Costa Rica 2008!

Whenever I find myself in a tropical paradise, the question always races through my mind, "Why do I live such a complex, materialistic life?" I always wrestle with the temptation to sell everything I own and retreat to a simple lifestyle far away on a beach. Don't tell me you wouldn't consider it to if you could wake up to this every morning! Here we have the view from our first hotel room on the morning of our first day in Costa Rica. In the background is the famous active volcano, Arenal. I think this is what heaven will be like for me.
I spent the morning immersing myself in all of the glorious details this celestial scene had to offer.....

Look closely and you can see Nicole basking naked on the deck....we spent a lot of time naked on this trip. :)


I love this picture of Nicole letting her inner child play. She proved to have more energy on this trip than the rest of us combined!

Tanya was the only smart one to keep herself covered from the intense tropical sun. The rest of us paid dearly for our neglect. . . .

This is what's called an infinity pool. I want one....with that view in the background.

Tanya and Olivia showing off the whiteness of a long, dark Utah winter.


Call us cheapskates, but the complimentary breakfast at this hotel was so much better than any of the food we could buy for lunch or dinner, that we just took a little extra to last us the rest of the day. Might I add that we were miles away from any other dining options. We pretty much had no other choice than to hoard.

Yoga was one of our favorite activities on this trip. That's what you get when you travel with a bunch of hippies!

I call this picture "the Garden of Eden" for obvious reasons.

At first I thought someone was being brutally tortured in the hotel lounge, but I found it was just a pair of parrots screaming at each other like an old arnory married couple. I loved watching them pick at each other. It was like an addiction. They couldn't leave each other alone. Who knew parrots like to create drama, too!

Our options for visiting anything outside of our hotel grounds were either a) pay $65-$175 each for an excursion, or b) find our own gosh dang ride. We chose the latter.

As fortune would have it, we were picked up by two German tourists who just so happen to be driving a 12 person van. They were on their way to see the waterfalls before returning the van and catching a bus back to San Jose. I don't think they minded one bit sharing their afternoon with the four of us.



The first day in Nosara some of us went on a boat tour with Captain Mike. Yep, these are mating turtles. Cool, huh?

This is Polly and Nicole sharing a moment together. None of us knew Polly at all before this trip. She had called from a flyer I had put up advertising it. She was a great addition to the group....sassy, charismatic, easy going and adventurous. I couldn't have picked a better group to travel with...outstanding women, they were.

Mike was able to catch a female turtle for us to play with. He knew she was a female because the males won't allow you to catch them. Females are ok with it, because they are used to being caught by the males when they mate. Interesting.....

The funny thing about this photo is that Nicole is completely naked. She hadn't planned on going on the boat with us and therefore didn't bring a bathing suit, but who could let such a minor detail prevent one from participating in such a unique experience? Mike said it was OK. I don't think the boat hand Jose or the 4 Germans on the boat minded too much either. :P

Breathtaking...this photo speaks for itself.

This is Tony the cab driver who took us to and from Arenal. He took us to a typical local diner where we feasted on tamales and a drink called Cas, and we discovered the name of our new favorite condiment...salsa Lizano. We put it on everything and even bought bottles to take home with us. Yummy!!

The woman who owns and runs the resort called Hacienda del Sol....Menlha Bruneau. She radiates peaceful, loving healthy energy. We all adored her. And check out her home! It's completely open to the environment. I think there are one or two walls in the entire place. So charming....

For anyone wondering what the heck a colema is, well, here it is in all it's glory..... just imagine lying on your back with your feet braced up against the wall and a hose up your butt. That 5 gallon jug you see on the top right is filled with water and sometimes other cleaning substances like lemon, garlic, kambucha or even coffee. There's a little handle on your right that alllows you to control the water flow. That's pretty much it...water goes in, and water goes out. Whooeee!

Don't worry, there's no sharing tips here! Everyone gets their very own. One end inserts into the hose coming out of the toilet bowl and the other end, well, you know..... When not in use, they are found disinfecting themselves in jars of alcohol.

This is day two of the juice and water fast. Even Nicole, the endless source of energy, was wiped out that day. It was definitely my weakest day. They call it detoxing when your head fills like it's going to split in two and your energy is so low that brushing your teeth works you into a heavy pant and you have to go back to bed. It's a good thing. :p

I think this was day 4. Obviously she got her energy back, and look at that tight stomach! Four days of no food will sure flatten out the tummy!

And here we have Deb lathering herself down with mud. I'm so tempted to post the pics of Deb and Nicole naked, covered in mud and posing like Aborigines. They'd hate me, though.

Deb and Carolina, a new friend from San Jose, enjoying the last day on the beach.

The wildlife there was incredible. This little critter (an armadillo) didn't even notice me standing ever so still until he was right under my nose.

This is an iguana, and apparently, a small one at that. Yikes!

We came upon a female turtle nesting on the beach and watched her digging a little hole to lay her eggs. As exciting as that was, it didn't hold a candle to stumbling upon this little guy, newly hatched and making his way to the ocean. Only one in five turtles make it. The rest are eaten by predators. We watched with protecting eyes until he was swept away in the tide. Go Turtle!



Ah, the liver cleanse! Drink two epsom salts in the evening, down this mix of olive oil and orange juice, try to sleep on your right side while your stomach turns with nauseau all night, drink two more epsom salts in the morning, do a colema, and voila! You have a clean, happy liver. I won't go into any more detail than that. It's disgusting.

The last morning we broke our fast with this delicacy...fresh papaya. Just being able to chew something soft and sweet was sheer ecstacy for the mouth. As with last year, I was surprised at how quickly I got full. Funny how the stomach can shrink like that.

Saying good bye to our friend/chef for the week, Crystal.

I can't do that!
Namaste.

Crystal taught us to make a few raw food dishes as our last meal of the week. I'm showing off the carrot ginger soup which matches with this lovely dress that Deb gave me. :)

Heading back to San Jose, we stopped for gas to fill up Tina, our van. She served us well. We sure will miss her.

That pretty much sums up the vacation. In case I didn't make it clear how much fun we had, watch this!

Dinner Group

A few friends and I have started having Sunday dinner together on occassion. It's such a fascinating dynamic that is created by all of us coming together over food. I would never have imagined some of the conversations we would share with eachother or some of the enlightening experiences we would have. We're getting to know more about one another than we ever expected! This is our first dinner at Emily's house in Kaysville. She wanted me to present a raw food meal and have everyone participate in preparing it. So, I came up with a menu and put everyone to work.......

I knew Keva could shred carrots at the speed of light and do it with a smile, so that job was all hers.

Dainon peeled the jicama.....

Chris was in charge of blending stuff......

Tania's job was to figure out what this was....I don't think she ever did.

Emiliy mostly just did this.......

D'Ogee wanted to help, too, but he wasn't tall enough to be of much use.

The menu consisted of raw carrot soup, raw noodles with alfredo sauce and for dessert raw chocolate cheesecake. Can you believe all of that can be made raw?

Dainon and Chris were really excited about my food. Chris said he loved it "this much". Dainon was giving me a high five. He'd never tasted anything so good. I'm flattered, really....

After all of that work, voil'a....mushrooms and scallions!

It was a raw meal to remember, that's for sure, and so enjoyable that a couple of weeks later, Tanya invited all of us to her house for some delicious curry. We had a new addition to our group that evening. Her friend Lisa joined us, and much to our satisfaction shared with us her talents of dream interpretation, balancing shakras and reading our energies. We each took our turn stepping into a back room with her and receiving a very enlightening and surprisingly accurate reading of ourselves. I've been meaning to write down what she told me, so here goes, what I remember of it:

1. All of my shakras radiate extremely feminine energy except for my third eye. It's more masculine, and I think that's because of my career and my keen business sense...well, kinda.

2. I need to surround myself with more straight men who are connected emotionally. I will need a man who is emotionally in tune.

3. Surprisingly, Dainon and I are a good match emotionally and we need to practice relating with each other.

4. I feel like I can't connect emotionally with men, so I draw men into my life who will challenge me in that way.

5. My emotions are very powerful with men. I can have my way with them if I learn how to channel that emotional energy.

6. I need to practice letting men lead me.

7. I need to change my perspective on my career as being something I am doing on my own. Instead, see that God is taking care of me...he is my man now, and some day he and my husband will take care of me together.

Interesting, eh? Everyone's readings were so insightful. Lisa really has a gift. We stayed up talking with her until 11:00 and yet the night seemed so young! It was a very bonding evening. I appreciated everyone being willing to be vulnerable and let us dig into their psychies! That's my kind of an evening.

This Sunday Dainon has invited us over for dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing what craziness transpires this week!

Under The Bed

My dog is snoring. It makes me laugh. He won't come out from under the bed. He eats the remains of the cat's food and then drags the can under the bed where he licks it clean and stashes it in his collection. He has quite the collection. Even though the cans are empty, he defends them from anyone trying to clean under the bed. There's a few other things under there, too...chewy treats like raw hide bones, greenies for his teeth, carrot tops and his stuffed turkey. Sometimes when I peak under the bed, I find a pile of shredded toilet paper that he's pulled from the garbage can. Why does he like to shred paper? I feel kind of sorry for the poor little guy when I reach the vaccum hose under the bed and suck up his coveted treasures. I'm violating his personal space, I know. He'll get over it. It's my bed, too.

Yesterday we went to an acupuncturist. Puppy's back has been hurting. I can tell because he hesitates when he jumps onto things. He used to jump on to my bed, but now he perches his front feet on the bed frame and asks me to lift him up. The acupuncturist stuck six needles in his back and massaged the muscles along his spine. He almost got bit when he hit a sore spot, but the old man's reflexes kicked in and he jumped out of the way just in time.
In his broken english, the chinese doctor told me how his friend's dog died and the whole family cried and cried. He thought it was funny that a family would get that attached to a dog. I told him I would cry, too. D'Ogee is my baby. "You don't have children?" he asked.
"No." I replied.
"How old are you?"
"Thirty-four."
"Why you don't have children?"
"I'm not married."
"What? You very pretty. Why you don't have husband?"
That's my cue to give my cutest giggle and make an excuse to leave. First, he informed me that women who have their first baby after thirty five are at risk of having a child with DNA problems. At least, I think that's what he said. He had a pretty thick accent.
Super, I thought, I don't think I'll be having a child before I'm 35. That would mean I'd have to get pregnant by April. I don't want to think about it.
I paid the good doctor $65 and took my puppy home to practice jumping on my bed.

Bad Dreams

My dreams have been disturbing me lately. For months now, there's been a reoccuring theme in the majority of my dreams. I lean towards the idea that dreams are often oppressive thoughts, emotions or desires that are stored in the subconscious. I'm quite sure I know which emotions my dreams are alluding to; I'm just not sure how to resolve the problem in my waking life and free myself of the fears I am obviously carrying around with me.

I'm wandering around in a mass of people. Many of them I know from my past and sometimes the present, yet I feel isolated from them and alone. I'm surrounded by chaos. Everyone else is busy running around, doing what they're supposed to be doing, and I am just observing because I don't know what else to do. I feel like I should know what to do, but I feel dumb because I don't and nobody will take the time to tell me. Sometimes I'm back in high school or college, approaching the end of the semester and suddenly realizing that I've skipped almost all of my classes and I have no idea what I was supposed to be learning. Soon I will be tested and I'm kicking myself for not attending class and studying. I feel an urgency to try to catch up.
Often I will see my best friend from high school, Julie Barton, and then I feel a sense of comfort because I know she is still my friend. All of the feelings I had in high school return; my insecurities, my fears of saying the wrong things, not fitting in, boys not liking me, etc., but Julie is the one friend I had who I felt completely accepted by and comfortable with, and I continue to feel that in my dreams.
I'll often dream of people rejecting me, verbally expressing their dislike for me or just ignoring me. When I started having these dreams, I would awake feeling so rejected and insecure socially, but then I would recall my waking life and realize I have a lot of friends who really like me. I can't really think of anyone who I feel insecure around.
Why am I having these dreams then? My guess is these are insecurities coming up about my dating life. That's the only part of my life I'm aware of that isn't coming together for me. The most significant part about the dreams is the emotions that I wake up with. It disturbs me to feel such insecurities. I thought I had worked through all of that, but apparantly there is more to uncover. Grrr...... If anyone has any ideas on overcoming deeply hidden insecurities that you don't even know you have; feel free to enlighten me.

My 34th Birthday

I threw myself a birthday party this year. It was the first one ever. I'm usually out of town trying to escape the winter blues, and so my birthday doesn't get much attention.
This year I stayed home, and ya know, it actually turned out quite well.

I invited everyone up to my spec home that was just completed in Pleasant Grove. It's a huge million dollar home, and since I probably won't own it very long, I figured I may as well throw a party in it while I've got it.


I'd never made sushi before, but to my surprise, it really wasn't that difficult. Everyone made their own roll. Good thing there were left overs, because I forgot about breakfast the next morning!

See that scarf around my neck? It was made with loving hands by the lovely Heather Roberts.

I really, really really love this kitchen, and for the time being, it's mine....all mine!

Thoughtful Nicole made me a very special gluten free carrot cake. Everyone else had to eat chocolate cake with refined sugar and flour. Poor kids.

I thoroughly enjoyed the sushi party, and to make it even better, the partying didn't stop there. A few of us spent the night on foam mattresses and sleeping bags. For the next two days, we hybernated in the house, only going out to get food when necessary. Sometimes, we didn't even do that. This meal of bananas, edemame, popcorn and salsa kept us going strong for quite a while.

Sunday morning's activities included:

Yoga, or something like unto it,

Breakfast with left over sushi ingredients,

Conversation around the fireplace,

good, wholesome rapping,

and just plain being lazy.....all day long.

The next day we got snowed in and were trapped in a big house with fun friends watching videos, talking, laughing and eating. It was a rough three days, but together we made it through.
These are the troopers; the ones who stuck it out the entire 3 day weekend:







I adore both Emily and my D'Ogee. I'm not sure which one of them makes me happier, so I'm glad I got us all together.

I usually seem to connect with other red-heads. Don't know if it's just because there are so few of us or if there is something in our chemical makeup that draws us to one another, but Tanya is a red-head that speaks to me. Bonding with her this weekend was delightful.

As of this weekend, Matt is back in the picture as a romantic interest. I was hesitant to invite him to my party because we haven't seen each other since September, but in retrospect, I think it was a good move. We've seen each other every possible day since and so far seem to have a mutual interest. Emotions are so fickle, though. They can change at the drop of a hat, as I experienced with my first attempt to date him. Honestly, I'm keeping my guard up this time. Stay tuned for more drama.....

This is Keva saying a prayer over our last meal together: Papa Murphey's Kick-Ass Gourmet Vegetarian pizza. It was worth the stomach ache I received from eating it!

Super Dog!

He's so cooperative, he is...letting me do weird things to him and going along with it so passively. Look at that face. I'm confident he's enjoying this as much as I do. I know he was enjoying this:

It was kind of a surreal weekend. Leaving was like waking up from a good dream and stepping back into reality. It couldn't have been a more perfect way to turn 34, well, unless there was a beach involved, but I'll save that for another birthday.

Pet Psychic

I invited a pet psychic over today to get a reading on my dog. What an interesting experience that was. She sat down in my living room while I held D'Ogee on my lap, and for an hour and a half she relayed his thoughts to me. A lot of it rang true to me. Some of it I questioned, but according to the psychic my dog has a lot to say; the little jabber box. Here's what was on his mind today:

1. One of the first things he said was that he is getting much better food from me than he was with his previous owners. He has some stomach issues, but he feels better with the food I give him. I knew it would make a difference to give him quality food.
2. I'm supposed to give him a tablespoon of plain yogurt everyday to help his tummy.
3. He wants his toenails painted.
4. He's proud of himself for being a good watch dog. I need to tell him thank you when he's barking at people instead of hushing him. Then he'll be quiet. He likes to be acknowledged.
5. He's also proud of himself because he's so funny. He knows he makes me laugh all the time. He doesn't think the cat is very funny, though.
6. He's not jealous of the cat because he knows dogs are better than cats anyway.
7. He's trying to figure out a way to get the cat to play with him, but she isn't about to play.
8. He wants me to get another little dog so he can have a girlfriend that can be his pet.
9. He likes being my baby. He says it's ok to put clothes on him because then everyone says how cute he is. He wants a cowboy outfit. He doesn't want me to have any human babies because he wants to be the baby.
10. He must have seen someone fishing somewhere because he wants to see more of that. He wants to catch a fish. He also wants to bite a squirrel. He'd really like me to get a bowl of little fish and put it on the floor so he can look at it.
11. He worries about my health because he wants me to live a long time. He thinks I need to eat more protein and I need to take something for my stomach problems.
12. He loves the color of my hair. He thinks I'm very pretty.
13. He's worried about me leaving on a big trip somewhere (Costa Rica) because he's afraid of where he'll be left. I'm planning on leaving him with my mom on the farm. The psychic said he really likes my mom, but he's afraid she'll make him stay outside a lot and he's afraid of some big dogs around there. Mom and Dad don't have any other dogs, so I'm not sure what she's talking about. Maybe he's confusing the dogs for the cows!
14. His first owners were an older couple and he misses them sometimes, but he loves living with me and knows this is where he should be. He feels like his job is to help me mentally and emotionally and to protect me.
15. She sees me helping a whole bunch of children; maybe through dog therapy. I think I'll look into that. It sounds very fulfilling.
17. He says I'm a very good mom. He loves me very much.

OK, so with a dog like that, who needs a man? :)

I ran into my friend Johanna tonight at Cocoa Cafe while I was meeting with the Relief Society presidency. She asked me about something she read on my blog and suddenly I became nervous and I felt my face flush. Up until now, the only people who have had access to my blog were 2 of my sisters, or so I thought. I don't know why it embarrassed me so much to think of other people reading my thoughts, but I could hardly concentrate on the meeting. My mind was racing back to what I've written here and hoping I didn't say anything offensive or too vulnerable.
She told me she linked to my blog from Dainon's. Where did he get access to it? Then I remembered that one time, a long time ago, I got on my blog from his lap top for some reason and even though I shut it down before he could read it, it left its mark on his computer where it could easily be retrieved by someone who knew something about blogs.
Of course, the point of a blog is to share with friends and family what's going on in one's life, so I guess I should just accept that nothing is too private when it's posted on-line. I just wish I didn't know if anyone else was reading it or not so I don't censor my thoughts too much. Well, fortunately, I don't have that exciting of a life and my writing is not so compelling, so I don't have much to worry about. But in case anyone other than my sisters does stumble upon this boring, mundane, poorly-written blog that you probably don't want to waste your time reading anyway, just don't tell me about it, k? It'll be your little secret....shhhh......