Hiking

Every Saturday I get the extreme pleasure of "taking a hike". As I have mentioned I am training for the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon in July. I found this hill heading up to Monte de la Cruz with the steepest incline, and the most altitude in the whole valley area. There are a few volcanoes with more altitude but would take me half the day just to ride the bus to them. So instead I walk out my door, pic 1 and head up, and up, and up, for about 7 miles until I get to Tirol, the Swiss Chalet at the top. Nestled in the pines at about 5,000 ft.elevation it is beautiful. It is so nice when I finally get out of the hot sun, traffic and really steep hills and into the hilly pines. I have to say it is the best of both worlds and I am enjoying the heck out of this training. Oh yeah and I mention the really rockin run down with the awesome view?

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.

Best Friends

I wrote earlier about holes and how things come along to fill in the holes in our lives that are created when people leave. My daughter left a few weeks ago. My son went back to the States this week. Today I found out that my best expat friend is in ICU in the hospital! That would be Sally for all you that follow her blog abroadincostarica.
She was a student at our school as well as a client as well as a great friend. We can get together and talk about anything and everything and it is awesome. Except now she is really sick and I am praying like crazy and checking on her family daily to make sure the family is hanging in there.

She is so cool that she even unschools her two boys, knows tons about politics, and is big time into nutrition. Oh yeah and she adopted her two boys, another great topic for us. We both got a big laugh when we met the first time. She had not met Rick so like everyone else in Costa Rica she asked if baby was mine. People either asked us that or asked if my hubby was Chinese. I have to admit it can be a bit confusing. Then she went on to tell me how much it pissed her off when people asked her if her boys were "her boys". Yeah she is cool and fun like that.

When she called me Tues. and told me she was sicker than sh%^^$$ I asked if she had been bitten up by mosquitos, thinking maybe it was dengue. She also thought that is why she was sporting a 104 temp for four days. Finally I guess she started coughing yesterday so went in and it was really bad pneumonia. I didn't know it could kick your butt like that, but they put her on a respirator and antibiotics and plan on her being there at least three days. Bigtime praying!

Now I am getting a little worried about what the big surprise waiting around the corner to fill these huge holes that I am having in my life right now. I did take up knitting, but somehow am thinking that is not quite it.

Still Safe?

I have always said that we would stay in Costa Rica as long as I felt that my kids were safe. After the past couple of weeks I am rethinking that one. Last night my teenager almost got robbed. It was only nine at night and she was with three guys. They were in our neighborhood which is supposed to be somewhat safe. I just keep tossing this one around. When my 22 year old got robbed I could say it was his fault. In this case they were innocent and doing what they were supposed to be doing. I am worried.

How would I feel if something happened and I had not listened to my gut telling me that it was not safe here? That or I could just make her keep her cell phone at home. The problem these days is robbers do not believe you when you tell them you have no cell phone. Especially if she opened her mouth and they heard her gringa accent. They would think $$$$ and she would be in trouble. Man we are so close to our five year goal, I will have to give this one some real hard thinking and pondering. Gotta protect the girlies!

Did I Say I Love My Job Yet?

Yippee Coffee Scrub day again! I look forward to this day all session. We get to rub coffee all over each other. The benefits are great. You ought to try it at home following is the recipe!

How To Make a Coffee Body Scrub
Exfoliate Your Skin with Added Benefits for Half the Cost
Casey Nicholson's picture
By Casey Nicholson
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: $1-$50

how to make coffee lotion

The coffee we all love so much has many uses beyond just waking us up in the morning. One of those uses is to create a coffee body scrub. It’s usually just the high prices that deter us from enjoying the benefits of exfoliating body scrubs. Since most of us have a canister of coffee grounds in the kitchen, creating this scrub will be easy, beneficial, and most of all, cheap! Not to mention that the coffee itself has added benefits for your skin and body that many body scrubs do not provide.

Before we go into any recipes, let's discuss why a coffee body scrub is so much more beneficial than the everyday scrub. This information was provided by CancerLynx.

1. No more cellulite. While coffee is wonderful for many reasons, it is actually the caffeine it contains that provides the added health benefits as a scrub. When coffee is applied to the surface of your skin, it helps redistribute fat cells and decrease the formation of cellulite.
2. Problems with varicose veins. Many people accept varicose veins as a necessary evil--either as a sign of getting older or a predisposition inherited from Mom or Dad. Now with a coffee body scrub, you may be able to prevent varicose veins or even make them vanish! The caffeine in a coffee scrub acts as a vascular restrictor--shrinking blood vessels, thus helping to reduce varicose veins.

Now that we know why the coffee body scrub is so useful, we can move on to the recipe. The recipe for a coffee scrub is very simple, including only three main ingredients.

* 2 cups of coffee grounds (Brand does not matter--the cheaper the better.)
* 1/2 cup raw sugar or sea salt
* 2/3 tablespoon of massage oil (Any plain, cheap massage oil will do.)

1. Mix these three items together in a bowl.
2. If you wish to make more coffee scrub for later use, you can easily double the recipe.
3. When it comes to making a coffee body scrub, you also have a few add-in options:
* Brown sugar - Brown sugar adds a sweet smell, as well as a coarse texture that helps to rejuvenate your skin. Add until you reach the texture desired.
* A dash of cinnamon - Adding cinnamon will give your scrub a stronger sharper scent.how to make coffee lotion
* Vanilla extract - Vanilla extract gives your coffee scrub a sweeter smell. It also thins the scrub out a bit, if that is the texture you are going for. It may also make the scrub more soothing to the skin.
* Perfume oils - Perfume oils make an excellent addition to your exfoliating coffee scrub. These oils are usually pure and highly concentrated, so they have a very strong smell. Adding just a dash of perfume oil to your scrub will give it a marvelous scent. The nice thing about the oils is that the tiniest bottle will last forever, especially if you are using it only for this purpose. Also, perfume oils come in many different scents, from flowers all the way to name brand colognes and perfumes.
4. Keep these tips in mind when considering add-in options:
* Be cautious with perfume oils. Although they smell wonderful, if you are planning to apply the scrub to your face, the perfume oil may be too strong. This is especially true for sensitive skin.
* Try to avoid any items you may be allergic to. Many oils and scented items may seem to complement your recipe perfectly, but take caution in case you are allergic. Read all ingredients carefully before adding anything new.

When the scrub is complete, be sure to apply it to wet or damp skin. The best time to do this is in the shower so that you can rinse it off after application. Apply the scrub directly to your skin and rub it in circular motions with your fingers, or use a washcloth or loofah. Remember the circular motion helps to distribute the caffeine to eliminate cellulite and varicose veins.

If making something homemade, even something as simple as coffee body scrub, is simply not your style, there are a few companies out there that sell coffee body scrubs.

Michelle Daniel from Cozy Moments: Bath, Body, Home offered some suggestions for add-in ingredients used in their Hazelnut Coffee Sugar Scrub, a very efficient exfoliating scrub combined with skin-drenching oils.

* Pure cane sugar - Excellent as a gentle exfoliator.
* Sweet almond oil - Known for its ability to soften, soothe and recondition the skin, this oil is a great addition to many body care products and is quickly and easily absorbed into the skin. Contains a high percentage of iron, calcium and potassium as well as vitamins B1, B2, B6 and beta-carotene.
* Apricot kernel oil - Apricot kernel oil is easily absorbed and very good for sensitive, dry or inflamed skin.
* Vitamin E - A fat-soluble vitamin in eight forms that is an important antioxidant. Vitamin E is often used in skin creams and lotions because it is believed to play a role in encouraging skin healing and reducing scarring after injuries such as burns. Although originally extracted from wheat germ oil, most natural vitamin E supplements are now derived from vegetable oils, usually soybean oil.

Now that you know the benefits of the coffee body scrub, and how easy it is to make (and personalize), what are you waiting for? Get out there and start mixing! Your skin will look great in no time at all!
Casey E. Nicholson