School Time

School starts in two weeks aughhh! It seems like baby just got out for summer break and it is time for her to return already. Her very lovely teacher has been spending an hour every week working with her and getting her ready for second grade. I keep thinking I want to homeschool but she is having so much fun I hate to take her out. I suppose as long as she is enjoying, learning and having a positive experience we will leave her there.
We have been in an ongoing battle with aerocasillas over mail delivery. Evidently thanks to homeland security you are very limited on what you can mail to yourself these days. That would include a mate gourd as well as some mate and a tatoo kit. Get real what is the problem?
I am trying to talk grandma into visiting and delivering gifts with her visit. She has not visited in the four and a half years we have lived here and I believe she would love it.
Daughter and her family have found a great three bedroom house right around the corner from us. It is nice to have a little elbow room but still have them close enough to run over.
Teeny worked for two and a half weeks at a call center taking verbal abuse for eight to twelve hours a day and decided it was not really what she wanted to do with her life. Now to get her studying and ready to take her exams. She really wants to go to estitian school. That would be fun for her and combined with her massage training she could work well at any spa.
We still have the "guy on the chair" playing his game non stop. I love computer and internet surfing but this guy puts me right to shame. Our oldest son is planning on moving here for awhile to chill and get his life together.
We really thought we found a pretty good hiding place here in Costa Rica but evidently not :) Actually I love having the tribe around and we are enjoying hanging out, going to the beaches doing leaves etc. Pura Vida!

Graduation

O.K. so someone did not enjoy the kindergarten graduation today. O.k. maybe he never enjoys anything that does not involve him in the middle of it. He sure was throwing a fit at the ceremony. We could not even get him to smile for the camera.

Whew, she made it through kindergarten! That was quite a haul and now there is just first grade. As they say here, that is the most important grade in Costa Rica. That is the year they learn everything they need for life. Yup that is what they told us anyway.

Two very excited party goers. They are excited also to gift their teachers with their goodies they made them for Christmas.

Rain Gone

I am happy to report that the rain in Costa Rica has finally stopped, after only five feet, and the sun is shining. It is a beautiful day in paradise and we are all in much better moods to see the sun once more.

People would wonder how I spent eight years in Missouri with my sun thing, I would say it was not easy at all! Living in the midwest requires kind of a different mind set, like just go into hibernation mode for a few months and like it!

Can't do.

Today we took the kids down the street to the park so they could climb some trees and get the bugs out of their systems. After three days cooped up they were ready to run in circles like the dogs, it calms them down.

My daughter, son and I are doing the px90 so we have been working out hard and heavy. We did the yoga section this morning so now I am trying to get off my butt and go for a run. Man am I sore. I mean like everything is sore.

Hubby says I am too old for the plyometrics work out :)

Sad Day

Today is a sad day for Costa Rica. The legislative body has approved 7,000 U.S. troops to move into our coast. They will be there from July until January. The excuse is for them to clean up the drugs there. Good luck on that one.

My heart breaks for the freedom loving folks in Costa Rica. There are many Costa Ricans who love the idea that they are peaceful and not warmongers. Now that whole wonderful pride will be gone.

I really knew this would come someday, but not now. If the people of Costa Rica did not resent us being here before, they sure will now. Our presence will be a constant reminder of how the U.S. took over their country.

I hope all those who voted for good ole' Laura are doing a bit of thinking at this point. Though I suppose it is a little late to figure out who your new president is sleeping with.

As I have always said, they can just look at the U.S and they are provided a perfect crystal ball. You can actually read the future of Costa Rica by watching the U.S. Now more than ever I suppose.

Good Ole' Costa Rica

There are many, many things that I love about Costa Rica. I love the weather here, I love the beautiful greenery, I love the beaches, I love the mountains, I love most of the people.

But just like the U.S. at this time, I hate the politics. I hate the government control over all the people and I especially hate it when they try to reach out their hairy arms and control me or mine.

Two months ago we took baby out of the local public school so that we could home school her. She was having problems with her teacher and some of the other students in her class. We have been home schooling her and she is now reading and almost done with her first math book.

She has done very well at home and no longer gets the headaches and stomach aches that she was getting when she was in school. A couple of weeks ago two ladies from the school she had attended came by to talk to us. They made it clear that she needed to be enrolled in a school somewhere and would be in touch with us.

Today we got a call from their version of family services telling us that if we did not have her to school tomorrow they would be taking her from our family. Yes they told us that it does not matter if she is a U.S. citizen, or that we are home schooling, the law in Costa Rica says that if you are here and are between the ages of six and sixteen you will be enrolled in school.

Evidently our five year plan has just become a four year plan. Oh well it has been a great learning experience and we have certainly enjoyed our time in Costa Rica. We do hope that we will still be able to return here and teach our classes to keep them going, we will see how that goes.

Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that Spirit Air will work out their problems and that we will actually have a way to get out of here!

Too Much Fun

Today was another beautiful day in the rainy season days. Costa Rica rainy season days are great. You get the whole morning to get things done and finish up your business, then get ready to hunker down for the afternoon rain. I personally like to knit or read, or even cook during the afternoon shower. Then it is done and you are free to travel once again.

We have never had a car here, and I'm sure that would change the way we do things here. Maybe people with cars don't have to plan quite as carefully as we do. We just really do not like to get our pants and shoes wet making our way to the bus. Without a drier it could take days to dry a pair of jeans or shoes.

Some people think we are not all there living as "primitive" as we do. The only things we really miss are our drier and of course moments of missing our car. Once we get our bills paid right around one hundred dollars and never have to spend hundreds on car repairs we are reminded why we do without. It is doing without some convenience, but at the same time it is doing without even more headaches.

Awards and New Recipes

I have been waiting for an excuse to try out a new recipe. Hubby gave me an excuse. He was invited to be in the Alpha Beta Kappa Honor Society. I believe that means he is pretty darn smart. Or he works really, really hard, or a little of both. Of course I vote for the smart part because of course he chose me. Or maybe I chose him, can't really remember.

So here is the recipe that everyone has probably tried a hundred times and we are just now getting around to:
1 pkg. of oreo cookies crumbed
1 pkg. of cream cheese
mix the above together really well and roll into balls.
dip in melted chocolate.
Our version:
1 pkg of CR oreos, which means you have to unwrap every single one.
1 pkg. of queso crema, which I swear tastes just like the U.S. but everyone says I have forgotten.
Dipped in chocolate, means buy a cheap bar of chocolate and add some butter and milk and try to get it to the right texture.
It worked though and that is the good news.
They are supposed to refrigerate for two hours, but we did not make that and they were still pretty good.

A great way to top off a fun pool day and get ready for the big 12 miler in the morning. It is gonna be a hot one, that much is for sure. We are having all kinds of tropical storms here, which has been lots of fun and interesting. Also another earth quake on Monday night.

Last month our family practiced the "earth quake Position". Well here we get the big chance, and no one even got into the earth quake position! We were watching Greys Anatomy and no one moved, just looked at each other and wondered if we should get into the "earth quake position". Oh well!

Family Fun

I should probably explain my pictures from Memorial Day. We just chilled and enjoyed the beautiful weather. My daughter and her family are here visiting, so we are really having fun with that.

Our family has become very Tico. We love having family all together and the more the merrier. In fact if the rest of the family wanted to live here, no problem. We have been known to have 11 people living in our little apartment at one time.

Funny story. When my daughter and her new hubby were moving into their apartment we went with them to sign papers. The landlord looked very sternly at my son-in-law, who is obviously Latino and gave strict orders that he was not to move his whole family into the little two bedroom apartment with them.

They all agreed to that and moved in. Fast forward two weeks, he gets deported. I told my daughter to hold onto the apartment because we needed a place to stay while our old trailer was being hauled off and our new modular being moved in.

A couple of months later we moved in with my daughter, at the moment there were only five of us. Two weeks later hubby and I left for China to pick up baby, making it six people in the two bedroom. A month later my 19 yr. old son moved in with us to get his life straightened out. Next month another son separated from his wife and moved in with us. Next came my youngest brother needing a place to park it for a short time.

Then my poor daughter and her baby came back from Hondurus. Man we were packed in like sardines and needless to say the landlord was not at all happy. Of course it took them about six months to get our home done and we lived in that little apartment the whole time! Crazy times.

Good times, good times!!!!

Meeting Bloggy Friends

Cool bloggy experience this weekend! We were at church and a young couple came in with their two cute little very blond little boys. That in itself is unusual of course. They were pretty late, so we assumed, rightly, that they had been lost. Our church is kind of hidden in a small neighborhood and a little hard to find. Like you don't find it unless you are really meant to.

After the meeting baby and I went up to meet them and she was in a hurry to check out the boys books. Of course she was eying them as soon as they got them out. The wife told me they were visiting from the U.S. and were thinking on moving to CR.

They are staying in Atenas, which I think is a beautiful place. We drive through there when we are going to the beach. It also is reported by National Geographic to have the most ideal climate in the world.

She shared with me that they had been feeling a draw for quite awhile to move to CR.

A few minutes later we were speaking with her husband and he told me that he had read my blog and written me a few months ago. I remembered his letter and it was so cool to actually meet someone I had only met online.

When I read other blogs by people in the U.S I am jealous that they get to meet each other. Now I have my first meeting with someone I met through my blog. It was really cool and my first thought was I did not have to worry about what they thought about me, they read my blog so therefore pretty much know my whole life story, at least the part I would tell people.

It is always fun to meet and talk with people who are considering relocating to Costa Rica. Of course I am very biased and love it here, so maybe I should find one of my friends who has gone back to the U.S. and have them talk to them. That way they would get a more objective response.

Resting

I hate watching t.v. I have nothing to read. I can only computer so much. So I have a new hobby. I have been knitting like a crazy woman. I really enjoy having an excuse to sit, and actually accomplish something while I am sitting, yeah maybe a tad bit type A.

As you can see these two fellas refuse to let me sit alone. They get as excited when I sit to knit as they do when we get the leashes out for their walk! I have trained them that they each get to sit on one side of me, that way they don't fight.

If I do not have knitting they will fight over who is going to sit on my lap. We finally get rid of all the babies and we end up with these two brats. They are so funny and so different.

In this picture I am knitting a pink scarf for a friend of mine. She just got well from pneumonia so I thought she should be covering her face when she goes out in the cold evenings. I used to laugh at the folks here in Costa Rica when I saw them in scarfs.

That is until I caught a horrible five month bronchial infection. After that I became a firm believer in covering my mouth if I go out in the evening and it is cold and damp. That damp cold here just goes right into your body.

I just hope she has been here long enough to be a believer in the scarf theory.

Ohhh Yeah Triathlon Time

The news just in! There will be a half-iron man in Feb. of 2011 in Guanacaste!!!!!! I am soooo excited I have been thinking about it all day. Check it out here.

Now that is a goal I can sink my teeth into. And to think it will be just in our own back yard. And a real legit race, put on professionally. After the marathon I did in Tamarindo last year I will be very careful about any race I sign up for here in Costa Rica.

It is kind of like buying merchandise here. You are never really sure if it is what it says. They stick labels on anything, because there are no copyright laws. So you never really know if you are getting what it says you are getting.

But this, now this is gonna be the real thing. I am so ready to do this. Well not really ready to do it do it, just like ready to sign up and get thinking, planning and training for it. Of course this may mean no Ironman Cozumel. That was kind of looking like a bad timing thing, but this, man this is perfect.

I did ask hubby if he would be disappointed in me if I only did a half iron-man for my 50th yr rather than a full distance. He was o.k. with it, of course since we will save a ton of money this way and probably a couple years added onto my life.

Oh yeah for those wondering there is also a sprint and olympic distance race the day before the half. I am trying to talk my teen into doing the sprint. She is heck of a swimmer and runs quite a bit already. Just have to get her on a bike. s

Rainy Season or No?

We have an ongoing argument in our house. Can it be rainy season if the weather gods have not officially declared it thus? I say no hubby says yes. As you can see I am not looking forward to rainy season this year. The reason? I had my swim workout all figured out, without the afternoon rains figured in dang it!

Now I am trying to figure out a schedule that is family friendly, weather friendly, and me friendly. It just is not coming together for me right now. I guess I will have to give it until I get over the stomach flu and by then maybe I will have something figured out to get myself to the pool.

Speaking of stomach flu. I believe that Costa Rica breeds the most potent ugly stomach viruses known to mankind, at least to this mankind! I was telling my daughter that I worked 12 years in my massage business and never got sick or had to cancel an appointment in all those years.

If I was trying to work here, actually I am but it just is not happening :) I would be canceling and rearranging appointments all the time! Just to keep up with my tummy. I have been looking at my prakruti, or my dosha which is pitta, kapha and trying to figure out what I can do to get myself in balance and can't really come up with much.

My daughter gently pointed out to me that no I am not dying, but yes I am slowly falling apart! Bummer! Maybe my warranty was only for like 50 years or something. That would mean I have a lot of bucket list things to fit in in the next few months, better get busy.

Knitting and Gratitude

First ever knitting project completed!!! Yeah and it was fun, and it was cool, and it was relatively cheap, and too bad we don't need more knitted articles living in Costa Rica! Though I am thinking the cool little slippers my mom always made us when we were kids would be good for Christmas. I will have to work on that one.

It is nice to feel a little love once in awhile from little ones. This one has always had a great gift for gratitude. I remember the first gift I bought for her upon our return from China. We went to a little store and I bought her a butterfly book. She just gave me the biggest smile and loved that book for years.

Riot Police for Easter

O.K. so we just discovered another really strange tradition here in Costa Rica. While riding home from the grocery store in our taxi we saw several vans of cops in full riot gear in a little barrio or neighborhood close to ours. They were all around the elementary school and the main street. The taxi driver was trying to explain to us what was going on, but we did not really understand it.

Once we got home we had my daughter come out to translate what the heck was going on in town. He told her it was the tradition of "burning the jews". Evidently on Easter eve the teens go crazy and run all over burning everything in sight and call it the "burning of the jews". That sounds pretty messed up to me.

The moral of this story would certainly be not to travel to Costa Rica over Easter if you are Jewish. In fact with a last name like Neumann I believe we will put our big Mormon sign on the gate and keep my hubby with the big snozz in the house tonight.

School Visitor

We don't often get visitors to our school, so today was a treat. We had a person who actually lives here in CR come by for a visit and to check out the program that we offer. It was great to visit her, and turns out her fiance is friends with an alumni of the school. Small country like we always say.

When we set out to open our massage school we never dreamed we would get so many students from CR. In fact our current student is planning on staying around for a while after she finishes classes in the next couple of weeks. Smart girl.

After spending the weekend at the beach we had to turn in the rental car today. You know it sure was convenient to have a car over the weekend. Dollar Rental Cars will rip you off though, so make sure you read the fine print. It is funny because we read all these blogs people have about getting ripped off and low and behold it does happen.

Of course hubby wrote letters and complained, but it pretty much fell on deaf ears. So frustrating to live here sometimes. And this weekend we both decided it is about time to buy a car. Even if it is a little car like the Suzuki we rented it makes life so much simpler. I guess we will just have to get about 10 more students and then we can make that happen.

Found Puppy and Perfect Days

This guy was keeping an eye on things as our student did massages on the beach this week. He was pretty diligent. I was a little worried he would fall on her or her client, that would be quite a shock to be sure.




Here you have the future surf champion of Costa Rica. I tell you this girl has no fear of the ocean. She was out with me and our student and now she holds her nose and even goes under the waves. Like when they have already broken she is into diving under. She even just hung on the back of our student and they did all kinds of crazy things. I almost freaked out, but stayed calm!

And the best news? We found puppy. Turns out she was doing a sleep over with the bitch next door. You know of course that I mean that literally? Anyway made my day to wake up to puppy coming home and a great 12 mile hike up to Tirol. It was beautiful. Can you beat that? Spend two days hanging at the beach and then up to the mountains today to hike in the pine trees.

Working and Working Out

I really admire women who work and work out. It is not easy to try and fit it all in. Now that I am down to three kids at home and only working a few hours a day, I still have trouble budgeting my time! How did I ever train for triathlons when I had six kids at home, homeschooling and working part-time? Not too sure, except to say I truly worked out to relax!

I have been working out in the mornings, but am now teaching in the mornings. I refuse to wake up before six and really don't want to work out in the dark anyway. So I end up running on Mon. Wed. and Fri. after I drop baby off at work. In Costa Rica they go three mornings and on the other two days they go in the afternoon. So on those days I drop her off and swim.

The biggest problem I have is not getting diverted into other things on my swim days. In the old days I swam at five thirty in the morning, so it was over and forgotten before we even had breakfast. I also had to take naps on swim days. Now I am trying to figure out where I am going to fit the bike time. How am I getting less time as my kids grow up and leave rather than more time? That is something to puzzle over for sure.

Neighborhood Seamstress

We had baby's uniforms special made for her. We did not do this because we wanted to, or because we are super picky, we did it because we had to! She is super skinny minny and therefore none of the uniforms we found at the store fit her. The skirt with the belt worked o.k. for her, because we could cinch it tight. The pants did not stand a chance of fitting her.

That is actually bad news for Costa Rica. When we moved here three and a half years ago they were all really skinny. Like we could not even find any clothes that were big enough for any of us. Now we can't even find any clothes small enough for baby. They are getting bigger here, and that is not good for them.

Happy Dia de Amor

I love Valentines time. Not just the day, but the whole week. Everyone seems just a little bit nicer, even if they are just trying to get chocolate, but it is just nice. When all the kids were young I was a very good consumer and went all out buying all the kids candy and gifts. Being in Costa Rica, where commercialism is not quite as healthy I don't spend as much. We still like a treat and little gift.

This year we went out Friday night with my daughter and her hubby to a movie and then to Outback Steakhouse, where the only thing we felt we wanted to spend the money on was a sandwich. I mean give me a break, ribs are $30.00? That is freakin ridiculous. We all had a great time, and I paid for eating the Bloomin Onion on our long, really long, run this morning.

We got lost and ended up running for 2:17. I was supposed to be up to 1:30 at this point. Needless to say I am beat. It was really hot this morning also about 85, so that took its' toll. But we survived and will be having a great Valentines with the kiddos making Valentine cookies tomorrow. They love making cookies, so this will be a fun activity, plus give them a little treat.

It is also Chinese New Year so we will be eating Chinese food for dinner. I am thinking they are pretty right on about the year of the Tiger. A year of lots of movement and change. My daughter and hubby will be moving to Hondurus in a month or so. Man are we going to be bored without our exciting party partners around :(

Loco Costa Rica

There are a few things you never do in Costa Rica. One would be going into downtown San Jose after 10:00 at night. Another thing would be talking on your cell phone while you are breaking rule number one. Another no no would be walking along. And the last one? When someone pulls up on a moto and puts a gun into your face-running! Yup my kid did all of the above. I don't know if he thought they would just ride off into the sunset, but they did not. Nope, they chased him down and yelled at him to give them his cell phone. He was right in front of his friends house, thank goodness or he may have lost his shoes, shirt and pants!

By the time he made his way home, after borrowing bus money from his friend, he was pretty shook up. Of course we just keep looking at him and telling him how lucky he is to be alive and how stupid he was to run.

You may be wondering if he had a really nice expensive cell phone by the way? No it was about a three year old dinosaur that cost less than any other cell on the market! I told him he was lucky they did not shoot him once they saw what the fuss was over. Seriously though I think this has about convinced him to try his luck at finding a job back in the U.S.