a nice, relaxing vacation (despite the long, 10- to 11-hour journey by car) and I’m glad I got to check the Nicaragua box on my visit-as-many-countries-as-possible-while-I-live-in-Central-America list.