Nissa has lived in her 'pink palace' long enough. I told her that when she turned 10 I would redo her room. Not too babyish anymore!
Bedding and pillows - Target
Bed - Antique
Shaggy papasan chair - Pier 1
Lamps - Target
Ceiling light - Ikea
Desk, dresser, and end table - Land of Nod
Desk chair - Ikea (sprayed teal)
Vase - Target
Since I don't post too often, here are some random pictures that I love...
Ready for the sprinkler...
Sibling love...
Rocket shooting in cool shades and favorite tee...
Nissa and I on our mommy-daughter date to see the musical Mary Poppins. My lame attempt at a selfie...
Boden and Ryan and Burger King. This kid loves his french fries and looks forward to going to BK to 'just hang out.'
Double digits for beautiful Nissa this year...
Nissa's birthday party was a sleepover with three of her closest friends. In lieu of a cake, she opted to have everyone decorate cupcakes.
Then they did what any girl would do...
The next day we went horseback riding. My mom even went along for the ride!
Here is a little bit about my best boy...
Boden's party was the same day as Nissas. He had a few buddies over to just play guns and run around. He doesn't like cake and requested peanut butter blossoms. I made an extra large one and squished the big "6" candle in the middle of it. Whatever works!
Decorating easter eggs with family...
Here is the crew. The boys have their matching easter egg colored shirts on. I just love Boden's face here...
Boden is the first kid in our family to have broken a bone. Two bones actually. He fell at church a little over a week ago and after showing us his swollen wrist, I rushed him to the local ER. Luckily it was a quick visit there, and he came home sporting a splint. The cast came on several days later. He originally wanted a white cast, so we could paint red blood on it. After giving his color suggestion to the doctor, the doctor loudly exclaimed, "Oh, no, no, no!" So he settled on red, the next best thing...
I'm pretty much a creature of habit when it comes to my foods. Rarely do I stray from most of my standard selections - especially for breakfast. This is my favorite smoothie of all times - ratios have been perfected to just the way I like it to taste and go down.
Thought I'd share...
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 1/2 cups Silk Almond Milk Unsweetened Vanilla
1 scoop Emerald Balance Total Nutrition Drink Mix (my supergreen addition - yum)
1/2 scoop Sun Warrior Classic Protein Natural Flavor (vegan - made from brown rice protein)
Throw everything in a blender, whip up, pour out, and drink down. It's actually quite tasty and filling for me after my morning workout. If anyone has a great smoothie recipe or ingredient, please share!
Well, I'm turning 40 this year. It's a given that I will never act my age. That being said, I want to help my skin look as youthful as I feel for as long as I can. Unfortunately I have extremely dry skin with a bit of rosacea, but thankfully I've finally found the right combination to keep my skin looking the best it can be. Since I discovered what I consider the holy grail for dry and sensitive skin folks like me, I wanted to share it along with my whole regimen with hopes it might help you as well. I'll share that specific one below because it has changed my skin forever. Also, I buy most of my products from Amazon vs. the doctors office. I am able to save a lot of money on the high-end lotions and serums that way. I'm not against drug-store products if they work for me though. Having tried lots of different things, here is what you can now find in my medicine cabinet (or really under the sink as I have no medicine cabinet)...
1. Mia Sonic 2 - It gently cleans your skin like nothing else and allows all your face products to penetrate better.
2. Jan Marini Age Intervention Gentle Cleanser - I came across the Jan Marini line from my doctor at the medical aethetics practice that I go to. Fell in love with the stuff. I've tried all the gentle cleansers like Cetaphil, etc. but nothing has been my skin's friend more than this one. It never feels tight after a wash.
3. Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Daily Moisturizer, fragrance free - rich cream that I put on every morning. Love this!
4. Jan Marini C-Esta Serum - I use this in the morning. Vitamin C is an important part of any skin care regimen as it helps protect the skin from outside elements. It helps the skin fight wrinkling and age spots.
5. Jan Marini Bioglycolic Face Cream - This is a mixture of acids used for exfoliation. I use this every other night rotating with my Retin-A.
6. Obaji Tretinoin Cream 0.05% - This Retin-A I have to get from my doctor since it's stronger than over the counter retinol. This provides a boost in collagen and helps to reverse sun damage. I can only tolerate this every other day and rotate it with the bioglycolic cream in the evenings.
7. 100% Pure Squalane Oil- THIS is the only thing I've ever used that has kept my dry skin at bay. I wasn't able to tolerate retin-a until I started using it. The oil is 100% derived from olives (though it can also come from sharks) and possesses qualities similar to human sebum, so it is easily absorbed and doesn't leave you greasy at all.
8. Jan Marini Antioxidant Face Protectant SPF 33 - I use this EVERY day because I know sunscreen is the most important thing you can do for your skin. I used to use Neutrogena Ultrasheer Sunscreen but didn't like the smell or the greasy feel on my face. This sunscreen costs more, but it goes on smoothly and smells like an orange patch. Love.
What have you found to be your skin's best friend? I'm always eager to try something new!
Boden has a hard time sitting still for school, so I brought up my stability ball for him to park on. I remember reading a study stating that it helped kids focus - helped them get the wiggles out. I don't know how many times he's fallen off his regular chair. I mean really, how does one just fall off a chair? Oh but he can and does. Well, I'll give anything a try at this point to jazz up our day...
See how focused he is now...
Guess that didn't work. Maybe when he's bigger I'll give it another go. For now the ball goes back in the basement.
Nissa likes to sit at the counter for her work, and I don't blame her. The pantry is about five feet away. See how diligent she is here...
Now she is really concentrating. Is it her math or perhaps some language arts? Nope, just making a birthday wish list while perusing the new American Girl catalog.
My favorite picture of the week - Boden's well loved and patched camo pants. Work hard and play hard I say. He just prefers to play hard...
After spending four days in the jungle, I was ready for relaxation at the final destination of this vacation - the beach! I woke up, flung my damp clothes into my damp suitcase, and yanked my frizzy hair back into yet another ponytail. I realized I hadn't yet walked the medicinal trail on the property, so we decided to quickly check it out after breakfast. The trail climbs up along the bank of the Macal River and ends near the River Camp. This camp is Chaa Creeks more 'rustic' accommodations and only costs $55 a night. For $55 you get a cabin with a bed, a lantern, and, and, well, nothing else. They have a family onsite that cooks the meals, but you can also enjoy any of the other amenities the resort has to offer. The camp isn't for me, but I can see the appeal for some...
While we were checking out the place, I spotted this out of the corner of my eye...
I tried to appear all casual like as I glanced around the facilities, but what I really wanted to know was what they were doing. It seemed like some kind of ceremony - Mayan mysticism perhaps. The ladies began to place a scarf over the girl's head, and I started to get a little freaked out until I saw the woman doing the majority of the talking was reading from a pink ipad propped up on the bench. Lame.
After that we hustled back down the steep trail to meet the clan for our morning departure. The 20 of us packed into two vans and headed east to the Caribbean.
Homes for the migrant workers at one of the orange groves...
This towering structure had us scratching our heads though. Don't think it will land in Architectural Digest anytime soon...
Two hours later we arrived at Jaguar Reef Resort in Hopkins Village. Ahh....
The resort was really neat, and the people there very friendly. It's a very modest-sized town - approximately 1,000 people. I wanted to check out the downtown, so the first morning I donned my running clothes, safari hat (pretty dorky but I forgot my running cap), and ran the two or so miles into town. Here are some pics of the route...
Library...
man + machete + chopping through thick rainforest = stud. Guy with machete hacking at a few sand plants? Not too sure about that one...
Our friends, Michele and Gary, had us laughing when they spotted this concrete statue of a dude that looks like a lady...
We didn't do anything adventurous once we got to the beach except grab some complimentary bikes from the resort. We rode them south on the main road (vs north to the downtown) towards the Sittee River. There is a lot of new vacation home construction going on in that area towards the river, and it would be interesting to see this town in three to five years.
The remainder of the trip was relaxation, so the camera was put to bed. As much as I enjoyed the beach, I kept thinking back to all the interesting things in the rainforest. Believe it or not, that was really the most memorable part of the trip for me. I suppose part of that is due to waking up the first night with what appeared to be a multitude of nasty bug bites in my underarm that just seemed to spread and worsen over the week. $400 and two systemic steriod shots later I'm on the mend.
After visiting other cultures, I like to examine what I've witnessed amongst the people there and reflect on my life in the states in comparison. Most of the population in Belize have little in terms of material possessions and money, yet they seemed so content. I witnessed multiple generations together outside their homes talking, playing games, enjoying each other's company. They do have television, and I'm sure have seen how the American lifestyle of excess projects itself to the world, yet I don't see a want for what we have. I see an appreciative spirit in the Belizians for each new day the Lord gives them. That is a spirit I desire to possess as well.
We just got back from a week long vacation in Belize. This is my fifth trip (Ryans sixth) with his company. It's always fun to get back together with the doctors and spouses - to catch up and bond doing adventures we probably would never do on our own.
On our first leg of the trip we bedded down at a resort called The Lodge at Chaa Creek. It is situated on 365 acres of Rainforest Preserve and about four miles east of the Guatemalan border.
Chaa Creek has their own horse stable, so we did a little horseback riding with some of the group. This was the second time I've riden in my life. The first time was on a scraggely horse in Costa Rica. This time I got a young one that kept eating on the trail - I had no clue what I was doing, so I let him eat for fear he'd toss me into a tree. Here's a snapshot of the amazing view you have along the trail...
The same day we went to visit some Mayan ruins in the city of Xunantunich (Stone Lady). It had served as a Maya civic ceremonial center.
This building, El Castillo, is the second tallest structure in Belize at 130 feet...
Here is one of our guides - contemplating life perhaps? or trying to decide if he should just throw himself off the top of the ruin to avoid doing another tour after his 1,745th time...
We also did some caving and tubing at Caves Branch. I didn't have my camera with me, but this is what it looks like with a really fancy camera...
On this adventure you get into a tube and paddle into the cave. Once inside you see multiple stalagtite formations, each shockingly different from the other. Once you get enough of those, you get back into the tube, paddle upstream some more, wade in rushing water, and climb up rocks to check out a Mayan ceremonial site. Afterwards the tour guides layed out a white sheet with lunch: veggies, yummy homemade flour wraps, cheese sticks that strangely resembled mango slices if you weren't discerning, and bologni - you know, a feast like in the Mayan days. Once we scarfed down the fare, we explored another area in the cave which showed remnants of fire rings and pottery fragments, one of which the guide passed around. Quite amazing.
Now for some random pictures.
Canoes at Chaa Creek that you can use to travel the Macal River...
Night bug hike...
This is how the girls hunt for bugs. Now we are talking...
So with the first half of the trip completed, I now reflect on the stay. The resort was first class. The food was incredible (I mean over-the-top incredible). The scenery was gorgeous. The bugs were, well, big. There are no locks on the doors. There are no windows - just screens. There is no a/c, so everything is constantly damp (yeah, I know - that's the rainforest for ya). You have to really like living in the wild to appreciate a place like this. For me, it was a good test of my nerves, and I survived! I'm quite proud of myself for overcoming many of my fears.
If you are looking at getting a good nights rest, this isn't the place. If you are looking for adventure, well, you found it! I did find it hard to sleep well at night. One night I heard a dog barking for about an hour (the resort has four security men with dogs hired to patrol for border crossers). All I could think was, 'The Guatemalans are coming!!"
Another night it was the howler monkeys that abated my sleep. The following evening I was frightened thinking I'd have a run in with another one of these spiders after my morning discovery on the side of the daybed...
In my memory it was the size of my hand. Ok, maybe half of my hand, but that is just gross.
Stay tuned for my travel diary from the second half of our vacation!
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