So it's been a while since I last posted anything. I have been quite busy to say the least. My last post was over the Holidays and included pics around town of Thai Christmas decorations! Christmas here was very nice - we went to a friends apartment here in our building - they made a big bird which was very tasty. We made several side dishes to take along as well as some pies. There were six of us there total and we had a great time. They brought their sofa from America with them and it was very nice to sit on an American sofa again - so we decided to ask if we could get ours out of storage. It should be on it's way here as we speak - cannot wait to sink into my Pottery Barn Sectional once again!
I went home to Maryland January 6 to February 3 while Joe was away on travel for the entire month. I had a great visit while home with family and friends. The cold air felt good and refreshing while I was home. It even snowed three times, though I did get out just before the "big dump" arrived. My flight left two days prior to the big one. Part of me was slightly jealous - would have loved to have seen all that snow and doubt it'll happen again in my lifetime. The other part of me heard lots of complaints from people about being cooped up in their homes and no heat/electricity and that is when I appreciated that I was back in hot and sweaty Bangkok! And hot and sweaty it is - the humidity has returned full force and it is now so humid that you don't even want to be outside anymore. We stay in a lot more these days. I have heard it is just going to get worse with the worst month being April.
While home, my mother complained to me that I had not posted pictures of our apartment yet here in Bangkok. I could have sworn I did but alas, Mom was right. I had posted pictures on Facebook but forgot to post on the blog for those non facebook people in the crowd! So here are several pictures of our apartment. To give you a quick description, it is about 2300 square feet, a master bedroom/bath and balcony with washer/dryer, a guest room with balcony, an office/guest room, a guest bath, a half bath featuring a urinal, a living room with balcony, an "other" room that no one ever knows what to do with that is in between the living room and dining room, a dining room, kitchen featuring an easy bake oven, a storage closet, and a maids quarters with a tiny bathroom that features a squat toilet - oh and a very long entryway. That about sums it up. Our place is huge but it is actually the smaller unit. If our family expands while here we will get an apartment twice the size that has 5 bedrooms and is probably a good 4500 square feet. Unreal. These pics were taken just after moving in and well prior to our shipment arriving. So it is very bare as all we had at that point were our clothes and the welcome kit from the embassy which includes bed linens and blankets etc. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment:
Pic #1: Our entryway. To your immediate left is a door that leads to the maids quarters. Then there are a couple steps down. After the long entryway the kitchen, a half bath with urinal and a storage closet is to your left. If you continue to walk straight you'll pass through the dining room, then the master bed/bath/balcony is to your left, then you keep walking straight and come to the "other" room I mentioned, then to your right is a small hallway, office/guest room, guest bath, and guest room with balcony, and if you continue to walk straight from the "other" room you'll be in the living room with balcony.
Pic #2: This is looking at the entryway/front door. You can see the door to the right is the maids quarters and the two steps down where the water jug is located. 
Pic #3: View 1 of the maids quarters. Basically it's a bed and a countertop with no cabinet underneath.
Pic #4: View 2 of the maids quarters. Here there is a cabinet with a small tube tv on top. The door in the corner leads to her bath with squat toilet.
Pic #5: View #3 of maids quarters. This is her bathroom with squat toilet to the right. There is no sink. Just a squat toilet and shower head. 
Pic #6: View #4 of the maids quarters. This is a squat toilet. The hose is used for flushing and cleaning. You basically, stradle, squat and go!
Pic #7: View of the kitchen with easy bake oven.
Pic #8: Another view of the kitchen. You may notice the drain in the floor. The kitchen and each bathroom include a drain in the floor - that is where the water goes when you clean the floors.
Pic #9: Another view of the kitchen with our water jug. All our drinking water and cooking water must be used from here. It is not safe to drink water from the tap or use it for cooking. Apparently washing dishes with the tap water is okay though.
Pic #11: Half bath with urinal - view of vanity/sink area.
Pic #12: Storage closet. We have since bought and put up a shelving unit in here to maximize our space and make it look more organized!
Pic #13: Dining room.
Pic #14: Master bedroom - slider leads to balcony and stackable washer/dryer on the balcony. 
Pic #15: Another view of master bedroom with vanity area. The unit in the top left corner is our A/C which sometimes works too well and other times doesn't work at all.
Pic #16: Another view of the master bedroom with a built in wardrobe.
Pic #17: Another view in the master bedroom. The entryway here is into the built in wardrobes and to the right after walking in that area is the door to the master bathroom.
Pic #18: View of the built in wardrobes in the master bedroom. Bathroom door is to the right.
Pic #20: The "other" room with marble floor and breakfast table. We have since set up some bookcases and cabinets for storage in here along with the breakfast table. Beyond this room you can see the start of the living room with balcony.
Pic #21: Living room with balcony.
Pic #22: Living room with entertainment center. The doorway to the right leads to the hallway where you get to the guest room, office/guest room and guest bathroom.
Pic #23: Guest bedroom with balcony.
Pic #24: Guest bedroom with built in wardrobes.
Pic #25: Guest bedroom with built in wardrobes and built in vanity.
Pic #26: Guest bathroom.
Pic #27: Another view of the guest bathroom with sink and vanity area.
Pic #28: Toilet in guest bathroom with built in cabinets and spray hose.
Pic #29: Office/guest room. We now have two desks, computer chair and a queen bed in here.
Pic #30: Another view of office/guest room. There are no wardrobes in here and there is no balcony. It's meant to be an office but we made it both.
