Creative Photography

I found another area to be creative, beach photography.
I came across some beautiful shells on the shore and played around with them.

Snowdon timed the sun setting.  It took 1 min 55 sec from when it hit the horizon...

Injured + Bringing back 'fem' + Creativity

Today is Sunday. On Thursday morning I woke up with a piercing pain between my shoulders. I waited for a few days for it to go away, tried surfing on Thursday, then tried resting on Friday. It didn't go away. So yesterday, Saturday (after remembering that I have medical insurance for just this kind of purpose), I went to the local Scottish Chiropractor Neil. Well Neil, who has Papaya trees and a pond containing fish, in his back yard, said I had injured myself in an equivalent way to spraining my ankle, at some stage. This had restricted my movement around those particular vertebra and the muscles surrounding this area had become strained (happened after several days of big surf), and were now clamped up and filled with lactic acid. I also assert that the halter neck bikini's (very uncomfortable but I hadn't found an alternative) that I've been wearing haven't helped, terrible idea those, they put so much pressure on your neck (Neil agreed). Neil pressed on various areas of my back to break up the lactic acid, and did a few big 'CRACKS' here and there, loosening up my back significantly. I love it how he explained everything to me - pretty important seeing as it's my body. I'm to rest for two days (second day today), ice, stretch.. and should be all good by tomorrow. I go back for a follow up this coming Thursday.

So that's the first topic of this blog. The next is 'bringing back fem'. I assert that many of us kiwi girls often lose our 'fem' (feminine) expression, when we're busy 'keeping up with the boys' (not all kiwi girls of course - some are doing just fine with fem). I think I did to a degree. So I'm bringing fem back. I'm in such a great place to learn - the women are very fem here!  Christiane (Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom) advises 'listening to our bodies'. Well this occasion of listening to my body (resting my injured back) has given me a chance to go bikini shopping. I have eliminated halter neck anythings from my life. My body doesn't like them. Fortunately I have devised a new tying plan (with Snowdon's help) to make them all into crossover backs so that I can still use them :) The same morning I woke up with a sore back, as I got out from my traditional 'after surf swim', I met the owner of Kina Surf, a kiwi lady (Al's mum) who I had seen out body boarding previously (she said "I knew when I saw you that you were a kiwi girl" I now wish I'd asked why!). I said that I was coming down for a look today and that I needed to replace my top (the only non halter neck bikini top I had, I had on and was rotten - now in the bin where it belongs). She said "brilliant we have some new special surfing bikini's (they tie on tight and are made to cross-over) in and you'll love them".

She was right, I did love them - the guy who makes them has come up with a treat! After many try ons, and a few evenings to ponder, I purchased a very bright and incredibly fem, swimming pool blue, crossover backed bikini. Actually it was the femmest one they had! It even has frills and a hanging bow belt tie. 

Christiane (WBWW) had said for women to express their inherent creativity is crucial to their women's health. I was surprised to realize that surfing is one of mine (I've always thought of it as just a sport or hobby not an artistic expression, but it certainly is an expression).  This blogging is a new creative venture for me, we're doing well with our meal creativity (view Snowdon's blog for pics), and I'm currently (hush hush) working on my first website... I've been considering other areas where I can be creative.  I'd thought man I could really dress more creatively - so I brought a cool really colourful boob tube top. Cool, comfy, creative and colourful! You'll see that one in upcoming pics I'm sure.

But meanwhile back to the new fem bikini.  Today I tried it out fully, with a mango feast on the beach.  It passed the mango test!

So there it is. I have officially begun my quest to fully find and enrich both my creativity and my feminine side.  I think I'm off to a good start with my frilly bikini!

One little word for 2010 - Jan to March

Enrich:

enhance, improve, better, add to, augment; supplement, complement; boost, elevate, raise, lift, refine, endow.

- to supply with abundance of anything desirable: to enrich the mind with knowledge.

- to add greater value or significance to.

- to make finer in quality, as by supplying desirable elements or ingredients: to enrich soil.

In January Rach sent me an email that her sister Eli (thanks Eli) had come across, referring to the following idea and website of selecting ‘one little word’ for the year (http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2009/12/one-little-word-2010.html).

The website is no longer 'live' as it was for several years, but you can still view it. I agree that it's a great idea, and I'm taking it on. Here's how it was created:

One little word – Ali Edwards

A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow.

Today I want to introduce you to the idea that a single word can be a catalyst for enriching your life.

Last year I began a tradition of choosing one word for myself each January - a word that I can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life.

Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself this year?

It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word.

One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here's one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren't ready for it yet. Again, be open to the possibilities.

Weekly challenge:

This week your challenge is to create something, anything, that celebrates your chosen word. Maybe a layout. Maybe a blog posting or a journal entry or a simple post-it note that you put somewhere you can see it each day. Make sure to journal about why you chose your word and what it means for you - the more you let yourself explore the more benefit you will receive in the end.

January – Rach sent me this email on Sunday 10^th January. We'd just got married, we were on our ‘family’ honeymoon and I was preparing to leave NZ for a year on this overseas adventure, so I stored the idea away in the back of my mind to ferment.

February – I had time to mull over what word I would choose for the year. Some favourites were: peace (harmony, calm, quiet, tranquility), experience, compile, celebrate, less (is more), embrace, still (mind, body, soul), prepare, completion. I even tried a few words on, during my mulling and got some things done.

One accomplishment was organizing all my electronic data that I had dumped on one storage drive from four different computers in the big pre adventure pack up – what a mess! It’s now all on the macbook, significantly less immense, AND the whole mac book is now ‘time machine’ backed up on that same storage drive.

I also travelled through Costa Rica, read three books, surfed in my dream spot, zip lined through a ‘Cloud Forest’ and worked in a Costa Rican school in the mountains for a month.

March – After a lot of mulling and word research I’ve made my choice. Enrich – what a wonderful word! It’s a great fit for my year of exploration. I’m out to enrich my Past, Present and Future. So far this month I’ve enriched my surfing ability, my level of communication with Snowdon, my knowledge of Women's Health (ref Reading Log - Women’s Bodies and Women’s Wisdom), my ability to relax, and I've enriched my experience - I now know what it’s like to live in a beach town in Costa Rica.

'Enrich' for me for 2010 - I have a few ideas about the areas I’m out to enrich this year – I’ll keep you posted.... Want to play the game? What are you going to pick?

Costa Rica - Nature Watch 1

For you nature lovers out there, on this and future 'nature watch' blogs I'll 'catch' a few of these many species for your perusal.

From wikipedia:

Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between the North and South American continents, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, which represents nearly 4% of the total species estimated worldwide, making Costa Rica one of the 20 countries with the highestbiodiversity in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a little more than 300,000 are insects.^[1]

Firstly there were the series of scorpions sneeking into Cindy's house.

Then there were the AMAZING hummingbirds!

Some of my students at Monteverde found a big blue mushroom on our walk up to the kiosk.

On the way to town one day Snowdon and I passed by an injured bird - it was beautiful.

There's always the house lizards.....

our mango munching monkeys....

and sneaky squirrels.

This morning Snowdon noticed that an Iguana had come to visit us.

And then this afternoon we came home to hundreds of scurrying crabs. Cody told us they come down from the hills after the first rain (which usually happens in May, but we had one last night).

Snowdon found out that they're called Tajalines and that they are off to lay eggs on the beach (http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com/wildlife/crabs.php)

Santa Teresa - 1.5 weeks in; a blackout + surfing and a party!

We've just finished our third day of our second week (out of six weeks yippee!) in Santa Teresa.....and it's raining, with thunder and lightning. How exciting, and oh ….. now the lights have gone off! All is dark in Santa Teresa (8.10pm). Just us in the casita with a lone security guard flashing a light around outside. The rain feels quite eerie when usually it’s so dry around here.. We have a tin roof – don’t you love the sound of the rain tip tapping on the roof – I do! Snowdon’s found a good activity for a rainy night – meditation. So have I – blogging.

The first week here we lapped up the opportunity to exercise. We surfed 2-3 times a day and ran several times in the first week here. It’s so great to be surfing again. This beach is quite different from Playa Carmen where we were last time. Initially I was a bit gutted because I didn’t think the surf was as good (probably because I had trouble surfing it). But by halfway through the first week I’d figured out that it was actually better, more challenging to surf, faster and rounder than Playa Carmen. I’ve been given an opportunity to extend myself – and grab it I will - I’m getting better every day (and my new trademe ‘fish’ is perfect)! I’ve never surfed so much and it’s so great to have good warm waves every day.

It’s lovely and warm out surfing. I come in when the waves putt out or I’m too tired. I wear a rashie but the sun still seems to get through – didn’t realize how much until Snowdon took this kitchen shot - I'm starting to merge in...look like everyone else around here!

That first week we went on a few forays down past Playa Carmen to the crossroads (and the bank). Check out our handstands on the way…..

On the first foray I couldn’t hack the pace, too much sun and heat, so we didn’t do much exploring.

Since then we’ve checked out the place a bit better, and even found a really good bookshop/swap (to Snowdon’s delight).

It’s lovely strolling along that beach, and hopping in for a swim on the way.

We eat a lot here, think it’s all the exercise we’re getting, lots of trips to the super market, but nice healthy food. We’re loving the watermelon, oh and the mangos – oh boy oh boy!

We’re still with Sicilian Ugo in the Surfcasitas. After the first week he gave us a good long term deal for the remaining 5 weeks here. He’s happy, we’re very happy. Here’s a shot of the one we’re in now (we were downgraded because someone else was booked into the ‘top’ one, but I like this one more – it’s lighter inside).

It was Ugo’s girlfriend Cody’s birthday last Friday. She had a pot luck party up at their house, and the friendly being that she is, she invited us! Lucky! I took beer and watermelon. Snowdon stayed home, so I had to be brave to go it alone. It was great to meet some locals and the food was delicious. Ugo has heaps of mates, all day we hear people calling his name! It was great to meet his kiwi mate Al, who's living here, there’s just something about the familiarity of your own culture in a foreign place – it was lovely to hear him share with his mates about NZ (there’s a nice ring to the sound of someone talking up your country). Each person I meet I ask what they do here – I’m eager to find out how people can make a good living here, even with young children etc (the teacher salary here in very minimal). Al works with Aussie Mick who has a surf coaching business: surfmongrels they’re called! Another of Ugo’s mates had said that there’s a lot of work for after school tutors here. Another was a chef. I also met Brad who’s on the PTA for that lovely school down the road, Hermosa Beach School, says they’re looking for a principal (they don’t have one at the moment). Think I need to edit my prior ‘dream school’ comment to ‘dream location school’. That a school has a principal is up there on my priority list for a school. Anyway he’s doing a lot of work to get it back on track. He owned accommodation and ran tours.

When I ran out of mates I came home. So that was the party. I'd love to be so 'at one' with people that I can just sit and 'be' and not feel like a no mates when I've got no one to talk to, but I'm not up to that stage of my self-spiritual awareness yet. But the bonus is that now I know people out in the water (and I’m meeting more each day). Surfing's great alone, but for me it's even better when you feel like your hanging out with your mates.

Now we have a bit of a routine in paradise. Snowdon meditates in the morning, I surf for a few hours. So far the surf's been best in the morning. Brekki and coffee (love the Costa Rican coffee). Read in the hammock (ref book review, man mine is awesome) or internet (searching and applying for jobs in Japan, planning our Europe trip; Wwoofing, visiting friends and Vipassana, or whatever we're researching at the time..), then maybe a walk along the beach into town, another surf, or we sit on our spot on the beach (see photo) and read, talk, write in our journals, or just sit and watch the surf, surfers surfing and the sunset. There are some beautiful sunsets, and it’s cooler down on the beach. Then home for dinner. We alternate cooking nights now, because we now have two cooks in our household! Things just get better and better....

2010 Reading Log - March continued

This is what I'm reading now - it's wonderful!  Rach recommended it to me years ago, I've always meant to read it and now I've found a perfect time for it.  Christiane Northrup is a very clever and insightful lady!

From Singapore to Surfer

My Hubby accomplished his Santa Teresa goal this morning.  He caught his first 'green' wave.  It was a sight to see, and i was fortunate to be in just the right spot to see it.  I was paddling out.  He was out the back in some very nice and glassy (but quite big for a learner) conditions.  He spotted a wave, paddled to catch it (at just the right angle and just the right spot on the wave), got it, nimbly jumped up to his feet, and cruised along that wave just as relaxed as could be....  That's all I saw, then I had to duck dive the wave.  When I popped up again and re-orientated myself, he was quite a way into shore, so he rode that wave for quite a distance!  You should have seen his smile, it was big and stuck around for quite a while.  I'm so proud - my hubby can surf.  So many dreams coming true on this trip!  I wonder what goal he'll set next?