Wake Up (unless you're off, then sleep in)

Cute and Poisonous

...pic taken during a hike through the jungle near the area of Manzanillo, Costa Rica.

The Lovely Bones

(written before watching the movie while waiting in the theater for it to start)

Ok, I read the book and I am set to see the movie. I am beyond excited.

I knew the movie was opening last night and already had a hot date set to watch it with me at The Movie Tavern in Bedford.

I even knew what I wanted to order. I've looked forward to this since I chose this book to read.

Sounds like I had it all lined out, right?

Kinda.

Saturday mornings are my long jogs and there is a 12:00 showing. I figured I could pull that off.

I slept in. My bad.

So the next showing is at 3:00 and there is a new Movie Tavern near downtown Fort Worth.

Verdict on the theater? Nice. Very nice. It's my new favorite. If you thought the Bedford Movie Tavern was nice, you'll love this one. It's nicer, newer and sitting in a renovated neighborhood near downtown.

(written the day after)

Movies?
Up in The Air was not bad at all. It was funny and I liked it. It made me laugh and I really felt myself rooting for Goerge Clooney's character, Ryan Bingham. Not bad, but I would be ok if I had waited to see it at home on DVD.

The Lovely Bones was pretty good, BUT there was so much left out of the book that would have really helped that movie out. There were also a couple of things that were changed from the book to the movie that upset me just a smidge.
Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 37% which I feel was kind of harsh. It did come out third in the box office from this weekend.
Susan Sarandon played the part of Grandma Lynn and I think she portrayed the character pretty much exact as the book did. She was perfect for that part and I loved her in it. If you don't like to cry in public, then wait and see it at home.
The ending in the book and in the movie was kinda of kooky. I had trouble with how it ended.
I'm still happy that I finished the book annd got to the movie after.

Confession? I still had 5 minutes of reading left that I finished Sunday morning after the movie. I kinda liked not knowing exactly how the movie was going to end.

(This was half written in the theater waiting for the previews and half at home the day after.)







I was at : Address not available

How?

Cause flute playing makes you cool!

Meet the Sloth

Sloths are a strange looking creature.

(Anyone out there throw the sloooowwww...voice out in there their head while reading that?)

Thursday

• I think at least once a week I have that moment of, "Oh wow...this week is going by fast!!" Today is of no exception.
  
• Today my lil entertainer auditions for the talent show at school. I'm pretty sure I'm more nervous for her than she is.
• My older daughter really loves to put together outfits and had a blast putting the outfit together.
• 7 seven quakes in Haiti? Wow. Google Eye's before and after pics. Could you imagine going from day to day life one second and the next is completely frightening and a fight for your own life?
• Life is preciously short.
• I am so tired of hearing the airlines increasing the price of an airline ticket $20 on the news. That's news? $20?
• I saw some self posted baby pics on facebook of some friends. I would have jumped on the bandwagon too but all my baby pics were destroyed by a firebreathing dragon. I'm pretty sure that's what my folks told me.
• I signed in to Ustream last night while cooking dinner and set the laptop in the corner of the kitchen and let the video roll. The kids had a tad too much fun with it at times, but it was pretty cool overall. We streamed live video during our evening activities.
• We had a couple of views from other countries and it was really neat to see them respond to the kid's questions.
• We also had some friends viewing also and sending messages to the kids. We might try that again tonight.
• I might...MIGHT have been busted on a certain Christmas tree still up. (Good thing the video didn't show the lights on top of the house.)
• We might do another video tonight. Maybe it can include the Christmas tree coming down.
• 100 skills everyone should master. I can't read what #82 says...eh. unimportant....the rest I can do.

Tuesday

x

• I was sitting in the car with my younger daughter when she said, out of the blue, "You need an umbrella." Sometimes I fear her blondness. It's too similar to mine.
  
• My older daughter is reading (and halfway through) with Breaking Dawn.
  
• I officially miss the baby monkey. Big time. I'm fairly certain that a monkey would fit into my family nicely.
  
• I'm not sure I can explain the glee I felt inside when this monkey crawled over me...and even more so, when I held the sweet pea in my arms while it slept.
• Oh my that thing was incredibly adorable.
  

• Sigh...now I finally understand the real meaning of depression.
• After luggage being lost, I have finally been reunited with my moisturizer. My face is happy once again.
• I put sun tan lotion and bug spray on in Costa Rica like crazy after getting sun burnt the first day in Costa Rica. I got bit by mosquitos like crazy. You are urged, strongly, to resist scratching the bites because they can get infected pretty easily from dirt or bacteria under your nails.
• Good grief, I itch like crazy...still!!! I've tried three different creams and they aren't working! I'm going to go insane.....well, more insane.
• I'm covered almost as much as one would be covered with Chicken Pox, except only in the places I put the bug "repellent".
  
• Maybe Survivor will cheer me up and distract me. They are bringing COLBY back!!!
• (Colby, I still love you.)

Oh my sweet my! He is even cuter than he was during Australia! Wow! I sooo didn't think that was possible!

• Seriously, I'm seriously, for real, absolutely stoked about watching Colby....I mean watching Surivor this season. It sounds to be pretty interesting. As always, there seems to be a bit of a twist involved. I can't wait.
• I'm not sure I've ever watch a season of America's Got Talent, but I just saw that Howie Mandel will replace David Hasselhoff. I can't stand either of them. It's odd how much I really dislike them both.
• I am almost almost almost done with reading The Lovely Bones. I tried to read it at lunch today, but I didn't want to be caught sobbing at my desk.
• It opens this Friday. THIS FRIDAY!!!
• I've almost read a book in its entirety. My older daughter who is on her fourth Twilight Book high fived me. I almost felt a little silly but still happy. I have not actually read, read a book in awhile. I think The Shack was the last one I got all the way through and that was on my ipod while I drove to my grandparents (seven hour drive). I cried through most of it.
• Ok, enough sharing of my sad sobby feelings....let's get on with Tuesday.

Monday-Monday

Awww...life in Wise County.

It's just not a good day unless you are greeted with a mobile home in the median of the highway.

I sure did miss this place.

Kinda.

Well, sorta.

Should I even mention that i have back to work Monday blues/depression?

Costa Rica - Day 8

• Last day in Costa Rica. Right now we are at the airport four hours early. (It never hurts to be on the safe side.)
• The following video is the last night in Cocles with friends.
• 
  
• 
  
• We fly back to Dallas via a stop in Miami Florida. After leaving the house at 6:00am we will set foot at DFW airport around 10:30pm. Wow...that's a long traveling day.
• Did you know there is a exit tax coming out of Costa Rica? I had no idea.
• Ugh...I have to board TWO planes today. I'm double nervous.
• I'm excited to get to go home and hug the heck out of my girls and sad to be leaving such beauty at the same time.
• You have no idea how beautiful, laid back and wonderful that place is. Amazing.
• San Jose...not so much. San Jose is dirty, fast, and filled with crazy drivers.
• San Jose has a ton of women that walk around in the highest heals. I don't understand that one bit at all.
• Ok...time to search for preflight medication and little bite to eat. Breakfast at 5:30am was a long time ago. 

EDIT:
Just checked out the weather in Miami, Florida. they are under a freeze warning and it is 50 degree and raining right now. Dallas is in the 20's. Please, please, please let me get home. I don't wanna be stuck in an airport in the middle of somewhere. I wanna go straight from Costa Rica to home, sweet, home.

Costa rica Day 7

We came back to our favorite little wifi cafe to check the score.
We didn't get to see the game on tv because they only had espn on tv. No fox sports.
The gal we are staying with got a job at the monkey/sloth/snake sanctuary that is called the jaguar rescue that doesn't have any jaguars. I'm soooo jealous. I'm blogging to you with the sounds of ocean in the background interrupted by 20 something year old backpackers playing cards while they wait for the tides to calm down enough to surf on. She is cuddling baby monkeys and talking to tourists right now.
Last night I was woken up three times: once by a huge storm, second by a bunch of holler monkeys extremely nearby and third by the rooster that I'd like to put my hands on.
Eat more chicken? Heck yeah!!
No video right now because I didn't charge it up last night. I blonde.
Sooo, is it cold back there in Texas?
:-)


Pic is authentic local tourist hottie with a French accent. Hey. Now.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Costa Rica - Day 7

Volcano erupting in Costa Rica?
Schools shut down in Texas due to ice?
Will I get home?

• We fly out in two days. (Boo.)
• Today we went on a zipline tour and got some awesome pictures.
• I uploaded a video from my google phone from a adventure booking place last night and didn't think it uploaded. It did! Yea!
• I had actually meant to upload the video where I was attacked by a monkey and had to fight it for my hair clip. (It was VERY funny!)
• We rode bikes today from the house to a hostel to check internet and we are going to a restaurant to actually watch the UT game at a place called TexMex. I got good feelings about this game.
• We have actually searched all week to see if the game might be playing somewhere to no avail.
• Today while waiting for a car to pick us up for the ziplining adventure I saw a guy riding a bike wearing a Longhorn shirt. I held up the UT sign and he did that back. We giggled because we figured he randomly got that shirt and happened to wear it today and then just so happened to give me the same sign back.
• Then he yells back something about BCS and slows down to turn around, we chit chated with the guy to learn that he went to the University of Texas and will be watching the game tonight. I'm so excited!!
• Tomorrow is our last full day and I'm not really sure what we are doing yet. The plan for today was the extreme multi-activity adventure but it was all booked up. So we did the zipline today and were going to rent ATV's tomorrow to take to a place where we could hike to a waterfall but all the ATV's were booked up too.
• No worries, whatever we do will be fun.

Enjoy today's video, more tomorrow!

Test

Video

I was at : 1500 N Main St, Euless, TX 76039,

Costa Rica - Day 6

Day 6? Seriously? No way! Make it stop!!! I need to freeze time and make it stand still.

I got word that the temperatures back in Texas are near freezing. It's kinda odd considering I took a hike and sweated like crazy! The hike went through the jungle with a guide, who happen to have graduated as a biologist in San Jose and got tired of the fast life there and moved to the coast to give tours. He was loads of information.

We saw poisonous tree frogs, baby pit vipers in a tree, tucans, black hawks, dragon flies, protected trees, and sloths.

The hike was very interesting and maybe full of just a tad too much infor for my brain to take in. The hike ended up at a gorgeous point that overlooked the coast from above and is one of the more popular places to snag pictures.

Here is a video from this morning before the tour:




This video is from when we got back and you can sneak a peek at our friend's Drew that we are staying with.



(and I had no idea I was staying with Kenny Chesney.)



Tomorrow is an eight hour excursion that includes ATV'ing, hiking, zip lining, tree climbing, water fall repelling, and lunch somewhere in between. It's one of those excursions that they only allow four people at a time including the guide and it's an extreme type of activity and not for the light at heart.
It should be a blast.



Thanks for the comments and support on the trip, the videos and the updates. The videos are getting a pretty good amount of views. I'm trying to talk my cohost into doing more when we get back to the states. If you have liked it so far, let us know and I'll bug him more. :-)

I also plan on uploading the videos from my google phone from the monkey loving and the hike when we get back, so there will be more to see. (Unless I can get it to work before.)

Random Thoughts

• This place is incredibly hot...or is my sunburn effecting the way I perceive the current temperature? I'm sitting in the shade and I'm feeling heat still radiating from my shoulders and thighs. Ouch! 
• There is a hostel that has a cafe with wifi access that is incredibly fascinating. I'm trying to figure the people staying here's deal. There is apparently a whole culture that I am completely unaware of.  They seem to mostly be of college age and free spirited.
• Every now and then you can catch a whiff of something that you wouldn't normally get a whiff of around my part of the world.
• The hostel is actually not a bad idea. You can rent a hammock w/showers for $4 a night. You are put in one big area with a bunch of other people. It kinda seems a little nuts, but I guess that is one way to backpack around South America and not spend a ton of money. 
• The coast here is beautiful. Quiet. Clean. It almost seems too good to be true.
• I had the same thought river rafting yesterday. This is too beautiful to be real. Did someone slip drugs to me and make me hallucinate?
• I was so excited this morning to get skype to work. I made a couple of phone calls to get things under control back  home. I had a little trouble hearing on the other end of the line, but was happy to be able to make a phone call from Costa Rica to home and not get charged out the whazoo in roaming.
  
• The town we're staying at is Cocless and is old. The beach and area is protected so there are a ton of rules, laws and regulations to keep it natural. I appreciate that, big time!
• It's great here, but I sure do miss some conveniences of home.I may not have much but down here I feel like I have a ton. I am thankful for what I do have. I couldn't imagine sleeping with a cardboard box in a downtown area. I could never imagine doing that.

The above was written yesterdday but my computer died beofre I could hit send.

We have had two more days of adventures....I'll catch ya up soon. For now, enjoy our latest video from the hostel.




(Ugh, hopefully the video link will work.)



Below is a pic of my bedroom at our friends house. I'll upload all the pics to flickr soon.

Teaser for the day:
I SAW, HELD, KISSED, and shared some tree leaves with monkeys today. I was even attacked by one that thought my hair barret was a flower to eat. We got that on video too!  I'll upload all soon.

Costa Rica Day 4

Another video (edit - couldn't upload so, it's coming soon tomorrow-or the next inkernet cafe I stop at) for ya giving ya a sneak peek of the upstairs of the little rented bungalow that we're staying at.
This place is NOT equipped with:
inkernet
tv
radio
paved streets
hot water
fancy technology.
This place IS equipped with:
relaxing jungle sounds
hammocks
sloths very near by
iguanas everywhere
monkeys near by (hopefully)
5 minute walk to a clean, deserted, soft sanded, gorgeous clear water.

This place is great.

Very good times.


Today is wondering around the area and taking care of business. ATM (yea - - we got money, we got money), taking care of issues back home and sending love to offspring and family members.

We'll decide today at some point what the next excursion will be.


A dog just wandered into the internet cafe that I'm sitting at with a ball....made me giggle.

We've done more videos but they are too big to email to the blog, so I'll have to take the time to download them.

My internet is limited at the cafe and I had to get stuff situated. We gots some exploration to do....fun fun!

Costa Rica - Day 3

Two minutes to give ya a post.

No video update tonight.


Hey and I saw a baby lazy fat sloth in the tree during the trip.
More tomorrow.

We did the River Rafting....Not a boat.....we RIVER RAFTED!!! I SOOOO Misunderstood!!!


He0re are a couple pics from yesterday.
;-

Costa Rica - Day 2

Today's "interesting" adventure was the Hot Springs and Volcano Viewing Day Trip. Watch the video and enjoy a giggle over that Grumpy guy. We'll post pics very soon.

Tomorrow we move from San Jose (which is not a very nice town) to the area of Cocles. Getting there will include a river rafting trip as part of the commute. (This outta be interesting.)



Hopefully the link will work, but just in case, try this link.

Costa Rica Arrival

 

We've arrived in Costa Rica...all safe and sound.

Tomorrow is Volcano Day Trip to see it erupt. I'm assured it's 84.23% safe.

...and the trip begins

We arrive at the airport and are approached in the security check to be advised that we were about to be "randomly" selected for a secondary screening....before we had even been through the first one.

So we go through and the cute guy behind me got put through the x-ray machine! I got to stand there and watch. (Superman undie-roos? I had noooo idea!)

I grab my cell to take a pic when another security agent offers to take one of us together! Cracked me up! The entire group of officers were very funny, laid back and in great moods!

Now....excuse me, I must concentrate on my pre-flight "medication".

Destination: Costa Rica.

I'll give ya updates as I go along.

Happy New Year's!

(Not me pictured! I would never wear those shoes without my toe nails painted!)