Ya..so I have been playing since December. I came home for Christmas on Dec 18 (I think) and I am still here. We celebrated Christmas and New Years and then took off for Costa Rica. Now I only have a few days left here in AZ before I go back home to NYC. I was anxious for the time to pass quickly but now that it is approaching... I want time to stand still. I have had so much fun with my parents and it has been nice to relax and hang out with them. I know that I will look back and cherish the time that I have spent with them....especially when they are on their mission soon and I wont be able to talk to them every day. Anyway... I guess I better have a LOT of fun here the next few days because the COLD weather and craziness of NYC will be all around me again in just a few days. Wow!
Now can you see why I miss Costa Rica? I have been home for 2 weeks now and I miss is tremendously. I guess I will just have to plan another trip...shucks!
I couldnt believe how pathetic Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, was acting tonight at the Super Bowl. He made the most cheap call that I think jinxed his team for the rest of the game. Then he ended all of the excitement and celebration at the end of the game because the clock had 1 second left. He made the police clear everyone off of the field so that they could play out that 1 second. Are you kidding me? 1 friggin second? It was pathetic! The worst part of it was that he had the police escort him off of the field before the 1 second was even played out...he wasnt even there! He walked off so that he wouldnt have to be a witness of the celebration that NY had on the field. Oh well....maybe next year....right Bill?
My mom and I went to see the movie 27 Dresses today. It was super cute and we got some good laughs out of the storyline. I wont say too much in case some of you plan on seeing it....but I did want to make a couple of comments. My friend "SYC" also known as "A" told me the funniest story a few months ago. I havent asked her permission to tell the story....so I cant give all the details...but let's just say that it had to do with not liking a bridesmaid dress that she had to wear. I was reminded over and over of "A" while I watched this movie because there were so many funny punchlines and comments made about the funky dresses that brides pick out for their friends to wear so that they wont be prettier than the bride. Ugh...how annoying! Anyway...very cute movie.... I would give it 4.5 stars on a scale of 1-5. Let me know what you thought of the movie if you see it.....
So what do you think this is a picture of? Could it be the dried out mud in the desert as it curls up searching for moisture? Could it be a puzzle with all of its peices? Could it be land trying to separate into little islands? Could it be the spots on a giraffe? Well... It is none of those things....it is my neglected and SUPER dry leg. Yup... I dont think I have put lotion on my legs since I got back from Costa Rica because I have been lazy and havent thought about it. I am just NOT used to the dry air in Arizona anymore and my skin has gotten SUPER dry. I was changing into some different pants just now and looked at my leg and about fell over..... I cant believe how dry it is. The picture really doesnt even do it justice....it is pretty impressive. I should send a picture to that lotion company (I cant remember which one it is) that does the commerical with the croc or aligator to show how scaley people can get without lotion...ha.
No, I am not talking about my love for the ice that they use at Sonic....YUM! I am talking about Ice Skating. I went last week and had a great time...I went again tonight and had a BLAST! I skated for two hours and it seemed to go by so fast. I guess it is true when people say that "time flys when your having fun." I was cruising around the rink and was able to get up some speed and even got comfortable doing circles and sharp turns....super fun! I am totally going to go again next week...yay!
I saw this recipe in a circular for Fry's Supermarket. They had published a few recipes for the Super Bowl in an attempt to get more business from all of the people making party food for their football watchers. I decided to try it out because it sounded amazingly yummy. I whipped it up for my Michelle's birthday dinner and it turned out fantabulous! (The Indian buffet was for lunch....then we had a dinner that night...yup...there was a lot of eating going on that day....ugh!) Go NY Giants!
Sassy Southwest Spud Salad
2 lbs. red new potatoes, boiled and cubed
1/4 c. scallions, chopped
1/2 c. roasted red peppers, diced
3/4 c. sour cream
3 T. mayonnaise
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (sharp is yummy)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
Place the diced potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped scallions and red peppers. Add the sour cream and mayonnaise, gently mix together. Fold in the cheddar cheese and season to taste with the garlic and salt and pepper. Place in a sealable container and store in the refrigerator overnight. Serve cold. Tip: You can roast your own peppers in the oven under the broiler or on the grill. Turn them until all the sides are charred and then let cool. Peel the black skin off of the peppers, remove core, and then dice.
My brother called me tonight and informed me that the Prophet of our church, President Gordon B. Hinkley had just passed away. It really caught me by surprise and I was truly saddened. The random thing about hearing this news was that my parents and I had talked all about the life of the prophet earlier in the day. We went on a family drive in the afternoon and we were discussing some of the monumental things that President Hinkley counseled us to do during his time as the Prophet. My mom even said, "I am going to be really sad someday when I hear the news that he has passed away." I responded and said that I thought it would most likely happen in the next year or two.
I am truly grateful for President Hinkley and the counsel and guidance that he gave us. I am also thankful for his sense of humor and willingness to guide us and give us words of encouragement and hope. I am sad to know that he has passed away but I have peace knowing that he had now been reunited with his wife in heaven.
Okay...so let me set the scene. We (my parents, Royce, and I) are traveling from San Jose to the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and we are in a little "micro bus" kind of like a mini van. I am up front with the driver and we have 4 other passengers with us. Royce asks me to ask the driver how long it will before we stop so he can go to the bathroom. The guy told me it would be about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, my dad wanted to find out if the driver could let us know when we were passing through a little town that he had seen on the map called Arizona. The driver said that he had never heard of it. Time passed and it was more like 15 minutes and all of a sudden Royce yells in a SERIOUS voice, "Sandi, tell him to pull over right now or I am going to pee my pants." The guy swerved into a little restaurant and guess what it was called, "Bar Arizona." If Royce hadn't had to go to the bathroom...we would have never seen Arizona, Costa Rica. How crazy....right?!
Bytheway... Tico's is a nickname for the locals around Costa Rica. I have used that word a few times in my latest posts and I just wanted to clarify what it means. Tico= Costa Rican. Yup!
My friend, Bocky Squawk, called me last night and asked me to meet her over at the ice skating rink. I guess they wouldn't let her little girl in unless her mom skated with her. Well, that wasn't going to happen since Bocky Squawk has two babies to take care of. I went over to the rink and skated with her little girl and it was a blast. I thought I was going to break my neck as I got on the ice but I actually had a ton of fun and surprisingly did pretty well. I didn't even have any crazy moments where I was trying to get my balance or anything. No near falls or screams! I started to cruise around pretty good and actually want to go back again soon. I guess my roller blading days set me up to be an okay ice skater. I am not saying that I am going pro anytime soon... but at least I wasn't a total freak out there about to crack my tailbone like I see many people at the rinks in NYC doing. Hmmmmm.......
Alejandro: A nice guy from Colombia who sells jewelry in Playa Samara and went swimming with my brother and I one afternoon. Very nice guy!
Doña Petronila: An indigenous lady who lives in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side of the country. She is part of the Bri Bri tribe and lives on a Cacao (cocoa) farm and taught my mom and I how to make chocolate. We saw the process from picking the cacao from the tree all the way to making the cocoa paste and making chocolate. Very cool experience!
Graciela: She works at a fruit and veggie stand that is in Nicoya Guanacaste in the Pacific. We went there to get some limes and avocados to make some guacamole at our Villa. She had fun practicing her English with me.
Mari: She sells jewelry with her grandfather in Puerto Viejo in the Caribbean. She was super sweet and told us that she was studying to be a doctor.
Juan Carlos: He is a young guy (14 years old) that sells "grilled meat" on a little push cart. I guess you could say that he sells shish-ka-bobs. Anyway.... was super funny and would always yell out to me when I walked through the village. He gave me a shish-ka-bob one night and as I walked away he told me it was horse meat. Wow! I accepted it graciously and almost died as I walked away. Ha!
I have decided to share a few parts of my trip to Costa Rica and present them with awards. I hope you enjoy them! Again... I promise I don't work for the tourist bureau of Costa Rica...but this is one amazing country and if you ever have questions about it or if you plan a trip some day.... give me a call.
We left the Pacific coast of Costa Rica today and are back in San Jose. We leave for the Carribean side tomorrow for a week and it should be fun. The specific name of the place that we were was called Samara in Guanacaste and now we are headed for Puerto Viejo in Limon. The beaches of Samara stole my heart not to mention the locals that are amazing. I am hoping that the Carribean people and town will do the same. I have heard that you have to keep an extra eye on your belongings there but the tropical views are said to be amazing. I will write more about my travels when I get home and can post some pictures but lets just say that it has been awesome. I wanted to cry as I left Samara this morning and the thought crossed my mind that I might never get to walk on those beaches again or see that beautiful part of the country. I hope to be able to travel back here someday but I guess I will have to see. I am trying to make the best of every day and doing all that I can to see it all so that I wont have any regrets once I get back to the states. Church was awesome yesterday in Nicoya. We met some very nice members and the sister missionaries in that area are great. The members of the church are soooooo strong here. Royce and I went on a motorcycle adventure a couple of days ago and it was an experience that I will never forget. Just imagine he and I on a motorcycle in Central America going through the jungle looking for crocodiles and picking bananas. We saw a ton of monkeys in the trees and had fun talking to them. Royce would start to make a monkey "hoo hoo hoo" sound and then would squack back to him. It was amazing. We literally had like 50 monkeys in a tree above our heads. The crazy part about the trip is that we totally wiped out on the motorcycle. Yes... if you are going to wreck on a motorcycle... make it memorable. I have have of all the dirt in Costa Rica in my knee cap but it is okay now. Royce was a little scraped up but all we had to do was get cleaned up and glue the blinker light back on the motorcycle and it was all good. I think that my check bone should be better soon... it currently hurts even when the wind blows and applies pressure on it. Ouch! Well.. I better sign off. I need to get some Zzzz's before we travel across the country in the opposite direction tomorrow. Adios for now my friends.
Hello from Costa Rica everyone! All I can say is if you havent been here than you need to get here any way that you can. It is a MUST in your lifetime! This country is amazing and I have only seen a tiny portion of it. I am sitting here in an "Internet Lounge" where you pay by the minute. I dont have a ton of time to type but thought I would just make a quick post to let it be known that I did arrive and I am truly enjoying every minute of it. It has been filled with great food, lots of laughs with my crazy parents and brother, awesome waves in the pacific ocean, lots of fruit (mangos, papayas, guava, pineapple, etc), bike rides, iguana watching on the streets, beautiful men watching (yum!) and just looking at the most amazing scenery that I have ever seen in my life. I had to break the news to Jose on the phone last night... I let him know that Costa Rica has his country (El Salvador) beat by leaps and bounds when it comes to beauty. Sorry Jose but this place has stolen my heart. Anyway... I am kind of rambling....but just wanted to say that all is well. We are staying here for a few more days and then heading across the country to the carribean side to a place called Puerto Viejo. We are currently in a place called Samara. Anyway... tomorrow is going to be filled with much more beach time and maybe a little excursion off to another beach. We may do a boat trip or rent some motorcycles and scooters to zip off somewhere. Speaking of zipping off somewhere....I konw that my brother and dad are going to do the canopy ziplines in the jungle but I dont think I am up for that...I am afraid that the cable might snap and that could be the end of me. I am super scared of heights! Well... I am off to swing on the porch in our private little villa and sip on a piña colada....like they say in Costa Rica....Pura Vida!
This blog entry might ramble a little BUT I had to share an experience while I was on my Houston adventure. I don't really know how to put all of this into words because it is pretty sacred....but I just want to use this as an example of how we should be more Christ-like in our lives and also how we as members can be tightly woven and supportive of each other if we want to be.
While I was on the plane, I overheard a man behind me talking about BYU and how he had just taken his son up to school that weekend. My plan that night was to sleep in the airport from 3am (the time I was getting there) until about 7 and then take a taxi to the passport office. I waited for this man to get off of the plane and then I asked him a couple of questions. I introduced myself and told him that I was a member too, etc. All I wanted to know was what time I should leave the airport because of traffic, etc. This man was so nice and I found out that he was the Stake President for the Bay City, TX Stake. He found out that I was going to stay at the airport and insisted that I stay in someones home that night. I felt so guilty and didn't want to bother anyone but he said, "People always ask me to find them an opportunity to serve and I never have anything to give them. Now is our opportunity and we need to help you tonight." I was really pleased, and little anxious/nervous, and also realizing that it was an instant blessing. We walked to the baggage area and (after talking about me and my situation forever) President Martin looks at me and said, "Well, Sandra, I am coming home to a tragedy today. My daughter was killed after church today." Silence! I was just dumbfounded. This man was SOOOOO worried about me and he is trying to get home to see his family after his daughter was killed in a car accident? He was so self-less and Christlike. I met his counselor, President Whipple, and of course there are a TON more details but in short.... I stayed out in a "bayou" in Lake Jackson, TX (50 miles) outside of Houston and their home was beautiful. They gave me my own room and I got to sleep a while. I woke up to English muffins and eggs and then they took me to the passport agency another 50 miles back to downtown Houston. The Whipples are awesome and I am so thankful for them letting me into their home. President Martin & President Whipple are men that will always come to mind when I think of the word CHARITY. I will never forget saying goodbye to President Martin as they dropped me off at the house so I could sleep (and then he went on to see his family)...I thanked him and talked a few moments and he said, "Sandra, this was meant to happen. You provided us an opportunity to serve and in doing so I have been directly blessed. I needed this tonight to help me through the pain of losing my daughter. Thank you." I later found out that his daughter was my exact same age! I feel so blessed to have met these men....Now I have some new friends in Texas and they are amazing!
Ya... so guess who is still in the good ole USA while her parents and brother are in Costa Rica? Yup... I got to the airport and all the way to the gate to board the plane and then and employees did a final passport check and said, "I cant let you on this plane!" She wrote DENIED ENTRY in HUGE black letters across my boarding pass and explained that Costa Rica has some funky laws that most other countries don't have. My passport is due to expire on Feb 1 and since it would expire in less than 30 days than the day of my entry it was NO good. Ugh! My dad's face about froze and he turned all kind of crazy white and I could tell he was just sick. I stayed strong as I watched my parents and "R" get on the plane but I knew I had to be strong. Here is a point in the story that I can feel sorry for myself a little bit.....the only person who speaks Spanish and would be doing all of the translating, the person who had done all of the calls to C.R. to set everything up.... GOT STUCK HOME.... what?? It is my parents trip though so I am just thankful that they invited me to go with them. Anyway, It was a Saturday and so there wasn't much I could do about it until Monday. I had to go through all of the options though. 1) Fly to LA to the federal passport agency 2) drive to LA 3) Go to another one of the states that has an agency, etc. So... my dad told me to take care of it as fast as I could so I could get to C.R. really fast. Then end result was that I flew Sunday night to Houston Texas and got there at 3 in the morning. I went to the passport agency on Monday morning and got my passport and then flew back to AZ on Tuesday evening. Ugh! Such a crazy experience and such a BIG mistake that we made by not knowing the law. I just thought that it expired when it said it did... I had know idea that it could be a problem. Had I know... I would have taken care of it in NY at the office by my house instead of spending (take a big breath) $731 to get to Houston over night. My dad's credit card is still smoking from that purchase! Good news.... I fly out Tuesday at 2:30...yay!
My mom turns 62 tomorrow... but since we will be flying to Costa Rica.... we decided to celebrate a little bit today. My best buddy Michelle came over and had lunch with my parents and I. She rocks and she is like another daughter for my mom so.... she made an awesome salad and brought it over. Dad and I bought some pineapple teriyaki burgers and we had cake and Dairy Queen ice cream for dessert. It was a fun afternoon and a very yummy and simple lunch. Thanks for coming over Michelle and Happy Birthday Mom!
I haven't been blogging much lately but it is due to all of the fun that I am having with my family in AZ. It has been fun to celebrate the holidays here and to get to spend so much time with my family. Christmas was amazing and New Years Eve was really fun because I was able to spend some great quality time with my niece that is 14 years old. The holidays have past but a SUPER big highlight of my trip home starts tomorrow. One more big celebration before I am back to the cold of NYC. I am traveling to Costa Rica with my parents and my brother "R" in the morning. I am not sure how "R" convinced his wife and 4 little boys to let him go to C.R. for 2 weeks but he pulled it off (a big thanks to my sister-in-law for being such a trooper). Anyway... my parents are planning on putting their mission papers in this Spring and they are considering a Spanish speaking mission. They invited me along for the trip so that I can help them brush up on their Spanish skills along the way. It should be a blast! So...Costa Rica here we come.....Pura Vida!
