Costa Rican Addition: It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

Talk about things that go bump in the night. AND day! It's no wonder Spielberg chose this country to film "Jurassic Park". So many crazy hybrid animals!

Sitting at the Liberia airport with time on my hands. So here goes.

What have I recently finished reading?

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. Interconnected short stories of an extended Native American family in North Dakota. She's a fabulous writer. 4+ stars.

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi. Outstanding stories and writing. Each involves a key of some sort. To a library, heart, door, mind. You get the picture. Loved it!

What am I reading now?

The Ravishing of Lol Stein by Marguerite Duras, translated from French. Only 30 pages in but liking it very much so far. It's short so I should finish it by Houston.

What will I read next?

I have Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan in my carry on. It's supposed to be light and fun. Good deal!

That's it! How about you?

Hosted by The Book Date

100 Word Challenge: Long Married Couple

rooted in the blessedness of routine

there’re seldom mysteries anymore 

like a child’s gender until her first breath

days, months, years soldier march

waffles, grilled cheese, spaghetti 

broken records of the same thousands 

of moments life slides by on its way 

somewhere kids outgrow things

while you misplace you believing

the contentment of life in the ordinary

when one day

Hints are Purposely Left 

To a Secret but Disbelieving 

His stealth That’s not Him and 

You’re Insane because You 

Thought you Knew 

Everything But you have no Idea 

Where he’s Taking you

Though you're Certain
It's two Tickets to Paradise 

Hey! Click on the 100 Word Challenge badge right there and join in the party! Thanks, Tara, for being our new spot to play. I really have no idea where I am going, or packing instructions, and I am going crazy not knowing. He pulled one over on me!

In Doha, Qatar...

Things are very different, bustling and male oriented. Oh, it is also "dry"(ish), and the toilets are square! Kathmandu, here we come!

Bedtime reading? The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman.

Night.

P.S. If you can find me, follow on Instagram. It is probably the only place I will post pictures.

Comfy Like My Favorite Sweats

List 5 things that bring you comfort courtesy of Mama Kat's Writing Challenge. I am presenting these comfy things to you in reverse order but they all do the trick.

5.  Believe it or not (but do), I find comfort in traveling. I settle into an environment extremely well. I eat at local spots all but shunning the “must dine” 5-star restaurants or “you just have to” places. That’s not me. I like to talk to the people who live where I’m visiting and ask them what I should do. So often my husband or friends have had to drag me on to the plane, out of a country or off an island as I tearfully say, “But I could live here!” They're used to it. My husband thinks I could live anywhere and I probably could. Home is inside of ME.

4.  So I may be one of the only ones who feels this way but I find comfort in exercise. Or maybe it’s discomfort. I don’t know. I get confused sometimes. And it has more to do with how exercise makes me feel more than anything. It makes me feel fantastic, more relaxed, mellowed out, fatigued, happy (though not always while doing so), and peaceful for the rest of my day. I find comfort in that feeling so I apply liberally.

3.  Reading a good book while sitting on my couch in my favorite fleece pants and sweater sipping tea on a snowy afternoon or a glass of wine on a peaceful evening with logs on the fire equals comfort to me. Actually, just being on couch or a chair anywhere reading is a comfort to me. Blissful.

2.  What I lack in quantity, I make up for in quality as far as friends. A call, letter or visit from one of my friends always warms my heart. It means they were thinking of me. I love a chat because I can hear their voice and picture them speaking their words to me. I love a letter because I can envision their hands moving over the paper with a pen and I can re-read it as many times as I want, which I do. I love a visit because I can hold their hand, touch their arm, and see their lips moving and face smiling.

1.  I tend to be a homebody. That’s not to say I don’t like going out, doing things, being around people. I do. I’d just rather have people over to my house for pizza, cook for them, or stay home with a fire and roast marshmallows and be with my family. To me, it’s the most comfortable place in the world but it’s not really about the four beautiful walls. It’s the feelings of safety, warmth, love and all things cozy that home gives me (And sweatpants always help perpetuate those feeling).

To top it off...the kids come home tomorrow for nine days. Woo Hoo! Can't wait!

Get Me Out of Here. NOW!

Develop the mind of equilibrium.

You will always be getting praise and blame,

but do not let either affect the poise of the mind:

follow the calmness, the absence of pride.

Sutta Nipata

I don’t know if I’m in a feisty mood or a cranky mood but I’m definitely in some kind of one. That is for darn sure!

AND…I’m supposed to be doing all sorts of things. Obviously I’m not doing them because my fingers are moving here and not elsewhere like packing. I have not one single item in a suitcase for a five-day trip. Not good considering the taxi will arrive in a few hours to wisk us away.

I’m in a very conflicted state at the moment so possibly that’s why I’m taking time, which I don’t have, to clear my brain matter here.

Why in such a state if you care to know?

For the last eight years, I have left on this very morning to travel what seems like (and is) all day to see my Goddaughters at Hogar de Niños Nazareth in Comayagua, Honduras.

They write me all the time and ask who’s coming; who’s coming? Is Amanda coming with you or Mateo? Secretly, they always hope its Mateo, the blond hair, blue eyed, wild and crazy, teenaged, soccer-playing boy, even though they pretend not to like him.

I bring them presents, and we hang out and they teach me to make jewelry. We talk about a million things (or as much as my Spanglish allows). They love to laugh at me speaking but carefully correct each and every word, as I do with their English. They think their Madrina (Godmother) is muy loco and I say, “You Chikas are too!”

So I won’t see them and it makes me very sad. I sent gifts and letters with one of my travel buddies and they’ll take pictures and write letters in return, which will make me cry. But none of it will come close to my desire to hug them tightly and look into their eyes.

They will be sad and disappointed, too, when the bus pulls into the orphanage and we aren’t on it.  I’ve never not come in June, for eight years. They count on it, we all look forward to it, and I feel I’m letting them down.

On a much lighter note….

I’m still procrastinating. I'm still sitting in the same spot. I’m still not packing for the wedding I’ve been writing about for the last few weeks.  Or I should say I’ve been writing about the dress for the wedding (fingers crossed for a fit!). Well, that dress isn’t packed yet either but it will be. I always forget something, though.

The timing of this get away couldn’t be better. It’s perfect! I need this. And I’ll be with all my closest friends and we’ll be laughing and having fun and it'll be a blast and a weekend for the memory books.

But my heart is divided and won’t entirely be in either place.

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." --Unknown

P.S. See you all next week!!!

When The Cat's Away...Stream Of Consciousness Sunday

Sheesh!!!! Thank God the Cat went to play golf. This Mouse wants some time on her own.

As I’ve mentioned a zillion times, I’m a recent empty nester. Well, since this Fall, that is. It’s a marvelous, scary feeling at first.  You worry especially for the baby.

On the other hand, imagine all this free time to do what’s on the top of your list. For me it’s traveling, reading, writing, cooking, and spending time with friends. There’s virtually no laundry. Yippee! Most of all, I want to challenge my fitness level. Those are at the tippy top of a very long list.

During the week, it’s glorious. I do all those things (to the city counts as travel) and accept invitations for lunch, etc. I’ve got my world spinning just the way I like it.

Dun, dun, dun….Then comes the weekend and my role changes a bit. I feel like the ball of yarn the Cat plays with for 48 hours straight, or so it seems; imagine a one-person, personal entertainment committee. I used to have some help with the diversion, the kids for instance, and the Cat was thrilled to play with them as well. More importantly, I got a break.

For Pete’s sake, we don’t need to be joined at the hip every moment of the day!

So when the Cat asked me if I minded that he play golf on this gorgeous day, I think to myself…Can’t you feel my foot on your rear end giving you a little nudge?

I've got a busy day planned already!

 Stream of Consciousness SUNDAY

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up your post below.
• Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Blog Discovery Day

I just discovered this blog today called Sunday Stealing (sundaystealing.blogspot.com). Every Sunday, the game, I think, is to answer the questions that are stolen from another blog each Sunday. I don't know. I'm going to take a stab at this each week between my other lazy activities for the day. So here is this week's Community Meme.

Sunday Stealing: The Community Meme 

1. As a blogger, what do you draw inspirations from for your posts?

Since I’m a new blogger, just what pops into my head.

2.   If you could swap blogs with another blogger for a post, who would you switch with and why?

I would switch with one of two people…the editor of Conde Nast Traveler or Anthony Bourdain from The Travel Channel. Why them? They have unlimited access to travel! I am obsessed with traveling and willing to go anywhere at any time. I would choose the gift of travel over the Hope diamond every single time. 

3. If your blog had a theme song, what would it be? Why?

“You can’t always get what you want” The Rolling Stones or Pink “Raise Your Glass”. True and fun! 

4.  What is your writing process for a post?

See 1.

5.  Your blog requires a cute, new, mascot-what would it be?

Addison (one of my chocolate labs) caught mid-air after taking a running leap off our pier at the lake.

6.  Do you feel you express your “true self” on your blog?

I’m getting there. Since no one is reading it, it’s pretty easy to be myself. However, my mind is far more R-rated then I have let on so far.

7.  What is your biggest online pet-peeve?

When you have to type in those funky words to authenticate an entry for a website, if that's what you call it, ala Ticketmaster purchases. ANNOYING!

8.     If you could live in a fictional universe, where would you live? Why?

It would be on an island in the Pacific inhabited by only those truly important to me. We would have all the food and wine we would ever need and live peacefully with each other.

9.  You’re having a bad day, you’re upset, you’re angry, or you’re sad-what is your go-to comfort?

Either I call one of my best friends to bitch or I read.

10.  What is your favorite inspirational quote?

I have two, both by Mother Theresa. “People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people my cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” AND 
“ Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

11.  If they were to make a movie based on your life, who would play you, your leading lady/man, your best friend, and your rival?

Me: Gwyneth Paltrow; Leading Man: George Clooney; Best Friend: Sandra Bullock; Rival: Madonna

  12.  Do you think the world isgoing to end in 2012?

No

13.   If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?

My procrastination when no one notices.

14.  What is your favorite season and why?

The Fall in Chicago because of it’s beauty and glorious jeans and sweater weather. It feels like a new beginning or transition to me.

15.  You’ve been bitten by a vampire. Would you fight it with all your undead being or would you embrace it for all it is worth?

I’d have no choice but to embrace it. I am a biter at times. A guy in college got really mad at me for biting him in the shoulder (through his shirt, I might add) and didn’t speak to me for over a year. He figured out he wanted to date me again but I had already moved way on. It was unfortunate because he was gorgeous. Interestingly enough, he now lives in my tiny suburban Chicago village. It was a long time before I bit anyone again and the next guy liked it!

16.  Have you personally met any of your blogger friends?

No but I don’t have any.

17.  What does your favorite pair of underwear look like?

White, gray and black lace thong

18.  Have you ever drank something right from the container in the refrigerator knowing other people will have to drink out of the same container later?

Of course! Who hasn’t?

19.  What is your favorite word and explain why?

Besides a good explicative to emphasize a point (my favorite is fuck) there are too many to pick one.

20.  2011 is soon coming to a close, is there anything you’d like to do different on you blog in the year 2012?

Figure out a better format and design. Interest some people.

sundaystealing.blogspot.com