working...

The last two weeks have been crazy to say the least. Sharon, the office manager at All-Kleen, was on a two week vacation to Maine, so I had to work in the office every day... all day... I know you are thinking poor baby... she actually had to work for a living, but I do work for a living and I don't mind working in the office so much. I actually find it pretty mentally stimulating, but what I don't like is the constant shuffle of the kids (trying to keep them from having to be in the office with me and being bored all day and confined to a small space)- because we homeschool - and the food choices we make... because I don't have to be in the office every morning we eat a hot brunch rather than breakfast and most mornings are pretty leisurely. We hug and love each other up as we wake and then once we are over that, we move on to school work and food. Then lunch is always small and dinner is started and ready pretty early in the evening so we have time to time hang out together as a family at night too. Dinner tends to be the time when our energies come back to being home together. That is the most precious time of the day to me when we are all engaged in something whether it is watching a movie (or an old tv show since we don't have cable) or drawing or hanging out reading or building a fire or whatever we are doing... when I have to work all day if I'm not prepared we have to eat our breakfast out and our lunch if we get one, then dinner is often the quickest thing I can find to put together so that we can get to our family time at night and time to relax and just breathe... Because I cook most everything from scratch, I don't want to spend the time it takes after being away all day in the kitchen. I have really realized the impact our busy lives have on our food choices - and I don't just mean my busy life, but Americans in general. It's no wonder we are all over weight and over worked. We don't eat good because we don't have the energy to cook GOOD food so we eat a lot of boxed food, then because we are not eating whole foods and we are eating highly processed foods that all the GOOD stuff is cooked out of and then we have no energy for the next day and it becomes and endless cycle with our food choices getting worse and worse out of necessity. I am so thankful to have a life that allows me the time to eat well and enjoy food... We could still eat better than we do, but for the most part, we do ok and it is easy to be over board and I want the kids to grow up appreciating food and what it does for us. Last night we had salmon and corn cooked on the grill along with rice, broccoli, and raw carrots, and the awesome thing to me is that it ALL got eaten. The kids eat up their veggies and then for desert they had grapes and strawberries - of their own choice - we don't have any deserts in the house because I haven't made any this week, but they really didn't mind... they love fruit. They already are understanding the importance of what we take into our bodies and I am so glad they like foods that are good for them and though I would like for them to try more new foods, I can't say much, I'm really just beginning to branch out myself and eat up some new foods (my palate) has been pretty narrow most of my life.

Anyhow, we are still here... Halloween is in a few days and our costumes are pretty much together... Jason and I are still working on ours... and the kids carved pumpkins with Jason last night, so I'll have pictures of those tomorrow

coming home

Costa Rica is paradise... On Monday we woke again at 5:30 am (7:30 GA time) so we would be ready when our shuttle arrived to make the long journey back to GA. This vacation was just the right length of time. By the time we got back to GA at 10:00 pm I was so ready to breathe GA air and so sad to leave such an amazing place behind. I would have loved to have stayed longer if Jason, India, and Kalib had have been with me... you might have had to make me come home... Jason was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and I think he missed me as much as I missed him because he brought me a rose and big kiss... If any of you have ever doubted how much I love my man, doubt no more... he is a GOOD man and I love him more than I could ever write on my blog... not that anyone really needs reminding of how much I love him!

Anyhow, I promised days ago pictures of our room:

The jacuzzi bathtub:


the shower:


wet bar area:


mine and Ashleys bed:


They had statues all around the place to ward of bad energy:








The steps going up to our villa:


moments before leaving Cascadas Faralles:


On the way back to San Jose we were all somber and talking about what gift it was that we got to see and do so much and how everything we experienced was beautiful and magical and then Randall, our driver, pulled over to the edge of the road for us to take a look because we were making really good time... and this is what we were graced with an hour before getting into the real choas of our travel home...

a mama sloth and her baby on low branches of a tree... such a gift from the heavens for us... a lasting reminder to take it slow and to truly appreciate life... PURA VIDA! I have ALWAYS loved sloths - everything about them and having the opportunity to be so close... it was like I was 10 again. I really felt alive and so thankful for that moment... I am eternally grateful for the presence I learned while in Costa Rica and seeing this sloth felt like a gentle reminder to take everything back with me and stay present that life is full of beauty when we allow it to be and when we take one day at a time...






Then, we turned around and saw this view:




The most beautiful place in the world mine eyes have yet to behold... Costa Rica... the rich coast... to say the least...

So, I'm home now, and glad to be... it was a big adjustment back into the world of Television, computers, phones, schedules, and work, but I am grateful for my life and to know more about myself and grateful for all of our family and friends and to know that somewhere like that exists and I can always return and I am the only thing standing in my way of living my life like there is no tomorrow because really all we have is today...

Thank you Holly, Ashley, and Aglisha for helping me return to me and for reminding me that crazy fun girl we all love still resides inside me and she has been begging to come out and she is BACK and ready to LIVE!

PURA VIDA!!!!! my friends! PURA VIDA!!!!

Day 4

We were out late, so we slept in. I was pretty homesick by Sunday. I had only been able to talk to Jason and the kids once for 10 minutes, so I was really wanting to hear their voices and finding myself missing them, plus Costa Rica is paradise and I was emotionally overwhelmed by my whole adventure. We had seen everything I really wanted to see animals, plants, ocean..., I had gleaned lessons a plenty, tapped back into my heart and had become present in the moment again, met some amazing people, the list goes on... I cried very easily and was thankful we did not have anything planned for the day other than getting souvenirs and spending a little more time on the coast and in Dominical.

This is Dominical beach...




Dominical is a small secret surfing destination...




The beach didn't have seashells it just had these flat rocks and some were volcanic rock because there is an active volcano in Costa Rica... maybe I'll visit that when I go back along with climbing the trees...


coconuts:


4 tired girls...


city of Dominical... no paved roads and kind people everywhere.




After spending the last time in the city... we went back to the villa to have some down time and finally some resting... I took the walk to the waterfall for some time of reflection on my trip for myself... The villas are named for this waterfall and the pictures really don't do it justice...

This is view from the top (you can't see the lower half)


The view from the bottom (you can't see the top half from here):


The time I was able to spend here really grounded me and cleared my mind. I felt so fully immersed in the beauty of everything around me and all that I had experienced and seen. So many dreams came true for me on this journey even as short as it was... Costa Rica connected me even more to our Earth and a much deeper understanding of our human potential became much clearer. I feel more present in the moment, in the NOW, than I have ever felt (at least in years) and I am so thankful for it. I hope I am able to keep that alive in myself for many days to come.

day 3

At 5 am we received our knock on the door to wake us up. We had booked a boat tour to Cano Island. Our taxi was scheduled to pick us up at 5:45 for the hour drive to the Sierpe River where this next adventure was set to start. We ate a quick breakfast of cereal, got our gear together, and were ready when our ride arrived. Once we got to Sierpe we were served a hot breakfast right on the river where we watched the small boats come and go. Once we finished, we got fit for our flippers and masks for snorkeling paid, and we were on our way...

The sierpe River


4 different types of mangroves live along this river


There are lots of different animals that live on this river... monkeys (which we saw, but I wasn't able to get a picture of them, crocodiles, raccoons, and many more...


It took close to 30 minutes to get down the river to the mouth of the river where river meets ocean. This was a cool thing to think about doing. I had seen the Mississippi Delta when I was a little a girl (I think I was 8 or 9), but to actually go through where river and ocean met and to be a part of that journey was a really cool thing to do. The waves were big and the water was rough, but the driver of our boat Capitino Steve, was an excellent driver...


Once we got out into the ocean we went in search of whales... the one thing I most wanted to see... The ocean was beautiful and healthy and smelled so good and was so warm...


We saw dolphins a couple different pods of dolphins, but they were really hard to get photos of. They just move so fast. Holly got some video of them, but we were still in search of whales. The Humpbacks were in this area, so I really wanted to see one. In fact, everytime I thought about that I really might, I started to get choked up. Finally, moments before Adrian (our other tour guide) and Capitino Steve threw the towel in we saw one blow and jump out of the water. We weren't able to get as close as I would have liked, but at least I got to see it come out of the water and it slap its tail. I know that one day I will see them close up, so we were on to snorkeling...

These were the first waters we swam in.


In these waters we swam with lots of fish. The water was pretty clear, but the exciting thing we saw here was a 2 meter shark on the bottom. There were like 6 shark, but the 2 meter shark was the largest. They are bottom feeders and we were on top of the water so we had nothing to worry about being in the water at the same time as them.


We swam here for a while and then on to the beach... Cano Island, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been visually. There were hermit crabs everywhere and little lizards and the water was so clear and the air so fresh...




We saw more whales way out in the water while sunbathing on the beach... there are no pictures of the whales because they were always too far away from us.


After lunch we were off to snorkeling again...We almost didn't go, but at the last moment I decided I was going to go while the other girls sunbathed, but then they also decided to go as well. I was so glad we did. We saw a school of angel fish and clown fish and many others. While swimming here, one of the other girls on our tour (there were 2 other ladies from Italy with us) started saying tortuga! Tortuga! And we all went under water to see and there was a sea turtle about a 1 1/2 ft across. We swam so close we could have touched it. It was beautiful and awesome! It made me so grateful to be there in that moment and just be able to observe it without it being fearful of humans. It was awesome. We swam with it for a long time before having to leave because our tour guides were really wonderful. (we ended up meeting them later at a dance club)

On the way back they took us through the mangrove swamp - the largest in Costa Rica. Mangroves are amazing plants. I won't go into it here, but you should really read about them...


While heading back the up the river, we finally got to see monkeys. Holly got video of them they were just moving too fast for me to get a photo of them, but will post the video of them in a few days I hope.

We fell in love with Costa Rica while there. Our tour guides were a lot of fun and we ended up inviting them to meet us at Roco Verde a local dance club we were planning on going to that evening to salsa! They came and we all learned to salsa. Ashley stayed back at the villas because she was worn out, but the other 3 of us went and got our dance on. The music was not salsa music it was techno in spanish mixed with hair metal. It was very strange, but we still had a great time and the place was right on the ocean, so we ended up getting back in the ocean to finish the night off... then back to the villa...exhausted and exhilarated... costa rica our home away from home...

day 2

After some much needed sleep we were up early and ready to go. We went down to the dining area for yoga and meditation and breakfast. We got a quick lesson on Kundalini yoga and then we got to spend about 45 minutes in a practice. What a way to start out the day. Then our breakfast was amazing. Beans and rice with eggs rolled up in a tortilla and fried plantains on the side with a freshly made smoothie of papaya, banana, and strawberry. MMMMM... thinking of it now makes me hungry. After a leisurely breakfast we all headed back to our villa for our massages. Holly not only made this trip possible, but she also gave each of us an hour long deep tissue massage and I can not think of a better way to really start off a vacation than this morning of our trip. My massage was given by a guy named Topher who lives on a local eco farm. He was really interesting and very knowledgeable about a lot of the same things I am interested in. He works on alternative building styles and alternative sources of energy. I really enjoyed talking to him as he gave me my massage. Usually I like to lie quietly, but I was trying to take in as much as I could while there. After our massages we had to rush to get ready for ZIP LINING... I've been waiting about as long as I can remember to go up into the canopy of the rain forest. The first time I ever saw a picture of zip lining I knew I wanted to do it! I was so excited I could hardly stand myself, but poor Ashley was so nervous about it, but she was a trooper and did it! (She doesn't like heights). We took a taxi over, paid, and got suited up (not a sexy look for anyone)...We ask if anyone had ever fallen and no one had. In fact they were telling us kids as young as 2 had done it. I think my kids would have loved most of the runs...

Here's a picture of me all suited up and ready for my adventure...


We learned a lot as we went through the forest on our tour of it... We didn't go straight to the zip lines, we got to hike through it for a while first...

Here's an iguana we saw (we actually saw a lot of these while in Costa Rica)


And a sloth...you have to look closely... it was way up in the trees...


We saw a very large termite nest (I almost ate one because in the rain forest they are an excellent source of protein, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, but our tour guide Ronald did) Termites are a very important part of the rain forest. They do not eat anything that is not dead, so they play a big role in the breakdown and composting process of the rain forest.


As we walked on we saw a spiny cactus and believe me when I say you would not want to get caught up against one of these...


As we walked on we came upon a leaf cutter ant mound... Our tour guide dared one of us to get bit by a soldier ant (the worker ants are the ones that bring the leaves back to the mound, but the soldiers are the ones who protect the mound and they have some nasty pinchers, but they do not emit a poison when they bite you, so it just hurts.) I had to redeem myself from the termite incident, when would I be back in the rain forest? I had to be brave and wild and crazy... so, I let it bite me...


Now, you want to know did it hurt? Yes and no. It's like being pinched hard by a small child, until he took the body off and left the head behind. Leaf cutter ants can be used for stitches in the rain forest if you were to need them because when you take the body off, they only pinch harder... but I survived... and was off to zip line really proud of myself for being so brave!


We also saw a killer bee hive... In the picture it looks like a place on the tree where a very large limb fell off, but it's the real deal... We saw them flying in and out, so we didn't linger around there for too long... only long enough to really see it. None of us - tour guides included really wanted to meet the killer bees.


Here I am coming in on the 2nd line... there were 8 all together... this one was one of the lowest we went on, but for me, It was really cool to look down on the rain forest from any height and see it from above, but again, I've been waiting a very long time to do just that! (The guy in the picture is Christian our other tour guide - we got really lucky both days we went on tours to have guides who were a lot of fun and were willing to joke around and laugh with us)


This is my favorite picture from the trip of myself...


me and ashley (she looks a bit nervous even though we had already done a few lines by now...


And all four of us by a big tree...


As we headed on up we saw some bats in a banana leaf... they were so cute!


As we got to the top we were really high up in the trees, though the picture doesn't really show it, but at the top is where the toucans hang out and we got to a lot of them. The focus on the camera is not very good because it is so humid there that it just kept fogging up, but you can still see the toucans!


We got to eat a few different types of fruit while in the forest, but for some reason I didn't get pictures of them. It was some of the best tasting fruits I've ever had. You actually don't eat the fruit, you suck the pulp off the seed (just like a monkey) and then toss the seed... we did get to eat from a coco pod and that was the best tasting thing I ate the whole trip. Raw coco... mmmmmmm.... Here's a pic of Ronald showing us a coco fruit...


When we finished up on the lines, we headed back to the villas proud of ourselves and excited about everything we had learned and experienced. We had dinner and wine and headed off to bed ready for our next day... Zip lining really was a dream come true. It was everything I thought it would be and the next time I have the opportunity, I want to climb the trees to the tops (another tour). I'm really proud of Ashley for doing it (she went first on the highest line) and she went backwards when we did it that way. I am humbled by the beauty of all that happens in a rain forest and how hard everything works. The air is so different and so clean because everything is so green. Being there was pure magic for me... If you want to see more pictures you can look at my flickr by clicking on any picture and I think there is video of me coming in on a line on Holly's camera which I am hoping to get from her in the next day or two.

day 1

Talk about a long day of travel. We stayed in Atlanta for the night and got up at 4:00 so we could be at the airport at 5 and on our way hopefully by 7:00. Everything went smooth. We had a lay over in Ft Lauderdale, Fl and then on to San Jose. From San Jose it was a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Hacienda Baru where we were spending our nights in Costa Rica... The drive was immensely beautiful... in spite of being exhausted we were really beginning to get a taste of what we were in for...

Here is a photo from our plane just before landing...


We stopped along the way for some lunch and had empanada's and fried plantains... the place we stopped also had an area to observe the rojo river and crocodiles...










We were not disappointed when we arrived at the villas... we were tired, but soooo happy... The place was beautiful and this is the view from my porch...




We arrived at the waterfall villas too late to have dinner there because they cook everything fresh each day from scratch, so we ended up getting a cab (our main method of transportation while there) into town and had dinner at a local diner/hotel called tortilla flats... this was our first real experience of trying to convert USA dollars into Colones. Not an easy task after having been in route for 16 hours, but the food was delicious and our waitress understood our plight and was so kind and helped us figure it out. The hardest part of being there was NOT the language barrier, but the conversion of money and trying to figure out how much everything cost.

We were so wiped out that by the time our bellies were full we were all about to fall asleep at our table, so we headed back to the waterfall villas for our first night in Costa Rica. I've never slept in a bed that was more comfortable than my own, but the bed in my room was perfect every night...

where to start?

I am home safely from Costa Rica... I'm worn out, mentally, physically, and emotionally. This was the trip I have been waiting my entire life for. We missed nothing and saw everything we could. Where we stayed was part of the Baru National Reserve where the rain forest is protected from ugly unsightly development, but even where the land is not protected, the people CARE! We interacted with the people and came to know some people well for such a short time. In a way, Costa Rica feels like a home away from home and I KNOW I will return for a longer stay to take more of it in... I cried when I left. It was hard to leave such a beautiful and well loved land. I feel blessed by it. My heart is open in ways I didn't know it could open and I have learned so much about myself and what I want for my life. Thankfully, so much of what we are working towards is already in line with where it feels like I am headed, but my focus is much clearer and my vision is much clearer. I did miss Jason and the kids terribly, but I was totally cut off from the world in the ways we are most used to connecting, so getting in touch with them was VERY hard. I was only able to call home twice for 10 minutes each time - certainly not enough to fill my cup of them. There were NO televisions, NO Internet, NO cell phones, NO telephones... some of you may think that sounds terrible, but other than not being able to talk to Jason and the kids, it was wonderful. I wish more of my life contained less of those things. Coming back, I was thinking of ways to cut down on my computer time, but I do love writing on my blog for our family, but I will be spending a lot less time on here from now on. Coming back to the states was a bit of a culture shock... I learned so much Spanish I am still pronouncing a lot of my words with Spanish sounds and my dreams are in Spanish. I am in LOVE with Costa Rica and its people and their worldly intentions... If you didn't look up the place we stayed even the website doesn't do it justice, but you should look at it from the post below. We stayed in the butterfly suite. I can't say enough good things about Fateh and Franco. There is nothing they overlooked and their 3 villas are not just buildings in the rain forest, they are works of art. I will post photos of the place in a few days once I can get some more of the photos that Ashley took because she took more of our villa than I did and hers came out better... They are very dedicated to their visitors and work very hard to make sure the people visiting their place have the experience they are looking for there. Our last days I sobbed as I explained to the two of them I had been waiting my whole life to spend time in the rain forest (at least since I was about 5 and read my first book on it). The beautiful thing is they cried with me as I told them how my dream had become reality and the role they played in it...they are passionate about what they do and it is inspiring.

So, what is the best part of the rain forest? I could not possibly tell you... I think each of us came away with something different, and today, I don't have the words to explain it as my heart still wishes it were there. It is something you have to experience. It puts the soul in touch with the earth. You feel her loving arms enveloping you and hugging and squeezing you in the way only a mother can. It isn't frightening. I spent some time in it by myself in quiet and was in heaven. The size of the plants we can't imagine. Things that we grow in our homes that are small are giants and our annuals are giants and bloom year round. We weren't there during the flowering season, so I will have to go back to see all the blooms when I return.

I have over 300 pictures and I'm hoping to get Ashley's pictures in the upcoming days as well as the videos Holly took (some I can share, some I won't be able to.) I will probably post photos for the next few days of the trip rather than trying to share them all with you now. I saw most of the animals one would want to see when they visit a rain forest, frogs, birds, a blue morpho butterfly (I did not get a picture of this), sloths, iguanas and monkeys... and so so much more. We also went snorkeling and the fish and sea creatures I saw... It's just so much to put into one post. I learned a lot and experienced a lot and had the most amazing adventure I could have wished for. I am thankful to be home safely, but cannot wait to return! Come back tomorrow for photos...