In the beginning, there was blog...

Actually, there wasn't, and therein lies the problem. After many delays, most self-inflicted, I have finally set up my blog. I can't promise daily updates, but I'll certainly try. For those of you with whom I've been out of touch (sorry!) or those who don't know me or Emily (mucho gusto), we are now living in Monterrey, Mexico, otherwise known as Far South Texas. I apologize in advance for the length of this first posting, but there's a lot of ground to cover.

(For additional background, see my complete profile.)

We arrived in mid-July, received most of our household goods a few weeks ago, and made our first back-to-the-border dash last Saturday. The primary purpose in our trip was, as was our bidding for foreign posts, dog driven. Boots was nearly out of food and (zoinks!) Scooby Snacks (otherwise known as crack for dogs). Unfortunately we haven't found a local pet store that carries Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior or Scoobies. Our other purpose was diplomatic and, we thought, mandatory: renew the Temporary Import Permit (TIP) on the car.

The trip went smoothly, presenting our diplomatic credentials to the nice, assault-rifle-toting soldiers only once (of two military checkpoints) and once to a Mexican customs official. After presenting our IDs to the US Customs officers and telling them we were shopping for dog food in Laredo, the officers then offered helpful advice: Petco is a better choice than Petland (we confirmed this later). We missed our turn after the Columbia bridge and ended up paying a $2 toll and driving several miles out of our way. This ended up as our only U-turn of the entire trip, of which we are justifiably proud.

After picking up dog food for ourselves and one of Emily's co-workers (he has a horse, I mean, Great Dane) at Petco, we hit Walmart, Target, and HEB for other necessities such as Baked Cheetos (how can they NOT carry them in MX?!), a couple DVDs (Serenity, Ultraviolet), angel hair pasta (only available as "nests" or 2" pieces here), and other assorted items, we headed back. In route, I spotted a sports bar named "Buck Ugly." I wonder if the locals shorten it to "bugly?"

We stopped to renew the TIP, only to have the kindly officials tell us that we didn't need to, simply wait for our Diplomatic plates. Argh! Why couldn't they have mentioned this in the letter they sent from Mexico City? Oh well, live and learn. We've already passed that little golden nugget on to some of the others here. Perhaps it'll save them a trip.

I did see several notable signs and such on the trip, cursing the lack of a camera. Next time I will remember it (pack it the night before) and post the photos here. I had no idea Ducks Unlimited operated down here. Apparently Pokemon live in Mexico, too, but you'll have to wait for the photos.

As always, don't mind me; I don't.