We need to learn Spanish to prepare for life in Costa Rica. I had a lot of fun immersing myself while we were there, and except for one occasion at a bus terminal where I was completely dumbfounded, I was able to communicate well enough. It would be really helpful to learn some of the grammar and improve my vocabulary for our return to Costa Rica.
I’m always on the lookout for free online resources since I spend a lot of time at a computer. I’m getting close to mastering my Inbox. I use Google Reader and Google Alerts to keep up with websites, blogs and news topics. And now I’ve come across some websites that offer opportunities to learn Spanish for free, thanks to Wide Open Education, a website devoted to online learning. Read more »
Thanks to a cool countdown widget for WordPress (KB Countdown), I just made our Costa Rican Dreamline to the right. I’ve had the date of September 1, 2008 floating in my head for awhile. It’s not oriented towards the academic calendar as a new beginning but towards the end of summer and wanting Winter 2007-2008 to be the last one we spend in cold. Of course, our house isn’t anywhere near on the market or ready for it, but we could keep putting stuff off forever until Things Are Just Right. Funk dat. When the dream is so real that it leaves the back of your mind and becomes an insistent, daily presence it’s time to listen. On September 1, 2008 we will, by hook or by crook, be living in Costa Rica. Earlier than that would be even better. Due to finances we’ve celebrated but one of our seven anniversaries. It would be great to celebrate #8 on a beach in Costa Rica.
Speaking of finances, I’ve been learning more about blogs and their possibilities. We’re not blogging with money in mind (I still can’t believe that’s even possible), but our lifestyle and parenting choices mean that working from home would be ideal. At the least, it’s worth looking into. We’ve tried Google ads and Amazon Associates. I don’t know how many times I’ve edited our Adsense account to remove ads for offending products (like stuff that babies drink when they don’t get boobyjuice, lessons and supplies for poledancing, etc.). If we’re going to have an ad for something on our site, I’d much rather it be companies with products that we heartily approve of. The Amazon stuff we have control over but has been a general bust (that’s another phrase for ‘thirteen cents in 8 months’), so when I saw a mommy blog with a Hearthsong ad, I checked out the source (LinkShare). I found 3 companies that we genuinely like and buy from - Hearthsong, Magic Cabin and Lego.
It’s been a few weeks since I went to the opthalmologist, and I’ve finally gotten a moment (or decided to give myself a moment) to take the next step. From the doc I got my prescription, but she was unable to measure my pupillary distance (PD) because she had nothing to measure in millimeters, which sounded terribly careless and half-assed to me. Measuring that isn’t rocket science, and I don’t think she or her optician is any better at making a rough measurement using nothing but their hands, a ruler and their eyes. If they were using some gadget to measure the PD to the nanometer, I’d consider letting a ‘pro’ handle it. But they’re not, so I’m taking care of that myself, with some assistance from the lovely Trisha. Here’s what I did to measure my PD: Read more »
It’s been a while since I posted about using freecycle to obtain materials to build my duck house. I figured I’d share some of the pictures of the house we built. Read more »
So here I am repairing and cleaning the gutters the other day.
Just a week or two ago, a town housing inspector was at the house for a regular review and he nicely pointed out a leaking faucet and the need for gutter repair. He suggested that I have my husband nail up the gutter more securely. I told him that most likely, I would be the one repairing the gutter. His reply, with furrowed brow and deep concern: “Well…be careful!”
Let’s take stock here: We have a ranch-style house which only requires a step ladder to reach the gutters (in the front, at least). I’ve survived many things, including climbing a really high volcano, and enduring two natural childbirths. And this man thinks that I should let my husband take care of it? Interesting.
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