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Some Mediocre Books
We’ll be checking in once in awhile to talk about the books we’ve read. Please share where your bookmarks have been hiding in the comments! Andrew: I’ve kicked my reading hours way up since retiring! Today I’m NOT going to talk about the best book I’ve read this year since M just started it and…
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Cats On A Hot Tile Roof
We are currently engaged in a battle of wills with cats. Our jet black fuzzy twins are young, vivacious, inquisitive, and stubborn. All of the Finazzo felines have lived a strictly indoor existence. We do this not only for their own health and safety, but also out of concern for the wildlife they would likely…
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3 Weeks In Portugal
So much has happened since we arrived on June 20th in our new country. We wanted to give an overview of how things are going, what we have struggled with, and things we have learned along the way. Andrew and I are each going to weigh in with our personal perspectives thus far. Highlights (Michelle)…
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Nossa Casa Em Olhão, Portugal
After our long flight all five of us were so very happy to finally land in Lisbon. We had heard rumors about four hour waits at passport control because of worker shortages but there was literally no line when we arrived. Michelle zoomed to the airport veterinarian with the three furry kids and I went…
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The Big Trip
DAY 1 – THURSDAY, JUNE 16TH: Medford to Seattle to Portland. Michelle: In order to leave the country, I have to pick up our secondary passports. We applied for them in person Monday 6/13 in Seattle and we have to pick them up in person because they were not going to make it to us…
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We Got Here With A LOT Of Help From Our Friends (And Family)
We have been living quite a whirlwind for at least a month and a half. From packing up our home on Sarah Way where we lived for 17 years, to saying our goodbyes to the familiar and trading it for the unknown, to getting our furry friends ready for a lengthy journey. Days blended, time…
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Chaos!
Sorry about the lack of updates, life is complete chaos. I’ll give a very brief update now, but we should be back on track next week. At our farewell party (which was a BLAST thanks to everyone who hung out with us) Michelle sprained her knee which put her on crutches for just about a…
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May Retirement Status
Retirement: I did it! It feels like it has been months since my last day as a 911 dispatcher (instead of just over three weeks). I’ve spent a large portion of that time doing first hand research into becoming an “international shipping and packing consultant”. Thanks to my great friends (and Michelle who stopped in)…
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A Calculated Risk Or A Risky Gamble?
One of our goals with FinazzoFun is to share our adventures in a realistic way; we don’t want to share the good things, the pretty pictures, and the laughs without also sharing the shitty days, dirty beaches, foibles and follies. Today I want to dig into some of the nitty gritty about the visa application…
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Plundering Our Pantry
Lately, we have been trying to hit two birds with one stone: increasing our home cooked meals and using up pantry stores prior to our international move. It has been fun and economical to find recipes that use multiple ingredients we want to get rid of. Andrew and I are both Minnesota natives and almost…