Grace in Small Things 10/365

It's been a while... but I definitely feel like I need to start this back up again. School has started and I'm exhausted and feeling the stress and pressure coming on. This year I'm more aware of it though... I'm really trying to manage it. Anyways... here goes!

1. This picture:

Make your own caption...

2. My husband bringing me roses yesterday to congratulate me on my first day of the 2009-2010 school year!

3. The promise of tapas and sangria tonight at Ceviche!

My hope

This year my goal is to be a more FUN teacher. It sounds simple but it's really a hard task with all the challenges and time constraints that we're faced with. They want teachers to teach in a box... do exactly as the other teachers are doing... and lose most of our creativity. One of the things that I love about teaching is the ability to be creative. The teachers that I remember the most from my school days are the ones who took teaching to the limit. They challenged us to be creative and never settled for less than our best.

My favorite teacher was my 5th grade teacher, Ms. Neuenschwander. She was fabulous! I remember doing a "Hall of Famous People" for Social Studies. We each picked a historical figure and acted out a small skit pretending to be them. I was Clara Barton. I dressed like she would've and my sister Jessica was my "patient." I still remember sitting on the stage and performing for the other students. I remember really learning about the characters that were represented. She made me love Social Studies. Up to this day, I am a history nerd.

When we were learning about money we did a "Checkbook Study." We each got old checkbooks and Ms. N set up a store in the classroom. We were allowed to shop daily as long as we filled out the checks properly. This is where I learned to fill out a check properly - in the 5th grade!

I want to thank her for instilling a love of learning and making me into the teacher I am (or will be).

My first two years teaching have been a transition for me. I've figured out the classroom management and the paperwork nightmare. This year I want to bring more of myself into the classroom. I want each and every child in my room to know that I care about them and I will not allow them to fail. I want them to see the magic that lies between the pages of a book. I want them to see that they are important to someone.

I love teaching.

Thanks for the memories

Looking at old pictures from my Delta Gamma days really makes me nostalgic. It is amazing how much has changed in the 4 years since I graduated. There were definitely ups and downs to being in a sorority. I didn't get along with everyone and there were some sisters that I never really had a conversation with. But I can tell you that it was all worth it for those few sisters that truly became my sisters.

I think that the hardest part of becoming an adult is seeing your friends grow and move on with their lives. Nothing stays the same. It's sad but inevitable.

The consolation is being able to look back on the sweetest times and feel your heart swell.

Pura Vida! - Part One

Arriving, Arenal and a Very Long Hike

I'm back from my lovely vacation in Costa Rica with lots of pictures, stories, and beautiful memories. My first impression of Costa Rica was that the people were extremely accomodating and friendly.
We arrived around 10:30pm on a Thursday night and were met outside the terminal by a very pleasant man holding a sign with my name. I felt like a VIP. They took us to the car rental agency where the friendly staffed filled us in on the details of our rental. We signed and headed out by 11. Our first attempt at driving (with me behind the wheel) was a little scary. Apparently red lights are optional for Costa Rican drivers at night. We put the GPS on to lead us to our hotel and it took us to the wrong hotel. After pulling over and getting my nerves collected, we finally managed to find a McDonald's to ask for directions. It just so happens that a bike messenger was headed in our direction and said we could follow him. It was just a block or so farther and we found our first hotel, Rincon del Valle. It was super cute and extremly cozy.


The next morning (after a lovely and free breakfast) we headed out on our first major driving experience to Arenal. Arenal is not really that far away from San Jose but it takes about 4 hours to drive there. A drive that distance in the states would only take 2 hours at the most. It's the quality of the roads that really make it a challenge. We had to take winding and sometimes unpaved roads pretty much the whole way. Thankfully we had pretty decent weather and a 4WD SUV, so it was easy going.



On the way to Arenal, we stopped in Zarcero. A small little blip on the map with an interesting looking church and some topiary gardens. We had hoped to find a public restroom but unfortunately the water had been our for three days in the city so we were out of luck. We got a few pretty pictures of the church and we were on our way.






The roads in Costa Rica weren't as bad as I imagined they would be. For the most part they were paved, and even the ones that weren't paved were pretty tightly packed dirt and easily drivable. We even got to drive through a few clouds.


Our hotel in Arenal was fabulous. It was about 19km from the tourist trap of La Fortuna. At first I was kind of disappointed that it wasn't on the main strip down there... but I grew to appreciate that fact. It was quiet and relaxing at the Tilajari Resort and we loved it.

View from our balcony

That first evening in Arenal, we decided to check out the hot springs. Because Arenal is situated at the base of an active volcano, there are numerous hot springs that you can visit. Before we went I did a little research. Most of them are overpriced and crowded. Some charge almost 100 bucks for a few hours (including dinner). I ran across a great review for Ecotermales, a family-operated hot spring that only allows a max of 100 people on the premises at a time. They space let in about 15-20 each hour so it rarely feels full. For $45 we got admission and a very large dinner. Ecotermales tends to fill up pretty quickly during the high-season, so if you plan on going there definitely book in advance. If they're full there's also Tabacon or Baldi springs - but both have no limit on the number of guests they'll let in. They are more expensive and you won't get that intimate and relaxing feel like we did at Ecotermales.

This is where we had dinner. They served us rice, beans, grilled fish, tortilla, salad and dessert! I almost sunk to the bottom of the hot spring after eating.

Ecotermales was really one of the most gorgeous and serene places I've ever been. They have a large pool that's divided into different areas depending on the temperature of the water. There's also a couple of bars and you order drinks based on the "honor system" - just let them know how many at the front desk when you leave.

It was a great way to start off our trip. We drank a bit, laughed and toasted to the amazing week we just knew we had ahead of us. I joked around with Tara and Shelly and told them that when I'm feeling stressed and overwhelmed at work I'm going to think of Ecotermales and how incredible it felt to relax like that. For someone who is so tightly wound and stressed all the time... it was absolute heaven.

The next day, we decided to go into La Fortuna pretty early and book a horseback riding excursion. It was a 4 hour trip through the hills around the base of the Arenal Volcano eventually ending with a swim in the La Fortuna waterfall! But first... while we were waiting for the trip to leave we spent some time fooling around in La Fortuna. We found this man with some snakes and I decided that I wanted to play with them. Wow, that sounded wrong. I wanted to play with a man's snake. lol

The snake seemed pretty pleasant at first... and then it started to cozy up to my neck. Then the lovely man decides to inform me that it's a Boa Constrictor. I had to yell at the guy to take the damn thing off of me before it strangled me.

Finally it was time for our horseback riding trip! The first thing I noticed was that our horses were looking a little rough around the edges. Not happy and plump horses like the ones I rode in Jamaica. I kept hoping the poor thing wouldn't collapse with my vacation-plump ass on top of it.

We rode for about an hour and then arrived at a lookout where we could see the La Fortuna waterfall in the distance. It was gorgeous and surreal. Here I was standing in the middle of the cloud forest in Costa Rica. And I had ridden a horse to get there! Who would've thought this city girl could do that!

After spending a few minutes at the lookout it was time to make the hike down to the waterfall and go swimming. When we booked the tour they told us that it was an 100m hike from where we left the horses to the waterfall. LIAR! It was more like a kilometer. Which is close... but you have to factor in that we were literally descending the side of a mountain. The ground was uneven and trecherous. And there was this little hanging bridge that terrified my travel mates. This was the first of many ocassions during this trip where I thanked god for my lack of fear of heights.


We had a little guide dog taking us down the mountain. He was absolutely precious and probably the happiest dog I've ever seen. His name was Dolar and I wanted to steal him and take him home to play with my puppies.


After an exhausting hike down, we made it! Totally worth it. The water was refreshing (COLD!) and beautiful. I jumped right in and cooled off. Another surreal experience. We took some pictures and hopped out to start our hike up the mountain. I discovered that if I ran up the path it made it less painful and quick. Once we reached up top we were honestly ready to get on those horses and call it a day. The guide asked us if we'd like to stop by a Maleku indian village on the way back. Despite our exhaustion, we all agreed that we shouldn't pass it up!





They told us a little bit about their tribe and served us a drink made from fermented corn. It was delicious! They had some handmade crafts and we did a little shopping and hopped back on our horses. By the time we arrived back in La Fortuna, I think we were all ready to collapse from exhaustion.

We called it a night back at the Tilajari and got ready to depart to Monteverde for part 2 of our fabulous adventure. I will get into that in another post... coming soon!

Birth & Pregnancy

Today I went to Heart2Heart Birthing Center for a preconception consult and tour. My lovely friend Briana joined me and we asked them about 100 questions. I LOVED IT. The midwives were amazing and the facilities were precious! They answered all of my questions and I'm going back in a couple of weeks for a well woman visit. They're going to test my estrogen and progestin levels and give me a physical. Just to make sure that all is well.

The thing I liked the best about the birthing center and the midwives was that their mission is to educate you and make you an active part of your pregnancy & birth. You might say - "Of course you're an active part of your pregnancy & birth - IT'S YOURS!" This is not the case though. In hospitals the doctor makes all the decisions and sometimes their decisions are not done in your best interest. I want to have my baby without being in a drug induced fog. I want to only have a c-section is I need it and I want to know that my doctor is looking out for ME instead of trying to fit my birth experience into his busy schedule.

I'll get off my soapbox now. But seriously, if you do the research you'll see that the US has the highest instance of c-sections in the world. Also, Florida has a 30-something-percent c-section rate. The main hospital in Orlando for women and babies has a 53% c-section rate. My midwife/birthing center: 6%.

Okay, I'm done for real now.

Costa Rica blog post still in progress. I just got Shelly's pictures... still waiting on Tara's and I want to add their perspectives in before I post. Also, we did A LOT and this week has been extremely hectic and hard to find time to sit down and reflect the way I want to.

Grace in Small Things 9/365

Still working on a super long post about Costa Rica (including pictures). Should be up by the end of the week!

For now I will resume my GIST...

1. Sweet by Miss Holly - delectable, fun, and HUGE gourmet cupcakes. I have been there a few times. I limit myself to one cupcake every few months and visit frequently for their Tart Frozen Yogurt. Today I had their Marble cupcake. It was so soft and scrumptious! For a dollar you can get a glass of frosty 2% milk to go with it. Which brings me to number 2...

2. ICE COLD Milk. I love my milk nearly freezing. Sometimes I add ice cubes but it just doesn't do it right. At Sweet, they have a frosty milk dispenser. I want one in my house.

3. Having my classroom set up for the new school year a couple of weeks in advance. I will actually use preplanning to plan my curriculum this year! Instead of moving furniture and organizing! YAY!

4. Steve and I have decided that we're going to use a midwife and birthing center to have our baby. We found Heart 2 Heart Birthing Center in Sanford and I'm going to visit on Wednesday. It looks amazing and I'm totally excited about going for my preconception appt.