Life’s been good to me…

Looking back, way back and a little further… I realize, life has really been good to me in all shapes and forms. I realize that I’ve been lucky, I’ve pretty much reached every single goal I’ve set, I’ve loved and been loved, I’ve lived and traveled. The best moments are still yet to come.

I’ve…….

Walked Washington DC from beginning to end, twice.
Walked the Museum of Modern Art in New York for five hours
Visited Niagara Falls and CN Tower in many occasions
Swam at the hidden waterfalls at the peak of Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in Costa Rica
Did a fishing trip through Nebraska and down through Wyoming
Watched the Sea Lions play and rest on the shores of California
Walked Chinatown in New York, Toronto and San Francisco
Ate a platter of yummy crab legs on a dock in Baltimore, Maryland
Walked in and back out of the crater at the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica
Got lost in the fog on Georgian Bay at night walking in the lake
Drove across Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Walked downtown of Salt Lake City, Utah
Visited the tomb of an ancient Indian chief and antique shops in the countryside of Delaware
Drove down the windy road of Lombard Street in San Francisco
Did geocashing in New Jersey and found the largest icicle ever
Walked the Barra Honda caves in Nicoya, Costa Rica
Walked at sunset with my feet in the water at Laguna Beach, California
Slow danced on the deck of the Detroit Princess at sunset over the Detroit River
Rode a dirt bike inside the Mojave Desert, Red Rock Canyon and Sequoya National Forest in California
Walked the streets of Las Vegas 4 times, attractions and parties included
Rode the California coastline from San Francisco to Los Angeles down through Big Sur
Snowboarded Breckenridge, Vail and Keystone in Colorado
Rode through fields of cacti in search of snow in Arizona
Walked the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Stood at the famous Loveland Pass in Colorado
Walked the whitest beaches and the colorful streets of the Art Deco District in Florida
Did a long weekend drive down from Toronto to Maryland
Kayaked the lake at the Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica
Visited every single Aztec pyramid from Guatemala to Mexico
Did a family road trip with my parents around Central America, from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras
Walked the beautiful hills of Park City, Utah
Climbed the pyramid of the Sun and of the Moon in Mexico
Visited the oldest cowboy bar in Prescott, Arizona
Snowmobiled the Rocky Mountains in Colorado
Had relaxing drinks at the top of the GM tower in Detroit, Michigan
Walked every single dock in downtown San Francisco, California
Walked the streets of London and Manchester in the UK with a short illegal stop at a local pub
Visited the German town of Frankenmuth in Detroit

But best of all, I’ve had the love and the company of 2 great people in my life: my kids… absolutely nothing beats that!

A few pics of some of my travels:

Remembrance…

Back in August sometime I posted the lyrics of my favorite song in the whole world, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. I wrote a little short paragraph about how this song had so much meaning to me in various stages of my life… one of those being my good friend Mauricio whom I’ve known ever since we were about 13 yrs old. Mauricio was diagnosed with colon cancer last year and ever since then, gave a very fierce battle against this disease. This was also Mauricio’s favorite song and every time he would drive down from Honduras to Costa Rica he would play it over and over again in his car… something I can still relate to!

This past Wednesday November 25th, Mauricio passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by the people he loved the most, his family.

Although Mauricio lived in Honduras for many years, we always remained very close friends. The memories we had from our childhood were so many that we could talk for hours about them. We dated back in 1985, he was the love of my life, but then again, he was the love of every girl in the neighborhood lol! We would always hang out at the park together with our friends and as soon as it was time to go home he knew it was his duty to walk me over. Half a block before my house there was a tree (el palo de cas), it’s where we would make out before I got home, it was our thing… and of course, every time I was wearing my tight white pants, he always tried to cop a feel… unsuccessfully! :o)  The most popular story was the one time he made out with 3 of us in one night, me and my friends Marcela and Rocío… we still gave him crap about that a couple years ago! Mauricio was my first teen love back in the 80’s and up to a few years ago he still had some of my handwritten letters from then and a photo of myself in a Brazilian red and white bikini… Read the rest of this entry »

Another life lesson…

It’s been a while since I’ve written on my blog, anything I say would be taken as an excuse so I’ll leave it at that! lol… I’ve been meaning to write for a couple days but I’ve been busy unpacking from my latest adventure. I decided to take off to the city of Orem in Utah for a week and it turned out to be a great experience, so much that I was a little torn about coming back home.

Many a time I’ve written about the hardships of my life, people close to me know well that I’ve been through some hard times. Being alone with my kids has never been an easy task but at times it got pretty bad and I can say that I’ve really had it hard in the past. I know what it feels like to be a week away from pay day and only have about $10 for food and bills… or having your power and water cut off and have to ask for loans to get by… but all in all, I have gotten through it, I have become stronger and today I can say that they have been great lessons in my life.

During my stay in Utah, I had many flashbacks of stages in my life… I am grateful that I have managed to stand on my own two feet all on my own but I am also very compassionate about those who are going through the same troubles as I did. It’s not easy, it takes so much out of you…

A couple of days before I came home, I accompanied a friend to work. Our chore for the day was to “clean out” a home of a family who had been evicted. I showered, got dressed, got pretty, even put a bow in my hair. I packed my laptop thinking I’d sit around and work a little whilst I rested from cleaning house. As we arrived at the place, I was in total shock… the family had been evicted and 80% of their belongings had been thrown out on the street next to a dumpster. Chairs, clothes, toys, kitchen utensils, lamps, baby clothes… anything and everything had to be thrown into the dumpster, everything including photo albums and other personal items. It was heart-breaking… Read the rest of this entry »

Could it be? that October is my month?

When Aries and Scorpio come together in a love match, it can be the kind of relationship where they both wonder how they ever managed apart. Both Signs love power and they can achieve just about anything — as long as they learn to share the spotlight. Scorpio is very focused; once they set their sights on Aries, Aries is most likely powerless to resist! Scorpio has a deeper and more complex devotion to this relationship than does Aries.

These two Signs tend to engage in heavy, heated arguments. Their connection is highly passionate and often argumentative, because both partners have jealous tendencies. Scorpio tends to be more patient, but is also more possessive than Aries — and can lash out (with that Scorpion sting!) when their feelings get hurt. Despite their differences in emotional involvement, both partners love risk and taking chances; this is not a boring relationship! Aries and Scorpio can have lots of adventures together. They may have trouble understanding one another — Aries is a true extrovert, totally up-front and open, while Scorpio is more inward, emotional and, at times, manipulative. Sometimes a truce is necessary to keep things running smoothly! Read the rest of this entry »

Fashion event of the year!

The “Universidad Creativa” of Costa Rica will have their annual fashion show this next Saturday August 22nd in San José. The theme for this year “Vive La Crise” where their designers will be presenting all their creations inspired by this same topic. My daughter Francesca was chosen to walk the runway and her pic was used for all the advertising.