Clover

2009-07-09T13:10:00.002-07:00

Ok. I'm not gonna lie. Weight Watchers is kinda hard. I feel like I ate rabbit food yesterday and I exceeded my daily points by 2.

Today I am doing a little better. And I went to the gym so I think I earned an extra point. Which I am hoping to cash in for some very WW friendly sushi later. Yum.

So anyway...I guess the reason I am having a hard time losing these last 15 pounds has become abundantly clear to me. Salami and cheese can't be lunch every day...

Le sigh.

~Clover

2009-07-08T15:35:00.003-07:00

There is this cute little farmer from Homedale, Idaho that keeps coming through our subdivision with his pickup full of fruit. I missed it when he came through with cherries, which is what inspired our picking day, but last night he had apricots. So I bought a small box. They are so delish.

He said to me in that way that only farmers from Southern Idaho can say it, "Might findsumbugs. Ahdon't sprayem." Which didn't really bother me cause I'm all Green and earth friendly and pro organic and stuff. But having just now dealt with getting said apricots in some type of longish term storage (i.e. cutting them up for freezing) I am starting to feel a little romantic about pesticide.

Ugh. Bugs.

I think I have all the tiny wormies, black bugs, and bug...erm...bug residue?...dealt with. So I am going to make some apricot puff pasty turnovers. Which should have a Weight Watchers points value of about 2, each. I know this because I used the recipe tracker on my brand spakin' new Weight Watchers online account to calculate it.

That's right. Day one of Weight Watchers and I am already trying to squeeze some baked goods into my measly little 22 points per day. I think I might be missing the point. No pun intended.

~Clover

2009-07-07T10:07:00.007-07:00

Some snaps of the cherry picking day in Emmett, Idaho. Sweet William didn't contribute much to the harvest.

2009-06-30T22:19:00.002-07:00

Stuff:

1) I am sitting in Chalet Golightly with the screen door open behind me, and there is some sort of animal making a VERY weird noise. Kind of a howl. Kind of a bugle. Sort of WereElk-y really. If I am discovered half eaten in the morning, you know where to start.

2) I have verbally committed to walk a half marathon in November with my Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law (Scarlett). Um...

3) I have also committed to our family version of The Biggest Loser Challenge. It is based on the percentage of your body weight that you lose, and there is a prize. $300. On some level I am going to win this thing. But only if I quit making macaroni and cheese for dinner. (So yum.) Final weigh in is the day after Thanksgiving. (cruel) My goal is 15 pounds.

4) Oh, right. I should post about the news on the food front. So apparently I am not allergic to wheat or gluten after all. My doctor's office misread my test results. However, reintroducing wheat back into my life is not going all that smoothly. So I dunno. Can't really decide what to do there. (The mac n' cheese was gluten free. FYI.)

5) Sweet Pea has a really nasty case of ring worm that I feel like I am losing the battle on. We tried Lotrimin, and then got a scrip for some other cream...spots clear up but new ones form just as fast. Swimming in chlornated water seemed to help a lot on Sunday, so my plan for tomorrow is this...A bath with some bleach in it, then put her cream on, then go buy iodine and put that all over her. May sound crazy, but...my poor baby! It's awful. Interestingly enough, it isn't nearly as contagious as I always thought it was. So that's good news.

6) I made cherry infused vodka with a splash of almond liquor. My plan is to add that to a bit of lemonade and some soda. Sound good?

Pictures of the great cherry picking and canning of 2009 to come. There's not much in this world as pretty as 24 quarts of sweet cherries and a whole lot of cherry jam.

In a related note...diapers full of cherry pits are gross. But also funny.

~Clover

2009-06-23T14:31:00.005-07:00

We have this dog. She is a GREAT dog. In fact, I think that she might be the greatest dog ever. She isn't super smart. (But she isn't dumb either.) She doesn't do any tricks. At all. She creates enough methane gas to launch our house into outer space. She hasn't ever saved anyone's life or scared away a bad guy, or ANYTHING really. She's just your typical Yellow Lab. Lots of big brown puppy dog eyes. A lethal tail. And a love of being scratched on the behind that transcends human emotion.

But here is the kicker. She poops at home.

Yes, that does mean that we have to scoop a lot of poo at our house. Our backyard is sort of a minefield. But I will take that any day over walking around with a plastic baggie full of poop.

Yesterday I took that kids to a new park. Well, new to us. It is most certainly not a new park. And definately not a best kept secret kind of place. In fact, despite all the signage telling people to keep their pets on leash, this seems to be the place where every dog owner in the SE End takes their pooch for a good game of fetch and a big ol' dump. I am not even kidding when I tell you that I saw at LEAST 10 dogs doing the hunch backed crawl in the 45 minutes that we were there.

Of course all of these dogs had their people with them. And these properly trained humans were very dutifully cleaning up after their furry friends. So I am not complaining about the use of the park by dogs. Not at all. I love dogs. And I LOVE to see them chasing a tennis ball with that "BEST DAY EVER!!!" look on their little furry faces. Once upon a time when my Irie Dog was a wee bit younger she loved to chase a tennis ball for hours. Now she's good for about 3 runs. After that if you throw it, you fetch it.

But at our house, the dog takes a crap in the yard before we go to the park so that I can put a bandana over my nose and then use a rake and a shovel to keep my distance from her feces like a normal person.

I mean, we haven't forgotten that it's POOP, right? Ew. Unless it is an extreme emergency I am not using my hands to pick up warm dog shit. Sorry. But I am not comforted by the membraneous layer of plastic separating me from, hello, I'll remind you again - DOG SHIT.

And if, under extreme circumstances, I DO have to clean up after my furry baby, I sure as hell am not going to walk around with the sack of crap dangling from my wrist. Do you know how many people I saw accessorizing with POOP yesterday? There were these two women with about 7 little yappy dogs between them. They had an area on the lawn all staked out. Blanket, traveling doggie water dish, beach bag, snacks, etc. etc. etc. Their dogs were running off leash for like 10 minutes. Then suddenly, they stood up, put the dogs on leashes and took them on a walk. AND THEY CARRIED THE SACKS OF POOP WITH THEM. They left the snacks sitting there on the grass, and took the dog poop with them.

WHY DID THEY DO THAT?? There were garbage cans right there. Right there...

Once, when my dog surprised me with an off-site potty break I put the sack of poop into a garbage can in someone's driveway. I mean, it's a garbage can. And I think a sack of dog doo doo qualifies as garbage.

So there you go. If you come to my house for a barbeque, watch where you step. But I promise that you will NEVER see me walking around carrying you-know-what.

Good dog Irie!

~Clover

2009-06-21T01:00:00.009-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

This year's mini album is in altered book form. My goal is to make one every year for him. Here is 2008. It's nice to have goals...

We love that Daddy of ours everso!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's in our life. We love you!
~Clover

2009-06-19T08:31:00.002-07:00

Well. What can I say? It's been a week and a half of "all kids, all the time, summer vacation 2009." It's been fun. And I haven't had a single "Calgon, take me away" moment. (Admittedly, there have been a few, "FINE. Be naked/wear your shirt on backwards/don't comb your hair/read your own book" moments. So don't go nominating me for Sainthood just yet.) But it has been "all kids, all the time." So there hasn't been a lot of time for Mommy Activities.

Mommy activities include things like downloading pictures of your girl trip. And blogging. Ok, well, communication with adults of any kind is probably a Mommy Activity. But showering is NOT. Showering and other forms of personal hygene are a basic right. And if you have to plop your 20 month old in front of Yo Gabba Gabba with a box of crasins to get it done, YOU GO GIRL. Take that shower and don't look back.

Uh oh. I hear children waking up. So I will just quickly type that I am sorry for the neglect. And I am dying to look at, much less post some pictures from The Fabulous Traveling Photography Class, otherwise known as "Tour de Tater." (Sorry J. I know I was supposed to come up with that while we were in the car...I think all the laughing had me oxigen deprived.) And I also have this leetle idea about posting some bad high school poetry if I can find my old notebook...

And now I have to go fix my most requested gourmet breakfast. Toaster waffle anyone?

Besos,
~Clover

2009-06-11T08:18:00.001-07:00

Oh my...where do I start?

2009-06-05T08:41:00.002-07:00

Ok. This is just embarrassing.

I haven't been all that busy. I don't have writers block. I just can't think of a single interesting thing to tell you about.

I guess we are just trucking along. I'm doing alright with the gluten free thing. I have an appointment with a Gastroenternologist (sp?) in a couple of weeks. Until then I am trying to be really good about not eating the obvious stuff. No bread, no pasta, no cereal. And I'm reading ingredient lists, but all those sneaky things have me a little flummoxed. So I'm not sweating that too much for now.

So far it hasn't been too big of a deal. I've tried a few flour alternatives. Rice flour pancakes were great. The pizza dough, not so much. But I blame that on my press for time, not the flour. (I bought an instant kind instead of one that you let rise. Yeast is a good thing.) It sure smelled good though.

The kids only have 2 days of "school" left before we are on summer vacation. We have lots of big plans. So I'm both looking forward to it and kind of anxious about it. The formerly "Sweet" William is going through the terrible twos and trying threes this week. I'm hoping he's just trying to get it all out of his system. Otherwise I think we will have to find a priest who can exorcise the deamons...

I'm not sure exactly what's up with Sweet Pea. But she has suddenly developed a fear of other people. ALL other people. Everyone except me really. Which results in sudden bursts of head burying and leg clinging out in public. The other day at preschool drop off there was a fit of epic proportions. I am starting to wonder if kindergarten teachers are as adequately trained for this kind of thing as I had always thought they must be. They must be, right? I mean, I've never seen a mom attend the first week of kindergarten.

And, well. That's about it. Kind of lame really. I mean, not for me, filming live. But I don't really have any witty tales to tell. Aw boo.

I am having a fun girl week with my neighbor and the kids which could result in some hilarity. Or poignancy. Maybe. Right now it's resulting in a lot of thunderstorms, poop, and us wondering why we thought we should leave the dog at home. (Hello! Do you know how many times we've had to sweep the floor?)

And in a few days I am doing a quick lil' road trip with some other girlfriends that is certain to result in some postworthy tales. And a lot of pictures as it is kind of a rolling photography class.

Until then...there ya go. Life. Just life. A great life too.
~Clover

2009-05-27T08:21:00.002-07:00

Taking a break from my pity party, table for one, to let you know that I am thinking about what little goodies will be winging their way across miles and even oceans to get to you ladies who responded to the pay it forward challenge. Something paper, something sewn, something...else! Woo!

And Beege, maybe I'll just deliver yours in person.

~Clover

2009-05-26T12:25:00.002-07:00

Ooookeydokey.

First of all, thank you all very much for your links and gluten free food info. It is much appreciated.

I think that until about an hour ago I was being pretty cool about this whole thing. First of all, the diagnosis of "mildly positive" didn't sound too scary. (And I am in the process of sending my results to our Gastro doc friend to have him decipher that for me, as there seems to be quite a range.) Second, there seem to be lots of things that G-Free peeps can eat. So aside from being really, REALLY, sad about Triscuits, I was cool. It seems almost like a challenge in the kitchen really.

But then this morning happened and now I am officially bummed out. I dove head first into research mode. Argh. Turns out that gluten is in EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERYTHING. Soy sauce, blue cheese, corn starch, seasonings and seasoning mixes, commercial oats, caramel color, vegetable and plant protein, flavored tea, processed meats, Dextrin - I don't even know wtf that is, but I see it on labels alot - medicine, lipstick. LIPSTICK?

It's totally overwhelming. And then I tried searching for local resources or classes at our hospital, and all I got was a list of restaurants that have g-free menus. And then you read the reviews of these places and hear all the horror stories from people who went there, got slipped a crouton and spent a week in bed.

And now I am hungry and my fridge seems like the enemy.

Rar.

I did buy myself two books. Including Gluten Free for Dummies. Which seems wildly appropriate right now.

I know it will all be fine. It's just a little daunting. Thanks for letting me vent.

~Clover

2009-05-21T15:16:00.003-07:00

Um. I am kinda FREAKING. OUT.

Just kinda though. In case you thought I had lost all perspective.

I was tested a couple of weeks ago for Celiac Disease. Which is, simply put, a gluten allergy. You know, gluten. That thing that is in EVERYTHING we eat. Ok. Well, the yummy stuff.

And guess what? My test results came back mildly positive. I have no idea what that means. But there you go. My doctor reccomends a gluten free diet. I don't even know if I can eat my dinner.

Crap.

~Clover

2009-05-19T22:36:00.003-07:00

Okeydokey...I am a lil bit behind the times on this game methinks. But my friend Shannon (of AnchorMommy.com fame) posted this on her blog a while back and I bit. So now you lucky peeps get a chance to get some swag from Moi. And you know I can craft you up some cooltastic swag...

The Rules:

I agree to send a lovely little something (or somethings) in the mail to the first three bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this Pay It Forward project on their blog, pick three people to send something to, and so on.

You have to promise you will post about this on your blog and link to mine.

Make sure to include your email address in the comment (if I don't have it already) so I can email you to request your shipping address.

If you don't have a blog...I don't want you to be excluded. Just make sure you leave your email address in the comments, and we'll agree to skip over the blog posting part. But you still have to pay it forward to three others!

If you are reading but not posting, now might be a fun time to de-lurk. :)

Oh, and at the risk of jinxing this whole thing, the fish are still alive. (knock on wood) My kiddos are completely in love with the fish. I think that at this point I am just WILLING them to make it another day. And also, they are still named Doggie and Kitty. So maybe when you are saying your prayers tonight ask for good health for Doggie and Kitty. (You may want to be more specific than that. Like, "good health for Clover's kids' fish who happen to have the very generic names, 'Doggie' and 'Kitty'." They need all the help they can get.) And also, I know that it is supposed to be Doggy. But I like Doggie better. And it's my blog.

~Clover

2009-05-18T08:31:00.002-07:00

First - before we get to the part where I throw Karma to the wind - I want to tell you about a FABULOUS new web site that you should check out and tell all your mom friends about. My friend Shannon Patterson (of the Rayguns blog over there in the blogroll) just left her anchor position at our Fox affiliate to become a full time at home mom. This is her new project, and so far - I think this is day one - it ROCKS. Check it out: www.anchormommy.com

Ok.

So. I think we have covered before how much I love a carnival. It is my favorite form of humanity. The rides, the lights, the people watching - good GOD the people watching - the food...I love it all. I once wrote a poem titled "Ode to the Corndog." It had the word meatcicle in it. I really, REALLY, love me up a good carnival.

So you can imagine how totally out of my mind excited I was when our awesome friends/neighbors invited us to go to a little town west of here to attend the Apple Blossom Festival, and play at the carnival FOR FREE. (FIL runs a company that provides the carnival rides and games to local festivals and fairs.)

The Apple Blossom Festival? How cute is that? FOR FREE??? Did you hear my little heart sing? And THEN, it gets even better...and THEN, Mrs. Neighbor asked if I like to ride rides, because she loves to ride rides but her husband won't go on them. I was like, weeping with joy.

The only conflict here is that on Friday night I actually layed in bed and prayed to God to please oh please help me stop eating such bad for me food, and maybe, just maybe finally lose these last 10 pounds of weight that in good conscience cannot be attributed to any small children who were once, long ago, babies.

There's always tomorrow.

We got out of the car and instantly smelled the corndogs, which put me into a total headspin of "What I am Going to EAT" listmaking. The God of the Universe works in strange ways, however. Because right at that moment I looked around and saw 4 women my age who were at least - and I am not exaggerating to be mean or snarky here, I promise - at LEAST 150 pounds overweight. So I kept it in check and only had one teeny tiny corndog and some lemondade.

Which was good, because my friend Katina was not even kidding around about the riding of rides. We went upside down no less than 84,000 times. Sweet Pea watched from the ground and cheered me on. So for effect I screamed extra loud and made the "Rock and Roll" fingers that you are supposed to make just before your person is set to spin cycle on an oversized washing machine. Mr. G acted mildly embarrassed. Like he didn't realize that it was all for show and of course I would never act like that. Geeze.

We did lots of kid appropriate rides too, naturally. Sweet William begged to ride the motorcycles, but then looked uncharacteristically bored the entire time. (Unlike the poor 6 year old who screamed, "I WANT TO GET OFF THIS RIDE!" the entire time.) I did get him to crack a smile on the merry go round. But only on his third trip. (FREE RIDES!! NO LINES!! "Again Mommy? SURE!" AWESOME!!!) He reminded me so much of his daddy. Kinda like, "Meh. I'll go if you want me to. But I'd rather be playing golf."

Sweet Pea got brave and did two big kid rides with me. The scarier of the two was this seated sphere thing that flung you and spun you around. She LOVED it. But the pirate boat, not so much. I can tell she's not going to disappoint when she's bigger though. She was all about going fast and spinning round. Woohooo!

I did discover a couple things about being 35 years old at the carnival:

1) Prepare to be the oldest person on the Tornado by at least 20 years. You might find people your age on that one that looks like a hammer and goes all the way around. But they will not have very many teefs.

2) Prepare to be the ONLY people on the rides who can sing along to the AC/DC songs. (The ride operator asked us if we could name the band as we were boarding the Scrambler. We said "We know all the words!" And then watched as he excitedly told the other Carnies about the two old ladies who knew who AC/DC was.)

Ok. I take that back, there was one other person singing along. He was probably 10 years old, and he had a serious mullet. I am not even making that up. It was down to the middle of his back. In back. Heh.

3) You don't have to worry so much about throwing up, but you probably should pee before you ride. Those safety bars press on your bladder.

And 4) wear a good bra on the G-Force ride, or the girls will be pointing in opposite directions.

The good news is that the prizes at the game booths have not changed since at LEAST 1980. Which might make them cooler, given the nostalgia factor. We won two goldfish*, a wooden rose, and a creepy stuffed fish thing. We had ample opportunity to win one of those mirror wall hangings. When I saw the Obama one nestled between the Jack Daniels logo and a Playboy Bunny I was tempted.

*Meet our new pets. Currently they are named Doggie and Kitty. They have also spent time as Lizza and Swimmy, and Cheeto and Milk. Sweet Pea might get to name them something else before they die if she hurries.

~Clover

2009-05-14T15:23:00.002-07:00

I am so bad at credits...Erm...I did some scraplifting from Becky Higgins and Creating Keepsakes magazine. I used a lot of Scrapgirls and Shabby Princess supplies. Got some new fonts from Kevin and Amanda...? Sorry. I know. Rude. Moi.

~Clover

2009-05-12T13:34:00.003-07:00

A quick shout out...I just checked out my blogger friend Tales from the Crib's new photography blog. GORGEOUS!! People in Colorado should be lining up to book this talented lady.

I'm having one of those days where I can't seem to get warm. It's made me decide to ditch being all productive, and putter around in the craft room instead. Woo!

I'm at September in Will's year long baby book. I took exactly two pictures of him in September. Geeze. Should be interesting...

(This picture was taken in April. Not September.)

~Clover

2009-05-11T11:20:00.002-07:00

Now that I'm a Mom:

Something fabulous happens every morning within minutes of getting out of bed.

I have a favorite cartoon.

When I'm on my cell phone with another mom and the call gets dropped I don't think it's weird that we don't call each other back.

I have to leave town to get a day off.

I determine how clean the house is based on the level of sticky.

I have totally adjusted my ideal body type.

I have deep love for the McDonalds Play Place.

Friday night means getting to go to bed kinda early. Saturday morning means getting up the same time as always.

I have entire playlists that consist of Radio Disney songs.

I listen to them.

I eat peanut butter on a lot of weird stuff.

I have developed germ phobias.

I still don't like everyone elses' kids all the time.

My kids' poop isn't usually that gross. But vomit is ALWAYS gross.

I love Dancing with the Stars because of the dancing that occurs in my living room. Ditto American Idol and the singing.

I get homesick.

I never buy myself new clothes.

I can understand other people's 18 months olds' chatter.

Kissing on TV makes me uncomfortable.

Talking about body parts in a very frank way doesn't.

I feel like I need to reconnect with church.

I love contruction paper + glue + beans.

I take my kids to places where kids don't usually go and don't give a rip if it pisses people off.

I spend a lot of time in places that gownups don't usually like.

I understand unconditional love.

~Clover

2009-05-10T14:45:00.002-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-07T21:26:00.003-07:00

This made me smile...

This week

Yesterday

Right Now

Hope you are smiling too!

~Clover

2009-05-05T12:03:00.005-07:00

Some Easter fun!

(I turned the auto start off the playlist so you could hear the music on the slideshow. If you're just here for tunes you'll need to push play on the player.)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2009-05-04T12:36:00.002-07:00

It is so strange to think that the last time I posted here I was aboard the Blew Bayou. Sniff. Sniff. I miss you crystal blue waters! And I am sorry to have neglected you little Blog!

I have more Roatan pictures to post soon. And also pictures from Easter. But I have been so busy getting back in the swing of things here at Casa Clover that I haven't even had time to download them from my camera. C'est la vie. Because we have been in party mode!

You wouldn't think a 5 year old birthday party would take a week of preparation. But birthday parties in April and October are good motivation for my twice annual deep clean. It basically creates a blank canvas for the partygoers. This morning I found a glob of gooey blue glittery gunk on the white carpets.

Le sigh.

I'm not sure exactly how to measures such things, but based on smiling happy people and the size of the mess, it was a good party. Sweet Pea got a pile of loot, so she thinks it was a success as well. It took us about 48 hours and an arsenal of power tools to get all the toys out of their boxes though. I honestly don't understand why it's neccessary to sew Barbie's hair into the packaging. Unless, and I think I might be onto something here, toys really DO come to life when the humans are out of the room. I suppose the miles of coated wire restraints might stop an uprising at Toys R' Us. (Dude, I SO knew my toys did that.)

I suppose Thumbelina Barbie and the Littlest Pet Shop critters can hail me as a hero. They have been set free to inhabit the magical land called Sweet Pea's Room. I am busy finding places for them out of the reach of the doll deheader and spreader of blue glittery goo.

I'll be back when my carpet is (temporarily) white again.

Thanks for being patient.

~Clover

2009-04-21T19:32:00.004-07:00

In places where these things matter, yesterday was Monday. In real life, Mondays are hectic for me. So in keeping with Monday tradition I made a list of to do items:

Lay in the sun.
Swim.
Lay in the sun on the other side.
Swim.
Move to the shade.
Nap.

I think its the first Monday in a long time that I've crossed everything off my to do list.

Today is our last full day in paradise. Aw boo. There is so much more to talk about, but tonight I have other things to do. So for now I will post a few pictures. More of those later too.

Dog in a Box

Having lunch in La Ceiba

El Mercado

The Alleged House of Ill Repute

Blew Bayou

2009-04-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

O.M.G. Dolphins.

~Clover

2009-04-18T19:54:00.004-07:00

I am really impressed with the internet access here in the Garden of Eden. Then again, I haven't seen a taxi driver yet who wasn't toting a blackberry. So apparently Honduras isn't quite as third world as I was thinking. And then again...

Yesterday we were up with the sun - which, incidentally, rises really early here. For some reason I have been waking up at 5AM. That information will be handy for you to know later.

We hopped the Ferry with the locals and took a two hour ride to the mainland of Honduras. The city, La Ceiba isn't very big geographically. But like a lot of places where people don't require 2,000 sq feet of living space, it still manages to be home to 200k or more people. Yesterday, we were the only white people tromping down the street in the middle of all of them. Which was a surprise to me, given how popular of a diving destination this is. But as we walked through El Mercado we caused quite a stir. I think it was mostly due to the adorable little poodle we were toting around in a backpack. But my super short hair and dayglow skin might have contributed. I say that, only because of the guy who busted you-know-what to get across the street (not an un-daunting task) just to shake my hand.

The market itself was unbelievable. How is it possible that the colors here are so much more vibrant than at home? I mean, there is no shortage of beauty in Idaho either. But this place is breathtaking. Even the parts that are dirty and stinky. (I have some amazing pictures to share, but you're just gonna have to be patient. "Manana time" they call it here.) There were pickup trucks with their beds full of vegetables and fruit, entire animals hanging from stalls, bags of beans and rice so big you could hide a person in them, and best of all - fried chicken and plantains!

Before we got here I had heard the tales of our Captain and his iron stomach. Lisa said that in Antigua she had seen him eat from a myriad of bubbling pots of goo on the side of the road. Here in Honduras he has lived up to his "Anthony Bourdain" reputation. Ok. Well. Nothing has been too terrifying. But we did eat some kind of banana bread that was being sold out of something that looked like a bedpan. And today there were the delicious pastalitos (spelling?) sold from a hut made out of a Winnie the Pooh bedsheet on the side of the road.

While we're talking food...I have a newfound love for tamales. Ok. Well. In truth, I have ALWAYS loved tamales. Here in Honduras the tamales come 1) from a bucket on the side of the road, 2) wrapped in banana leaves, and 3) still warm. OMG. There is nothing better and I have eaten about 84,000 of them. Tamales and pastalitos (hot little pockets of meat that have been fried to a golden crispy wonderfullness) are awesome for breakfast. Follow that up with a Honduran éclair for good measure. Yum.

While you are by the pool you should sip ice cold watermelon juice. And later when it’s time for a cocktail I recommend a “Monkey La La.” That would be your basic boozed up mocha milkshake. For dinner you need to incorporate lobster as often as possible. Me gusta mucho. (If you speak Spanish, please don’t correct mine. I learned it in Mexican bars and from watching movies with Spanish subtitles. So I get that it’s rough. But in gastronomic situations it is serving me well. I’ve learned that people are pretty excited when you compliment their cooking enthusiastically, even in crappy Spanish.)

Tonight after dinner there was this cake that tasted like it had been soaked in cream and then topped with marshmallows. I will be amazed if I can fit into the pants I brought to wear home.

After the market in Ceiba, we headed to our destination for the weekend. A quaint little Villa on the Cangrajal River (again with the spelling…I can’t even spell in English). The drive was scenic, but the view when we got there was spectacular. There is a waterfall, high up on the mountain across the river. The area is called Pico Bonito, and the waterfall is called Bejuco. You can sit in the infinity pool and look out at the rainforest, with Bejuco sitting like a jewel in a crown above you.

Did I mention the toucans flying around? No? There are toucans flying around with those big old beaks just larger than life. You are so jealous, aren’t you?

Ok. This next part is probably going to leave a lot of you scratching your heads. But it was totally cool for me. And there are pictures that illustrate just how freakin’ excited we were. You see, Lisa and I, having grown up in Washington and Idaho, had never, ever, ever seen a lightening bug. And I have always wanted to see one. So last night when we were sitting on the couch and I realized the little green glowy thing buzzing around on the porch wasn’t a Peeping Tom with a flashlight, I kinda freaked out. (A Peeping Tom with a flashlight might have freaked me out in a totally different way.) Outside there were about a dozen lightening bugs flitting around. We watched them for a long time, and then looked at our hosts and asked how they were doing it. How were they able to make everything so perfect and magical.

I told them I thought that this trip was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.

This morning Lisa and the Captain got up early and hiked to Bejuco. I am proud to know people who have done this, because it looked difficult and also, if we’re being honest, terrifying. (Everyone here but me has made the trek. And the Captain now twice.) I, on the other hand, rolled out of bed about 7:45 when the propaganda truck rolled by. (think guy with a bullhorn and a message)Then I ate a tamale, ate an éclair, checked my email* and took a nap. (But remember what I said about how I’ve been waking up at 5:00 AM? I was tired.) Apres nap we hit the pool for a while and then got ready to head back to Roatan on the ferry.

*Email checking was important today for two reasons. 1) My friend Julie gave birth to her second baby yesterday. And 2) Mr. G ran a half marathon today! Congratulations to them both. Being so far away for these two events is my only sadness right now.

On the way to the ferry dock our friend and driver Adonay (J&C have been using his services while they are here and have gotten to know him well) took us to run a couple of errands, and we saw even more of Ceiba. It is a strange little juxtaposition of third world and new world. Dunkin Doughnuts and Wendy’s sit below a tangle of phone and electrical wires that make you wonder how the phones and electricity can possibly work. Huge haciendas with Escalades in the driveway are a block from houses that barely have walls, and horse drawn carts share the road with Nissans and Hondas. For an afternoon snack the Captain kind of wanted to hit the Popeye’s Chicken. But we settled on food prepared and fried on the side of the road instead. Trippy.

Sadly, our ferry ride home was not a trip highlight. The Captain knew when we got on the boat that it was going to be a rough ride, and reminded us again of all the things we could do to minimize movement and “unhappiness”. The life lesson I get to walk away with after our 1.5 hour crossing is that I don’t get motion sickness. By the Grace of God. (Thank you!) Unfortunately, I’m the only Senora who gets to claim that. (Another unhappiness for me. But hopefully after a good nights sleep both my friends will be feeling better. Not to mention everyone else on that boat. Blergh...)

So, here we are tonight. Back at Barefoot Cay aboard the Blew Bayou. I’m the last sailor standing. (And I’m eating Lisa’s dessert to make room in the fridge for her untouched dinner. Isn’t that nice of me? Tomorrow when she gets to have lobster and grits for breakfast she will be grateful, I’m sure.) The plan in the morning is to sail West to a place with a great beach and live musica. Since all of my wildest dreams are coming true, I have put in a request for some dolphins.

And I swear that if we actually SEE dolphins I am going to put in a request for unicorns.

Hasta manana!
~Clover

2009-04-16T21:22:00.006-07:00

I am not sure how to even describe the last two days. Where to begin? What to include? And on top of that, I am trying not to be a laptop hog. So forgive my brevity, but enjoy the pictures. (Some taken by me, some taken by my friend and travel partner Lisa.)

I was so stressed out about leaving on this trip that I woke up the morning of departure with a sun/stress blister the size of a small country on my top lip. It is getting better, but it still hurts. And also there is nothing fun or vacation-y like having the Herp. That part is sucky. That is the ONLY sucky part.

Getting here took a long time. Longer than a day even. But dirty airports and cheap hotels can be fun given the right company. We laughed so much getting here that Lisa lost her voice. We decided this might be a message from the Divine telling us to shut up and enjoy the silence a little. Didn't really work though. I kept talking and Lisa has gotten pretty good at hoarse whispering and sign language.

Arrival in Roatan included a few moments of praying for a runway to appear under the plane, a lot of line standing, and a sign welcoming the "Pacific Northwest Ho's." There were also some local dogs engaging in an interesting Welcome ritual. But that's for another post...

Since the second we stepped out of the airport it has been like our friends here coordinated with mother nature and the universe to give us the BEST VACATION EVER. Crystal blue waters, a made for TV sunset, a sky full of stars. And then as if I had put in a request the Caribbean produced something I have always wanted to see...A phosphorescent bay. Microscopic creatures that glow green when they are disturbed. Which means the water glows when you splash in it. Honestly, I am not even making this up.

This morning taught us our first lesson about sailing. Plans change with the winds. So instead of heading East we went back west and hung out on the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen. (Que the flying fish...)

Everything I have had to eat since we have been here has been delicious - lobster for dinner two nights in a row. And the four of us have laughed a lot. And then some more.

Tomorrow we are planning to head to the mainland by ferry. There will be a Central American Market, a waterfall, a jungle. Should be good times. Come back for more in a couple of days.

~Clover