Random Thursday

Today I am trying something different and for the first time, I am joining a group of awesome fellow bloggers and from now on I am going to do my best to link up for...


Every week Em, Lin and Meg choose a random theme to post about, and today being my first day, the theme is...

Well, that is and easy one to figure it if you have read my blog before... Wanna guess what my #1 addiction is?

I am a BIG TIME...

Yes, I am addicted to Coffee... I love the smell, the taste and the fact that it's something you can pretty much find anywhere and it's usually good or decent.

I take my coffee, black and no sugar, to me that is the best possible way to really enjoy the flavor. Although I do sometimes enjoy a nice Cappuccino with brown sugar and cinnamon on top!

Now, when it comes to "iced" coffee, that's not something I am very much into, but if it's the only form of coffee available I will surely go for it!

But my addictions don't stop at coffee... My next addiction (which is not that bad in the grand scheme of things) is no other than Crochet!

It is by far the best indoor hobby I've ever had and it's such a HUGE part of my life that at this point I cannot imagine not crocheting for the rest of my days.

Plus it's amazing that with my own two hands I can create such cool things to gift to people and even keep to myself.

Here are the latest project I've finished...

Red Eye Tree Frog for my Brother and SIL

Pot Holder for my SIL

Kitty Cat for my friend Paxton

And right now I am working on another potholder that I am going to take for a House Warming Party on Saturday...

Like I said before, "in the grand scheme of things" I think my addictions are not too, too bad, at least I am not addicted to sugary things or anything illegal... right?

What about you? Have any "addictions" you want to come out clean with, LOL!

Happy Thursday... Now I am off to check out the rest of the link up for Random Thursday!

Wisdom Wednesday

Wednesday is here and I think we can all use a little doze of Wisdom to remember what we know deep inside our souls but that we tend to forget because of burdens and situations of daily life...

Today I have choose the following pieces of Wisdom to light up your day!

Happy [Wisdom] Wednesday!!!

Photo Competition

Hello Tuesday, hello all!

Today I am starting my post by asking a favor from all my lovely readers. Yes pretty please, say yes?

What is it?

Well, recently I decided to submit three of my photos in a photo competition for the Cayman National Cultural Foundation, so I am participating in two categories "Arts & Culture" and "Nature and Wildlife"... Plus a Bonus category, the "Color Me Yellow" one sponsor by the Cayman Islands Yellow Pages and that voting takes place on Facebook.

Here are the photos I have submitted on each category, to vote please click on the link below the photo and once on the website just click on the "star" that appears on the side, Thanks in advance!!!

Arts & Culture- "Little Pirates"

Vote HERE

Nature & Wildlife- "Curious Dove"

Vote HERE

And for the "Color Me Yellow" category, here's the photo and link to vote.

Vote HERE

For the "Color Me Yellow" voting, once on Facebook please scroll down and click on page 7 to find my photo.

Of course if you feel like browsing through the rest of the photo and vote, please do so, I don't expect everything for me, in fact I have already voted for some other nice photos too!!!

Thanks again and have a wonderful day!!!

Monday Thoughts

It's Monday again, I know... scary thought, hey?

The weekend was a dark and gloomy one, but not necessary because of the weather but because of the fact that my hubby was "under the weather", in bed and with a terrible cold...

But, that didn't stop me from going to my friend Nora's birthday party, it was a nice even at her condo complex, we had a BBQ in between the pool and a lovely lake they have... Had a good time but it would have been better with my hubby by my side!

From Left: Nicola, Nora (in the middle) and Me!

Other than catching up with some crochet projects I didn't do too much... Next Saturday we have a House Warming party at our friend's Helen place so I am making a set of Pot Holders for her...

Remember these I made a while ago?

This time I am making them sort of Daisy looking (which is my favorite flower), once I have them finished I will share the photos and perhaps I can start thinking about a giveaway in the lines of this, What do you think, like them?

Well, this is it for today... But before I finish today's rambling, here's a nice picture I took yesterday.... Looks inviting, right?

Hope everybody had a nice weekend and a wonderful week ahead!

Friday Letters

Dear Left Index Finger: Dunno what's up with you lately but you've been very stiff and really hurting me. Is it because the crochet load is been way too much on you... well, better get on with the program as the weekend is coming up so I feel new project coming our way.

Dear Pop Quiz Night last night: Although it was a fun night out with friends, all of the questions were very "British" and being that the last time I checked I am NOT British I felt as if I have not clue what they were talking about, LOL!

Dear Allergic Rhinitis: I've have had enough of you already, please give me back my nose immediately, as I like to be able to breath fully and whenever I want to!

Dear Polar Bears: You are so freaking cute and adorable, wish you were more "pet friendly" so I can have one of ya' to do this to everyday!!!

Dear Influenza: Please stay far, far, far, far away from us and specially my hubby as he's been sneezing and his throat is been acting up, plus the weekend is coming up and that surely is his favorite time, so please do not feel welcome and hang around, thanks!

Dear readers: I am hoping that the new word verification is not too much or a hazard. Thanks to those that recommended me to moderate comments via emails, well although it is an option it kind of defeats the purpose of avoiding spam as I will still receive all the spam messages on my inbox and that will be annoying too.

Dear April: One weeks of your lovely month is almost done, here's to a great weekend for me, plus all the lovely bloggers and readers out there, HAPPY WEEKEND!!!

Another Day, Another [random] Post

Yesterday we were invited to have dinner at our friend Chris and Jo's house.

First we had some delicious beef carpaccio but a very different one than what I've tried before. Our friend Frank first cooks the whole chunk of meat in lemon juice in the oven and then cuts thick pieces of it, adds chopped red onion and capers, yummy, it's all I am going to say about that!

Then we also had some really delicious salad and pasta, plus some banana foster for dessert... Yes, we were totally spoiled!

Oh and I almost forgot the refreshments... There were several kinds of wine but I drank a Stag's Leap Merlot that I bought, very good and goes amazing with the carpaccio!

Tonight I am planning to attend "Quiz Night" with some friends... It should be a fun night, first time we ever try it and the best part is that is all for a VERY good cause! -Wish us luck!

And since we are sort on the topic of dogs, I saw this the other day and it made me giggle!

The other day I saw the following thing on facebook and it not only made me realize why I don't like about 60% of the music playing on the radio nowadays, but also made me feel pretty sad about the many really talented people out there that don't have the chance to share their talent with the world because perhaps they don't have the looks or even the right marketing to make it big... so sad :(

Well, it's almost Friday so the weekend is just around the corner... I've been fighting some allergic rhinitis for a few days now so I am really looking forward to some days off again.

Happy Thursday!

No to GMO's

Lately I've been reading so much out there about GMO's in so much of the products out in the market that it really upsets me how companies have the nerve to play with people's health and to deceive about the reality of their product.

For those that don't know what GMO stands for here is is:

GMO: A genetically modified organism, is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Organisms that have been genetically modified include micro-organisms such as bacteria and yeast, insects, plants, fish, and mammals. GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods, and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce goods other than food.

So I guess in other words, products that call for all natural ingredients really are not, so we are basically putting poison in our bodies, yikes!

There are lots of product like that in the market as I write this, but today I am just going to talk about one good example is...

I didn't know that the Olive Oil I currently have in my pantry is actually one of those genetically altered canola plus a mix of other, although if you read the label it clearly states 100% Olive Oil.

So, do you know what kind of Olive Oil you have in your pantry?

Just some "food for thought"!

Have a great Wednesday :)

Tuesday acting like Monday...

My life is been son "blah" lately that I am not sure if I even have 10 coherent thoughts to share with you today... but here they go.

1.

Some people simply cannot park backwards and they don't want to admit it, so they make the effort and take about 10 minutes on a simple 1 minute operation while others (like me) just have to sit there and wait for them to be able to park... What's up with that?

2.

I am in really big need to a manicure, although I do work on my own nails at home, while I was home I had a manicure for the wedding and it was so amazing, I need to start making a point of getting one at least once every two weeks, right?

3.

Our dogs are such "beach bums" and I love them..

4.

Monday we took the dogs to the beach again, it just makes me so happy to see Sheba have such a blast while swimming, it makes my day!

Sheba and Ditto

5.

Yesterday we watched the movie "The Impossible" and it was such an intense and sad story, but I liked it mainly because it has a happy ending despite of all the physical and emotional devastation...

6. 

I'm starting to think about my next giveaway already, but don't have any inspiration about what to giveaway so I would like and really appreciate some suggestions, thanks!

7.

Back at home in Costa Rica I have this two African Ebony Sculptures that were given to my by my Grandmother and that were bought back in the early 1970's in Kenya by my aunt... They are pretty big, about 2 feet tall, if only I knew how much they are worth, can't bring them here because they are very heavy and I am afraid they will charge me an eye and a leg in duty. Here's a picture of one.

8.

Can hardly believe we are already in April 2013, feels like just yesterday the world was going to end (according to the Mayans) and here we are still...

9.

If anybody is already thinking what to get me for Christmas, here's an idea... Just sayin'

10.
And last but not least, here's my advice for the day...

Happy Tuesday!!!

Look, it's a Warthog!

These past four days have possibly been the laziest days in the history of lazy days... In fact I only made it out of the house for dinner with friends on Friday, Sunday church and a quick lunch out with the hubby.

Ahhh, but if feels too good to just be, specially when you get to be inside the wonderful and secure walls of your own home, with your hubby and your four legged kids!

I do have to say that although there were lazy days I did get to work a lot on crochet and here is one of the 3 projects I completed these past few days.

look it's a Warthog

I also managed to squeeze in some Bones episodes and even a few good movies (but no new ones).

So, basically the point that I am trying to make is, that I don't have much to report. Hope you guys had a wonderful Easter, productive, lazy or whichever way you enjoyed it!

Happy Monday!!!

It's so annoying...

There are lots of things and situations in life that are just plain annoying, I know it and you do too... And although I don't really like to complain here are just a few that come to mind today.

It's so annoying when people don't return a greeting even though they heard you perfectly well, I dunno if it's because they are plain rude or perhaps have no manners at all, but c'mon people "hello" it's just a two syllable word and if that is just waaay too much effort then just go for the plain "hi", right?

It's so annoying when people who have never meet or talked to you before, use a joke or a "clever" comment for their first interaction. I find this annoying mainly because you don't know other people's humor so why start an interaction pretending you are funny when in fact you might sound just sarcastic or even just plain stupid... just saying.

It's so annoying when you write a whole comment on a post and then you have to go through the "word verification" crap, yes, I find that very annoying, but unfortunately lately I've been getting TONS of spam messages from anonymous users to I am being forced to use the word verification from now on... I know, annoying right?

Sorry to all my regular readers and specially those who comment, if this is too much of an inconvenience and you prefer to not comment, I totally get that, hopefully I won't loose you guys fo'eva!

In other news, it's Friday for me, yeeeah, and although we are not having typical Caribbean sunny weather, a cloudy day off beats any sunny day at work, right?

Happy Easter everybody!

just random thoughts

Well, well, well... it's Wednesday already!!!

Lately (trying to continue with my healthy living habits) I've been sort of infatuated with a product called "Le Pain des Fleurs" or "The Bread of Flower" (Quinoa version as there are others!). OMG I have to say those crispbreads are simply delicious, specially if you put peanut butter on them.

So, if you see them at your local supermarket, give them a try, promise you won't be disappointed, plus they are Gluten Free (in case that makes a difference for you!) and you can put jelly, peanut butter, cheese, or pretty much about anything on top of them!

The weather is been pretty good lately other than some wind, but yesterday such wind started picking up to the point that the ocean got really rough and by the evening and this morning we are having gusts of about 20 mph, now this a.m. it's very cloudy and yucky out there!

But I don't care what the weather brings this next few days, mainly because...

So, as long as I have my hubby, my dogs, my cats, my crochet, books and my pool, I am all set!

Last night I tried a new recipe for Kale & Potato (with turkey sausage) soup, it was whole meal in itself and it was very tasty.

Although I don't follow football (aka soccer) as much as I used to anymore, I find it unbelievable that FIFA didn't want to cancel and do a rematch for the game between CR and USA after they played while snowing and ended up with 3 feet of snow on the ground. I find it not only unfair but ridiculous, it is not ice hockey we are talking about here, LOL!

To our advantage, our national team won 2 - 0 against Jamaica last night so we are still ahead of the cheating USA team anyway, LOL!

I find it incredible that it's almost April already, 3 months just flew by like nothing, which makes me think the more reason to live life to the fullest and love as much as you can, because whether we live to be one more or 100 years more, that is all that really counts!

Happy Wednesday to all!!!

Count to 10...

I've been officially back for 9 days and I have to say it already feels as if I don't even remember the last time I went on vacation...

Maybe it's because my time away was not the type of vacation where you actually get to rest, it was more like a full on agenda of doing stuff everyday, seeing people everyday and having lots of fun, but no rest for the weak!

So, now I am back until further notice for good and it's Tuesday so once again I am linking back to Linny's Vault & Co. for another edition of Ten on Tuesday!

⓵

Do I need to say more? I don't think so...

⓶ 

Whenever I go back to visit my parents I make a point of buying my Mom different packages of seeds and I love it when I go home and some of those seeds are already plants. 

This past trip my Mom had a beautiful Equinacea plant blooming (from one of those seeds)!

⓷

And then there's this... LOL! 

Some people could really use a cone of shame when it comes to cellphones, I call them "zombies" because they are sitting at a public place completely and absolutely focus on their phone and disconnected from all environment, it's like they are "living death"!

⓸

About 3 weeks I decided to try and grow an avocado tree out of a seed, so after eating the avocado I did the whole poking holes with toothpicks and put it in a jar with water... Well, after much patience and making sure it had water, a root showed up after about 2 1/2 weeks and finally now an actual plant is showing up, I am very excited and can't wait until we are able to put it in the ground... 

(although that not going to happen for a while cause it needs to have a decent size for it to grown on our very rocky ground!).

⓹

You know what grinds my gears? When you send a message to somebody via facebook and the person reads (and u know because the program displays when it was read!) but they never reply?!? It's like WTF, where is courtesy of replying at least a couple of words, I never not reply to any messages.

⓺

To all those friends of mine that now are BIG runners, they do marathons, triathlons and any other "thons" out there, all I have to say is...

⓻

So, I finally ended up wearing the Blue dress for the wedding and here are finally some photos... Photo quality is NOT the best because those were taken with my phone.

And here's a photo with my friends!

⓼

We ALL love cats, don't we? Well, even if you don't today is a great day to give the opportunity to the wonderful Cody the chance to be one of the AmazeCats Next Top Cat.

Who is Cody you might ask? He is Caren's lovely kitty and she is a super nice lady, fellow blogger and reader, so if you have time today, and tomorrow, and the next day... Please click here and vote for Cody, thanks! (you are able to vote everybody, so why don't be extra special and do so?!?!?)

⓽

I am excited because I've submitted two photos in the photo competition of the Yellow Pages "Color Me Yellow", people are able to vote starting on April 8th to the 22nd, so when the right time comes I will need all the support I can. Here are the photos I've submitted.

⓾

Well, being that Friday is Good Friday and a holiday, today is sort of like a Hump Day for me and those that are celebrating Easter, what are your plans? Anything special?

Have a great day :)

Full on Weekend

You know it was a nice weekend when it was full of sun, sand and sea!!!

On Saturday we took the dogs to the beach and although there were some waves in the sea, our dog Sheba was totally in her element and enjoyed jumping and swimming around like a fish!

Ditto on the other hand is very good at chillin' under a tree and loves to go for walk but doesn't like waves at all...

On Saturday night I participated (along with other girlfriends) on the "Light Up the Night" Walk against breast cancer that took place in Seven Mile beach, we all wore glow in the dark t-shirts, plus glowing stick and even glowing balloons, it was a fun time for a good cause!

Sunday was spent at home (most of the day) but we also went snorkeling for a lil' bit, had a good time... But really, who wants to leave home when I have this on my back deck?!?!?

Now it's off to start of another week, a short one again being that it's Easter week, hope everybody is having  a great Monday and here's to a great week!!!