Saturday, August 9, 2008

We Have a New Family Member...



Don't worry, it's not a lion. It's our little Daisy. She was rescued from an abusive owner then her soon to be adoptive family bailed out. So, here we are with our tiny quarters filled with 7 humans and now a canine. But I have to say I feel safe with her around. She barks when anyone comes near my front gate and prances around when we come home. My big concern here is to have my computer stolen. I think that is the only temporal thing I would really struggle with being taken from me. So my sweet Daisy keeps my "MAC" safe. Good girl Daisy!! Good girl.


Friday, August 8, 2008

My Gift to You...


Oh and Borders had something to do with it too.
Just like I promised here is a 40% off coupon from Borders. I'm giving you fair warning, it's only good for today and tomorrow. It's good for 40% off of 1 book with a purchase of $20.00 or more. Enjoy and think of the privilege allotted to you to drive a few minutes and go to such a "gigantic" store full of books!

No, I'm not jealous. {hee! hee!} Just happy to bask in your advantage.

Enjoy.

Our House part II

I missed two of the best shots of the "specialties" of our home.

This is our big T.V in our little home. It really looks funny here! Wes sister wasn't using this one and offered it to us. Let's just say before I could open my mouth my "true love" had it hanging in our home.

This is our one and only shower head right now. It heats the water {barely} right here, just before it comes out. If you look closely {by my large brown arrow} you will see the green wire isn't completely covered. Now that could be bad!

Excuse the blurry shot but isn't this a beautiful bird? The other day I had 3 of these on my back patio. The yellow and the brown work so well together here, however I would never use it in decorating. { I guess I should never say never}

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Happy Birthday Little Bro...

I have to give a "shout" out to my little bro Robbie. Or "Roooo berrrr tooooow" as I used to call him when we were young, you know, just to irritate him. Here he is with his awesome family that I miss so much.
Now this would be the perfect opportunity to tell you about how I could make him take 5 or more showers a day when he was a teenager. Or how David and I used to drive by his bus stop and say things like, "Mommy said to go home and change your dirty underwear!" But if I did that you would think he was the sweet innocent one and alas, I don't want that. {hee! hee!}

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Robbie!

The top 5 things I love about my brother

1. He is a great father!
2. He caught himself a wonderful wife!
3. Robbie has a fantastically solid business mind.
4. Despite my observations as a child, he is a very hard worker.
5. He's very competitive {almost as much as his sweet Jenny}

Love ya Robbie, oh, I mean Robert. :)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

I Love "libros" {books}


By now you should all know how much I love books! I just finished one of the best books I have ever read entitled, "These is My Words". It is a fantastic read. I finished it in 3 days, and with 5 munchkins to make sure that they survive in this world, that was a feat!
Here is a brief summery found at www.goodreads.com

"Inspired by the author's original family memoirs, this absorbing story introduces us to the questing, indomitable Sarah Prine, one of the most memorable women ever to survive and prevail in the Arizona Territory of the late 1800s. As a child, a fiery young woman, and finally a caring mother, Sarah forges a life as full and as fascinating as our deepest needs, our most secret hopes and our grandest dreams. She rides Indian-style and shoots with deadly aim, greedily devours a treasure trove of leatherbound books, downs fire, flood, Comanche raids and other mortal perils with the unique courage that forged the character of the American West."

In honor of my new favorite book, I present to you a coupon from Borders. I get them about once a month. Sometimes they are as good as 40% off a book. I promise to post the next time I get one of those. Here you'll have to settle for 25%.

Just a tidbit of information you probably don't want to know, {hey that is what blogs are all about, right?} Borders has better hot chocolate because they serve Seattle's Best brand coffee instead of Starbucks, like Barnes n Noble. It's delish! For about $2.50 you can get a cup, grab a few books, listen to a live band and enjoy a few hours all by yourself. For only $2.50! What a deal. This is what I used to do in the states when the kids were extra rough on me. :)

Monday, August 4, 2008

My House...

We have lived here in Jaco for a month now. When we first moved in, well, I explained earlier about my temper tantrum I had. It's a little embarrassing so I won't link to it to make it easier for you to find. :)
Let's just say I wasn't pleased with the idea of calling this here place home. Maybe if there was Internet here I could have overlooked the mold and dirt.
Nah!!!
So today I was thinking about all the improvements that I am so thankful for. Would you like to see some? I thought you might.

This is my kitchen cupboard. The ones that came with the house have so much mold and yuck inside I can't even open them or my eyes start to water. So those stay shut and I have this beauty. Do you see my bread maker I hauled in from the states? That's the reason I didn't lose any weight here the first few months. You'll notice my other LOVE, my Mac showing off on top. I do love her.


This is the reason I can survive here. It's our air conditioning unit. I have yet to find a way to make these babies pretty! This is where it's everything that's on the inside that counts! He sits here on my wall above my apartment sized refrigerator and waits. Waits until I can't take it anymore and have to have him cool me down. He is a beast.
When I photograph the condo's that Wes sister Rusti designs, I spend most of my Photoshop time erasing these bad boys. They cause me a lot of work.


The day my curtain rods were hung was a happy day! I had spent 3 weeks pinning them to the wood molding on the ceiling, because the walls are made of cement. I found the curtains laying on the floor upwards of 5 times a day. I never once caught the culprits as they were to quick for me, but I have my suspicions.
I love the sound of the metal rings sliding on the metal rod. It is music to my ears. I have privacy.

This is our bathroom ceiling. You can't tell from the picture but it's open to the outside. At first I didn't understand this logic, now I get it!
The house is basically a structure that keeps out "some" elements. It is not meant to keep heat out since that seems like bailing water out of a sinking ship to tico's. (Ticos= locals here in Costa Rica) Our home has a tin roof which makes it possible to hear every rain drop hit and know exactly where it landed. Quite a feat in this crazy weather here. Underneath the tin roof is nothing, meaning there isn't insulation. The next thing under the roof is the ceiling tiles. In fact when Troy is on his top bunk he tries not to touch the ceiling because it's always pretty warm. I won't even go into how when the sun is rising, light is just streaming through the front door. I think of all the commercials in the states about saving money by caulking around doors and windows. Do I even attempt it? Will it do any good?
So the open window in the bathroom lets the steam and heat out when we shower. It's "necesario".


A friend of mine here, Tina, wrote about how bars equal safety. It's true. The bars keep you safe. Jaco is known for theft. In fact that is why we have a dog. (Yep, I know I haven't mentioned it yet.) The front of most houses resemble an United States Army fort. Our housing tract has a guarded gate which helps, but we had Troy's skateboard stolen last week. So these bars help me to feel more safe. I wonder when we come back how great it will be to live without these.



I have to laugh about this shot. When I was walking around the {shack} house, I saw this rare lizard and made the kids come quick to look. They of course all started laughing because my sweet Dallin had placed this rubber lizard here to fake me out.

Good one Dallin!