Sun is shinning

For those out there that are covered in white stuff a.k.a. snow,  for those in places like NE Australia where Cyclone Yasi is bringing torrential rains and crazy +180 mph winds, I can promise that the Sun still shines!

Mr. Sun it's been hanging out with us here in the Caribbean. In fact here are some pictures I've taken the past couple of days that show Mr. Sun hanging out for the day...

sun is shinning

hanging out in our back deck

sun lovin' it

sunset time

sunny local street

sun is shinning and sea is flat

Now, all I ask for those out there that do not have the blessing of a shinning Sun right now is that you are keeping safe, whether is warm you need to be or cover from rain and wind...

In the meantime for those that don't have much sunshine around, how about jamming to the following wonderful song by my favorite singer Mr. Bob Marley. Now, just crank up the volume, make yourself a cocktail and pretend that "Sun is shinning, the weather is sweet, makes you want to move, your dancing feet"!

Happy Wednesday!!!

giveaway or no way!

Lately I've been thinking a lot about giving as a way of life.

I just about finished reading "eat, pray, love", which by the way it's a great book, full of insight on people's beliefs, emotions and more... very inspirational in many aspects of one's life!

Now I am reading a book by the Dalai Lama, where he talks about giving in order to pursuit a life with meaning.

Regardless of the reasons why it's been on my mind, I decided that as of today - Feb.1st and until Feb. 8th (midnight EST)- my blog is going to have its very first giveaway!!!!

Wanna participate? Hope so! Now, to be part of this unique, one of a kind experience, all you need to do is leave me a comment below with and email where you can be contacted once you win.

Now, I can promise you:

1. that everybody who leaves a comment will have an opportunity to win.
2. The giveaway prize will consist of an original "piece of art" hand made by me.
3. I will get it to you as long as you have a mailing address.

Unfortunately I cannot promise that:

1. You'll win it (although you'll have the same chance as anybody else!).
2. You'll like it, but I am hoping that you will.
3. It will make you very happy, but heck it's free!!!

So, if you'll like to be a part of this, remember to leave me a message and hopefully in 8 day you will have a wonderful surprise knocking at your blog/email that you are the lucky winner!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Disclaimer: The actual giveaway prize will be revealed on Feb. 9th when I get a winner!!!

In memorian

This weekend I said goodbye to a good old friend, my Palm Treo 680, who has been with me for many years.

Treo came to me over 3 years ago, when I first got him as a present from my husband I thought it was more than I needed, but then as time when by I realized how useful it was to have him with me... And although he falls into the category of  a "smart phone", to me it was just a phone that always gave me good performance.

But now because of a terrible mistake from my part, it took a dip into the dreaded toilet and found his demise in the water!

The mourning time was brief as it's already been replaced by a Nokia E71 and although this new member has some very big shoes to fill, I am sure with time the memory of my beloved Treo will be only that, a memory, LOL!!!

Rest in peace Treo 680 and welcome to my life Nokia E71!

Sunday Sentiment

 

Realize that true happiness lies within you. 

Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. 

Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. 

Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. 

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.

Og Mandino

random Friday pics

Don't have much to post today but I am happy that it's Friday and although I have to work tomorrow from 9am to 3pm I am looking forward to a day off on Sunday, hoping for good weather too!

Here are some random pictures I took yesterday while running some errands in town. We had 4 cruise ships in and town was pretty crowded.

view of hog sty bay during a busy cruise ship day

conch shells for sale!

busy corner in George Town

local "drinking" spot, Hammerheads

Looks like we are getting some kind of cold front tonight, so it should be windy during the weekend. Hoping everybody in the "great white" North is staying warm!

Have a great weekend!!!

privacy please!

This morning I was reading once again another article about the privacy issues and new setting for facebook... All I can say it's no matter how much information facebook as a program shares on the internet, it really cannot share anything that you don't post there yourself, right?

I guess by now most people either have a facebook profile or if they don't they, at least have a vague idea of what facebook is all about, as it is the world's biggest social network (according to the statistics it has over 500 MILLION users!!!). It is a place where you can interact with people from your past, present and even in some cases your future.

I remember when I first joined facebook back in 2005, my brother (that at the time lived in Canada) sent me an invitation to join and be more in touch (other then via regular mail, email, phone, etc)...

At the time when I joined not many people knew about it, a few of my friends then started to join. Then came my high school friends; some I still had an idea of what became about their lives once we drifted apart after graduation, others I lost touch with (for a reason!)... and then they started to reappear on facebook like ghosts from the past.

I found people that I worked with. People that I had as friends in college, friends I met through friends, friends that I met while traveling, and of course then there's the family member that you barely remember from some huge family event (like a wedding or a funeral) and although they recognize you right away, you were probably too little or not at all interested in them during those events, now they are all on facebook!


Now, to me facebook has some very positive points and like everything else, it also has its bad points too! I am a firm believer that everything on a extreme is bad, no matter what you do and how you do it, it's always important to find a balance for it.

To me facebook is definitely a way to stay in the loop about things that happen to those that you care about, specially if those people are not as close to you as you'll like them to. It's a great way to share our life with the people you care for...

But c'mon people, we need to draw the line somewhere, what ever happened to privacy? what ever happened to not sharing abso-f*cking-lutely everything with everybody, everyday???

In the past couple of years I've seen so many baby ultrasounds, (even those 3D ones that deep inside give the creeps!)... So all I can think of is the rights of that baby that maybe he/she doesn't want the entire world to see their face from the very first time that it is visible, right?

So, then it comes to yet another "privacy" issue article that facebook will share even more information of their users online, well... how about us users stop sharing so much in the first place, so then we don't have to worry about the actual program posting everything that we don't want, don't you agree?

Now people, if you don't like facebook, don't use it. But if you like facebook use it, but if you don't want people to find out certain things about yourself then do not posted there, if there's certain photos that none but yourself should see, then keep 'em to yourself and or else don't come complaining that your entire social life is ruined because you are not intelligent enough to be discreet in your personal life and specially through facebook...

This thing about privacy goes waaaay down into the history of the human race it's also know as gossip... but if you are discrete, mind your own business and don't mess up with others, facebook and gossip should not backfire on you!!!

Just saying... now some privacy please, thanks!!!

Have a great day!

wishing upon Jell-o

I don't how things worked in the 1950's because I wasn't even born yet...

One thing I am sure of is, the following Jell-o ads (from the 50's) are nothing but weird and funny!

I do love jell-o and specially the sugar free kind, (I think it's a smart choice for when you are trying to diet)...

But don't matter how much I like Jell-o, not once I've wish I were: a mountain goat, a whale, a leopard or a mule!!! Have you?

Happy Wednesday!

family is...

When I see scenes like the ones feature below and then I read remarkable stories of animals that have adopted other animals, it's when once again I realize how us human beings are the only ones mistaken about nature, the following pictures prove that God is pure love and he shows his real face in the way of animals!!!

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The above picture shows Isabella, a golden retriever in Kansas who adopted three white Bengal tiger cubs and nursed them as her own. The tiger cubs -- Nasira, Anjika and Sidani -- needed somewhere to turn because their mother stopped nursing them 15 hours after their birth. Zookeepers Tom and Allie Harvey brought the cubs home, and their dog Isabella stepped right up.

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The young elk pictured above was rescued from a flooding river by a farmer in South Korea in July 2009. This female dog eagerly adopted the elk and began breastfeeding and guarding him.

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Many male animals have strong parental impulses, too. Take, for instance, this wild long-tailed macaque monkey in Bali, Indonesia (picture above). He stunned animal lovers around the world when he adopted an abandoned kitten and cared for it as his own. The monkey was spotted in a forest protectively nuzzling and grooming the ginger kitten, making sure no harm came to it. The extraordinary sight was captured by amateur photographer Anne Young while on a holiday to the Monkey Forest Park in Bali's Ubud region.

Aren't this images inspiring? Pretty amazing how animals see no difference in color, shape or species when it comes to love and nurture an animal in need... So, in many cases " It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us family".

Have a great day!!!

again we meet...

Hello Monday, I see your face again, but today it is disguised as a holiday!!!

Today the little island where I live is celebrating Heroes Day, work is open today but I am off cause of a schedule swap, meaning I will be working next Sat. as my manager's Mom will be here for a visit, so next week it'll be her chance to have a 3 day weekend!

My weekend was pretty nice, I have to report that I've been using my new TENS machine and the improvement with my art is quite amazing, I have a lot more mobility and I'm sleeping much better as well!

During the weekend I finally got around to do a project that is being on my mind for a few weeks.

About 5 years ago some very good friend of mine gave me a bamboo wind chine shaped as a owl, we have it in our back deck and although we bring it in every time it rains, weather's not being very kind to it, it needed some major overhauling... well on Saturday, I finally got around to give it a face lift.

Also on Saturday night we had our weekly date night and we went to the movies to watch TRON Legacy in 3D, it was pretty cool, nice color and nice effects.

My husband got a hold of the original version (from 1982) and we watched it last week (well, maybe I should say he watched and I glanced every now and then cause it was kind of boring and very complex plot)... Still I got the main idea of what was happening and what I like the best of this second new movie is that they were very faithful to the original one, keeping the same cast (from more than 20 years ago) and making it like a sequel with the original main characters son... that was kind of neat.

If you feel like watching the new one, I recommend you try to watch the first one before to get the most out of the new movie!!!

Tomorrow is back to work, it's pretty crazy to think that we are already on the last week of January.
Have a great day...

Did I mention?

and

so

and don't forget to

Have a great weekend!!!

Ceviche Night

One of the many things I love about living on an island or near the ocean is the access to fresh caught fish. On Monday my friend Yessie's husband went out fishing and caught some fish so he gave me and my husband some pieces of Wahoo (my favorite fish) and Mahi Mahi.

On Tuesday night I baked the Wahoo and it was delicious and yesterday I decided to make to Mahi Mahi in Ceviche. For those that don't know what Ceviche is all about, it's basically when you marinate the fish in lemon or lime enough time so it actually gets cooked by the citrus juices, then you add a few other things.

In case you are able to get a hold to some fresh caught fish here's a wonderful recipe to try.

You can use pretty much any type of fish and sea food (shrimp, octopus and even conch). The amount of time you leave the fish on the marinate depends of how fresh the fish is (if using octopus and conch because of the harder consistence you might need to use more time), it has to be at least 20 min which is what I left mine marinating for yesterday.

Ingredients:

Fish (any amount that you'll like), yesterday I used about 2lbs.
Limes or Lemon juice to cover the fish once cut in cubes (from 6 to 10)
1 Red Onion
Cilantro
2 to 3 Sweet Potatoes

First you need to clean the fish, take our all of the bones (if it's got any) and cut it into little cubes.

 The put it on a non reactive container and use enough limes to cover the entire fish pieces with the juice and cover it. I used about 6 to 8 limes and also in case you don't have limes you can use lemons too.

Leave the fish cover by the juices at least 20min or until you can see that has changed to a whiter skin color.

Cut the red onion in thin feather cuts. Then you need to also "cook" the onion in salt, so put it on a thin strainer and dump enough salt on it to cover it, with your hands stir the onion for about a minute until the salt start dissolving and the onion start releasing all of the acid and gas. Once the onion is pretty wet, then rinse with water to take the excess salt out of it, leave it in the strainer for a while to get all the water out of it.

Chop cilantro very fine.

Put the sweet potatoes to boil until soften, take them out of the pot and peel the skin off, then cut them in thick pieces to eat them with the ceviche.

Once the 20min (or however long you've left the fish marinating for) are over, mix the fish with the onions and cilantro. Add salt and hot sauce to taste, serve in small bowl and use the sweet potatoes are "chips" to eat the fish ceviche on top, enjoy!!!

Here's my end result, yummy!

BTW, yesterday was also "What's Cooking Wednesday" at This Life of Ours, so I am linking this recipe back to Trish, so go ahead, visit her blog if you'll like to find out what others are cooking, bon appetit!




Have a great day!

new health gadget

It's here! My brand new health gadget has arrived and I am so looking forward to get some real relief with it.

(insert drum roll here!).... Behold my new TENS Unit and Muscle Stimulator System...

For those that have read my blog for a while, you probably remember all the problems I've had in the past with my arm (pinched nerve in my neck) and then later on my bulged disk on my lower back (did I mentioned I'm only turning 34 this year, wtf?)??? Anyway, my arm thing was supposed to be much better but I guess working on a gallery, hammering my way into the walls with all the art, crocheting my amigurumi and the rest of the daily stuff, the tension and pain has slowly make it a come back...

So, after months of paying to go get physio or a chiropractor, this time I decided to buy one of those little machines that stimulate your muscle while relieving pain, build, stimulate, rehabilitate, and reeducate muscle as well.

I mean what else can I ask for? I guess a new skeleton and muscle structure will be the next be thing, LOL!!!

I can't wait to go home tonight and get some real muscle stimulus ( but not the kind you dirty minded are thinking about, well maybe that one kind as well!!!)... Will keep you posted on my progress, looking forward to some real results.

Have a great day!!!

Survival Kit

The other day I was thinking about what would be my "Ultimate Survival Kit"? If I was to be stranded anywhere I guess I would make it much better with the following items.

Duck Tape: if anything needs to stick together, use it. If something that is not supposed to move moves, duct tape is the way to go!

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WD40: great little product. You can make gain mobility on anything that is supposed to move but it doesn't, if you need to fix a door that squeaks, well I guess even if you need to start a fire and your are stranded that would do the trick-although not sure about the smell and gases it releases- oh well, it's all about surviving, right?
Extra Tip: I use it around the gallery to take the scratches out of the Plexiglass on the paints.

Rope: very important and necesary for anything that you need to pull, tied together and even if you only use it for jumping and exercise!

source

A Sharpie: now the question is, how can anybody survive without one? I use it to write pretty much on ANY surface, paper, glass, a rock, plastic, anything... well, that's if you'll like to leave your epic last words for the word to enjoy!

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Knife: to cut and protect yourself but without worrying about running out of ammunition.

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Chocolate: Oh yeah! It's sweet, it gives you energy and it tastes sooooo good!

Water: well, everybody needs water, in fact without it I'm not sure I will survive very long...

So, what do you think about? What would your "ultimate survival kit" consists of??? Have a great Tuesday!

Hen night, sushi night, movie night...

Well, the title of today's post pretty much sums up my weekend.

On Friday we went out to celebrate my friend Jen last night as a single girl. First we had drinks at her place, then went to have some appetizer/dinner at a nice restaurant and finally off to some serious dancing, we had a great night!

from left: Shelley, Jill, Jen (the bride wearing gray), Emma (short hair), Jenni, Me, Tony and Art

We had what's called a "traditional Scottish/English hen night", our friend Emma who was the organizer put it all together, and since Jen is marrying Steve from the UK, it kind of worked out nicely. First she had to wear a veil all night that was decorated with UK and USA flags, also she had to wear a BIG "L" as if she is a "learner wife to be"...

Then Emma made for Jen (the bride to be), a flag from the home country of each one of the girls that were out celebrating with her that night, so we had: USA, Alabama State (that's where Jen's from), Scotland, Australia, England, Germany and Costa Rica! After we had each flag, the bride was supposed to find a man of each of the countries with the flags, give them a kiss and take a photo with them, that was really fun!!!

On Saturday Night we went to have some Sushi with a few friends, as our friend Art was celebrating the end of an employment and the beginning of another (after a couple of months vacation), we had a good time!

Then yesterday was an "all movie day", it's been a while since I've felt like watching Jurassic Park again, so I did during the day, then I baked a chocolate cake for my husband and at night we went on our 2nd Date Night of the year. We went to the movies and watched the "Green Hornet" in 3D, that was cool.

And that's the recap of my weekend, now it's back to work and hopefully this will be a busy and productive week, for me and everybody!!! Have a great week :)

Blog Award

Yesterday I got a wonderful surprise from Randi at Wild Magnolia, she gave me the following blog award

This award was definitely unexpected and although I am very grateful to Randi for thinking of me, I have some sort of mixed feeling about the name of the Award. I mean, stylish blogger? mmmmh, not sure if that does really applies to me as I don't really consider myself a very stylish person, my blog is not really about fashion, or design/decoration, nevertheless I gladly take the complement, so thanks Randi!!!

Now, the award always comes with some sort of rules as always I must link this back to Randi that gave the award, so go check out her wonderful blog at Wild Magnolia. Also I must share 7 things about me and then pass it on to other stylish blogs (not sure about having that many blogs to link it too... but I will try my best).

1. I hate paper cuts, I dread them every day, yesterday I got one.

2. When I was growing up I always wanted to be able to raise only one eyebrow at a time, so one day I made up my mind to practice all day long... after a while I learn how to do it and I can still do it (only my right side though).

3. I am a firm believer that "things worth doing, are worth doing them right" and I try to practice that every day of my life.


4. I miss my Mom's cooking very much, now that I have my own house and that I'm married; when I get home I mostly have to cook dinner, so now I can finally understand how hard it can be for all Mother's out there, trying to balance life, love, kids, house, work, etc, etc... Thanks Mom for the life you gave us and your the love that is always there!

5. I am a very spiritual person, I believe in God 100% but my religion is not necessary describe by just one type of belief. I was raised catholic but I do share many other points of view with other religions but always very sure that God exists and it's the beginning and end of everything.

6. I love vintage stuff, from furniture to black and white pictures, specially if there are family pictures.

7. I love Hello Kitty and everything Hello Kitty!!!

Now, I am supposed to nominate some blogs that I consider stylish, so here I go... (in no particular order).

Caroline at Absolutely Unique

Amanda at Amanda + Don

Meg at Life of Meg

Heidi at Ooh La La...

Jessi at The Juici Life

Joey at Joey's Cafe

All of those girls are plenty stylish, in fact they probably are more stylish than me... So go visit them and their stylish blog!

Have a great day!!!

social butterfly

All my life I've always been pretty social but I'm not sure if I really fall under the "social butterfly" cathegory.

Back home I always had my group of friends, we would go out pretty much every weekend, if not all together I always had somebody to hang out with.

I guess I could say I had a few years of pretty heavy partying, with late or should I say very early morning back to bed routines.

Still during my social/party years I also always liked quiet times as well. Spending time with my self or with a small intimate group. Also I've always been a pretty independent person that likes to do things on her own.

When I backpacked around Europe and the Middle East for a few months, I really got to know myself and to enjoy the company of "me, myself and I".... At times I would hook up with other people, travel with them for days or weeks and then at times it was again only me. No trouble about that whatsoever, I love my "me-time".

Now, I live in a very small island and since I move here my friend circle was reduce drastically. When I first met my now husband and we moved in together (couple of months after I move to the island), a big issue was the fact that he was the only person I knew around and I was super scared to make him the center of my world, so, I must admit it wasn't easy at the beginning and at times this (not having many friends) was a big issue for me.

At the time my husband kept on wanting to "hook me up" with some girls he worked with, and I kept on say I didn't wanted a "blind friendship date", that is just not me. To me a friendship needs to come natural and not something you go around "dating" for, LOL!

Anyway, years have passed and even though I am not as social as I used to be, I am happy about it, the way I see it, I've already had the chance to "be there, do that" and it's not such an important thing in my life anymore... I have a great life and a wonderful man that I can always hang out with!

Now, this weekend I have a friend from Canada coming to the island. We used to work together while we lived in Cayman Brac. She will be with her new husband and his kids, she emailed me saying she wants to see us, go out for a drink or dinner. The thing with her is that she is the kind of person that says she is going to call, but many times she's left us hanging and never shows up or calls, uugh, I hate that on people.

On the other hand I have a another event that same night, it's my friend Jen's Bachelorett Party/Night out, and that should be a lots of girl time and lots of fun.

I think it's funny how sometimes I can go weeks without any major event and now I have 2 the same night??? Not sure what to do? Wait around for Lauri to call this time and go out with them for dinner or drinks, or go to Jenn's thing? My husband says I should go to the bachelorette thing because it would be so much fun....

So, don't know what to do, but I have to make a decision soon!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Top 12

photo source

I got this idea from another blog and then decided to do it myself but instead of a Top Ten best posts of the year, I decided to go for a TOP 12 blog posts (one for each month) of the year 2010:

January~ Dog Therapy

February~ Mamma Dog

March~ the luck of us animal lovers

April~ Save the Whales

May~ Wonderful Weekend

June~ Where the Wild Things Are

July~ Tulum

August~ Family or Staff???

September~ Nice to meet you

October~ Stop and Think

November~ Pirates Weekend

December~ Disconnect to Connect

It's pretty amazing to think that I am getting closer to my 2nd year of blogging, sometimes it feels like I don't have enough inspiration, but the daily comments and interaction I get from blogging is wonderful.

So, what do you think? I hope you had as much fun as I did reading on my "best" posts of the month (well, best according to me!).

Have a great day!!!

the best teachers...

Here's a little animal wisdom I want to share with you today...

This is true, but there's also lots more to learn from animals, that's why need to really listen to what they say and how they act.

Have a great day!!!

1st weekend of the year!

Well, the first week of January is over so that means it was our first chance to have our date night.

On Friday night we went to our favorite "laid back" kind of place; a local diner close to home, food was good and it was soo romantic, here's the proof...

 Naaah, just kidding!!!

On that picture we were really posing, but in reality, the thing is that my husband loves crossword puzzles and every time we go there they have this newspaper that has them, so he is always working on that, so meanwhile I browse on a magazine...

Our night was very nice and I think this is the beginning of a very nice resolution.

Aren't we a nice couple?

On Saturday I had to work and my husband went diving at the new wreck, the Kittiwake. At night we just stayed home and went to bed early cause we were tired.

Yesterday Sunday, we went to the beach for a while, we both did some snorkeling and I saw a bunch of squid... Have you ever seen a squid underwater? They are awesome looking creatures, almost look kind of alien to me...

Here are some picture I've taken of squid in the past while diving...

aren't they alien looking?

they do this when they feel threatened...

they also change color

Aren't they neat??? I think so. Now if you've only seen them in your plate fried or any other way, now you at least see how weird they really look while alive, but they sure taste yummy though!

Have a wonderful day : )