After much consideration I finally have my resolutions for the year 2011.
For 2010 I basically went back to my previous ones, analyzed them, decided to take some off some and add some, for this year I decided not to look back and just do what my heart feels like. Also for this year coming up I'm gonna try to be more in tune with what I need and what I want, so it goes something like this...
-Exercise more is a classic resolution, isn't it? So I just won't use it, and it's not because I don't need to exercise (God knows I do!) but because that just should be part of our daily life and not something that I need to resolute about, so instead this year, my resolution goes more like; Have more discipline. And that is Resolution #1.
- Eat less is also not one of my resolutions, mainly because I just love to eat, so my resolution instead will be Eat in smaller portions but more times a day and healthy as well, resolution #2
- Stay away from negative people just doesn't cut it, mainly because it is hard and some times you just have to deal with them whether you like it or not. So instead, I am going to focus this year on; Irradiating love and positive vibes with my mind and my spirit, Resolution #3.
- Now, the main question is; How am I going to irradiate love and positive vibes? Well, that takes me to my resolution #4, find time to quiet my mind (through meditation, silent moments and metaphysical thinking) and spirit. It seems to me that life is so hectic nowadays, I am constantly thinking, talking, worrying, analyzing, etc, so this year I really need to find the time to quiet my mind and my spirit, and to me a quiet mind/spirit = God, peace, harmony and love.
- Work harder is also not on my list, because this year I am going to concentrate on less procrastination at work which basically is more like a "reverse psychology" of "work harder", but oh well, that will be my resolution #5.
- Last year one my favorite ones was to read a book a month, well, I don't think I read 12 books but I did read a lot, so that one I intent to keep but I am going to try to go beyond my normal subject/styles of books and explore new areas; resolution #6.
- Resolution #7 is to be more organized/neat around the house but specially around the kitchen, I know this is a constant issue for my husband about me and I figure if I add it here and make my "messiness" public I will make a real effort to be better.
- I love to travel, I need to travel, it's just in blood and in my heart to go places, meet people, see the world, so this year another one of my resolutions is going to be even organized with our finances, save up for a little scape with my husband, resolution #8.
- Resolution #9; give, give, give, give... whether is love, advice, money, material things that I don't need but others might, I feel that the more I give, the more that comes back to me. In my heart there is a HUGE special place for animals and I would love to volunteer more for them... I have lot's of ideas that hopefully will develop into amazing project in 2011.
- My last resolution (#10) of the year is a "shared one" with my husband, we have been talking about a resolution of Weekly Date Night, and although all the details are not quite set up yet, basically it's going to be; One of us gets to choose a date night a week (no matter where we go, as long as it's out of the house) and one week he gets to choose and the next week I get to choose, the person that doesn't get to choose that week has to do what the other has chosen! It's going to be fun : )
I am all set to start partying this year and continue into the next... We are having a party tonight at home and it should be lots of fun!!!
So, here's to everybody having a wonderful end to 2010 and that the year 2011 will be filled with good intentions, love, health, peace, harmony and abundance of blessings!!!
Today I decided to honor my spirit of sharing and post the recipe for the wonderful dessert I made for Christmas Day, for those that are all about easy, tasty, chocolate desserts, this is a must.
Fudge Chocolate Trifle
1
box (1 lb 2.3 oz) fudge brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box
1
tablespoon instant coffee granules or crystals (optional)
1
box (4-serving size) chocolate fudge instant pudding and pie filling mix
2
cups cold milk
1
bag (8 oz) toffee bits
1
container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.
Make brownie mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs and adding coffee granules. Spread batter in pan. Bake as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Cut brownies into 1-inch squares. Place half of the squares in bottom of 3-quart glass bowl. Make pudding mix as directed on box for pudding, using milk. Pour half of the pudding over brownies in bowl. Top with half each of the toffee bits and whipped topping. Repeat with remaining brownies, pudding, toffee bits and whipped topping.
Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.
Yes, it's that easy!!! And trust me, it is good, so enjoy and let me know how it goes?
Christmas is long gone and today I don't have much to post about. Weather is still pretty dark, gloomy and cold (for us!), work's not being very busy plus this week we had 2 holidays at the island.
Being that Christmas Day was on a Sat. and Boxing Day (that they also celebrate here) was on a Sunday, then the government "declares" the observance of Christmas and Boxing Day on Monday and Tuesday... To me it's just another reason to waste days and being even lazier during the season... I work on retail/tourism so most holidays don't apply.
I am already thinking about the New Year and new resolutions, to many resolutions are a waste of time, to me is another way to welcome a new year with better and new goals and projects, it's exciting!
Soon I will be posting about my new resolutions and I courage you to think of at least one, c'mon I know u want to!!!! Have a wonderful day.
It's been a while since I share my latest amigurumi project on my blog.
For this Christmas I made my biggest project yet. I made it for my friend Linda's little girl, Daniella...
Unfortunately I didn't carry my camera to the party so I don't have any pictures of her with her new Gromit, but I do have pictures of him... here it is.
I thought this was going to be my last project of the year but then I reconsider and now I have a new one started.
The thing is that a few months ago I found out that my cousin Maria Jose and her husband Jose are expecting a baby. After much trouble getting pregnant and a few doctors even told her it wasn't going to happen. Well, she always had faith and God listen to her and many of our prayers, so she is due in late May, having a baby boy, and guess who is going to the Godmother? Me, me, me!!! I am so excited...
Now I have started a new and hopefully the first of many projects for my "soon to be" Godson, Julian... This is what I am working on.
Pretty, uh? I think is so sweet... So far I have most of the Sun ready (only missing the rays), the clouds and one side of the rainbow. Will post some pictures of them later...
Well, today I am back to work, weather is pretty crappy, very windy and cold, don't think we are going to be very busy... Have a great day!!!
Our Christmas was very nice, low key but we got to spend it with family and friends, which is what really matters.
The biggest gift we got was for the house and our enjoyment, a set of Bose Companion 3 speakers. Our Toshiba TV has very poor audio so sometimes when we watch movies we needed to use this old speaker that my husband had and that were already broken.
These new Bose ones a very good quality and perfect to replace the old ones, the sound is super nice and crisp.
On Christmas Day we had a brunch with my Brother and SIL, to celebrate Christmas but also his birthday, we had a little chocolate birthday cake for him and we even sang Happy Birthday but at the time I didn't have my camera handy so I didn't take pictures, I know my SIL did, so I will share some soon!
Later than day we went to our friends Duncan and Linda's house, they invite us every year so this one was our 5th time there. We had waaaaay too much food, I took a dessert (like I do every year) but this year there were about 3 other deserts. Mine was a Fudge Chocolate Trifle and it was really good...
Dessert almost finished...
Today is my last day off, then I go back to work but I will still have the weekend off (1st and 2nd) then back to work on the 3rd for the rest of the new year, LOL!!!
We are having a New Year's Party at our house and I think this one will be the biggest since we started having one from 3 years ago, I am excited and I think it would be so much fun... Any plans on your end for the New Year celebration??? Come and join us if you'll like : )
Hope everybody in the Big White North is keeping warm and that snow and storms and not affecting them too back. Blessings to all!
Wishing that this Christmas and every day of your life, you'll find these presents under your tree...
Let's us enjoy this season and focus on honoring God and the good feelings inside ourselves, because without that, all those other presents are shallow and empty.
Best Wishes this Christmas to you and your family!!!
I don't want much for Christmas....I just want the person reading this to be happy.
Friends are the fruitcake of life. Some are nutty, some are sweet and some are even soaked in alcohol!. But mix them together and they add flavor to my life.
*********************
To those reading this, all I can say is thanks letting me reach to you and share my random thoughts, comments, photos and anything that I can come up with everyday or just any day you come around...
In this era of technology I am so happy to say I feel like I have my own blogger family and my interaction with each and one of you is very important in my life.
So, for you and your loved ones I only wish that you enjoy this time with the best possible feeling in your heart; feelings of love, joy, peace, compassion and willingness to share with others that have less than us.
God is the most important part of the Holidays and every day of our lives, nowadays it's all about the presents, the parties, the drinks and we sometimes forget what's vital in all of this, so God Bless you today and everyday!!!
The last tree I am featuring is not a tree on the island but one in my home country, Costa Rica.
The picture was sent to me by a friend that lives in California but was visiting CR for a few days, the girl in the picture is my friend's daughter Samantha.
It's already Dec. 22nd, for me it's kind of hard to believe it, we are super close to Christmas.
This year my Christmas is an extra special one. For the first time since I've been on the islands, I get to spend Christmas Day with some family (besides my husband and dogs).
Now that my brother Mau and his wife Gaylene live here, we are getting together on Christmas day for a double celebration, as it's also my brother's birthday!!! We are doing a Christmas Brunch at my house, with a special dish from my home country (Gallo Pinto), French Toast, Fruit, Mimosas (OJ and Champagne) and chocolate cake to sing "Happy Birthday" to him and Jesus!
Besides that, as I work at a gallery that also has a retail store, we have been pretty busy this past few days. Although getting closer to the holidays unfortunately doesn't mean people are in a nice Christmas Spirit. In fact, I am convinced that for some people, this time of year brings the worst out of them (sadly!).
Well, that's about all that's going on in my world today... Happy Hump Day and be good, naughty, or both!
Our dogs (like many other pets) are very blessed animals. The have a nice house, people that love and care for them, food & water, medical care (if needed), they go on walks when needed and even get treats every now and then.
On the other hand there are many, many domesticated animals that do not have the same privileges as our dogs do. Some are born to live in the streets, having to constantly look for food and shelter to survive. Whenever I hear about terrible snow storms, hurricanes and any other bad weather situations, I think about those animals that have no place to be safe.
Now, there are others animals that thanks to the love and care of certain people and organizations, have the opportunity to be in a shelter area where they are safe and can get fed. Maybe they would even have the opportunity to one day be part of a family that will love and care for them the way it should be.
So this being the season to give, let's try to focus on not only getting things for people that sometimes don't even need anything at all, let's not forget about others and specially those lovely animals in need of so much.
And that's why this year I decided to donate more than just money to the Cayman Islands Humane Society, because sometimes money can end up in the wrong hands or used for the wrong things.
This year I am buying a 52 lbs bag of food for the shelter dogs and a 30 lbs bag for the kitties, so they can have a few set meals to finish and start the year with a full belly.
As I can't adopt them all (even though I wish I could) I am also including a new resolution on my list for 2011 and it's to give them a bag every 3 months (if my budget allows it)... Have a wonderful day!!!
We are starting the week in a great way, today we are expecting family that will be visiting the island on a cruise ship, so exciting!
My husband's cousins; John, Carol and their son Grant from New Vienna, Ohio are coming on a Carnival Cruise.
from left: Me, Mark, Jim, Janet (my mother in law), Grant (w/ New Vienna t-shirt), Carol, John and Laura (Jim's wife)
Last time we saw them (and the first time I met them) was back in Ohio in 2007.
Unfortunately this time they will only be here for a few hours, but hey, I love visitors and specially if it's family so I'll take a few hours over no visits at all.... I have the day off so we will bring them to the house and spend as much time with them as possible.
Oh, by the way, did I mention I heart visitors? [hint!, hint!]. So, why don't you add a New Year's resolution to start saving up for the flight down here and come visit??? We will take care of the accommodation for ya'...
Yesterday was the first day in a few days that it wasn't very cold at night. Lately it's been around late 60's and that for us here in the Caribbean is quite cold. Of course I know that temperatures are all relative, I do not mean to say it's really cold if I compare it to places like Minnesota, but still, for us that we live in t-shirts, shorts and flip flops that is quite chilly.
Anyway, last night I came home I decided to prepare my favorite soup which is "Cream of Mushroom Soup" so today I am going to share this super easy, wonderful recipe.
Ingredients:
1 lb (16oz) fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 tbsp of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of half and half
1 can (14oz) chicken broth
1 tbsp dry sherry, if desired
Freshly ground pepper
1. Slice enough mushrooms to measure 1 cup. Chop remaining mushrooms.
2. In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook sliced and chopped mushrooms in butter about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle with flour and salt. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened.
3. Gradually stir in half and half and broth; heat until hot. If using sherry add now. Sprinkle with pepper. Enjoy!
When I make this soup I also like to make grilled cheese sandwiches to complement it, works out great!
Tomorrow is finally Saturday but I have to work and instead I am getting Monday off as my husband's cousins from Ohio are visiting the island on a cruise ship for a few hours, I am very excited to see them and spend a little time with them.
Wishing everybody a wonderful weekend and if anybody decides to give my recipe a try, please let me know about the results!!!
Since everything and everywhere is about Christmas right now, today I am posting a very fun Christmas video; for those who love cats, those who don't and those who wish to get a cat for Christmas...
As this is a shared video from You Tube it has a very annoying ad on the bottom, just click the X on the side to close it and you'll enjoy the video much better.
Today I dedicate the following video to anybody and everybody that ever felt that technology is taking over your conversation or quality time with the person next to you.
I am sure my husband will give faith that this is a constant issue for me, watch the following video and you'll be amazed of how common this is nowadays... I am not saying I am excluded but I do make a point of not let this happen to me when I am with people I care for.
The most amazing part of the video is that it is an actually commercial made by a telephone company and the end what is says is "use the phone appropriately"!
What do you think? Sad but true in many cases, right?
So the main message of the video to me is, for every day let's give priority to the people and the things that really matter, communication is better one on one.
I think I just added one more thing to my Christmas List (well, not that I really have one, but I guess a "virtual" one): I would like the opportunity for all to disconnect from the craziness of the world and connect with God, family, friends, nature and with ourselves.
I was tagged by Jessi at The Juici Life and although I don't do many of this lists, I decided to give this one a try.
List of Fours
1. Four shows that you watch: (I don't watch much TV but I like these shows)
~ Family Guy
~ The Simpsons
~ Bones
~ any CSI
2. Four things you are passionate about:
~ Living my life grateful to God
~ My family (including my husband and dogs) & Friends
~ Animals
~ Photography
3. Four words/phrases you say a lot:
~ Okely dokely neighbor
~ Eeeexcellent!
~ Cool!
~
4. Four things you've learned from the past:
~ Don't sweat the small things. ~The past is history, the future is a mystery so we need to live in the present
~ What goes around comes around.
~ Don't take things personally.
5. Four places you would like to go:
~ Hawaii
~ Iceland
~ Australia
~ Madagascar
6. Four things you did yesterday:
~ Had breakfast
~Made this list
~Went to the beach
~ Started a new crochet amigurumi
7. Four things you are looking forward to:
~ time off during the Holidays
~ New Year's Party at our house
~ More sales at work
~ Not gaining much weight during the Holidays!
It's already Friday Dec. 10th so if by now, the lights, decorated trees, ornaments, the smells and even the music are not helping you get into Christmas Spirit, I am sure this wonderful song will do the trick.
Isn't it amazing how people can make such great videos? I wish I had the imagination to come up with stuff like that and get about a million hits on you tube.
In case anybody noticed I changed a little widget (I think that's what it's called) on my blog that says "your comments feed my blog". Well, after I changed it then I started thinking that if I really want a lot of comments, maybe I should go for a stronger approach and make another widget instead, one that says "your comments feed my DOG"!!! I bet I would get a whole lot of people into the "comment spirit" that way, LOL... just kidding, my dogs have a big 'ol bag of dog food and treats right here, whether you guys comment or not!!!
Tomorrow Sat. we have a little get together at home with the girls from work and their spouses, it should be a fun little reunion, I will try to take some pictures and then share the love...
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the little video I just posted, I am sure somebody spent a lot of hours of their precious day to put it together for our enjoyment, so to them I say Thank You, I really enjoyed it!
I've been meaning to post about a little weekend project I had about 2 weekends ago.
A few months ago I bought a cheap outdoors plastic thermometer, but one day the rain or the wind knocked it down and broke the plastic part around the actual thermometer.
So, my husband that likes to take on some carpenter project made a new "holder" for the thermometer, he did a wonderful job making it new...
Then my part of the project was to paint it nicely... Finally I got around to do my part about 2 weekends ago, I think it came out alright... what do you think?
I love to sleep, to me sleeping is a wonderful state, one in which we can rest, we can dream and even gives us a moment of sanity within ourselves.
For my husband on the other hand, sleep is a waste of time and if he could go without sleeping he would, although lately he is being going to bed waaay to early (around 8pm) and then wakes up around 3am and he's wide awake...
If I am good at something, but like "really good", I am good at sleeping. I am one of those that insomnia visit but once every few months if not maybe about 3 times a year. To me going to sleep is easy and very rarely problems bother me enough to loose some sleep, dunno how I do it, but I know it just comes natural.
Now, my problem right now is not so much about lack of sleep, but lack of comfortable sleep. We moved to our new house in April 2008 and when we moved we bought a brand new mattress, unfortunately it was a very bad quality one because in less than 3 years it looks and feels as if a rhinoceros have been sleeping on it while we go on with our day. Both sides (mine and my husbands) have a huge dent the size of the Grand Canyon.
So, besides the terrible mattress situation I still have a bulge disk on my back which makes my sleeping and specially the waking up after hours laying down, just unbearable.
And that's why we have decided to look for a good FIRM mattress like my physiotherapist recommended. So, of course we look on the maybe 5 or 6 furniture stores on the islands, and guess what? A nice, simple, firm mattress is not less than $1,800KYD which is more than 2K US... Inconceivable and crazey!!!!
So, it's either the break your back mattress of the break your wallet new mattresses. I know I really need it, but I also need those 2K for many other things...
Finally after some research we decided to buy a 5inch Firm mattress topper (that have some very good reviews) and give it a try before we decide to break our piggy bank for good.
I order it on amazon.com last night and it should be here in about a week, plus I order a mattress cover big enough for the bed and the topper, the best part was that the total order was less than $200 USD with Free 2 day shipping...
I can't wait to get it and finally get a very nice sleep and I am keeping my fingers crossed that this topper is good and will improve our sleeping quality and eventually quantity!!!
On Saturday we watch the movie "Revolutionary Road" and I was deeply moved by the whole concept as well as the outcome of the whole story.
The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, (she being one of my favorite actresses), once again both actors did a fabulous job on their own character, although at some point I was kind of missing Kate's British accent.
This movie is a drama about a young couple that meets, gets married and down the road in their marriage when they are living the "perfect suburban life" (movie is based in USA, 1955) they start having all sorts of questions about if they are happy, then they start questioning themselves about having a better life where they can still pursuit the dreams they once had and thinking that maybe they still have the time to do it...
To me this is a very compelling story that makes you check the reality of your goals, dreams and the life you are living. Many people live their daily life not satisfying with what they got or what they've accomplished; their job, relationships, daily routine, etc...
Life is only one and needs to be lived to the fullest, when a dream is only directly affected by the monetary part, I believe it is the kind of dream that needs to be pursuit even harder, don't you agree? But the most important part is to be true to yourself and not to go around living a lie or life unfulfilled.
The book that I am reading right now has a very interesting quote from The Bhagavad Gita (and ancient India Yogic Text) that says: "It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live and imitation of somebody else's life life with perfection". And that's exactly was happened to April's character in the movie, she was living a life that was not her, one that she did not intended to have and then she was too frustrated to stay in it...
I really recommend this movie, it might give you a warm fuzzy feeling of happiness when you finish watching it, but it's one that gets inside of you and makes you think and remember that we are here to live life to the fullest, that it's important to pursuit our happiness and dreams no matter what (well, as long as that doesn't involve hurting yourself or any other living being), and if we have found somebody to live those dreams with, them we need to always respect their own dreams and choose our right sacrifices to walk this paths of live together in happiness.
Pretty deep post for a Monday, uh? Well... just some food for thought, have a wonderful week!!!
Our dogs love going on car rides, if I ever call them to go out of the house and they see me carrying my car keys they get so excited that something they even cry a little of the anticipation.
I really enjoy it when I ride with them in the car, but it also makes me so happy every time I see other people with their dogs in the car.
To me, once a dog gets to ride in a car whether is just a joy ride or even going to the vet, it is like we give them a certain status and a place as part of our family.
But, when people have animals tide up in their yard, it's is like they give them a "life sentence" verdict and make them pay for a crime that they didn't commit. I think even some human inmates that have committed so horrible crime have better life situations that some abused animals.
Anyway, on a lighter much happier note, it's Friday and the weekend in finally here, this week feels so long, I've been super busy at work so can't wait to some nice quiet time for Saturday and Sunday.
Oh, almost forgot, today I am thinking and dedicating this post to a wonderful puppy (Cooper) arriving today to his brand new family and home, may they all have a wonderful life together and Debbie the proud mother enjoys every minute of this new doggy chapter. Happy riding :)
I'm an early bird this year, it's only December 2nd but as of last night the mini Christmas tree that we have is all light up and ready to rotate for a whole month (at least).
Last year on every Thursday I posted a picture of a local Christmas tree to share with you all, the way Christmas is "decorated" around this little Caribbean Island. Well, this year I am starting with a little video of my very own tree...
Being that I am far away from family to me it's kind of hard to get into the whole Christmas spirit.
One thing I do love about this season is the smell of a real Christmas tree, but living in the Caribbean buying one of those is just out of the question (although they sell them around and lots of people buy them each year, fly them from the US and pay BIG $$$ for it!).
So this year I found myself the closest thing to a Christmas tree smell, a Frasier Fir scent oil diffuser and it smell just wonderful, as soon as you enter the room you are already looking around to spot the Christmas tree. We bought one for the gallery and after a day of having it I had to run to store and get one for me.
If you see one around I highly recommend it for the season, you would love it!
In other news, high season for tourism is picking up, sales are going up as well and I already made some very good ones this week. People are finally walking around with a better "shopping attitude" so I am excited about that...
Here is one my latest amigurumi creations, I made this one for my brother and his wife, they are both dive instructors so they love "all things underwater"
Manta Ray-mond!!!
Not much else to post about today. Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!
Last night we went to the movies to watch the latest Harry Potter flick, "Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1".
So again my question is: Why is it after reading 7 books, watching 7 movies + 1 more due out next year, I still cannot do magic??? What's the catch here? Maybe I should ask the guys from America?
Now, seriously back to HP7, it was a good movie, but the plot on that very last book is so dense that putting it on film must be hard. As I mentioned before I read the whole series and even though I am almost convinced my husband read the last book, he said he didn't.
Last night I had this idea, if I go and get the last book, me and husband could read it (me again- he for the first time!) before the next movie even makes out to the theater, I am seriously consider doing that to give the Harry Potter saga a proper goodbye.
P.S. The best part of the movie, was my hot date, I heart u baby!!!
Over the weekend I had a very weird dream, it was in Italian.
I guess now I after that dream I've realized that I can speak 2 1/2 languages. Spanish, English and Italian being the half language, it's kind of sad when I think about it, because I feel that I have lost most of my Italian speaking skills since I just don't practice.
I know that the reason why I had this dream is cause before I went to bed I read a few more chapters of the book I am reading now "Eat, Pray, Love" and during this first chapters of the book the main character is in Rome studying Italian.
But anyway, back to my dream. I was in an Italian class and it was way too advanced for me, so after the lesson, me and two other friends went straight to the administration and asked them to change us to another level. Well, it turn out that it wasn't even Italian lesson I was taking, but coffee lessons, and the only one other class that had space did not have enough water for all 3 of us to join, crazy, uh? So they offered us to just skip this one lesson and had some free time instead.
Can't remember much else besides that at this point, early in the morning when I told my husband about it was much clearer to me. Still pretty weird dream.
As for the book I am reading, so far so good, even the name is kind of cool because those are 3 activities that I enjoy and are essential parts of my life, as it should be in anybody's life, don't you think?
Besides my weird dream my weekend was very interesting, parts of it not so good with some stuff that I don't want to talk about or even write about it. It's all good, just some rough patches in this road of life...
On Sat. I had an all girls day with my sister in law and her Mom, we had a great time, went shopping, to some sort of flea market (didn't find anything good), went snorkeling, spent the afternoon at the beach; in the sun, reading a book and then we had a late lunch, great times!!!
Me & Gaylene, after snorkeling in Cemetery Beach
Now, it's Monday, so back to work. My boss should be back today, so I am looking forward to some busy days and some good sales. Have a great week!!!
Food- I am sure many people last night had lots of it!!!
Family or Friends- were for many people also on the menu last night.
Fantastic- is the fact that today is another day and it's
FRIDAY!!!
Whether you find yourself some great deals on Black Friday or just take some time to share more quality time with your loved ones; be there and be thankful for another Thanksgiving has come and gone.
So many things come to mind when I think about what to be thankful for.
It's true that Thanksgiving only comes once a year, but in my case there is not a day in the year that I am not constantly thankful for things I have, that still doesn't change the fact that there are so many others that I don't quite acknowledge every day...
Of course the main blessings I have in my life are the easy ones to be thankful for; my life, health, my wonderful husband/best friend Mark, my amazing family, our faithful adorable dogs, our house, my job and all of my relations, whether there are strong and long ones or even short and light encounters...
I am thankful for this blog; for the education my parents worked so hard to be to achieve and that gives me then tools to communicate through a computer with people from all over the world, for my mind that creates wonderful ideas everyday.
Thankful that everyday I can see, smell, taste and hear the wonderful things in life, that I wake up every morning in a comfy bed and I have water to bathe, to drink and for the food I have to cook and eat.
I am thankful for all animals; beautiful colored birds, the fish, for many wild amazing animals, little cute cuddly ones, for the ones that scare me and even for those annoying ones like mosquitoes. I know God in his perfection created them for a reason and even for them I am thankful.
For the clouds, the rain, the rainbow, the sand, the surf and the beautiful majestic ocean that is out there. The trees, the plants the forest, the beaches and even for the rocks I am thankful.
photo by Frank Tozier
For my country, my culture, my travels, the opportunity to live where I am, to meet people of other cultures that can teach me so much about their way of life, respect, acceptance and tolerance towards other believes.
For my faith and the way I see you GOD as well as all beings.
When I lived in Mexico back in 2003 I meet this amazing couple (Mayra & Rudy) that practices some sort of Japanese religion/cult called Mahikari. I don't remember exactly what the elements of this religions beliefs are but I do remember that she was constantly Thanking for everything, but I mean EVERYTHING. For example when she was tired of walking she would thank God for giving her legs that worked so good that the got tired of walking, when she had doubts she will give thanks for having a spirit in constant movement and growth. So her thankfulness was always present, it was a very nice experience to be around her as her "thankfulness" was also contagious.... That is another reason to be thankful for, meeting her and teaching me a little of her ways of life.
See what I told you? There are so many things to be thankful that it's hard to put them all out in writing.
So the point I am trying to make today is that
So today, Happy "Official" Thanksgiving day, may you always have, many days, many ways and many reasons to be thankful for!!!
Thank you God for everyday and everything you gives us, Amen.
It's Wednesday already and we are getting very close to Thanksgiving, so I am thinking of the people getting ready to spend the holiday with their families and or friends.
Last night we did our own little version of Thanksgiving. We had over for dinner; my brother Mau, his wife Gaylene, Gayle (who is Gaylene's mom visiting from Canada) and Dave another friend of my brothers who is also Canadian, so in reality only my husband Mark was the American!.
Dinner was great, but instead of Turkey we had Tender Loin and instead of stuffing we had cheesy potatoes and corn. For dessert I made a delicious Chocolate Cheesecake.
So maybe it wasn't your traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but at least the intention, love and thankfulness of it all was present. Now, tomorrow we will go to an acquaintances dinner that we get invited to every year, he has over 80 people there and everybody brings something to the cause, so it's more like a potluck holiday kind of a thing, this year I am baking some mozzarella stick.
And that is what's on my mind today and right this minute while I write this... Happy Hump Day!!!
It's already Tuesday and I just realized that I haven't posted about my weekend.
We went boat diving with my friend Natalia and with the dive company that both my brother and sister in law work for. I ended up not doing the first deep dive because my ear was still giving me problems (I guess cause of the remains of the sinus/flu episode of the past weeks).
But before we went diving, on Saturday, I got myself a new wet suit. It is so nice, but besides being cute I think it's the most comfortable one I have ever owned, plus I look pretty good wearing it, don't you think???? (Picture was taking by my husband with his phone).
Any who... Yesterday's second dive was pretty nice, I took some pictures as well as a little video of us going through some swim-through's, in the video I am following my brother.
Here are also a couple of pictures of the same dive. In the afternoon I was feeling kind of dizzy and weird, I think it might just be something is still not quite right with my ear/sinus, so I need to take it easy.
Mark taking a picture of a little stingray
fish and coral
Yesterday (Monday evening) my back was pretty bad as well, I think that diving is still not quite right for it, so I need to think it twice next time before I decide to jump back into it with full force. I have more pictures and although I would like to share them, I now have to be very selective and save some of my new photo blog, so stay tuned...
Tonight we are having our version of Thanksgiving dinner with my brother, his wife and her mom that is visiting from Canada plus another friend of them that is visiting as well. I made some chocolate cheesecake and I hope it turns out good...
I am excited to launch an idea that have been on my mind for a while, and although it is not a new idea for blogger world, it is for me.
Well, today is the day, the beginning of a new challenge (because I think having a blog some times it's a big challenge). In this new space I will be sharing a photo a day, one that catches my attention; whether it was taking by me or not. If not, the I will try my best to always give credit to the appropriate person.
A while ago I decided that when "Such life in the tropics" reached 50 "official" followers it would be time to launch my new space, now the time has come... Of course life as it is for "Such life in the Tropics" doesn't change..
So here it is, please on come over, visit me at "A photo a day" because sometimes images speak louder than words.
It's been about 2 months since the last time I went scuba diving and I am very exciting because tomorrow we have plans to get back in the water.
photo by Natalia
One of my best friends on the island, Natalia, is leaving the island for a while since she is in between jobs right now, so we are going to the East End of the islands and dive there since she's never been on that side before.
So, I will try to carry my camera and again post more pictures for your enjoyment. I am very excited, it's been so long feels like the first time all over!!!
Last night we had our annual gallery event and although we didn't sell a lot of big pieces everything was very well organized and I believe my bosses were very happy with the whole deal.
Now, today I am super tired but it was worth the hard work. I am excited because I finally feel that the flu is long gone so maybe I will be able to get back in the water and do some diving, it's been too long!
Ever feel like your dog doesn't do enough to help out around the house?
Well, maybe all they need is some useful dog tricks from Jesse? Ck out the following video and prepare to enjoy this wonderful Jack Russell Terrier, it is sure to melt your heart...
Now, if only I can make Ditto and Sheba stand still for the duration of the video I might be able to get some info and tips inside their brains.. soon they'll be doing the dishes every night and a massage at least once a week, yeah I wish! LOL.
Remember when we only used erasers to DELETE, tape to PASTE and scissors to CUT????
Well, yesterday while busy at work on the computer, I was looking for some photos to attach to an email, creating a word document that contained both images and text and then uploading all of it to the ftp site of the company, I realized how much of my day is faster because of just having good computer skills.
But of course, I am no "whiz kid" programmer kind of a person, but I do have some good skills and can pretty much get around any new program in a fairly fast amount of time.
It just sometimes it amazes me how much of my day is done with computers, even though I am on art sales. Keeping back up photos of all the pieces on the wall, customers emails, orders to the warehouse, etc, etc, etc... And I still remember when back in high school we were learning DOS and how to back up a floppy disk, used to hate computer classes, LOL!
Now, I do think it is a privilege to have been born before the World Wide Web even existed and got to see the before and after of the computer era, well, maybe not so much the after because I am sure there is much more to come...
But oh boy, am I glad a had a childhood where time outside the house was the way to go, we didn't depend of having a computer, a phone to play games or connect with friend, we just went out, hang out and play with friends. Most kids just don't do that nowadays, but they sure can work out them leapfrogs, ps3's and playstations, right????
So, how much of your day is CTRLed by a computer? Is it too much? I am trying to cut my computer time as much as possible, and this blog some times makes it pretty time consuming, so I am making double effort to not let technology take over my life... you should try it, so now, turn off the computer and go outside!!!!
