Tuesday, June 30, 2009

SINGER IN OUR MIDST

Take some time and give a listen to Melissa on the sidebar. She has an amazing voice and I love the song she sings. I was especially surprised because I did not know she was a singer, cool surprise. Our students never cease to amaze us.

We have had a student who is now sailing around on private yachts doing massage and being a stewardess. Wouldn't that be cool? The best part is her boyfriend is a captain so they sign on together and get to see all kind of cool places together.

Another student is preparing to take his National Exam and put himself through a Physical Therapist program doing his massage.

Then of course we have a couple of students right now who actually live here in Costa Rica and plan to incorporate their massage into their businesses here. One is doing an distance Naturopath program and will use the massage with that. The other is considering a fitness center, which would be a great hit in her neck of the woods.

I just feel really fortunate to get to know and work with all these awesome people and teach them the art and science of massage. I can't really think of anything I would rather be doing than sharing something I love with a bunch of really cool people, pura vida for sure!

Monday, June 29, 2009

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

Remember the famous line, "what we have here is a failure to communicate?" Well I can surely say that pretty much on a daily basis. I had enough trouble when everyone around me spoke English, now it is just triple bad.

Last week we went for babies parent teacher conference at the school. In Costa Rica the kids get two weeks off school for "little summer". That is supposedly the time when it does not rain as much so everyone can kind of get a little break. Kind of the U.S. equivelant to spring break.

When we went to her meeting the teacher got the calandar down and told us that for these three weeks, and she pointed them out to us, there would be no school. She said something about being out of town and what not.

Over the weekend I started talking to other parents who have kids in school and found out that the kids only have two weeks off, not three. Well low and behold they do not believe in substitute teachers here. And when they say there is not school, they are not lying.

We got up nice and early and got ready for school, just in case the teacher did not communicate effectively. We got to school and the other teachers and parents and students were all there, unfortunately, as we made our way to my daughters closed classroom door! They all gave me the very pitiful look and tried to explain to me that there was no school for her class this week as Nina Laura was out of town.

Now how should I know they were weird enough that one class would not meet and all the others would. That is just freakin weird. Not to mention embarrassing. When I got home my older daughter who had translated the meeting for me asked my why I went to school! Just in case.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

MICHAEL JACKSON DIED

The one good thing I can say about Michael Jackson, he holds the worlds record for the most caritable contributions. That is a pretty big deal.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

COLLEGE EXPENSES

Did you know it is very expensive to go to college these days? I have finally figured out that the very rich have no need for college, the poor get it paid for and us middle classers are just screwed.

Several of my sons are trying to find a way to pay for college. They all work and try very hard to survive and would like to have some kind of future job that would actually support a family. It is very difficult for them to do.

We have tried with them to explore all options of obtaining an education that would provide a good job for them. They have even checked with the military, and thank goodness found that would not work for them. They thought they would not have to shoot anyone and were not happy to find out they might have to.

At any rate I really don't see much improvement with the new presidency as far as helping everyone that desires it a college education. I think they needed to be minorities, oh well.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

MASSAGE ADDICT


I am a certified massage addict! I really don't know how I lived bm, or before massage. I did not receive my first massage until I was 34, right before I attended massage school. I told hubby I did not need a massage, they were for stressed or injured people. He finally bought me a one half hour upper body massage at the club for mothers day.


I was pretty apprehensive and when I arrived did not really know what to expect. By the time Sharon was done, I still remember her name, I was sold, addicted and a solid believer in massage.


After the massage hubby took me out to dinner and as I was sitting there feeling like a noodle and drooling and spacing out, I told him that if I could make people feel this good it was the job for me.


If any of my current clients or previous clients are reading this they are laughing their heads off. The only part of my massage that feels good is when I get done. I have tried not working deep, believe it is much harder work for me to work deep, but darn it I just feel a very deep need to "fix it". I love to get in there and really feel the muscles and feel them melt and relax.


But back to my addiction. I am already relaxing because I have a massage scheduled for myself for tomorrow morning. The best part is I just passed the 20 mile a week mark for marathon training and man oh man this massage is going to feel so good, in a really painful kind of way that is. You see my friend who I trade with works a lot like me. The good part of that is I can look forward to injury free training for the next three months.


I better get to bed so I can wake up sooner, get my run done and head to the massage table :)

Monday, June 22, 2009

COSTA RICA SUMMER

We are getting ready for our three weeks of summer. Baby gets three weeks off school and it looks like a beach trip waiting to happen for sure. We are all looking forward to some time off of school as well as enjoying some dry weather. It did not rain yesterday and only for a short time today, very nice.

Today was our parent-teacher conference for babies' class. It went well as far as I could tell. Her grade card looks pretty good, considering she is still learning Spanish. It was funny because I was asking her teacher which public school she would recommend for her next year. She said we should think about a private one so she does not lose her English.

That is pretty funny since her mother does not speak Spanish. Other than that when I asked baby before the meeting what she wanted me to ask her teacher she said "ask her about my dancing". Well it is good to know that the language of dance is a universal language and she is doing great in that one! She will be dancing soon for her school and if very excited. Looks like we may be starting dance classes real soon.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

Fathers Day has good and bad feelings for me. Good because my kids have a great daddy and they all take good care of their dad on Fathers Day. Not so good because my dad died when I was six years old. My dad never kept a journal or anything so I get out two letters he wrote to his sisters where he mentioned me in one line of each letter!

Of course because of the value of those letters to me I have encouraged my hubby to keep a written history of his life and interactions with the kids. It is hard to believe that anyone will ever hang on every word you say, but it does happen.

When we get together with my brothers and mom we all like to hear stories and things my dad did. I like to hear things he said and did to kind of try and get to know him a little bit. I have few isolated memories of my own, but how would a scrap book or journal be? A good lesson.

In the meantime I wish a happy fathers day to all happy fathers out there. We all know a happy father is a great father!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

30 YEAR WRAP UP

One of ten hot springs located at Pariaso Arenal Resort where we spent three days for our 30th anniversary. It was beautiful as you can see and they were very hot and full of minerals, good for you.
We arrived at the resort on Tuesday, our anniversary. Today is Thrusday and we returned home to read in the news that the volcano was closed the day we arrived because it was spewing too much rock and junk. You can certainly see it was smoking. So the park was closed until Wed. morning, glad we did not know and could not worry being on the front porch.

Here we are enjoying one of the really hot tubs. The farther up the hill you go the hotter the springs get, that would explain the flushed cheeks, that and the love of course.


Here we are naively watching the volcano blow! I guess it would be a pretty good way to die, in our rocking chairs!



Wednesday, June 17, 2009

OUT

We are in Arenal, the live volcano in Costa Rica celebrating our 30th anniversary. I will write more and include pics as soon as we return home. Have a good week and enjoy summer, it is passing quickly.

Monday, June 15, 2009

HAPPY FLAG DAY

Since today was flag day we had a lesson on the U.S. flag with baby. She proceeded to tell us what all the colors stood for, since she has had the same lesson in school for the C.R. flag, same colors anyway. The biggest thing she could think about was that she is getting a traditional celebration skirt and top to do her dance in.

She will be dancing at the Parque of Diversions with the other kids in her school. The most important part of course is the new outfit, always about the outfit. Her teacher was trying to explain the whole thing to hubby, but we are sending the big sis tomorrow to translate for us.

The end result was she got to learn about the U.S. flag and the pledge and the National Anthem. We will have to keep working on these. She has aactually learned the first part of the C.R. anthem which is super long, I mean really long. So she can sing the C.R. national anthem, in Spanish no less, and I have to work to teach her ours in English!

I think it is important, especially since we live abroad to teach our children patriotism. There are many things to love about the U.S. and people to appreciate for their sacrifices to provide us our freedoms, which are quickly fading. I would challenge all to make sure they know the history and facts of our country.

Friday, June 12, 2009

PEACE



Believe it or not sometimes I get called a "hippie". Actually now I get called an "old hippie". Maybe that is the only kind of hippie there is. I do believe that more people are going to have to decide if they are on the side of peace or not.




My son who is 23 has already made it very clear that he is a pacifist. He is probably the new hippie breed. He works as a coffee man at the local coffee shop in Flagstaff Az. He has a dog he takes trail hiking and he is an artist. Yup fits the mold.




He and I had a good talk when I visited him in Flagstaff we discussed the war and what his opinions were. I was surprised to find we actually agreed on something! Now that is exciting that I can agree with my kids about something.




It is hard to say you will fight for peace, a little of an oxymoron, but there are things we can do to increase peace on earth. We can check out ourselves and see where we are at as far as peace goes. Do we feel peace and love for others? Or do we pass onto our families that we are not feeling peaceful or loving?




In our own homes is where peace on earth will start and grow to encompass the whole world. Lets all work on it and see if we can't spread something besides swine flu to a pandemic level .

Thursday, June 11, 2009

BOAT OR CAR?

We have lived here in Costa Rica for almost three years without a car. I have not had the desire to get one, but the baby is making a fuss. Of course that changes everything verdad? The other day we got ready to ride the bus to her sisters house and she threw a fit. She wanted to get a taxi! Then she asked me when we were going to get a car. I told her we don't need a car, it is just a lot of trouble and I like having someone else drive me around. She did not buy this and is still determined that it is time for us to buy a car.

Now my question is should we really buy a car or should we think about a boat? My hubby loves to go to the beach and fish with the son in law. They would spend many happy hours fishing and maybe even bring home some food, if they got really lucky.

That would make much more sense to me than a car. We can take a taxi or bus anywhere, with a relatively small amount of inconvenience. Having sold four cars when we left the states I am in no hurry to go and purchase another one. If we feel a real need for a car we can rent one for a few days and get our fix of driving around. In fact we will be renting a car next week to go celebrate our 30th anniversary at Arenal.

Without a car we have no worries, except of course getting to the bus in time! Baby drew a picture for school a couple of weeks ago. It was a bus with people on it. In the background was us running to try and catch the bus! Pretty common site to be sure.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

MIDTERM MADNESS

We went over to my daughters house today to entertain the grandkids and help her study for midterms this week. She made a big mistake and decided to do her online classes for the summer in six weeks instead of twelve. That would be o.k. if she was not already doing half time at another school, and taking biology and math. She is busy to say the least.

Hubby worked with her and helped her organize her notes and figure out a plan of attack. She was feeling a little more optomistic when we left. Then there were the kids. The baby is cutting three top teeth and not a happy camper. Loca lion is in the middle of hand foot and mouth disease, as far as we can tell. She woke up with blisters on her mouth and her palms and feet. Poor thing.

Oh and forgot to mention that my daughter has friends coming to hang out in Costa Rica for ten days tomorrow! Needless to say she is feeling somewhat overwhelmed and ready to run somewhere and hide.

Don't know that we helped much, but at least she knows someone is aware of what she is going through, and we do sympathise quite a bit. When it rains it pours, especially in Costa Rica!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

REINVENTING THE WHEEL

I am a do-it-yourselfer. The problem lies in the point of knowing when to let someone take over. I would just say I am cheap, but don't really like to hear myself described that way. Anyway so I try to do everything myself, or get someone else to do it for a really good deal or trade it out.

In my life this has paid off maybe three times. Three times out of about three million times is not a very good average. Yet I continue relearning this lesson of life.

It is a very good thing we never built a house, or I would probably still be building it myself. My hubby is smart enough to say "no". He does not like to take on things he doesn't like to do, and therefore does not take on things he does not know how, or like to do.

Now me I am the complete opposite. If it is really hard and really demanding, bring it on, I like it even more. Why pay fifty bucks to rent a tiller when you can use a shovel and turn under the five hundred square foot garden yourself? Why pay twenty dollars each for Christmas dresses when you can stay up until three a.m. for a month and do them yourself? Why pay for chopped nuts when you can spend more time and save yourself fifty cents?

You get my drift? So when we started our massage school I just figured we could handle everything ourselves. And to a point we did great. The downfall and struggle came when I finally realized I do not know how to market, don't even know the first thing about it in fact. Well when you are starting a new business that entails bringing people in it is important for them to know about it! OOps!

Last week we hired a marketing consultant. The first document she gave me outlining our goals and how we were going to achieve them made me cry. I have tried for two years to put all these things in words and she wrapped it up in a couple of hours. I guess there is a reason we go to school and charge for a job well done.

Now lets just hope I have learned my lesson and can remember it for the next great project.

Monday, June 8, 2009

NO RAIN

I absolutely love June in Costa Rica. It is just the perfect amount of hot sunshine and rain to keep everyone happy. We had a great long run on Sat. with a nice cloud cover and a few drizzles, perfect run for sure. We also discovered that if you run during a soccer game there is much less traffic on the roads, woo hoo.

I did go to the tamarindomarathon.com site and saw that we will not be the slowest ones in the race, according to the results from last year. I also will not be the oldest woman there, just the second to the oldest. Oh well makes for a good excuse.

The really good news is that I have already lost 5lbs and hopefully will be able to take off another 10 before the race. I just want to try my ideal weight for awhile and see if it is worth the trouble. Like if I really like it enough to maintain it or not. Just want to try it on for size and see how it feels. The last time I was there was when I did my ironman a few years ago. That surely was not worth it!

Friday, June 5, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BEN

My grandson it just the cutest one year old in the whole world! I can actually say the cutest boy in the whole world since I only have one grandson! Here he is trying to get the camera from Grandma. he thinks he should get anything and everything he wants, and we usually oblige him. Just because he is so darn cute and sweet.
Here Mr. Guapo is making ojitos at me to try another method of getting the camera from me. If the fit does not work on Grandma maybe the ojitos will work. You gotta admit they are pretty cute.
We spent the afternoon shopping at the mall for babies birthday presents. I bought him tools, because he loves getting into his daddys' so much. I just looked at the box and it says not to let anyone under three play with it! I guess we will have to take some of the small parts away.
Tomorrow is also a bridal shower for a friend of ours. She is 19 and has been seeing her boyfriend for five years. He is 35. They met because he was her teacher in high school. Sounds strange, ok probably is strange, but here completely acceptable.
They will be getting married and then attending the temple. In Costa Rica you have to be married by a lawyer, so the marriages are done outside the temple and then you get sealed in the temple. She is just happy they both have good jobs and a house.
Here the sons live at home, as her fiance has, until they get married, whatever age that may be. It is important to them to have a house and car before they get married, and that can take a few years sometimes. They do seem very patient about that. We are just happy for them and look forward to celebrating with them!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

FLU

I never get sick, I mean never. I may get my monthly headache or some other ache or pain, but never sick. Well that came back to bite me in the backside this week for sure. I have been in bed all week! Now that is a drag. The good part is I only missed one run from the training schedule and should be able to be up and running by tomorrow morning.

The good news is it was the flu, but not the swine flu. Probably some other exotic flu or other, but thank goodness I did not start squealing. I really can't imagine that I could feel any worse though had it been a flu of another name?

I am grateful for a hubby who takes care of the house and kids and even gave me a shot in the butt! He liked that part though, the whole playing doctor thing. I did not mean that how it sounded, but it is all good. The important thing is I survived my flu episode and lived to tell about it. By the way the reason I never get sick is because I am such a wimp and God knows that!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

MARATHON WEEK ONE

One week of training down fifteen to go! Lets see I ended the week on Saturday with my back out, again, and the mother of all fever blisters on my lip and the stomach flu, but by golly I finished the whole week.

It is a pretty easy training schedule and was actually a little less mileage than we had been doing. I guess since I wanted to lose a few pounds before the marathon the stomach flu was a little boost in that direction.

I also got a massage on Monday, and boy did I need it. I always have IT band problems with my left leg and my lovely therapist knew just where to dig, I mean work. It really helped with my crazy hip problem and hopefully I can continue with the massages the whole training period.

Now I just have to find someone to massage Rebekah every week until the marathon, any volunteers? We only have three massage therapists living in the house!