Happy Birthday CR!

On a day like today 189 years ago my country, Costa Rica, (among other Central American countries) got the independence from Spain and became a republic.

For those who don't know much about this little piece of paradise, here are some facts:

This Central American country abolished its standing army in 1949.

It's bordered by Panama, Nicaragua, and surrounded by the Pacific and Caribbean Oceans.

Costa Rica is best known for its coffee and commitment to ecological sustainability and booming tourism.

Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.25% of the world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. Around 25% of the country's land area is in protected areas and national parks.

And even though today I am not there to celebrate next to my fellow Costaricans, I am always there at heart.

There's not a day that goes by that I feel proud to be from Costa Rica, we have a beautiful country, filled with many wonders and amazing things, we are hard working people, friendly and very happy to share our wonderful country with visitors, so if you ever get a chance don't hesitate to come and visit!

So, now to honor my dear country on it's 189th birthday I will like to share our National Anthem.

The video I found in YouTube has two versions, first one is only instrumental and the second one is with voices and played by the National Symphony Orchestra (both are very nice versions), Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Costa Rica!!!

called for help?

Yesterday I got a most unexpected phone call from our former manager at the store, she got fired last year for reasons that I am not going to get into, all I can say is that she was making the wrong decisions that once some of us found out about it and even after trying for her to come clean about her wrong decisions, she did nothing, which made us feel like her accomplices, so instead we did the right thing...

Later on she got fired in part for her wrong decision making, but mainly because of the way she handle the whole situation, by not accepting her responsibility and kept on lying about it...

Of course, once she was out, she took it against me (mostly) and started sending me some very harmful and mean texts (from an old phone of mine that I gave her as a present cause she needed one in the past- ironic!), calling me names and all. But, even though her behavior made me feel kind of sad, I never felt bad about coming out with the truth about the situations at work, because I know I did the right thing...

Well, back to the unexpected phone call... She called me yesterday asking me for help, she wasn't very explicit over the phone and only did say that it was something to do with Costa Rica, about some documents in Spanish and since I am the only Costarican that she knows and "trusts?", she wanted to meet and talk to me about it. 

I accepted and I am going to meet her tomorrow... But, of course I very cleverly choose a cafe where they know me at, so in case all of a sudden she starts acting up, at least I will be around people that know me and can "come to my rescue", right? 

So I figure, why not helping her? I never did anything to hurt her, in fact most of the time while working with her, she did several things to hurt me and even after I distanced myself from her and tried keeping a very professional relationship she always managed to find a way to mess me up. (I guess forgot to mention that she also claims to be bi-polar, so that doesn't help her behavior at times!).

I am a firm believer that in life you need to do good without looking at whom. If she needs my help (as long as it's not anything beyond my power; monetary or illegal) I will do my best to help her. 

After all she did to me (and other staff members) last year, it must have been hard for her to swallow her pride and call me, so that proves that what "goes around, comes around" and I don't want to be the one ever in trouble or in need of help and having a hard time calling somebody for help because of my bad karma...  I figure it just adds good karma to me... Let's just hope that she honestly needs my help but mostly that she is willing to be helped, right? 


Here's to hoping I don't get dissapointed and have a tough time talking to her..Wish me luck!

Maxine Monday

The weekend was very short, mostly because I worked on Saturday.

In general I don't really mind working on a Sat. (as long as I still have my 2 days off a week) because we only open from 9am to 3pm, unfortunately right now we are in low season for tourism, so the day was super slow and very boring, which makes 6 hours feel like 12, ugh!

Having only a day a 1/4 off it's really not cutting it for me, next Sat. is my last working one since the manager should be back to work, can't wait to have 2 days off again!

Not much to post about today... Hoping to find some inspiration for the rest of the week! Have a great Monday!

it's coming...

can you see it?... I think I can, is that it?

Yeah, I think that's it, it feels like I can almost touch it...

nah! I don't see it... are you sure, positive that's it???

Yeap, I can smell it... it's almost here!!!

i see it now....

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Swimming with the fishys!

One of the top 10 reason why I like living in the Cayman Islands is because right off the shore you can just jump in and find some beautiful reefs where you can swim and snorkel with tons of fish.

Yesterday after work that is exactly what we did, but instead of going to one of our usual spots, my husband suggested another reef close by call Schoolhouse reef, it was so beautiful.

lots of blue tangs (Dorys) around

juvenile damsel fish (moves fast, that's why it's blurry)

porcupine or puffer fish

the infamous lion fish- invader of our reefs :(

So, while we were coming from a relaxing swim and wrapping up our day, others like the fishermen where just getting ready to start...

Isn't this a wonderful way to finish or even start your day. Snorkeling is very relaxing and fun, highly recommend it if you've never try it before.

Have a great day!

Window Shopping Wed.

Once again I've been doing some web window shopping on Etsy and today is about all things wood.

Here are some awesome items that I would probably like to own one day...

Loving this cat puzzle. In the first picture it shows it not solved and then solved, isn't it delightful? I cat lovers must have...

lovin' the little mouse on the top!

How about them spoons? Those would be great around my kitchen, so when I make soup it will feel more like it's some kind of magic potion!!!

I'm loving this Turtle night light...

The vintage cloth pins are so rad!

And all these animal bookends are pretty cool too!

And at last my favorite wood made item (for today).

What a clever and nice idea to decorate your garden and feed birds. Check out this wonderful feeder to use with toast.

Cool, uh?

Disclaimer: All picture are from Etsy Shops, if you would like information of where to find any or all of the above items, please feel free to contact me via comment or email and I will be happy to direct you to the right store for each item.

Have yourself and wonderful day!!!

victory is mine!

photo found @ jesad.com

It looks like we are winning the battle against those annoying geckos in my house and I am super happy about it.

We live in a two story house, so most of the time there is really good breeze coming in through the windows and doors, so we keep them open as long as it's not raining.

The windows have screens on but obviously the door don't so this allows those white common house geckos to come in as they please.

At first we didn't really care if the geckos where around, (as they help by eating the bugs - including mosquitoes). After a while there were everywhere; behind each picture frame on the wall, and in corner where we it's not easy to get to them. Sometimes we were watching tv at night and we can see them running around chasing each other to mate, they we will find eggs in potted plants.

But the worst part is that once you get a few inside the house, they leave their droppings everywhere... Yuck, simply disgusting and dirty...

But, we don't really want to kill them, we just want them out of the house and into the wild, but in a natural way...

Well, finally after months of doing research on the subject of "how to get rid of geckos" and finding nothing,. About a week ago a Jamaican lady that gave a facial the day we went to the "staff appreciation day", said to try Eucalyptus essential oil on a diffuser... well, guess what? It works!!!!

I've been burning on an off for about a week now and we see less geckos now, maybe one of two, so it looks like victory is mine!!!

Bye, bye geckos, enjoy the wilderness of Cayman!

what a treat!

The thing with my dogs is that they are a endless source of enjoyment and happiness, they bring so much to my life that I know for sure my life would be completely different and dull without them around...

If I call them for a treat (not even tell them about it), they already know they are getting something, so they sit and act like they are little angels... just like this:

Ditto

Sheba

And then it's treat time!

I give them love, care, food and a safe place to call home...

They give me so much more back, so I know that a treat a day makes they go hooray!!!

Dis&Dat Friday

Yesterday wasn't such a good day, there are lots of things going on in my life, and at times I just feel like I'm barely making it to the surface to get some air.

From when I came back from vacation in late July I've been having some issues with my lower back, at times it hurts pretty bad and it makes me feel old. I am in for a CT scan of my lower back on Monday, we'll see what happens.

Besides my back issues, working with only women is getting on my nerves, sometimes I feel like they are very double faced and I really don't feel like having to deal with that. My manager is going away for about 2 weeks and I will be in charge during that time, I am confident that God is going to give me the wisdom to accept how they are and deal with them in the best possible way but always putting the business first and the personal after.

But... I will not play games, I am a pretty straight forward person and when I don't like something or somebody I tent to address it as soon as possible so it doesn't build up... I think I am in for some bubble bursting soon!

source www.jesad.com

In other news, I am happy to announce that in the year 2010 I have a new lucky number and it's 33. First is because I turned 33 back in Feb. and now I have reached 33 followers on my blog, yey! Thanks to all of you 33 official ones, and those that follow "incognito" as well, you guys rule!

Tomorrow Sat. I will be working and the same for the next two Sat. after that. On Sunday we are going to my brother's Housewarming Party BBQ, so that should be fun.

Well, until we meet again, Ciao!

Summer Camp

I guess it's pretty common for most people that have kids to take them to camp during summer.

Here on the island there are all sorts of summer camps; some go for days in a row, others are just 7 to 6 (while the parents are at work) and there are also others that are just a few hours or just a 1 day thing.

Yesterday while browsing some news on the internet I stumbled upon a very different Summer Camp that really made me smile. And just like many parents love their kids, some of us that don't have any human kids do have some wonderful "furrkids", and that is the kind of camp I am talking about, a Doggy Day Camp!

As their website explains: Totally Dog® offers the perfect outlet for active, social dogs.We were the first dog day camp to offer a true resort experience for Miami’s canines and we remain the only one of our kind! With over five acres of supervised entertainment, dogs are able to run, swim in our 35’x70’ bone shaped pool, romp in our Pine Rockland and play with their camper buddies completely off leash, completely FREE!

Pictures "bark" louder than words..

riding in the bus to camp (photo source www.totallydog.com)

they have their own bone shaped pool (photo from Totallydog.com)

After an exhausting and joyful day, it's time to get back.... (photo source www.totallydog.com)

How fun, isn't it? I would love to have a place like that and be surrounded by doggies all day!!!

Have a wonderful day : )

Window shopping Wednesday

If you are a woman reading this, I am sure you have been window shopping before. If you are a man, I am sure you've been with a woman that was doing window shopping or at least wanted to go window shopping.

Well, living in an island that is about 22 miles long x 8 miles wide, you can image there is not much of a retail world around here.We have mostly souvenir shops, jewelry shops, cigar shops and the occasional clothing stores, but after living here for a while they all seem like the have the same stuff all the time.

So, what does somebody that likes window shopping can do about it? Well, nothing else but "cyber" window shopping on the internet, so today this is what I found on the window at Etsy (one of my favorite online -all thing hand made- place)... Just a few items I like.

I am loving this Owl Pillows

to see this lovely Owl pillows click here

what a fab red bag, could us it a lot!

isn't this lovely? ck it out here

love these Zoo Animals on wheels (that is my inner child speaking!)

here's where you can find those

I am really considering getting this wall decal for our room

 source click here 

I think this bag would a perfect Christmas present for my sister in law

she loves green, this is where I found it

Lots more to see so I will keep on sharing my window shopping Wednesdays.

Today is already Sept. 1st and so far so good with the Atlantic Hurricanes heading our way. My thoughts and prayers are with those that as I write this are being affected by bad weather or have a storm close by, stay safe and God Bless you all!

Have a wonderful day! : )

3 days off

I am back after 3 days off, yesterday was my 3rd day and I didn't do much but baked my husband a "freedom cake".

Today is my husband's last day at work after working for the government for more than 13yrs. A huge step for him, but I am very confident that he's going to do so much better, now that he is "free" (hence the "freedom cake")... God is in charge and because of that I have no fear.

Here are some pictures of the "Freedom Cake" process. I used an old family recipe and it was very good, unfortunately I think I left on the oven a little too long so it was kind of dry. I am sure I will do better next time, still it's super tasty!

ready for the oven

ready for eating

Also on Saturday we had our "staff appreciation day" and it was awesome, the massage was good but the facial was probably the best I've had in a long time.

the picture to thank our boss for such a treat

Now it's Monday for me, so to make the best out of it, hope you out there reading this will do the same.
Have a wonderful week!

how to feel appreciated

The weekend is almost here and for me it's going to be a long one.

I am off on  Monday because my manager is going away for 2 weeks, so I will be working 6 days in a row during that time.

But besides a 3 day weekend to look forward to, I have another reason to be very happy and thankful for, something that would make anybody appreciated.

Our company requires that we have 2 staff appreciation activities during the year (every 6 months). Well, every year for the past 3 years we have been going out to dinner with everybody and our spouses, and that is always treat but kind of always the same thing.

Well, this year we have a new manager, a lady that is very nice, very proactive and has a lot of new fresh ideas, and besides for the first time ever our whole staff is all women (besides my big boss, the artist, that is a man). So she has put together an afternoon of pampering at Hibiscus Spa at the The Westin Hotel.

We are all getting an hour massage of our preference, a facial treatment and a pedicure. But besides those treatments they have a steam and sauna that we can all use for the afternoon. The whole heavenly experience starts at 2pm and ends around 6pm. Isn't that a wonderful treat? Makes you feel really appreciated.

Can't wait 'till tomorrow afternoon, will share my experiences in the next couple of days, meanwhile enjoy your weekend, otherwise I'll make sure to relax and enjoy it for y'all!!!

Have a wonderful weekend : )

how great Love is...

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. 

One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment.

When the island was almost sinking…Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, “No, I can’t…there is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you Love,you are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered. 

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help. “Sadness let me go with you.” “Oh…Love …I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her! 

Suddenly, there was a voice “Come, Love, I will take you.”It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name.

When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way. Love, realizing how much he owed the elder, asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who helped me?” “It was Time,” Knowledge answered. “Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?” Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is.”

Isn't this a lovely story? I was able to share thanks to my cousin Mariam that send to me by email. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.
Have a wonderful day! <3

Xmas in Aug.

Yesterday after work I stopped at the post office to check my mail.

Oh what a great surprise, I got a beautiful package all the way from Greece.

It's such a wonderful feeling to get mail, I love it! The thought of something travel so far to find me, that somebody was thinking about me and that they even made the special effort in sending me something, makes me feel very appreciated, fortunate and blessed.

beautiful Geek Kitties and a lovely post card

Thank you Joan, your packages are always beautiful and very well appreciated. I feel sad that the one I sent you last is still not there, so there's another one coming soon as well...

I loved the kitties she sent me. Last year when I visited my mom she had one like those I received yesterday, (but that one has a longer tail to hold rings for when you are doing the dishes). Well, that one kitty is been pretty lonely, but not anymore, now he was company, only thing, he needs to learn to speak Greek or teach them some Spanish!!!

3 is company

How exciting was to receive this yesterday, it was like Christmas in August!!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday
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(>'.'<)
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Silver Sides

My weekend was very enjoyable, we got some good weather during the day but also some nice and heavy showers for the plants, so we are all happy!

Yesterday we went to see my brother and sister in law and did 2 boat dives on the North Side Wall with the company they work for, they took us to some amazing dive spots.

First one was Babylon (named after the hanging gardens of Babylon because of the coral formations that literary hang from this huge coral pinnacle), unfortunately my camera was not cooperating with me so the pictures came out quite blue, here is my favorite and possible best one of that site.

my husband cruisin' along

Now, on the second dive site, we visited a place called Dragon's Lair, and we had one of the most unbelievable underwater encounters, but this time it wasn't with a big fish, but many, many tiny ones.

Here's a video I took of the Silver Sides on that dive.

Isn't it amazing??? while you are going through them, at times it's a very thick "cloud" and you can barely see the person right in front of your, in fact during the whole video my brother was leading the dive but I can't see him most of the time... Here's a picture of what it looks like.

It was an amazing sight and a one of a kind experience, I really enjoyed the dives and spending time with my brothers, now I am fully energized and ready to take on another work week.

Hope your weekend was also nice, have a wonderful week!