¡Feliz Día de Gracias!

7 a.m.: Skype Spanish lesson
8 a.m.: Make oatmeal with raisins and almonds for breakfast 
9 a.m.: Watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live on NBC.com
10 a.m.: Leave for the beach! 


This Thanksgiving will be a much different memory than in years past - we're spending the weekend with some new friends at a beach resort in Punta Leona! I don't think I've ever packed my bathing suit or flip-flops for a Thanksgiving vacation, so this will be a first!  I'm really looking forward to a relaxing weekend with new friends, giving thanks for the many, many blessings in our lives.

Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Psalm 107:1 - "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever." 


¡Feliz Día de Gracias!

What time are we going to "worship" the tree?

So yesterday I got an email from one of my colleagues in the office, and she said that they would be decorating the office Wednesday at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. if anyone wanted to join them. "Fun!" I thought to myself. "And another great way to get to know my colleagues!"

I confirmed with a friend early in the day that we'd start decorating at 12 p.m. and even arranged my meetings today around said decorating. (Can you tell that I LOVE Christmas?) 12 p.m. came and went, and there was no one in the meeting room working on decorations. *Sigh* I figured I must have misheard them. (Not the first time!)

Later in the afternoon, wondering if I had completely misunderstood today's activities, I went back to my friend and eagerly asked him the following question:

"A que hora vamos adorar el arbol de Navidad?" 

He looked back at me with a blank stare, and his colleague turned to me with a smile and reiterated "A las doce y a las cuatro." Ok. Great. I wasn't crazy. We were supposed to decorate the office for Christmas at noon and again at 4 p.m. Sign me up!

But when I walked back to my office, I realized that I had (in my eager-yet-still-developing Spanish) mixed up two very different words.  While I meant to ask Pablo - "What time are we going to decorate the Christmas tree?," what I actually asked him was "What time are we going to worship the Christmas tree?" Excellent.

Adorar = worship, adore (NOT "adorn")

Decorar = decorate

I told Brian later that even though I have to laugh at myself when I make these kind of mistakes, it's a great teaching tool because I never make the same mistake again! Poco a poco...

Eventually, we started decorating the tree in the office. We pulled Brian in because he was the only person tall enough to reach the top!

Feliz Navidad (Wait, we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving yet!)

Brian and my compañera, Karin, pleased with themselves after wrapping the tree in lights.

He thinks my dinner is.....sexy?

The title of this post is in honor of all of my Southern friends (who know who you are).  No, we didn't buy a tractor in Costa Rica, and I couldn't find Kenny Chesney's single in any San Jose music stores (but you know if I had found it, I would be playing it and remembering our road trips!).  But tonight, after I made this Cooking Light recipe - "Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Port Reduction and Blue Cheese" - Brian said to me:  "Yummm.  This dinner is sexy."


Definitely the first time I'd heard the words "dinner" and "sexy" in the same sentence, but I'm guessing it's a good thing? Your call. Try the recipe - it's really easy and soooo good. The key is really, really good blue cheese. ¡Buen provecho!

Just one of those weeks....

It's been one of those days weeks for me, in between work and life and learning Spanish, that just leave you feeling like you just can't do anything right. *Sigh* 


Lamentations 3:22 - 23: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."


Psalm 91: 1 - 2: "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"


After a tough couple of days, the last thing I wanted to do this morning was get out of bed, so my sweet husband offered to make me breakfast in bed.  Eggs, bagels, and coffee. Delicious! Still don't feel like getting out of bed today -- in fact, after trying to go to a new church this morning, getting lost, paying two tolls on the highway, and then getting stuck in the rain, I'm back in my PJ's! -- but it's nice to know I'm loved.

Ready or not....

Here he comes! Brian's freelance projects are starting to slow down a bit, and he's always wanted to try to train for a triathlon.  So, since he's got some extra time this year (and he probably won't have much extra time once school starts next year!), why not? 

(He's also thinking about raising money while he's training and racing through Team World Vision. Go team!)

Brian with his new gear - red, white and blue Costa Rica jersey; yellow helmet; orange and yellow sunglasses.  Hopefully, there's no way the cars on the road will miss him!

Our trip to Tierras Enamoradas

A few photos from our recent trip to Tierras Enamoradas in La Fortuna, Costa Rica.

Two-for-one Wednesday

Things have settled a bit here.  We've gotten into a routine with my job and Spanish classes twice a week in the evening, Brian has started running again, and life has settled into a bit of a rhythm.  Nice when that happens sometimes, isn't it?


Because there isn't much to talk about when it comes to grocery shopping or doing the laundry, I thought I'd give you a two-for-one by working on my Spanish homework and blogging at the same time! Bonus.


So, today, you get to learn the following new phrases along with me:


estar la culpa de ______: to take the blame for _____ 
"El esta la culpa de la cena mala."
"He is to blame for the bad dinner."


estar ganas de: to look forward to something 
"Estoy ganas del viaje por mi cumpleaños."
"I am looking forward to the trip for my birthday."


estar de pie: to be on foot 
"Cada día, estoy de pie desde mi apartamento, arriba el cerro, a mi oficina."
"Every day, I walk on foot from my apartment, up the hill, to my office."


estar de regreso: to be back 
"No puedo esperar que estar de regreso a mi casa."
"I cannot wait to be back to my home."


tener miedo: to be afraid 
"Tenía miedo de caer cuando fui rapelling sobre un puente 40 metros en al aire."
"I was afraid to fall when we went rapelling over a bridge 40 meters in the air."


tener razón: to be correct 
"El profesor tuvó razón cuando dijó que uno más dos es igual a tres."
"The professor was correct when he said one plus two equals three."


hacer bien/mal: to be upset/pleased 
"Me hace mal cuando no duermo."
"I am upset when I do not sleep."


haber que + infinitivo: to have to + verb (impersonal) 
"Hay que practicar para ponerse mejor."
"You have to practice in order to get better."


tener que + infinitivo: to have to + verb (personal) 
"La semana pasada, tuvimos que trabajar mucho."
"Last week, we had to work a lot."


And if you want any more Spanish lessons today, I'll direct you to my amiga, Dora la Exploradora. ¡Nos vemos!