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Costa Rica: stuff we do – in video!

By on January 26, 2012 in Costa Rica, stuff we do, the cuteness, ♬ music & art ✎

as previously mentioned, we’ve established a bit of a weekly schedule here in sunny Costa Rica. it just seems to make sense in the communal living situation we’ve got going on (which we’ve always wanted to have and are happy to be trying out!).

for the first two weeks we were here Krista had her own room and the kids were bunking with us in our room. honestly, I really like all sleeping in the same room – I don’t feel like I have to sleep with one eye open, or ear, as it were, so I just sleep better. but Mr. D definitely prefers his privacy. it finally worked out for us to help Krista set up her little living space downstairs on Sunday (and by we I mainly mean Maeve), and so for the first time in 2 years Mr. D and I have had our own room as the kids moved into the space Krista had previously occupied. (Maverick was still in the pack n play in our room in the States because we only have one other bedroom and hadn’t gotten Maeve’s room moved around to accommodate him yet – we had actually figured we may as well make the transition here) anyway, it’s kinda weird! actually, we only had the room to ourselves for 6 months or less in between Maeve being born and then transitioning to her own room until Maverick was born, so yeah.

speaking of sleeping – Maverick didn’t go to sleep right away for his nap the other day and when we spied on him to see what he was doing it was NOT good…

back to schedules and routines, Mr. D is in charge of breakfasts, Krista – lunches, and moi – suppers. even dividing up the work like that it still feels like we are cooking, eating, and cleaning up CONSTANTLY. I am really thankful to be able to eat, but it just feels like the day is not long enough to eat so MUCH. case in point, I spent two hours cooking supper (picadillo, tortillas, and rice) and then we ate for a good half hour I guess, after which we had to clean up for another half hour. that was 3 hours out of my average 17 hours awake and it was only one meal. I don’t know, just kinda feels like a big fat waste of time to me. but I guess it beats buying more expensive food?

after eating breakfast or brunch (or once in a while lunch if we had to do something else in the morning) we have a little “company meeting”. we are on a rotation for who is in charge of the devotional/meditation/encouragement of the day and then we talk about whatever we might have going later that day. once that is sorted out Krista and I discuss progress on whatever projects she is working on and then we all generally settle in to work for a few hours before lunch. the kids usually run in and out between the courtyard and Tia’s house and generally play together – thank God for two, right?! most of the time anyway :)

apart from the little weekly traditions I’ve already referenced, we have also now established Sunday night as popcorn, smoothies, and movie on the wall night. I’m sure you’ll see bits of all of these little traditions at some point, but for today I present to you, Bread Day! (thanks, of course, to Krista for the fun editing and actually, in this case virtually all of the videoing :) )

check out our facebook page for more videos or subscribe to our youtube channel if you are so inclined (aka have good taste :) )

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and the award goes to…

By on January 24, 2012 in au naturel, HA! ☺, Lifestyle, Musings, Random, ♬ music & art ✎

us! woot! :)

the ridiculously beautiful Jamie over at I Am Not the Babysitter (whom you might recognize from my guest post there the other day) so splendidly bestowed on us the coveted Versatile Blogger Award last month and this is the first I’m finding time to accept – thank you silly holidays and move to Costa Rica :) .

I would personally like to redesign the button for more my style…being the little researcher that I am I went searching to figure out the origins of this prestigious award. from what I can tell there are two versions floating around the interwebs, but I will just stick with what I got from my nominator.

mostly it’s a way to recognize, appreciate, and encourage blogs that you have that special “connection” to, that have impacted you in some way, or that you just plain enjoy.

here are the responsibilities of accepting such an honor:

nominate 15 fellow bloggers (below)
inform the bloggers of their nomination
share 7 random things about yourself (keep reading)
thank the blogger who nominated you – Jamie, you ROCK :)
add the award on your post (check)

without further ado, 7 random things about me:

1.) I am a new writer at revolutionizeHer; my introductory post is scheduled for tomorrow up! I’m excited to be part of a great team of strong women seeking to encourage and inspire others!

2.) I have an average voice, but a motivated dad, which in my case equals 2 Chinese worship albums. (my family lived in China for a part of my teenage years and he really wanted to give the house church we left there some worship music in their language. so after we got back to the States he got some songs together and I worked with a friend of ours on having them translated and then the guy at the recording studio, Mark Pence, created all the music tracks from scratch working with my dad on ideas and sounds. the second album was the same way except that I picked the songs. it was 1999 and 2000 (2001?), folks, lol)

3.) this item is kinda related to the last. it’s been almost 14 years since I’ve lived in China, but at the time it was very common that your average Joe (Li? :) ) did not have a shower in their home at all. most people went to bath houses for all their showering needs. living on a college campus, it was very normal for me to see people wearing the same clothes for a week at a time, especially in the winter. I know there’s a stigma in the States about not showering every day, but I personally do not subscribe to it. I understand people have gotten in the habit of it, and it certainly makes a lot of sense for some occupations and such, but the reality is that I just do not get all that dirty in my normal day-to-day life – my work is at a computer and my hair isn’t the greasy sort. I tend to shower based on smell, how I feel, or whether or not my hair needs a refresher, as opposed to following some sort of societal stipulations. if that is disagreeable to you, do consider that I save on time, water, bath products, and don’t need to use nearly as much lotion as dear Mr. D. (also, pssst, pretty sure most moms out there have been forced – whether willingly or unwillingly – to give up a shower here and there or many wheres) I do generally change clothes every day, however :) which I realize is mostly just as silly.

4.) I’m always really authentic in relationships and care a lot about supporting other people. I have recently been wondering what my love languages are because it can be a struggle to not feel hurt when I feel like someone isn’t doing something for me that seems simple and I would bend over backward for them. I started suspecting that acts of service might be one of mine. I’ve never felt like I identified with that one, but I am now starting to wonder if I’ve been looking at it from the wrong angle all this time. and it turns out my wondering was right! my top two languages are Acts of Service and Physical Touch. if you’ve never figured out your love language and those of the people you interact with most, save yourself a lot of unnecessary frustration and go take the assessment!

5.) since we’re talking about personality type stuff, which I absolutely love and am fascinated by, I’m supposedly an ENFJ, which apparently means I’m a female Obama. ha. ha. the funny thing is that Mr. D is a male Michelle (INTJ), so… I guess we fit? lol. my semi-complete personality profile is here.

6.) along with what makes people tick, I very much enjoy observing and contemplating relationship dynamics. if I wasn’t in a creative profession I think I’d be in some sort of counseling field. I’d love for Mr. D and I to be couples’ counselors in our old age or something. maybe I’ll be able to get him to agree by then :) .

7.) aaaaand, last but not least, ummmmmmmm… thinking… thinking… ok, here’s a funny one – I’m always curious how people choose to arrange the pictures they get from Christmas cards and such every year, if they even bother to put them up somewhere at all (and how someone “makes the grade” for getting put in their display area). is there rhythm to your madness??? discuss.

I am nominating the lovelies below:
(and all you have to do to accept the award is follow the guidelines listed above :) )

A Curious Thing – Jess is open, honest, and refreshing, as well as having fun hair and tattoos – we email back and forth and exchanged some fun snail mail recently :)

Ma Nouvelle Mode – Natalia is a sweetie, down to earth and real, just what I like in a bloggy friend :) she also has some great tips on girly stuff! I did a fun guest post on her blog last month about making and keeping special traditions.

Create with Christina – um hello, her name is Christina! she can’t help but be awesome :)

Girl Willow – I just discovered her blog and ended up reading a bunch of posts because I feel like I could have written half of them. she likes ellipses almost as much as I do!

Delirious Rhapsody – recommended by Girl Willow, and for good reason. I kind of adore sarcasm. plus I’ve been wanting to start vlogging and I like the way she’s doing it. last but not least, her son Gage says crazy funny stuff – possibly even funnier than the stuff our kids say that I generally post on twitter… though they’d give him a run for his money :)

Life of Love – I just find Sar delightfully amusing. I mean, go check out the pic she has on her about page :) she and her man do funny vlogs also.

Sunlight After Rain – Sarah is an aspiring actress. I think it’s awesome that she’s following her dreams.

Not Hip Enough to Blog – with a title like that, what else do you really need to know? I appreciate when people just put their cards out on the table. unless of course we are actually playing cards, in which case I want to skunk you fair and square. ACTUALLY, Ali is a stellar musician and a cool peep :)

Elle Keeps Moving – I’ve been enjoying Elle’s blog for quite a while now, though I haven’t commented a ton. I. just. like. her. :)

Our Beautiful Little Journey -I came across Noelani’s blog last fall and she is great!

Sweet Green Tangerine – I like her style and gel with her “about” :) plus she recommends great indie music!

Behind the Scenes – Liz is a fellow RH writer. I don’t know her very well yet, but she seems pretty cool and is starting a girls’ ministry type of project called GLOW.

Stacey Nicole – I think she is a kindred spirit and you should check out this post.

The Neesby Lookbook – can you believe I chauffeured this little chica around one summer back before she had her license and now she drives a school bus? she’s adorable :)

Someone in Mind – because whenever I find a hip 30-something blogger it gives me hope, and Erin is definitely dope – and I am not a poet :)

some of them might already have this award, I am not 100% sure, but if not they should because it’s just fun :)

Comments { 3 }

Costa Rica: living on a TIGHT budget…

By on January 23, 2012 in Costa Rica, Debt Free!, Transitions, traveling

earlier this week I promised full disclosure on our expenses while here in Costa Rica. part of being able to spend some time here is doing our very best to stick to a budget (ie. spend as little as possible, essentially) well, dun dun duuuun… here we go!

thankfully we have very generous family here who provide a place for us to stay! so our main expenses are getting here, food, and occasional transportation costs (though we just try to walk as much as possible).

the first week we were here we went around pricing food items at various locations and figuring out our options. for some reason we didn’t really do that last time we were here, just got what seemed like the best, closest deals. it is good that we did this time because there is a definite variance. we have been rather surprised at how expensive some thing are – particularly makeup – some of it a good 2 or 3 times as expensive as in the states.

January8-14
$49 gas to chicago
$5.21 airport breakfast
$4 airplane snack

$23.80 [forgotten makeup - LAME (mascara, sponges, concealer) + razors]
$3.40 yummy bread for bread day [2 loaves]
$2.10 regular good bread [1 loaf]
$44.24 Mega Super [food + $1 gel, $8.26 hair dye, $2.96 hangers]
$154.48 Price Smart [bulk food + $30.19 diapers (92 Huggies size 6) yeah we need to potty train ASAP]
$20.60 feria (farmers’ market)
$2 [green mangos from a cart]
$3.07 + $0.84 [conversion fees from our bank for using our debit card (we couldn't remember if they did this or not. we'll aim to use cash from now on, obviously.)]

Total: $308.83 (NOT good, but a bunch of this will not be repeat expenses)

January 15-21

$15.58 Jumbo [seasonings + $5.82 paper for the kids, $2.40 for 2 bath poofs]
$3.50 yummy bread [2 loaves]
$5.06 chicken
$21.30 feria [fresh produce]

Total: $45.44

I know, technically the makeup and razors were not necessities, but I don’t want to feel like a total schlep the whole time we’re here… (not that that is what schlep means, but it fits in my head, so I’m using it)

(that’s my un-edited attempt at keeping myself entertained while waiting for Mr. D by learning how better to take self-portraits like a teenage girl – as mentioned before, it is a lot harder than it looks to get the right angles and such!)

I’ve actually been trying to be a better version of myself here, as opposed to my usual frumpy home-self. as mentioned on our facebook page, Maverick noticed, lol! thankfully Mr. D is fairly easy (although still never overly impressed at posing for pictures).

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Costa Rica: what’s up with the coats?!

By on January 19, 2012 in Costa Rica, HA! ☺, traveling

we’ve been having oodles of fun here in sunny Costa Rica, but we should probably explain the coats that are showing up in pictures and videos… the temp here where we are in San Jose tends to run between 60-80 degrees or so, we have no heater in our house and it stays in the low 60s, I’m more of a high 60s low 70s sort of person, at night it’s definitely cooler than during the day, and wind also cools things considerably. so while it’s certainly very wonderful, it’s more like spring or fall most of the time than summer. and now I know that I wasn’t crazy – when I was packing this time I kept thinking I was just remembering wrong or that it was because we came at a colder time on our last trip, but no, long sleeves are very useful, as are jackets and sweaters!

a few things heard around here in the last two days:

Maverick: are we ready to go?
Tina: go where?
Maverick: go to church!
Tina: go to church? what church?
Maverick: I want to go to church!
Tina: what church are you talking about?
Maverick: the church where you play panyo. and daddy plays guitar. and Cade plays drums. and Randall plays another guitar, too. and Stephanie plays bass!
(awwww, he misses our church. and he still thinks you’re Stephanie, Bethany! LOL!)

(this little exchange happened while we were cleaning up from lunch today and Mr D was putting Maverick down for his nap)
Maeve: boys make always make a mess and girls clean up.
Tina: well, sometimes girls make a mess and sometimes boys clean up
Maeve: oh, that doesn’t happen too often.
Tina: (snort!)

I highly encourage you to go at the speed of light to the videos we have posted on our facebook page! the tour of our living quarters is finally uploaded, as well as one of random  moments of humor and otherwise.

a little summary of this video includes:
silly glasses are worn
little “straw” helicopters take flight
someone snores – loudly
silly face contests are had
circles are run and dances are danced
bubbles are blown (and popped unjustly)
special footballs are discussed
arguments about the proper way to say things are had (my FAVorite! 6:40 :) )
everyone wears piggytails, including a boy who thinks he’s a girl?
swings narrowly miss one face and ejects another
the stupendous city of San Jose is seen at night from atop a mountain

go right ahead and like our facebook page to get nice little notifications when we post other super interesting and highly entertaining material. you know what they say about free stuff :) a good time was had by all! nighty night!

PS! I almost forgot, big happy thanks to our wonderful intern, Krista, for editing the lovely videos you will be enjoying during our time here in Costa Rica!

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Costa Rica: someone misses their grandma and makes a big bubble mess.

By on January 17, 2012 in around the house, Costa Rica, family, guest posting, help!, traveling

I’ve been trying to upload the video tour of our digs here (which Krista so kindly edited :) ) but the internet took a nose-dive away from awesome the last few days and it keeps timing out. so in the meantime, here are two shorter videos which you might find rather amusing if you a. know Maverick, or b. appreciate cute kids :)

first of all, he spilled almost a whole container of bubbles:

 

and secondly, he randomly decided he missed his grandma, awww:

in other news, ladies, I’m talking about breastfeeding over here today.
gentlemen, I’m sure you have other things to do :)

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