It's 3 AM, scratch that, 4 AM...

and one of God's creatures has decided to belt out the most beautiful lyrics somewhere outside of our home. It is absolutely music to my ears, except that I want to sleep!!!!

I've tried to ask the bird to leave, but he insists on presenting his lullaby here at our home at this hour.

So I've conceded and here I am, listening and typing. {Thinking about using the rocks my son collected from the park yesterday as a weapon}

Anyway, I wanted to show you how we get around town {country} here. Most streets do not have names. We use churches {that are connected to parks}, banks and broken down houses as a reference; anything that would stick in someone's mind.

A direction to a school for troubled teens I used to visit went something like this:
Go right about 5 kilometers. Turn left and go all the way around the blue church. Drive for 2 kilometers and turn right again after the train tracks. When you pass the 3rd white house (shack) turn left. "Hummm...is that house considered white or cream? Augh!!!" Turn left at the street with 3 small and 4 large electric lines passing over it.

O.K. maybe those aren't the exact directions but you get the picture. Right?

Here are the directions to my friend's house we visited the other day...
{I put the directions in a different order so no one could surprise my friend and just show up on a day her maid isn't there. Aren't I nice?}

At the bottom of the
hill as you start back up, you will come to a fork with CR Bank in the middle of the fork, stay left and continue up the hill
• Your first possible left turn is just past the Cruz Roja sign – DON'T TURN
HERE
• At your second possible left, turn left – this is the
Country Day School road which you will come to in about 2.5 blocks. No sign,
but CDS is on both sides of the road and looks institutional and school-like
with huge chain link fences.
• Keep going till you have to turn right at a No Hay Paso.
• You will come to a wide yellow speed bump just before a dangerous
intersection, continue on straight thru the stop
• Continue straight up for about a mile. You'll pass a dark
orange condo on the left: Keep going.
• At the top of the hill, the asphalt road you are on takes a 90° curve to
the left. BUT a new gray brick road continues straight ahead of you: take...


Is that funny or what? There are many days I think about Utah and the EASY South, North, East and West directions there. Oh, and street signs. I've spent many moments on the phone trying to explain to someone that the best way to get a hold of me is email.

It really is.

But get this...through all this CRAZINESS, the other day I told my sweetheart..."Honey, I've been thinking I might just want to retire here."

Smack...he hit the floor in a dead faint.




Crossing the street in Costa Rica from Peter Krupa on Vimeo.

40 years ago, yesterday...

my sweetie entered this world. Can you believe he's 40????

I can't! That means I'm headed there...in 4 short years.

So in honor of my honey's special day, that was yesterday {hey, we were busy} I would like to post my favorite things about him.

1. He has a great since of humor...even when he doesn't know he has a great since of humor. Maybe I just think everything is funny. Hee, hee.

Yeah, I do.

2. He is an honorable man. {this species can be difficult to find nowadays, almost extinct}

3. This one I can't mention...{hee, hee} but I love him for it!!!!!

4. My man is a proud pappa!!!


5. He is very in touch with his "spiritual" side.

Can a woman want for anything more???

Happy birthday Wes! To the next 40 years, together!

Crisp-and-Creamy Baked Chicken

Oh so divine!

{and easy} Which makes it more divine.

I got this from my FREE Kraft magazine. {www.kraftfoods.com)" Did you know that if you go online you can signup for a FREE magazine sent out every 3 months and packed full of easy recipes with beautiful pictures?

Did I mention it's FREE? I think this would be a great {FREE} gift to any new bride or college student just leaving home.

Just my personal opinion. :)

O.K. ready for the recipe?

Crisp-and-Creamy Baked Chicken

Prep: 10 minutes Total time 35 minutes.

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
6 T of Shake N Bake Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix (I just use seasoned bread crumbs)
2 cups of instant rice, uncooked
2/3 cup (1/2 of a 10 oz can) cream of celery soup ( I used 1 cup of low fat sour cream mixed with powdered ranch dressing, YUM)
1/4 cup of milk (if using sour cream use less milk)
1 cup shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese (I use whatever cheese is cheapest here)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat chicken with coating mix as directed on package. (I dipped my chicken in milk and then the seasoned breadcrumbs) Place in greased 13x9 baking dish.

BAKE: 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, cook rice as directed on package.

BEAT: soup and milk with wire whisk until well blended. Pour evenly over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is milted and sauce is bubbly. Serve with the rice.

How Many Days Can I Go Without Complaining?

{Said in the Tootsie Roll commercial voice, the one with the owl} One...two ooh, three...CRUNCH!

I guess we will never know...

Except I do know..it took me 79 days before I complained. So lame. Especially when I thought the day would never come.

{My daughter saw the above picture and said, "Mom, why is that guy naked?" In all my years watching that commercial...I never noticed that! Hee, hee.}

Anyway, the situation I'm frustrated with...my laundry attitude.

Living in our other home, you might remember that we didn't have a washer and dryer. We had a clothes line...and I had to pack up our dirty clothes twice a week and get them to the next little town to wash them at my sister in laws. Such a struggle. Especially since living by the beach we had plenty of wet, soon to be mildewy clothes. It was ROUGH!

Moving here we acquired a GLORIOUS washer and dryer. They are so beautiful and my most coveted items in the house.

Then yesterday morning, I woke up and the first thought that went through my head was, "Was I drooling?"

Oh no...I meant the second thing that went through my head. "Augh...I have to do laundry today!!!"

Can you believe it?

I swore I got it! I understood how good and easy life is with these modern utensils to help me through my chores. I really thought I would NEVER complain at the luxury of having a washer and dryer again.

How long did forever last? 79 days, exactly.

Don't worry...I quickly realized my folly and changed my laundry attitude. I reminded myself of my blessings and hopped on the "gratitude wagon" again.

Whew!!!

Tonight my son Dallin and I took a casual walk to our favorite bread store and had an interesting conversation on our way home.

Dallin: "Remember when we used to complain about having to put dishes in the dishwasher? giggle, giggle"

Me: "yeah..."

Dallin: "I'll be so thankful when that's all I have to do."

Me: "Me too."

Dallin: "Costa Rica sure has changed us."

Me: "Yep."

{I just need to fight harder not to change back. Being human can be so frustrating some times.}

Disneyland's {opps can't say that!} Cornbread...

This could be titled "Corn Bread Cup Cakes" because they are so sweet and yummy. I don't cook them in a skillet, but in a 9x9 pan or muffin pan. Do whatever you are most comfortable with, but you have to try these! I figure most of you still have some cold weather left in your month {I saw your weather report} so enjoy.

Amusement Park Cornbread {you can print it here}

SUBMITTED BY: Trish
"A delicious cornbread that will transport you to a magic kingdom of flavor. This recipe can also be used for cornbread muffins."

INGREDIENTS

* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 3/4 cup cornmeal
* 1 1/3 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8 inch skillet.
2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, salt, butter and vanilla until creamy. Stir in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and cornmeal. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with the milk. Beat well until blended.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

These deserve a little honey butter...don't forget to mix some up.

Is There Anything Better...

than sitting down after a long day of cooking, cleaning and refereeing and realizing your little ones have come to snuggle?I wonder how long they have been waiting to hang out with mommy today?

Life is so good...

and I refuse to let it pass me by without noticing.


This is my daughter. My one and only daughter. She is the most interesting and entertaining child I have ever met or heard of.

I was working on the computer one night and she too just wanted to be by mommy I guess. I didn't notice she had escaped her room but when I finished up my work, there she was, sleeping on the hard tile. I believe she decided to use my waterproof mascara to become a fair Indian maiden.

Or was that permanent marker?

Anyway, she is amazing.

The Writers Club...

So I found this "writer's club""...not that I'm a writer or anything. In fact there are no talent prerequisites, that's why I can join.

I thought this was a fun, easy idea. Write your day out using only nouns. A little more difficult than I imagined; I do love my adjectives.

eyes
sunlight
snuggles
laugh
breakfast
school
school
school
school
sandwiches
mop
windows
fights
toys
playground
snuggles
laugh
balls
swings
sunlight
tag
home
bathrooms
floors
computer
dinner
snuggles
laugh
baths
laugh
teeth
pajamas
snuggle
bed
mosquitoes
mosquitoes

Makes you think my life is perfect over here, huh? {minus the mosquitoes}


O.K. so I can't stand it. How can you really tell a story without descriptive words?
Here's my new list.

sleepy eyes
crisp sunlight
slight snuggles
quiet laugh
steamy breakfast
starting school
tough school
interesting school
done school
yeah school
quick sandwiches
drenched mop
grimy windows
constant fights
distractive toys
rickety playground
abounding in snuggles
contagious laugh
bouncy balls
rusted swings
cheery sunlight
running tag
comfy home
needed bathrooms
shiny floors
friendly computer
delicious dinner
tons of snuggles
content laughs
bubbly baths
wet laughs
squeaky teeth
toasty pajamas
sleepy snuggle
chilly bed
buzzing mosquitoes
dead mosquitoes

Tah-dah! Day done!

Stranger Friends...

I've been thinking a lot about this lately. {Actually, since yesterday as I was headed to meet a so called "stranger friend"}

What is a stranger friend you might ask? {Humor me on this one}

A stranger friend is someone whose blog I visit, often. It's a friend, as in someone I know a lot about, but a stranger, as in we've never met.

A few years ago, this "term" would have seemed silly. I mean, how can you know so much about someone and they know nothing about you? Can they even be considered a friend if your relationship is one sided?

Hmmm...

Also, why do we {those of us who have open blogs} feel so comfortable to put so much of ourselves out there...for free?

Yesterday my husband and I were invited to "hang out" at the home of a woman who I have been "stranger friends" for just over a year. I found her blog when this crazy idea to move here first entered my little head.

Her name is Saratica.

Before we left to meet her, I got a little nervous. What if she doesn't match up to the friend/person I think she is? How weird is it going to be for me to meet her, knowing her beliefs in politics, religion and such...and me just a stranger to her? How will this work out?

"Oh Shawna...not to worry."

Everything was wonderful. She invited my husband and I in with such graciousness. Her 2 boys were handsome and so polite. Her husband was as funny and gracious {opps, that's not very manly} entertaining as she was. He whipped up a chocolate pizza for all to share and we talked and laughed around their kitchen table, just like old friends. {Yeah girls, I said a chocolate pizza, boy does he have a way with woman!}

Now I realize... anyone who has moved to this exotic land already has so much in common. We've gone through culture shock {which is REAL by the way}, struggled with a new language, learned a new currency and tried to understand customs that seemed so strange to us.

It only took us a few minutes to put a face with the commonalities...and we are no longer strangers.

This is the reason I have a blog. The more friends the better...if I can help someone with their stressful day with kids, finding a new recipe for the family, share a new perspective on a situation or just make someone laugh...I'm all for it!

Also, as I'm climbing my way out of a CRAZY day with 5 active {insane} kids, things seem less strenuous knowing that later in the week some "stranger friend" of mine might get a chuckle out of it.

Good day/night my stranger friends.

And don't be afraid to leave a comment now and then. :)

I'm glad you're here.

Strawberry Cream Pie...

I know I've raved about every recipe so far but watch out...this will knock your socks off. That is if you like fruit tarts. It's kind of my version of the tarts we had for my girlfriend's bridal shower {"Hi Nikkinunu!"} oh, maybe 15 years ago {March 18th}. Happy anniversary by the way. :)

Oh, so yummy!

I've put together a few recipes to make this.

First, use my {I mean Ruth's Grandma's} homemade pie recipe. Really easy I promise!!! Go on, you can do it!
***Cut the recipe in 1/2, you only need a bottom crust here.

Ruth's Grandma's Pie Crust

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups shortening
3 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1/2 cup water

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, shortening, sugar, and salt. Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
2. In a small bowl, mix egg with water. Blend into flour mixture. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
Now you need to bake the crust:
Roll out the crust to fit in your pie pan. Cut the edges off. Put aluminum foil on top and fill with dry beans or rice. {this will keep the crust from bubbling up} Bake @ 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until toasted and baked.

Now for the insides...oh this is yummy! I'm not a fan of vanilla ANYTHING! I can't believe anyone can stand at an ice cream store and order vanilla ice cream.

Really, someone does that?

But I needed a filling for my "tart pie" and found this delicious concoction.

*** this recipe you need to double.
Old-Fashioned Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.
2. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolk; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in butter and vanilla.
3. Cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to dessert dishes. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
After this has cooled {I don't wait an hour} pour into your baked pie crust. {Of course you have removed the foil and beans/rice} I use beans because they can be used for meals still. The rice can not be used again. Sorry.

Now you can cover the top with your favorite sliced fresh fruit. But this is what I do...

I take half my strawberries and make a pie filling with them. (Those of you in the states can just buy the can if you'd like) Then I spread that on top of most of the pudding filling. I then take the other half of the fresh sliced strawberries and toss them on top of that. {My mouth is watering} Then for color I add about 5-10 slices of kiwi.

Not only does this pie/tart {whatever you want to call it} look gorgeous, it's like creamy summer for your tongue.

Who doesn't like that?

Last week my son accidentally dropped the last piece of pie out of the refrigerator onto the floor. The entire house went silent! My husband was mortified!!!

Let's just say that I hadn't mopped in a few days, but every last drop was cleaned up and went into waiting tummies.

Yeah, this is eat off the floor, don't let anything go to waste, GOOD!

"Life is Like a Box of Chocolates...

you never know what you are gonna get. "
-Forest Gump.

Or you can be like me and take the tiniest bite out of every one, then put them back...that way you always know. Oh, that used to drive my brother Robbie CRAZY! So then I started carving out a circle out of the bottom. It produced the same result and he never knew.

A few weeks ago I presented a youtube clip entitled "CREATE". It just moved me. I decided then and there it was time. I was going to dust off my fancy camera and use it every Sunday. Scratch that creative itch so to speak. I mean, geeesh...I'm living in beautiful Costa Rica!

Oh I was so thrilled.

Then as I was planning my adventure, my battery charger died on me. So funny. This is when I look up to heaven and {in my minds eye} picture everyone watching how I handle this one. {I got this perspective from the "Life is a Football Game" talk I mentioned earlier. It works wonders when your kids really mess up. You know, painting your girlfriend's brand new carpet with multiple colors of popsicle syrup.

Wow, was that pretty. My daughter did that.

And get this; the friend is still my friend. "Hi Teresa!"

So, although this wasn't as drastic, I was disappointed. I can't easily order a new charger or drive somewhere to pick one up.

Then I came up with another idea to scratch that itch. {And make a little cash too} All I'm going to tell you is it involves my Photoshop talents, my computer and the Internet. After 2 weeks of {blood, sweat and tears} getting the {web} shop ready...my Internet goes down. It's been down for over a week.

I look up to heaven again, "Really...is this happening?" and let out a frustrated giggle.

So as of 3 hours ago...my Internet is back.

I whisper a "thank you" to whomever fixed it and write this post to explain to my dad why I've had so many posts about recipes lately. {I don't need a camera for those posts.}

I do have a picture to show you how last week went.

So enjoy your week! And I should be up and running at normal speeds again.

Does anyone here in CR have the Canon battery charger CB-5L and would be willing to charge my battery? Anyone?

My sweetheart just taught our oldest how to shave {I can't believe this is happening so soon!} and I couldn't photograph the event.

Augh!!!

Meatball Sandwiches...

O.K. here it is, Tuesday night and I´m finally getting around to posting my (awesome recipe that is going to change your life). I can dream can´t I

Well, I have an excuse, our internet has been out for 3 days. Do you see how devoted I am...I´m sitting here at a internet cafe, it´s almost 10 pm, just so I can follow through on my promise. (I´m listening to Bryan Adams in Spanish...how funny)

So here goes.


Hearty Meatball Sandwich


Ready In: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
Servings: 6
"A cross between meatloaf and meatballs, this sandwich promises to hold together without being messy."
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup marinara sauce (I use 2 cups of sauce)
3 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Form the mixture into a log, and place it into an 8x8 inch baking dish.
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the center is no longer pink. Let stand for 5 minutes, then slice into 1/2 inch slices. Place a few slices onto each hoagie roll, cover with marinara sauce, and sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over.
4. Wrap each sandwich with aluminum foil, and return to the oven for 15 minutes, until bread is lightly toasted and cheese is melted. Let stand 15 minutes before eating. Each sandwich serves 2.

So make sure you use the Marinara sauce recipe I posted last week.

Now, I always have to do something different...this time it wasn´t much...I just rolled the meat mixture into balls and cooked them in a sauce pan until no longer pink. They hold together so well.

Oh, and I toast my rolls first, not a fan of soggy bread.

These are so good...I think this will show up at our dinner table tomorrow.

Enjoy!

It's Been a Spiritual Week for me...

and I needed it. My 4 year old has been asking me, "Mom, tell me about Jesus." all week long. I've even walked in on him re-telling the adventures to his younger brother. Does it get any better than that?

Church life has been tough here. The first 9 months took a lot of effort just to get to our building and back. I'm very thankful for Gene who faithfully picked us up in his "bus" every Sunday. He never let us pay gas or help in any way. All we had to do was be ready by 7:45 am. I'm sad to say that we weren't always ready on time.

Even when we were, it still took about 8 minutes for all of us to get car seats buckled, food and supplies aboard and all the kids in. I'm sure we were there to help Gene with patience. He never complained to us and I will never forget the sacrifice, a then stranger, made for our family.
{above picture is our previous home with over 2 feet of river water hanging out}
We have moved from that {LIFE} part of the country and are in an easier environment. Now we are just an 8 minute taxi drive away from church. Sundays are so much easier. It doesn't take the entire second half of my Saturday to get ready for Sunday. There are 3 women, Ticas, that can speak some English so I can get the gist of activities that my little ones need to be at. It's been nice.

I'm going to be honest here...{if you don't want to know, come back tomorrow}
This past year I haven't been at the TOP of my spiritual game. I've come to know for myself that when you are struggling with "survival" it's difficult to take your eye off that goal and concentrate on other things that used to take up time. Like in my case, personal scripture study. I've been good with family prayers and family scripture study but my personal study time has "fallen by the wayside" let's say.

I started out by the shore in my little row boat, keeping my eye on the shore {my testimony} as I paddled and drained the water from my vessle making sure I kept it afloat...little did I know how far I had floated away.

Now that the struggle to live here in Costa Rica is all but gone, I have realized the route I need to take to get back to shore. It has been a wonderful journey for me. I LOVE the scriptures again. I'm thankful for the heroes that have figured out how to "survive" and stay just as close to the Lord even in trial. What examples. The last thing we need to do is put Christ and our testimony on the shore as we jump in a boat and try to handle our "storm" alone.

I don't want anyone to think that my testimony has been lost this last year {with my dramatic story}, I just haven't spent the time I should've in strengthening it. I'm coming to realize that the last year could have been more full of peace and comfort if I had been better to bring my scriptures along.

We know how healthy it is for our kids to see us enjoying reading. It will make them more apt to LOVE reading themselves. I've done well with this. My kids love to read. How much better it will be for my children to see me LOVE reading the words of the prophets and our Lord Jesus Christ.

So with the above said I want to share with you some of my favorite new found blogs, favorite DVD's and talks.

Scriptoriumblogorium{www.scriptoriumblogorium.blogspot.com} is what we are using for FHE scripture study. She has great posts about scripture references and if you click on the button on the right she's got a book posted there about Isaiah for teenagers. It's FREE {as far as I can tell} and right there on the blog. We are using the Isaiah book for seminary type study in our home school program {starting in the AM}.


Also, I heart John Byetheway's way of presenting gospel subjects. He has a talk about Sunday worship, The Best 3 Hours of the Week. This is great. You can find by searching onBYU TV.
But my favorite Byetheway talk is "Heroes; Lessons from the Book of Mormon. This is AWESOME! It's almost 100 minutes long. We are implementing it into our family home evening, 30 minutes at a time. He gives such great insight to the Heroes we sometimes glide over in our study. This is a GREAT way to get your family excited about scripture study.

Troy Dunn has a tape out there {hopefully it's in CD form now} called "Life is a Football Game". This is bust your gut funny! I heard it when I was about 16 and it changed my attitude about life. I've just found it and I'm ordering it for my oldest. How much better for him to hear it 4 years earlier than I did. {Actually how much better for me that he hears it earlier!!!} Maybe this is why I named my son Troy....hummm.
{Deseret Books has it and 4 other talks of Troy's for $19.99}

Did you know that the LDS church has a You Tube channel? Also another way set the mood for Family Night.

For us since, we don't get our church magazines in English, we go to
LDS.org > then "Gospel Library" > then "magazines. You can search through The Friend, New Era and The Ensign, plus there are "extra" buttons to check out. In the "Friend" you can "listen" to gospel stories, play games and print coloring pages. SWEET!!!

So please enjoy! Let me know what resources you love for gospel study.