Passion Fruit

We're now at the Passion Fruit Bed & Breakfast in Fajardo, Puerto Rico for our last four nights. I've never been at a nicer B&B. It's amazing how much great service at a small place can mean when you're so used to sterile, corporate hotel chains and their "professionalism". I think I prefer the warm, personal touch.

The Passion Fruit isn't "fancy" like a hotel, but as far as I’m concerned it's even better. A great swimming pool to keep the kids occupied, delicious hearty breakfasts, a suite with two rooms, and the kids were thrilled that Doc & I let them have the one with the tv. Can you say Disney Channel in bed? (We don't have cable at home, so it's a very special and rare treat to watch "kid shows" for Bunch & Gator).

Last night we tucked the kids into bed and Doc and I went up the street for some authentic Puertoricanian food at a restaurant the workers here recommended to us. We both love mofongo!

Today we went hiking in El Yunque Rain Forrest...the only rain forest in the national park system. It was as beautiful as my memories of it. After our 1st hike through the Cloud Forrest to a summit tower, we headed down and started out on another hike that leads to a pulsing waterfall. But right after we got started, the skies opened up and started to pour their contents down. This was not well-received by The Gator. (I’m considering changing his name!) He decided he just wanted to go back. So Doc and Bunch went on, while I headed to the car to wait for an hour and a half with my boy.

At first I was admittedly a little peeved with him. I'd been looking forward to the hike to the waterfall...which I'd been to last year with Doc. But back in the car, Gator was pretty mellow, and after we started driving he eventually fell asleep. He had declined any offers of food since noon, which is just not normal for him. After adding up his mood, lethargy and appetite, I realized he probably wasn't feeling 100%, so I felt his face and he was pretty hot. By the time we returned to our room he was shivering and crawled into bed and went to sleep. Poor guy! Makes me feel bad for being less than patient with him and his attitude.

After sleeping for a few hours, Gator got up a few minutes ago, and is swimming with Doc and Bunch right now. I hope he’s feeling better for good! Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the solitude of this moment. There is just nothing like tropical breezes and balmy starlit summer nights. Buenos noches!

Stars

Last night I laid out under the stars with my sweetie, and got a lovely startan...which is infinitely superior to a suntan for a blanca like me.

Today we went on a snorkeling trip out at Coffin Island. The sea was very rough, and we were feeling the effects of the choppy ride out (combined with diesel fuel exhaust from the boat engine) when we anchored and hopped in at our first destination. Thankfully no one actually got sick.
Bunch and Gator have both snorkeled before, but the water during those times was pretty much optimal for snorkeling. Doc and I have snorkeled all over the place, and if we'd been on our own today it might have been livable. But I have to admit that even for a Snorkel Girl like me, the conditions today were probably the worst I've ever been in. The current was strong, waves were big, visibility pretty poor. I could tell that the reef was lovely, and in calmer seas I know it would have been an awesome snorkel spot. But today it wasn't to be.

As an added bonus, I had the pleasure of buddying up with my darling Gator, who is a novice swimmer on his 2nd snorkel adventure ever. He was having a hard time of it. Even with my efforts to keep him away from the reef, he got smashed into some coral and cut his leg a bit. It was rough. After about 15 minutes of frustration, pain and tears, Gator announced that "this isn't fun. I want to go back now".

This was actually the consensus of all (there was another couple on the trip), so we swam back to the boat and pulled up anchor. Captain Dave headed to another spot a few minutes away from that area, and we found some nice, calm clear water to try again. There wasn't much to see (no reef'll do that), but we had a good experience. I was really impressed with the way the kids both perked back up and gave ocean snorkeling another shot. It ended up being a really great afternoon.

Back at our fancy hotel, the four of us played in the lovely swimming pool for a couple hours together. It's been so nice just hanging out with each other. Here is a shot of my stars, and a couple other bonus stars, too.

Buenos noches!
♥

Hola

Como estas?

This post is coming to you live from Ponce, Puerto Rico. The family and I are here for a week of bonding and togetherness. I just wanted to check in and post a little update. We arrived yesterday and visited el Castillo de Santo Cristobal and El Morro...two amazing forts that were so well designed and built, that they protected this little gem of an island from seizure for over four centuries. They're quite impressive, and of course Gator LOVED them!

After that we checked in to our cheeky little motel in San Juan. We're on a budget trip here...free flights and all...so I spent hours searching for lodging that wouldn't be too horrible but was within my minuscule price range. The two-block rambling Coqui Inn won out. It was painted floor to ceiling with airbrushed garden murals...giant insects and frogs, birds, greenery etc., and boasted two swimming pools. The paintings were a very cute way to make a budget place more appealing.

This morning Doc and I both went running. I'm nearly a third of the way through my Couch to 5K running program and I am SO SO SO SO!!!! happy to announce that I've been pain-free for a while now. Pain Free. Now even the dull achiness I used to routinely get has disappeared completely. I'm really enjoying the fact that I have a list telling me what to do every other day. I just put on the shoes, stretch, do what the paper tells me, and it's working! Now I just need a cross-training assignment to follow on alternate days...including strength training. Seems like that's the best way for me to go about transforming myself successfully...just have a list I can check off.

Anyway, I ran along the beach in San Juan. It was hot (10:00 a.m.) and humid and perfect. After we checked out of the hotel, we drove to Arecibo Observatory and toured the facilities at largest radio telescope in the world. You know the one...it was in the movie Contact with Jodi Foster and Matthew McConaughey. Then we embarked on what we thought would be a quick hour and a half drive to Ponce, but which actually took over 3 hours on the twistiest jungley road I've ever been on. We probably averaged 13.243 mph the entire way...but it was absolutely beautiful scenery, and fun to get off the beaten path. The kids were snoozing in the back seat, so Doc and I just enjoyed the topography of the interior of this enchanting island.

The kids asked us after we checked in at our first hotel yesterday if any of our other hotels were going to be "Fancy Hotels?" In response, I said "Is your daddy in medical school?" They chorused "yes!" "Well, as long as that's the case, we won't be staying in any fancy hotels." I told them.

Fast forward a day. We pulled up to the Howard Johnson Ponce hotel...and they both started chiding me for telling them we weren't staying anywhere fancy.

"It's got that golden cart to put your suitcases on...and they give you soap and shampoo and towels and there's a clock in the room. And a pool and TWO jacuzzis! That's all we mean by fancy! This is a fancy hotel. Not grand, but definitely fancy."

Pardon me, I stand corrected.

So we enjoyed a balmy evening swimming in our fancy hotel's pool and jacuzzi, and I laid on a fancy lounge chair soaking up starlight with Doc. It was so relaxing we felt like we were actually on vacation! It's good to be here together.

Tomorrow we're going on a boat snorkel trip to the waters around Coffin Island, which is off shore about 45 minutes. Afterwards, I'm sure we'll return to our fancy hotel, worn out, but happy and ready for some more fancy pool time.

I'm kind of taking a fancy to this place...♥

This post was brought to you by the letter F and the number 2

Books I've read lately

I have decided to start a log on here of the books I've read because I think it will be fun to have a record of them. Several friends have done this on their blogs, and I have frequently "shopped" their lists for suggestions before heading to the library.

On a go-forward basis, I'll try to note whether I liked it or not, give it a thumbs up or down etc. But for this post, I'm just going to compile a list of all the books I've read during 2008 that I can recall. Even though each of these titles is linked to Amazon.com, I borrowed almost all of them from friends or my local library. I own #33 (my kids and I read from it every day), and #1 which I purchased after reading it, because I ♥ Jeanette Walls and just wanted to own a copy of it. She changed my life by sharing hers.

If I compiled a list of the books I read last year, it would look vastly different than this one. Last year I was into non-fiction big-time, and a few classics such as Ayn Rand. But I was inducted into a really cool book group this year, and they only read fiction, sci-fi & fantasy. So I have a ton of that on here so far. Another benefit of keeping track will be that I can round out my literary diet a little better...and make sure my brain isn't just shriveling up on a smorgasbord of fluff. Fluff is fun, but it doesn't really change me. It's like cotton candy...tastes great, but is quickly consumed and forgotten.

So without further ado, may I present Blue's 2008 Reading List. Brought to you by the letter B and the number 4!

1. The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
2. The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
4. Honeymoon with My Brother: A Memoir by Franz Wisner
5. The Hindi-Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan
6. Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
7. Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly by Gail Carson Levine
8. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
9. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
10. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
11. River Secrets by Shannon Hale
12. Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale
13. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
14. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
15. Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer
16. New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) by Stephenie Meyer
17. Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3) by Stephenie Meyer
18. A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana by Haven Kimmel
19. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
20. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
21. Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George
22. My Not-So-Fairy-Tale Life by Julie Wright
23. I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson
24. The Bone Doll's Twin (Tamir Trilogy, Book 1) by Lynn Flewelling
25. Hidden Warrior (Tamir Trilogy, Book 2) by Lynn Flewelling
26. The Oracle's Queen (Tamir Trilogy, Book 3) by Lynn Flewelling
27. I Want It Now: Navigating Childhood in a Materialistic World by Donna Bee-Gates
28. The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict by Arbinger Institute
29. Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella
30. His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1) by Naomi Novik
31. Temeraire: The Throne of Jade (Temeraire series book 2) by Naomi Novik
32. Black Powder War (Temeraire, Book 3) by Naomi Novik
33. The Book of Mormon Made Easier by David Ridges
34. You Can Write a Memoir by Susan Carol Hauser
35. You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again: The True Adventures of a Hollywood Nanny by Suzanne Hansen
36. Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back by Claire Fontaine and Mia Fontaine
37. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
38. Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull
    
39. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
40. Golf: Lesson I Learned While Looking for My Ball by John Bytheway
41. Larklight by Philip Reeve
42. The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield
43. Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
44. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
45. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Father's Day

Last week was Father's Day. To honor the great father I'm married to, we made Doc a special foods throughout the day. For breakfast, he was presented with a yummy smoothie. He enjoyed his daily special for lunch (PB&J on nutty, seedy, whole grain bread). And then for dinner, I went out on a limb and decided to try my hand at seafood.

I don't eat seafood. Throughout my life I've tried many different kinds, but none of it has ever been a hit with me no matter how I've tried to make it work. But Doc loves salmon, as does Bunch. So in his honor, I broke out the grill (to avoid heating up the house), got the salmon marinading, and with the aid of Google, I found a recipe for grilling salmon. The recipe said to cook the fish on each side for 7 minutes. So I put it flesh-side down on the grill, and then went inside to whip up a quick salad.

Five minutes later, I went to check on the fish only to discover that it was completely char broiled. We're talking a thick, black crust of char on the flesh side.

I burst into tears over my lack of domestic prowess. Oh the irony that once upon a time I was offered a million dollar contract to be a co-host on a cooking show. But I digress. Someday I'll write about that adventure. For now, I just put the charbroiled fish on a plate and carried it inside. There I discovered that the skin side easily pealed away, revealing what appeared to be a nicely cooked piece of salmon, but which I figured probably tasted like charcoal.

About this time Doc wandered into the kitchen and saw the tears and the fish. "I was trying to make you a special meal" I told him in defeat.

He picked up a fork, tasted it and declared it delicious. "I'll just eat down to the blackened part" he said "It's kind of like a skin on the other side".

Drying my tears, I suspected he was just trying to make me feel better, except that Bunch also said it was delicious...and they both ate every last nibblette of the stuff. It's times like this that I'm so grateful to have such a sweet, supportive, forgiving man in my life. He's the best!

For gifts, we gave Doc some European chocolate and a long over due new pillow. If you're the squeamish type you should probably skip this paragraph, because I'm sure the old one was by now about 98% dustmite. This dustmite wad was contained in a stained, ratty old case. We'd like to thank Ikea for selling affordable flat pillows!

Since this week was Doc's big exam, he was really under the gun, and wasn't able to join us on Monday when we got together with the rest of the family here to celebrate. We met at a park and had a picnic followed by a great family game of kickball. I don't think I've played kickball in 30 years, but it was a lot of fun because of my cool family members. Doc's brothers, our nephew and his friend, and Doc's parents and our sisters-in-law, plus all the grandkids here had a great evening together. I love living close enough to them for days like this. ♥

Chillin' with the fam

Cuteheads

Crazy Cousins

This post was brought to you by the letter L, and by the number 3

Fill the Ark

Last week was the 6th annual Fill The Ark 5k run and 1 mile walk. It's a local event, started by a woman in our neighborhood who wanted to do something to raise awareness of and money for Heifer International.

Heifer is a wonderful organization that donates farm animals to the poorest of the poor in our world. In addition to giving animals, they also build the infrastructure (barns, fences, fields etc.) necessary to maintain them, and the education needed to successfully breed them. When a villager is given an animal and that animal produces offspring, they give the offspring to a neighbor. This "pay it forward" system quickly transforms the lives of any village that Heifer works with, and the difference that one animal can make for a family is truly remarkable.

Anyone can be involved with Heifer...they have a gift catalog which you can use to buy animals for needy people to receive. In fact, it's a great idea for your next office party gift exchange, or for all the really hard-to-shop-for people in your life. You can buy a flock of chickens, a goat, heifer, water buffalo or a camel etc., and gift it in their honor. What better gift is there than changing lives?

I love the stories about Heifer's impact on countless lives, and am happy to have been part of this race committee for the past two years. Last year I beat the street getting local businesses to donate prizes for the race winners and raffle. This year I was the food committee chairwoman, which meant securing all the food and beverages that would be consumed by the runners. This role precluded me actually running in the race myself, since I'm slower than an arthritic sloth and needed to be there when the runners returned. So literally, I was just there for the food :-) (that's my favorite line from the movie Ever After)

I managed to get enough bagels, donuts, bananas, apples, water, Otter Pops and Great Harvest bread donated to feed over five hundred people, and it worked out just perfectly with only a few items left after the crowds dissipated. But the best news of all is that we exceeded our goal of raising over $10,000 for Heifer...enough to give two arks of animals. That's pretty impressive for a little neighborhood race.

Bunch & Doc after the run

Bunch & Gator both won a free Shave Ice at Bob's Brain Freeze. Yum!