I am so happy to share with everybody the progress I've made so far on my new hobby of creating crochet Amigurumis... so I present to you, Alex the Lion!!!!!
Isn't he a "cutie petutie"??? I think so myself and I am not only saying it cause it's made by my own 2 hands (well maybe in part I am) but because of the fact that it is true to say "he who perseveres conquers", right???
Can't wait to make more creations and eventually have some to give away, how fun!!!
In other news, weather is slowly improving and we are hoping by tomorrow there will be much better skies as we are traveling to Cayman Brac (one of the sister islands) and we are going on a propeller plane so we do not want much wind around....
Not sure when I will be posting again, but I'll keep u posted, hoping to share lots of pictures of our trip in the next few days!!!
Well, I have to admit that with Monday's post I have jinxed the weeks weather...
Yesterday was definitely a "wellies kind" of day, it started raining non stop from Monday evening and it's been pretty rainy and cloudy all day and all night, meaning we have Depression Sixteen right on top of us!
But don't get me wrong I am not complaining, because this is the worst we've had the entire hurricane season so it's definitely much better than having any real storms coming close to us.
So our season this year like I just said it's been pretty good, even on Sunday when it was cloudy and gloomy we managed to get to the beach, did some snorkeling and although the water was pretty stired up and visibility was bad, I did take some pictures, here are the top 3!
juvenile french angel fish
big crab
beautiful elk horn coral head
Also I took some pictures while on the beach after snorkeling.
hermit crab
lonely beach flower
sunset on a cloudy day
Hoping that TD 16 will not be sticking around for much longer as we have plans to go to Cayman Brac on Friday for the weekend... Here's to good weather and that TD 16 doesn't develop into anything much bigger and that it doesn't affect anybody else.
Isn't it nice when you have something to say or just want to vent and there's actually somebody on the other end of the conversation? Well, that's kind of how I feel when I blog...
When I post, I try to imagine that somebody, anybody out there is reading it. Maybe somebody will feel a connection or at least understand what I want say, maybe not...
Maybe some of the readers are just that, readers, people that do not like to comment, but they like to read...
Being that English is not my first language I constantly wonder if I make myself clear in my ideas...
Well, maybe I don't do so bad, as yesterday a fellow blogger with a lovely blog gave me a beautiful award with a wonderful name "A Blog with Substance", isn't it a great name?
And who doesn't want substance in life and in their blog? I know I do!!!
So, the award comes with some rules and are as follow:
1. Thank the blogger who gave you the award.. So, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Jessi!!!
2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation and experience using five words...."This is how I blog!"
Now it's my turn to pass along this wonderful award to some very substantial blogs (in no particular order):
Oh la la... it's a wonderful blog about design and decoration, mostly nowadays it's about Heidi's wonderful wedding, so if you feel like looking at some wedding bliss, hit here blog.
I just recently found Joey's Cafe and I have to say I am very happy to have found her, she lives very far from me in Malaysia, and I am sure to find more to discover about her and her culture... can't wait!
In the blog Days of Five Lives, Janelle share with us the life and wonders of a family, plenty of activities with 3 kids to look after, I love her adventures and the way she handles her family being that she is about my age...
And at last my favorite blogger, the one and only man of my dreams and my daily life, my husband at First Time... c'mon go check out his blog, it's awesome, love u babe!!!
So, once again, Thanks Jessi for this wonderful little token, it gives me substance to keep on living life to the fullest and telling about it on my blog!
On Sat. we took the dogs to walk at Barkers beach and they had a great time, specially Ditto, chasing crabs and getting his muzzle super sandy.
Yesterday afternoon we did some snorkeling but the water visibility cause of the rain and wind wasn't very good, I did took some pictures that I will share tomorrow.
actual photo taken on Sat. although it looks like a painting!
Now, Monday is here but it feels much better after having 2 days off. The weekend was pretty cloudy, with on a off showers and wind... I bet the week is going to be gorgeously sunny, all cause I am indoors working, Oh well, long live Murphy's Law!
The thing with our dog Sheba is that she is an "Endless Source of Joy"...
She is a happy ditsy blond, willing to give you love, kisses and attention at all times...
No matter what mood you are one, Sheba is there to remind you that happiness exist every single second and what matter is living in the now...
Another thing about her is that she is super playful, has so much energy and loves all of her toys...
the tennis ball
the plastic bone
her favorite, the bamboo stick
Although her official name is Sheba she has many others like "girlie girl", "gigi", "chunky kong", "shebaca", and even "the root of all evil" (named by my husband), she is still very lovable, silly and crazy at times, she can also be a very girlie "proper" dog...
and she can still wiggle like a "wiggly worm"... LOL!
A few months ago, I stumbled upon a blog about an amigurumi pattern of a lobster. At the time I had never heard of "amigurumi" at all, but as soon as I saw the picture of the adorable lobster I have to admit that it was love @ first sight.
Now let me explain a little; Amigurumiis the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features.
After doing some research and finding even more amazing patterns of Amigurumi all over the internet, there was only one little detail about this new possible hobby, I don't know how to crochet!
So, I started finding out about some local crochet lessons but being that I live in a very small island with less that 35,000 people it was super difficult to find somebody that will give lessons. I found a lady that give a basic lesson one day, but she is a full time teacher at a school so then she didn't have the time to meet me again, but oh well, at least I got the basics explained.
So private lessons were out, and that when I realized that now a days most of us have access to the most complete and endless resource of information in the world, the internet, and pretty much anything can be found there, right?
And right I was, so I made up my mind and decided to learn how to crochet on the internet. Thank God for YouTube and their user (which include some very good people that are willing to share their crochet expertise with me!)
Now I've being working somewhat hard for a few months and finally 2 weeks ago I ordered two books on Amigurumi subject and the books arrived early this week, you can imagine my excitement on getting those books, but specially to realized that in fact I did made enough progress through my "online studying" that yesterday I managed to finish my first Amigurumi.
I am proud to present Mr. Orange!!!
The pattern I used was from one of the book and the original one is for an apple, but I didn't have any red yarn so I had to change it and it became an orange, I think this is the beginning of a wonderful new hobby!
Yesterday I found this beautiful snail which is something you don't encounter every day, I took some pictures of it and thought it deserved a spot on my blog and a little poem!
Lately I've been reading on a few random posts about how difficult blogging can sometimes be, about how hard it could be to find inspiration and share enough material from your every day life.
Well, I guess it's like everything in life, some people are good at certain things and not so much at others.
But I think that no matter whether you are good at blogging or not, blogging is something that you need to be committed to do mainly for your own purpose and personal gain. Of course at some point we all feel we like there's nobody out there reading and sharing your experiences, we wait for comments but they don't show up, or our stats show that we are almost invisible to the "cyber world", still having a own blog should make a difference first and always in our own life and then maybe in others.
Our blog should bring us enjoyment and as much as possible be an activity that fulfill our own life, so if that is not happening then nothing else really matters and perhaps it's time to find ourselves another activity, right?
It is a tough world out there and to survive we need to always be ourselves, otherwise just do as follows...
This evening a few of my girl friends are coming to watch a movie under the stars, as my house has a flat room we are setting up the projector upstairs, wishing for good weather!
Although am I working today, so I will be "on duty" from 9am to 3pm and that might feel like it doesn't quite fall into the "happiness" category, I guess at some point it does. With the rising unemployment around the world, having a good stable job is directly related to happiness...
I get more than a feeling when it's Friday and I know the weekend is so close.
Last Friday on my blog post, many kitties were getting ready for the approaching end of the week, today I want to share this wonderful video that I am sure it'll put a BIG smile on your face...
So, what do you think? Wasn't it wonderful? Hope it's the start of a wonderful weekend...
This week is full important and meaningful dates for me, besides yesterday being Costa Rica's 189th independence celebration, today's is my bosses birthday and last but definitely not least today's date marks the day when 5 years ago I meet my other half, the one that fills my heart with the kind of love you cannot get from anybody else, my husband Mark.
When I think about this day back in 2005, I cannot recall much of what happened through the day as it was a day like any other (or so I thought!). I woke up, went to work and never in my wildest dream I was expecting to meet the man that eventually would sweep me off my pretty feet, treat me like a queen and shower me with love...
Growing up at some point I had my doubts about ever finding somebody that I could love completely but most important somebody that would love every version of me.
Well, turns out, there was somebody out there and now we've been happily married for more and a year and we have a wonderful family together, with 2 crazy dogs!
Certainly I am a very lucky and blessed human being, we have a great life together and every day I am grateful for what I have but mostly for that day back in '05 when we met...
I love you baby, and I am very happy God brought you into my life. I am looking for many more years together; loving, supporting and cherishing each other.
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!
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!
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!
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.
