Continuing Adventures of the Travelling Abby

Life continues on my Costa Rican adventure........I seem to be keeping this head cold, which to be perfectly honest, is a real pain.....I have a week and a day to get rid of it......in case you haven't figured it out...a week from Monday, July 9, my third granddaughter will be brought into this crazy world......it's a strange feeling knowing the date...but in other ways, it takes out a lot of stress for me...the other night when Scott was in Quepos, Gisella knocked on my door at 4:00 a.m. and I was sure her water had broken.....but it was Liana who was throwing up....ah, what a relief!!! I could certainly handle that........everyone seems to be doing okay....Gis, Liana and I seem to be sniffling and sneezing, but life goes on...
I think they will all go see Gisella's sister, Monica and her new baby this morning....that will give me some downtime......I might do some laundry and straighten up a bit....maybe even dosome cooking.......It is nice to be able to know that I am helping Scott and Gisella and they are both so verbally appreciative.......In three weeks I will be going home and geting some R&R... Scott is generally so stubborn and won't let me help at all and he is definitely letting down his guard and letting me do whatever I want......and hugging me tightly before I go to bed with his words of appreciation......
Scott just went to the gym to workout and then they will all go to Monica's house which will leave me here...ALONE... I know I could go to Todd's...but I think I will use a few hours of just being with me.....and listening to some English TV......we are all going to go to Todd's house late this afternoon....I will take some photos then and post them on the blog..hope all is well for everyone....especially in this crazy world of ours.....ciao

Life as a Nanny and cook in a foreign country

I could make up a glamorous fairy tale about the grandmother from Birmingham who travelled abroad to take a job as a nanny and cook for a wealthy family in Costa Rica, but to say it was a fairy tale is not the truth....Here I am in a beautiful condo in San Jose, Costa Rica being a nanny, a chauffeur and a cook...generally nannies don't have a lot of privileges....but i get as much time off as I want....I generally go to the gym the first thing in the morning....all of the equipment is new and there are two tv's.........I can't find the remote control so I move a weight bench to stand on to reach the top of the tv to find an english channel so that for those 45 minutes or so....I am in my own world........
Right now I am not seeing much of Maya......but Liana is adorable and it is good to get some one on one with her and those hugs and kisses sure are good. The next few days I will have some more time with Todd (just got back from a real estate symposium in Colorado), Ana and Maya......I am trying to look at my time here as a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time with my Costa Rican family.....I am sure I will come home exhausted........but sometimes sleep is highly overrated and I am fortunate to have this experience (ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I HAVE MY OWN BATHROOM, GREAT TUB AND BIG TV IN MY ROOM....YEAH....AND I FOUND CBS AND ABC.......)and again having the privilege of watching my sons as fathers and businessmen....and knowing I might have a little part of responsibility for what they have become.....they truly astonish me as I silently watch.........time to make the muffins....I hear somebody getting up.....will post more later.......

WE COULD HAVE HAD TEN MORE MINUTES......

with Nelson, a charming customer representative at Verizon Wireless had we known that when Grammie and I got to the movie theater ten minutes late, we still had to sit through at least ten more minutes of previews. Grammie picked me up early to help me drop my car off near the Galleria.......so with time on our hands, we rushed to the Verizon store for some much-needed assistance with her new phone and 'BLUETOOTH'.....la-ti-da.........Dave thought it sounded like she was in a tunnel, I thought the quality was a little tinny and Laurie heard a lot of static......well, Nelson came to the rescue......if you know Grammie, you know she likes to be thorough, and Nelson knew just what to do to satisfy her every question....and one more thing, Nelson......not to worry.....I can fix that for you......but can I just try it out, Nelson......of course you can. Grammie didn't trust herself hearing the sound, so she gave me the phone and Nelson had the bluetooth and we were having conversations within the store.....testing, testing, can you hear me, Nelson.......as comical as it was, it was also a much appreciated and rarely seen example of GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.......no rush......no pressure to buy anything else........very unusual, very rare, and very LOVELY.......Nelson could definitely be our friend.....I presumptiously asked Nelson if he spoke spanish......what possessed me to do this, I don't know, but he pointed out two other employees who were both fluent (I guess in case he thought I wanted to speak spanish).....I could see Grammie looking a little perturbed as to why I asked him.....and goodness only knows why............as we got in the car and rushed to the theater, we couldn't stop talking about Nelson and how we would always come back to this particular location when we needed service........as we waited at the theater and watched our 'chick flick' "Waitress"........our thoughts went to Nelson again and we knew even the movie was so-so, we had found a friend at Verizon who we will definitely see again.......adios

BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT WAS........

A WONDERFUL, UNFORGETTABLE WEEK WITH MY DAUGHTER.....LAUGHTER, TEARS, CARBOHYDRATE WITHDRAWAL, LOTS OF BURIED TREASURE TEA......WHICH I EVEN STARTED TO LIKE, EVEN LOVE AND CRAVED ON THE PLANE RIDE HOME......WATCHING PEOPLE AROUND US WHO WERE ALL HAVING THEIR 'OWN' "SPA EXPERIENCE".........their conversations (we couldn't help but overhear most of them) were fascinating.....from spa virgins like Corey and I to veterans who have been coming since "THE RANCH" as it is known to the veterans.....everyone comes from their own reason for coming......you know the cost of the spa....and it was evident to see who had been coming for quite a while (not by the way they looked, necessarily, but the way they talked)....and those who had had several experiences.....as I think back, I don't think we met one other "virgin".......interesting thought to ponder.....
How easy it was to fit into this lifestyle.....biggest decision being how much to exercise and what time do we eat? The scary thing was after the first few days it started to feel "perfectly normal"......there is no exchange of cash there....everything goes to Room 173.
The sheer indulgence of having one treatment followed by another didn't even seem unnatural.......
Although we just got home late Saturday night.....it's almost like a wonderful dream......reality hits quickly...not as much for me because I don't have to go to work.....but for Corey, I am sure it was difficult......
But don't expect to hear any whining from Corey or myself...
We know what a privilege we had to spend this incredible week together......and hope to be 'RANCH HANDS' again next year......Adios

SLEEP INTERRUPTED......(uh-oh)

After our lovely evening last night.....corey viewed the pictures I had taken and she loved them....hmmm....maybe photography could be my new hobby....haha.....anyway, Corey went to sleep.....I stayed up a little bit and then settled in with my two nasal strips and the thermacare on my neck all ready for a great night's sleep......no sleeping problems for me, but when I awoke this morning I found out that Corey had spent four hours sleeping in her makeshift bed in the closet!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hung my head low as Corey assured me that she was really relatively comfortable and slept there four solid hours and then returned to her bed..............aargh.....what do I do? Do I try three nose strips tonight or do I go in the closet?????????????
Getting ready for a day of activities.....then at 3, Corey has an ayurevedic mud wrap and treatment and I have a massage at 4 and then a facial at 7........will get some sort of exercise in before that.....I know......life is rough for this duo...
we will enjoy these treatments for all of you....
Better close now.....Corey has not mentioned "cheeseburger" yet..poor thing is starting to get sick........maybe a cheeseburger would help!!!!!
Until later...

photography 101

after a lovely dinner with Corey, I ventured out with her new camera to take some pictures......wow.....I had no real appreciation of the property until this evening......landscaping is impeccable.....fountains, statues......many places to do some "serious reflecting".......I am making a point to take advantage of the next two evenings to do some meditating......in a surrounding like this......it will be so conducive to do some soul searching and daydreaming......very spiritual and a stunning canvas for the eye to marvel.......I hope my photos will be able to show you this landscape of what I have been privileged to be a part of (aside from the vanity parts, of course...)
About to go to sleep....a big day ahead.
P.S. If Corey says she wants a cheeseburger and fries ONE MORE TIME, I am going to start to fine her......she's a PIP, and I love her dearly..

ACCORDING TO COREY...

According to Corey, the following things she knows to be true....
1. I did not snore again last night......thank goodness
2. She thinks I am definitely doing everything, including eating, walking, whatever in sloooooow motion (she might be right)
3. she believes her exhaustion level is due to the fact that her body is CRAVING FATTY FOODS...,.IT IS TRUE....WE HAVE HAD NONE......SHE SEEMS TO BE GETTING A LITTLE CRANKY ABOUT IT....AND MY LAUGHTER ABOUT HER THEORY IS NOT HELPING HER AT ALL.....
4. She doesn't think that all of the exercise that she is doing (and it IS a lot) could have anything to do with her fatigue.....she is off her regular routine which tends to make you tired.....I do recall many a weekend when she is exhausted and takes naps on Saturdays and Sundays....and it's not because of fatty food deprivation........This is just a mother's opinion......
5. She believes she is wearing plenty of sunscreen and laughs at me at the pool when I am slathered and don't even rub in my lotion....
According to me, I know the following to be true...
1. I am exercising a lot, taking jacuzzis, getting rubbed and buffed, eating very healthy (not that I am loving it)....BUT THEY DO MAKE YOU AMAZINGLY AWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE PUTTING IN YOUR MOUTH.
2. I am loving exercising in the water.....what a change for me......this afternoon I took a Burdenko deep water class....I wore a water vest and "attempted" to improve on balance and stability while falling overboard too many times..
3. I am definitely tired...but I am also tired when I eat fatty foods, but Corey rules on this one.
4. I absolutely know that I am having a wonderful time sharing this experience with my daughter and would do it again in a second.......Gary........I can't thank you enough.....I will never forget this "vanity"....