Suzanne's Blog
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Roasty Toasty
It is roasty toasty here in Singapore. What does it feel like?? Imagine you are walking through New York City on the hottest day of the
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Flying By the Seat of Our Pants
Our 22 year-old son just started working for United Airlines. It’s a terrific job that he is enjoying and we are so proud of him.
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Launching is Like a Colonoscopy
I am one of the few people who enjoys the colonoscopy prep process. I think the liquid is palatable when mixed with Crystal Light, I
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Citrus Potion
We leave for a big trip today. We will be away from home for 19 days. While there is excitement about the adventure, the launch
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Dusting Off the Old Blog
In just over 24 hours we will take flight for Singapore. The last time I posted to ‘A Swift Adventure’ the kids were 10 and
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Lost in Translation – Honey, Tampons and Sensible Condoms
Our first day in Spain we were exhausted, hot and excited to finally be here. After doing a little unpacking we walked out of our
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Good Idea
When I started playing tennis I often played with a woman named Frankie. She was over 80 and had flowing long silver hair. She didn’t
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What are you doing with your life?
Before we left on sabbatical people asked me what I would be doing during our year abroad. I usually demurred at this question since I
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Holy Crap
I had read about them. We even had a family competition. Who ever saw one first would win. We were all looking for “Caganers”. The
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Homework Sucks
This year all four of us are taking Spanish lessons. Jacob and Lily have classes at school; Mike and I are taking adult classes. Mike
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Why? Whhy? Whhhhy?
After a day of traveling Traveling with children is not for the faint of heart. It involves planning, schlepping, whining, sweating, sleep deprivation, yelling and
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Size Does Matter and Other Life Lessons
Living in Barcelona has led to a few poor decisions. Nothing has been very major but each time we make a mistake we chalk it
Cultural Relativism
Each day we live here opens my eyes to an alternative reality, provides me with new opportunities and more often than not makes me smile
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Paella – A love story
Mike and I recently celebrated our anniversary. Typically we markthe occasion with small gifts and dinner out. This year was different. On my constant quest
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Nudists on Rosh Hashana
School started last week. Despite the long days (leaving home before 8am and coming home around 5pm, Lily and Jacob did well and have quickly
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Who Shoppe OMG
By Jacob… Finally there!! When we were in London my dad and I decided to go to the Who Shop (a Doctor Who themed store).
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Burkas and Golden Almonds
When most people travel they head for major points of historical interest. We try to make time for the “important” places but often we find
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Meeting the Neighbors
Today I had an opportunity to meet a few of our neighbors. Although we have lived here a month many people from Barcelona evacuate the
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Sometimes It Is About the Destination
The past few days we have had a great time with the Sieber-Schaefer family. They were our first guests and we had a fun time
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New Undies
I need new undies. Mike and I joined our local gym and it has a nice locker room where I shower after a workout. After
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Getting Legal
In order for us to live here legally we needed not only a visa but to register with the Department of the Interior and get
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First Daze
As I wrote earlier Mike described our departure like being going up the stairs to the water slide. Our traveling was like going down. Right
Getting Out of Dodge
Our days before leaving Madison were hard and crazy. We had packing to do for our trip as well as the cleaning and packing up
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I’m Itchy. I think I have kale in my bra.
Last night my daughter and I were have a few quiet moments in her bed just before bedtime and I started to feel itchy in
Day 17 – Low Fat Dogs
Lunch for our second day of camping was even less healthy than the first. We had pancakes for breakfast and I was FAMISHED by 10:30.
Day Sixteen – Quesadilla and Bugs
We left a day late for camping because of the threat of weather. It was honestly a little nice to have a little breathing space
Day 15 – Subway
I had a babysitter this morning so I was able to get some work done but like always, I had too much to do in
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Day 18 – Breakfast for lunch
Quiet has descended over the kingdom. This week my children are in camp all day and I am on my own once again. I worked
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Day 14 – New Car
On day fourteen we bought a new car which added to the scheduling chaos. I had an appointment in the morning and then rode my
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Day Thirteen – Noodles with No Noodles
I spent the morning rushing around but the babysitter extended her time for 20 minutes which gave me a little breathing room but not much.