First stamp in my passport.

Also known as "our five year anniversary gift to each other."

Or, as Paul asked me the other day: "Hey, remember that time we went to Costa Rica and spent 10 days doing NOTHING?" And I replied, "Yeah. That was awesome." It really was. So a couple of years ago we decided to go to Costa Rica, and this month, we finally did it. We spent 9 whole days (plus a day of travelling on either side of that) in a beach town on the caribbean side called Puerto Viejo, with the only objective being to relax and spend time together, and maybe do a couple of cool things, if there was time.

Best. Vacation. Ever.

I was nervous since neither of us spoke Spanish with any sort of authority, but between my "dos boletas," "lunes," and "por favor/gracias," we were at least able to buy two bus tickets on Monday, please/thank you, and while we were there I would order by pointing at the menu and throwing in lots of "por favor's/gracias'" and smiling like a stupid tourist. It was great. I seriously cannot describe to you what an amazing time we had, and this post may get kind of longish, but I want to remember our vacation! I brought a notebook with me to write in while we were there, and I jotted down exactly 0 words.

So, we left our house at 2:00am on Friday morning and drove from our house to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Apparently the airport at Tulsa is so small it doesn't even open until like 6:00am. So we hung out, ate our McDonald's and read the newspaper until we could go check in and go through security and everything. Our flight left Tulsa at 6:40am and we headed to Houston, TX and from there to San Jose, Costa Rica. We got to Costa Rica at 12:50 and had a driver waiting for us to take us to the bus station. I am so glad we had somebody waiting for us who knew where we needed to go, it was a little overwhelming to step out of the airport and have throngs of people waiting, all yelling at you "taxi? Taxi?" Luckily we could just say no and look for my name on a card.

Our first picture together in Costa Rica! In the taxi.

Does this remind anyone else of Tucson???

Anyways, we got to the bus station and our driver had bought our bus tickets for us for the 4:00pm bus, but we got to the bus station at 1:52 so we decided to see if we could make the 2:00 bus instead. Paul waited with our bag downstairs and sent me to see if I could get tickets. OMG. Jael+2years high school Spanish=6 usable words, not including numbers. The guy at the counter probably spoke exactly as much English. Somehow, we got tickets on the 2:00 bus and got on before it pulled away. I sat next to a very nice old woman who tried to make some polite conversation, and Paul sat next to a very silent native man. Paul also had to hold our bag. Fortunately the only luggage we had was a carryon and a backpack each, or he would have been much more uncomfortable.

Paul on the bus. Poor guy.

We got to Puerto Viejo around 6:30 that night and it was pitch black out. We walked off the bus, and this time I was glad there was a guy there saying "taxi? Taxi?" We took a cab to our hotel, checked in (our English-speaking hostess was at dinner with friends, so we were walked to our bungalow by her non-English-speaking gardener) and dropped off our stuff, debated whether we were hungry enough to try to walk and find somewhere to eat, and decided we weren't, so we crashed at 8:00pm. Whew.

The next morning we woke up with waves in our ears. Ahhh. The first place we stayed for 3 nights was called Casa Viva, and it was ON a beach called Punta Uva, a couple miles outside of Puerto Viejo. We were in a duplex-type bungalow and it was amazing. We had a view of the ocean from our porch and we fell asleep with the sound of the sea in the background.

Us in front of our bungalow at Casa Viva. Ocean is what looks like the sky behind those trees.

This hammock on our porch was blissful.

The grounds of this property were also stunning. It was neat because the lady who runs the place has 3 little casitas, plus her own house, on her property, and they're spaced out really well so you can't hear your neighbors. We were in a duplex, of course, but we lucked out and had fantastic people staying next door: it was a retired couple who spend their winters in Costa Rica, they stay at Casa Viva whenever they are in Puerto Viejo, and they had their fluffy little dog with them. Punta Uva is a fair distance from Puerto Viejo, so we rented bikes while we were there to get around.

Costa Rica was awesome because I felt like there was wildlife EVERYWHERE. We were riding our bikes to get a few groceries our first morning there and we stopped to see what these other tourists were taking a picture of, and there was a troop of monkeys up in a tree along the main road! I use the term "main road" loosely, cuz outside of Puerto Viejo there's really only one road, but still. It was awesome.

Paul looking at monkeys.

the monkeys.

Dinner on Saturday we walked down the street to a place called Selvin's and had a delicious dinner. I had traditional caribbean jerk chicken and Paul got a red snapper. We also saw another monkey on the 5 minute walk to the restaurant!

Paul's dinner. He was really hungry, hence the glint of crazy in his eye.

He's pointing at the monkey, in case that isn't clear.

So am I.

We loved everything about Casa Viva, but I think one of our favorite things is that it was on a beautiful beach. Sunday morning I think we walked from our bungalow to the beach, and then we walked along the beach to Puerto Viejo. It was so neat. The jungle met the rainforest in several spots, so we had to climb through trees to continue on. Of course, we found plenty of driftwood trees and whatnot to take pictures on.

Paul running from the wave.

Me falling off this tree. It was very wobbly.

Paul not falling.

Paul climbing through the jungle.

Us on the beach.

Monday we did a zipline tour, the only thing Paul we requested we do whilst in Costa Rica. I HATE heights (almost more than I hate spiders) so I was pretty happy I didn't pass out or pee myself. We booked our tour through Terraventuras and they were fantastic. All the guys on their staff were super fun and just made it a really enjoyable experience.

Us passing each other on the ziplines!

Lolz. This guy ran into Paul.

Also, the guy they had pick us up/drop us off at our hotel was amazing. On our way back we stopped like 6 times for him to point out different animals to us! We were just driving down the road and he'd stop and say "look, there's a sloth!" Or, "look in those trees, see that iguana?" It was funny because I couldn't even see the animals while I was looking where he pointed until after a good couple minutes of visually searching, and he was able to spot them WHILE he was driving down the road. Craziness. Anyways, the zipline tour was super fun and I am so glad we did it! Definitely a highlight, and it was a beautiful drive through back roads to get there. I also got to feed a horse. There were random horses hanging out by the little building at the start of the zipline platforms.
On Monday afternoon we also moved to the next hotel, Finca Chica. I wish we could have stayed at Casa Viva longer, but alas, they were booked. Maybe next time. Also, this is taking a super long time, so I will post part 2 later this week.

Magic.

I bet everyone thinks they have fantastic taste, but seriously, I only watch above-par television. Like White Collar, or Psych, or Lost. I don't watch my TV in quantity (usually only a few hours a week total), but what I do watch is definitely high quality. And after this weeks episode of Once Upon a Time, I seriously feel that I cannot keep this gem to myself. I want EVERYONE to watch it. It is amazing, and intriguing, and absolutely magical. It is also quite well-cast and visually beautiful, as well.

The tagline for the show is "everything you ever read about fairy tales is true." What a neat premise, right?! Anyway, the basic idea is that instead of a "happily ever after," the evil queen won and everything that was good in the lives of the fairy tale characters was stripped from them and they are now living in another world where they have forgotten the magic and who they really are--our world, in a town called Storybrooke, where they are normal, everyday people. Sound weird? I promise it's awesome. In each episode there are flashbacks to the fairy tales, so as the show progresses and you meet the characters now (Snow White, for instance, is an elementary school teacher and a dedicated hospital volunteer. Of course.), you also get to see their fairy tale story.

It is such a good show, so funny and sweet. Paul loves it too. We were driving somewhere the other day and he says, "Ya know, Once Upon a Time is one of those shows I can see us owning and watching together as a family when we have kids." Amen Paul. Amen.

And right now, ALL the episodes are still online, so you can watch from the beginning, which I think is critical. Have fun.

Puppy.

My dog. He loves himself the Arkansas.

Well. So do we.

I love having outside space. My dream is to put up a tree swing. ♥

I have a brown thumb.

I got it from my mother.

The only thing I think she has ever successfully grown is aloe, which is sort of like a weed anyway, so really easy to grow, really hard to kill, right? I think at one time we had like six pots of aloe on the front porch because they kept proliferating in the night. Everything else though died that slow-motion, fade to yellow then brown, panicky-what-can-I-do-to-fix-it sort of death. It's possible I have inherited this quality.

In Cedar last year, I tried to grow a garden. I really really wish I had a picture of that awesome fail.

In Ftown, there is a neat farmer's market that we sometimes go to on Saturdays, where we like to buy cheap basil, among other things. But the farmer's market is closed for the season in a couple weeks, and with basil being $4 for 7 leaves at the grocery store, we went to the nursery last weekend and bought a couple plants, a couple pots, and some dirt. I am super excited about it, and I hope they live! This is what we made with it on Saturday:

oh it was delicious. I used this recipe and when Paul tried it he told me, "this is the one." I've been searching for the perfect pizza dough for a while now, and this.is.it. I actually made myself a pizza for lunch today too. So good.

So. Good luck little plants! I will sing to you every day. And give you water and other such things.

Cozy.

I have never cared much for fall. The shades of brown, the freezing mornings and hot afternoons, and the impending doom of winter have never really endeared themselves to me. But right now I am experiencing what I feel is a real fall, and kids...I think I'm in love. It's hoodie weather, but it's also cardigan and tights weather, and there are leaves changing color and falling, and it's time for soup and fresh bread, homemade applesauce, hot tea, cuddling under blankets, cheery fires, scarves, and all things tasty and pumpkiny (like these, which were delicious, although I used a plain cream cheese frosting).

Anyway, I started a new job last week (YAY!) and I'm back to working 12's, which means that on my days off Paul is either at school or studying (when I was working Mon-Fri he got most of his studying done while I was at work). So this is a view inside our cozy stone cottage on a typical lovely fall evening:

He got pretty upset with me for interrupting his studies by distracting him with my camera, but I love this picture. It makes me feel all homey.

So happy fall ya'll. Which is apparently how people say it in the south.

stuff I've learned about Arkansas.

Which is a lot. I think that currently I have multiplied how much I used to know about Arkansas by about 40, but only because before moving here the only thing I knew about it was the capital. It was one of those midwestern states somewhere that you rarely, if ever, think about. And now all of a sudden I live here.

1. Chicken is big. And that is not a joke. I'd heard the "southern people love themselves some chicken" stereotype, but the number of fast-food chicken places here is ridiculous. For example, you know how in Tucson, Chick-fil-A is kind of ghetto, like you can only find it in mall food courts, and in Vegas/Southern Utah I'm not even sure they exist? Chick-fil-A is a big deal here. Everybody eats there. Even for breakfast. And then you have your Slim Chickens, AQ Chicken House, Church's, Foghorn's, Charlie's Chicken, plus your KFC's and Popeye's. Wow.

2. People are serious about them Razorbacks. So you know how in other towns/cities/states, while the local university is probably the best represented, there are people who wear paraphernalia and support schools from other areas. Like, even though most people in T-town are diehard Wildcat fans, you also have your Oregon duck fans, ASU scum devils, and even some Duke lovers, although they mostly stay in the closet on that one. But here in northwest Arkansas, the Razorbacks are the one and only. And I swear to you, I have never seen anything like a football game day here. It is madness. There's a whole parking lot dedicated to people tailgating in RVs, streets are clogged with traffic, everybody's out wearing their red and black, grocery stores play the game instead of music on the radio, grown men weep after a loss, cars are decked out in Arkansas magnets/flags/paint all weekend. I literally have yet to see a t-shirt worn representing a school besides the University of Arkansas.

yes, this is a razorback mailbox. I'm starting a whole folder of pictures on my phone labelled "crazy razorback stuff."

*side note: In Utah I had a whole folder for pictures of "polygamists at WalMart." No joke. I used to text them to my sister.

3. There are tarantulas. I thought these little guys were a desert creature, but when I nearly stepped on one on our walkway one evening last week, I discovered my error. First I yelped and jumped back, then I got MAD that nobody told me there were tarantulas out here. I should be prepared for these things. Also, since I didn't get a picture of the little bugger, you get this gem:

don't be fooled by the grin. I hate the things. Look how it's trying to attack me.

4. Historically significant Civil War sites are within easy driving distance. When we were living with Paul's great-aunt by marriage (that could be a post by itself) she took us to Prairie Grove, where a battle took place which essentially secured Arkansas (or at least northwest Arkansas?) for the Union. It was pretty cool. We watched a video, walked around the battlefield, had a picnic lunch outside the old old Elkhorn Lodge, and, you know, took some pictures on a cannon. Honestly, it was rather sobering to think about what happened there so many years ago, to see the battlefield and to think that thousands of men died there.

5. It is much more difficult to figure out where the ghetto is. In Tucson, you KNOW when you are in the ghetto. In Vegas, 96% of the city is ghetto. But in this town, we were driving home a couple weeks ago, and we were passing bail bond joint after liquor store after bail bond joint, and we were both kind of looking around and then said to each other, "do you think we live in the sketchy part of town?" It was hard to tell, cuz the whole town is just so dang cute! There are no telltale signs of the "bad" part of town, you know what I mean? My coworkers have confirmed for me that we do, in fact, live in a questionable neighborhood, although our street is quite adorable, and it's very quiet. We quite love it.

this is our cottage! It has a deck, a woodburning stove, a clawfoot tub, 700sq ft, a big backyard, a beautiful red door, and about 4000 daddy-long-legs and other spiders. We love it! (except for the spiders bit)

That's kind of all I've got so far. Yes, five items is 40 times more than I knew before.

I was never particularly patriotic.

Til about, oh, ten years ago.

I don't care if it's cliche, and I don't care that I have nothing new or insightful to offer on the subject. I remember.

I was a freshman in high school, in my first period math class.

I had no idea what was going on, or what it meant.

We watched the news in most of my classes that day.

Thinking about what happened still makes me cry.

It didn't matter that what was happening was going on thousands of miles away.

It felt oddly personal, just by being an American.

Reading about the coverage, about the kids growing up who lost parents 10 years ago, about the men and women who worked at Ground Zero on that day and the days and months that followed, who are suffering severe health problems, it makes me sick.

The last 10 years have been hard for our country.

But I am proud to be an American.

I love my country.

this picture gives me hope.