Saturday, February 27, 2010

pura vida

COSTA RICA part 2
Most of our days were spent in lazy bliss.
Wake up whenever we felt so compelled. Throw on the bathing suit/cover up combo de jour. Let Roberto make me an omelet. Carve out the perfect poolside spot - not too much sun for me, not too much shade for him. Secure first fruity beverage of the day. Transition to beer for sustainability purposes. Read. People watch. Nap. Listen to music. People watch some more. Visit the beach for either a) walk along the shore or b) Lilly/Flora massage. Ok. And c) more people watching. Then more fruity drinks. Lunch at some point. Lots of smooches. Look for Howler monkeys in the trees. Change into something pretty for dinner (me). Take another nap (him). Food. More drinks. Another walk on the beach. Again with the smooches. Bedtime.
Like I said. Lazy bliss.





"Look, there's a band!"

Cosi Fan Tutte. My first opera. I am seriously in love with the whole experience. And the new Winspear here in Dallas is a must see - truly. Thanks, Clayton:)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

getting there

COSTA RICA part 1

We set an alarm for 330 to make our 600 flight. I'm just never quite sure how early morning at the airport's gonna go. Know what I mean? Will it be super quick because no one is there? Or will it be ridiculously slow because no one is there?

(Made it with enough time to enjoy a super greasy McDonald's breakfast prior to boarding.)

Then there's the attire dilemma whenever departing and arriving in places with completely different climate situations. Freeze on the mad dash from car to airport? Or sweat through layers of clothes upon arrival to open air tropical airport?

(Ended up doing a little bit of both.)

Upon check in: no first class upgrade for us. Damn that Clayton and his non-elite status. If he weren't so cute with his "I never sleep on planes" declarations just prior to zonking out on said planes, I'd consider looking elsewhere.

[Just kidding, my love;)]

To Miami and the Eastern time zone. Then back to Central time and Liberia, Costa Rica.

(Did I ever mention how ridiculously pleased I was with our travel agent? Huh. That's weird.)

Customs at a - really small - foreign airport. Followed by the confusion of locating our previously arranged transport. Then a bouncy trip along Costa Rican country roads through the dry, dry Guanacaste region. Good times. A lot of good time.
(We saw our 12 hour travel mark come and go.)

But then, on arrival -

(wait for it)

Rum punch, an incredible breeze, and the ocean.
Yeah. That's the stuff.



Monday, February 22, 2010

back in the big d

Today's joy: waking up in my own bed.

Costa Rica details coming soon!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

not for the faint of heart

*Disclaimer: the following post may very well have information about me that you really could have lived your life without knowing. Just thought I'd give you a heads up!*

I am 32 years old and had never had a bikini wax.

There, I admit it. It just never seemed to me like a) a necessary evil or b) worthy of my time and money. Some additional background: I hate shaving my legs. Really, really hate it. Especially in the winter when my skin is so ridiculously dry. Clayton and I are going to Costa Rica next week and I decided a month or so ago that maybe I'd give waxing a try so I wouldn't have to worry about shaving while on our vacation. Thought that since I had already committed to a certain level of discomfort, I'd go for the whole shebang. Well. Not the whole shebang:)

Went to see Annie (my much beloved facialist) this morning to do the deed. In a lot of ways it was not nearly as bad as I had feared. Annie and I chatted pretty much the entire time about lots of random things and it worked perfectly as a distraction. Most of it honestly wasn't that painful. Not pleasant by any means. But not exactly painful either.

As she was finishing up what I thought was my bikini area, I considered myself home free. Then the fated words "now I'll start the bikini line." Um, sorry? Where the hell were you before? When I booked this appointment last month, the receptionist was very clear with me about my bikini wax options and I -with a rare certainty- chose the most modest, least invasive style.

Holy moly. Annie and I now have a completely different relationship. Wowzers.

Yeah, you read that right.

Wowzers.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

feeling hopeful

Umm, Spring? Remember that talk we had a while back?

the big chill

I'd like to blame my post-dinner coffee. But I know that poor little cup of caffeine doesn't deserve it. Falling asleep wasn't an issue. It's the staying asleep that turned out to be a problem. Up for three hours now and just can't get my brain to turn off.

A while ago someone fed me a line about being perfect, inquiring about any hidden faults. (I know, I know. Where to begin, right?) I responded that I have really, really high expectations. I'm pretty sure I scared the crap out of him. But it's unfortunately very true.

I alternate between feeling these expectations are legitimate and feeling guilty that I want and/or need so much. I'm not sure how one knows whether or not their expectations are fair. How you're supposed to know when it's all too much. Is it only too much when expectations aren't met? When someone fails you? Is it ok to have just about any expectation as long as it's verbalized? Or is any expectation you have of someone other than yourself just a big set-up for disappointment? I used to think it was ok to expect a lot from people because I never expected anything of someone that I didn't also expect from myself. Is that selfish? Self-centered? Naive? Just plain wrong?

I once read something about the difference between having expectations and being expectant. I think I even tried to blog about it but couldn't quite get my head around it. At the time, I wondered if this wasn't the answer to all my problems. The sure fire way to weed disappointment from my life. If you never have expectations from people or situations, those people and situations can't fail you. Can't hurt you.

Why does even the idea of that just sound so cold and lonely?

Thursday, February 4, 2010

good UOP and just 9 more minutes . . .

Still not completely back to baseline in the health department but feeling much, much better. Actually managed to make it to the gym on Tuesday and planning a repeat when I get off work this afternoon. Got back on track with my December and January habits and my February habits are off to an ok start.

Bad Habit: snoozing. Good Habit: H2O. I'll expound.

I'm a snoozer. I average 4-5 snoozes a morning which accounts for 36 to 45 extra minutes each day. The problem is that I set my alarm based on the habit. You know what I mean? I'm super speedy getting ready for work in the morning - gotta love scrubs! - and I usually only need a total of 45 minutes from bed to office. I get to work at 6:30, indicating the need for a 5:45 wake time. But I was setting my alarm for 5:15. And it's 10 min fast. See the problem? I mean, let's face it. Snooze sleep is shitty sleep. Right? So this month I've reset my alarm clock for 5:45. It's still 10 minutes fast which allows for a single snooze if desperately needed or a little extra time in the office preparing for my day. So far, so good.

And on to the water. Gave up pop back in December and have drastically cut back on my coffee addiction. But I never really replaced that previous intake with anything. I was getting really dehydrated! I swear I actually did go to med school. So now drinking almost ridiculous amounts of water. Trying for 8 glasses a day on average. I still feel dry (damn this winter) but have started to reclaim a more normal micturition schedule. Good job, me:)