The old us

Look what we did this weekend.

We channeled the old Krista & Ben on bikes!

We met up with our good friends Britt & Carlos (the ones that we were neighbors with when we lived in this apartment - the ones that had the amazing wedding) and hit the cobblestone in search of the best breakfast in (or sort of out of) town! Of course the B & C had a plan all along - we were going to Valhallah Macadamia farm for some yummy madadamia nut pancakes. We rented some cruisers down at the new Don Quijote Cruisers and hit the road for a 45 minute ride over to San Miguel Dueñas where the farm is located. It was a nice ride there and a delicious breakfast out in the nature (it's a pretty rustic place). The ride home wasn't quite as enjoyable - think some serious hills on a single speed bike, but it was definitely a great way to spend a saturday morning. We'd do it again in a heartbeat - just maybe on bikes with gears next time!

30 is the new 20.....please!

Thank you all so much for your lovely birthday wishes - and thanks the most to my dear husband for making this transition into my 30's so delightful. I've heard that 30 is the new 20, so I'm going with it. I don't know if I'd really want to be 20 again, but maybe 26 or 27 would work!

To ring in my 30's we had hoped to take a wonderfully fabulous trip somewhere but the timing of us wrapping up our jobs here in Antigua just didn't work out. So instead we spent the weekend in our favorite get away close to home - Lake Atitlán. Unfortunately this was one of the first times the lake didn't end up being exceptionally great - it rained a lot. We did get to spend some nice time relaxing and visited my favorite village, Santiago though. On Saturday evening we made our way back to Antigua and luckily when we woke up Sunday morning it was bright and sunny. Good thing too because Ben had planned a little poolside get together for me with some of our friends at Hotel Antigua. So at least I did get my birthday wish - just not on my birthday!
We spent a few hours lounging poolside in an amazing setting and even indulged in my favorite Guatemalan dessert - tres leches. Yum-O!

The pool at Hotel Antigua

Fabulous atmosphere!

The hotel even put my little "birthday event" on the welcome board!

Yay, tres leches.....

....with a giant cookie in it!

Wasn't it so sweet of Ben to plan a great pool day?

All in all turning 30 was certainly not painful, but definitely not as monumentos as I had once thought it would be. The real celebrating is yet to come though, as next week we're leaving for a month long vacation, where I will certainly be celebrating on various beaches in honor of my birthday!

Thanks again everyone for making my birthday oh so nice!

Besos,
Krista

Thrilling

I hope my kids can one day go to a preschool that is as cool as this one! The kids at Common Hope's preschool have a new found obsession with Thriller. I'm sure they don't even have the slightest idea who Michael Jackson was, but nonetheless they're keeping his moves alive!

Tiny Dancers from Krista on Vimeo.

Simply Beautiful

Guess what?

They're back!

It's mango season again and I couldn't be happier!

Birthday Girl

Well Krista Bella, today you turn the big 30. Not to say that all the other birthdays haven't been important, but you are now done with your 20s and are on to the 30s. So let's take a quick look back over the past 10 years since I have known you, from our days at Penn State to our lives here in Guatemala.

There was the trip to San Fran when we had just started grad school

The many hikes and snowshoe trips that you endured...

The family vacations, this one to the Outer Banks

Our engagement pics in Fort Collins with your mom as our photographer
(the bike I remember finding beside a dumpster outside my house)

The wedding day, complete with sunny skies and your beautiful smile.

Surfing in Hawaii

Denver, our home for 5 years and many good friends.

While studying Spanish in Xela, one of the weekend trips to Lago Atitlan.

Road trippin' with my best friend through Mexico.

Antigua, where home is now.

As we celebrate 30 years of your life today, my hope is that we both get to spend another 30 more together making new memories. Happy Birthday!

Para los guatemaltecos que leen nuestro blog, "Como celebramos los 30 anos de su vida hoy Krista, espero que podamos vivir otro 30 anos juntos y hacer nuevas memorias. Feliz Cumpleanos!"

I've been gifted

No, I'm not referring about the amazing intellectual abilities that I've had from a very young age (tee hee hee!) - I'm talking about gifts - like presents! For absolutely no reason at all, I have recently become the recipient of some pretty fabulous gifts, from some pretty fabulous friends and I want to show them off!

While enjoying a couple of days away with Brandi & Mike at La Casa Del Mundo (aka. GringoLandia), we met the sweetest couple from South Carolina, Emily & Mark. They were at the lake celebrating their 1st anniversary. We hit it off quick over a lovely candlelit dinner our first night at the hotel and were BFF's from them on. One day while visiting San Juan (remember how much we love San Juan), I fell in love with a classic grey and white ikat inspired shawl, but decided that it wasn't something that I really needed. Reverse buyers remorse haunted me for the next couple of days and the morning that we left, I nearly hopped a boat to San Juan just to get that shawl but my budget was pleading me not to, so I didn't.

A couple of nights later, on their last night in Guatemala, we met up with Emily and Mark once again, but on our turf - Antigua. They had mentioned going to our very favorite restaurant, Hector's, so we jumped at the chance to join them. And it was there, during dinner, that Emily surprised me with my dream shawl! Why? I don't know? - just because she is super sweet. I felt so undeserving and guilty, but so completely appreciative. I can't wait to find just the right "home" for it in my next home. And it's now even more special that it would have been had I purchased it for myself - filled with some great memories. (Thanks so much Emily!!!)



But rewinding back a bit to the day we left the lake, I was once again hit smack over the head by another unsuspected gift, but this time it was from Brandi (and Mike too). A few days earlier Brandi and I had eyed up a few of the aerial style paintings that are so famous here, especially around the lake. We played with the idea of hanging a cluster of little ones all together. Well, little did I know, that when we went back to make what I thought was a purchase for Brandi's upstairs bathroom, it ended up being a present for me. Undeserving? - yes. Completely caught off guard? - yes. Forever grateful? - YES! (BJ, really you shouldn't have - and the offer still stands for me to go grab a few more for you!)




It wasn't even my birthday (yet) and I'm already feeling quite special! Thanks girls!

My latest gig

As I'm sure most of you know or have figured out by now, I love arts and crafts. Not the scrapbooky, kitchy cute kind of arts and crafts, but the useful, looks-like-they-could-be-store bought kind of arts and crafts. You also probably know that my real profession (no I'm not a trained hospitality coordinator, interior designer or professional blogger) is speech-pathology.

It's not very often that one has the opportunity to combine their hobby and their job, but I was lucky enough to be given that very opportunity through Common Hope. Beginning in January I took over as "teacher" of an Occupational Therapy class that was originally developed for young adults with moderate to severe cognitive and/or learning disabilities. Because Special Education in Guatemala is limited (it does not exist at the public level) often times students with special needs end up leaving school at a young age. This class at Common Hope was designed for students in which traditional education is no longer an option. The idea is to give the students support with concepts that are functional like problem solving skills, planning, measuring, organizing, sequencing and basic daily functional tasks like money management, social skills & personal hygiene. It sounds in depth, but really all of these "lessons" are slyly hidden in arts and crafts!

We meet two half days a week - sewing one day and making jewelry the other. Both activities allow the students to practice functional skills and make a product that is later sold to Common Hope visitors. In addition it is a great opportunity for developing their communication skills, provides them with a boost of self confidence and offers a bit of independence that they probably wouldn't have had otherwise.

Every few weeks we hold a sale for our vision teams and volunteers. A small portion of the proceeds go back into the class funds (for purchasing of more materials), but the majority goes home with the students so that they can help contribute to their family's income. Their families are quite good about letting the student make decisions on how to use his/her money. Most of them end up purchasing clothes for themselves which in turn helps out their parents. Students in the past have saved for big items like a bed.

While my class is small at the moment (only 3 or 4 students), it's great fun. I get to combine 2 things that I'm passionate about and use my Spanish (much more than I do in Hospitality).

Would you like to meet a couple of students? Let me introduce you!

This is Sonia.

While Sonia prefers the jewlery making class, she works really hard at sewing as well. Recently she used her earnings to help her mom purchase a new huipil (an indigenous women's blouse) since her mom is always spending the family's extra money on Sonia and her 2 sisters. Isn't that considerate?

Now, meet Nery. Nery is a wiz in both classes, but really prefers the sewing. He is really good at following directions and paying attention to details. It is my dream that one day Nery will be given an opportunity to work as an apprentice to a tailor.

This is our workspace. The colorful boards lining the walls are where we display our finished jewelry.

We really try hard to come up with ideas that are unique when it comes to our sewing class. Since textiles are so abundant here in Guatemala we want to offer something that is not seen everywhere else. Most of our products are make from traditional woven indigenous fabrics, since it's so beautiful & that's what the people normally prefer.

Check out some of our recent sewing projects. Hot pads & microwavable heating pads filled with rice and cardamom.
Mmmm, they smell so good!

We're trying to be green with these fun coffee sleeves.

A spin on the ever popular reusable bag.

It even rolls up to a convenient portable size! These have been really popular.

The lastest vision team, nearly cleaned us right out, so we'll be back to work hard trying to beef up our inventory! We're always looking for unique, practical, fairly simple sewing projects, so if you have any ideas please send them our way!