Que Viva, Peru!

Today is Peru's Independence Day!

I totally forgot about it til I read my sister's new status, on facebook. She's still got a pretty good case of Peruvian fever since she just got back from a three-week Peruvian vacation a few weeks ago. Lucky her! Sigh. I was hoping to make it there next year but it looks as if Costa Rica is going to win. How horrible is that?! Instead of Peru, I have to suffer in Costa Rica! ;)

Carmen had too many great pics to choose from so instead I'll just post two pics that I fell in love with. They are hung in the lobby of the Doubletree Hotel, in Lima (Miraflores to be exact!). I've always loved the traditional art of Peru, of women in their beautiful typical dresses, but my decoarting taste is way too contemporary. When I saw these I almost shouted for joy. They are on my list of prints to find and hang once we get past this whole med school thing and we actually have money to decorate our walls.

Que viva, Peru!

One More Hour

A few days ago I was on the phone with a good friend and she mentioned to me that she woke up an hour early, every day, to go have a cup of coffee with her mom before they both went of to work.

I can't get that image out of my head - of being able to spend some alone time with a parent just catching up on everyday events or even just complaining about traffic. As a mom of two, I know how valuable some quite adult time can be. As a daughter who's lost both parents, I know that my friend's hour with her mom is priceless.

Marriage and parenthood is both a dream come true and a nightmare. I wonder what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong all the time. And now I wonder what topics I would cover if I had one more hour. Would I just be content to have someone make me breakfast? Would I brag about my kids or complain about them? Would I listen to their advice or roll my eyes like I did so many times before? I don't know. I do know that I would greet them with a big hug, have a great laugh or two and leave with a kiss.

Today makes 12 years since my parents have passed away and what I would give for just one more hour.

That's All I Want. For Today

Check out this rug!! Is it bad to be in love with a rug? Should my husband be worried?Probably not since the cheapest pillows I saw on this site are $135.00!! Seriously, who pays that for a throw pillow. Actually, I rather not know. :)

For now, all I want is a deck with this rug beneath my bare feet and a lemonade. Or margarita, I'm really not that picky.

That's all I want. For today.
(Link: http://www.hableconstruction.com/happenings_collaborations.php?id=7)

A Few Short Months

I have become such a fan of blogs - I think I follow something like 58 of them. There are some that make me wish I was more creative, some that make me laugh out loud and some that just inspire me so much.

Because we want to adopt one day, I've started to follow some families and their adoption adventure. One particular family, in Kentucky, adopted the cutest lil twin girls. I used to look at their pictures and just think how truly happy their kids were. I really did.

Then she posted this.

There are days that I think to myself, "I am trying to adopt kids when what I really need to do is find someone to adopt mine!" :) And on those days, I go look at this particular post and I just know we have to do this.

If you want to feel inspired, go check it out. If you want to see what love can do in an orphan's lives, don't miss it. If you ever feel like there is too much hate in this world and feel just plain overwhelmed, go see what this family has accomplished in a few short months.

PS: Are they not soooo cute?

Yes, I Have.

This past weekend I went to a party thrown by one of my oldest friends. I've known her since I was 12 yrs-old. She dropped out of school the first few weeks of our freshmen year in high school, so needless to say, we have lived very different lives. Her's filled with characters that are a lil rough around the edges, drugs and alcohol. Mine jail-free with college and a husband.

We really are pretty opposite but I love her parties. I feel so at ease. No one is trying to show off for anyone, what you see is what you get. Take it or leave it. While I was at the party, one of her sis-in-law's came over to say hello. I ended up filing her in on my life, our med school journey and how Harold was doing. Then she said to me, "You've done good for yourself, Laura, you really have."

I've heard this statement before when I mention that my husband is in med school. Or "You caught yourself a good one." And every time it bugs me. I know it's partly my sensitivity but it's also partly the messed up world we live in. Why does my husband's future profession automatically imply that he's a good catch?

I love my husband and I would have loved him the same had he been a piano player, painter or accountant. I love him because I know that he'll always be faithful, I love him because he's always been a hard-worker. I love him for the way he treats our children and for his love of God. I love him because he's sincere and has a beautiful heart. There's so much more to him than the fact that he'll be a doctor one day.

So I gotta think of what to say to these statements that I'm sure I'll hear once or twice again. I can't start rambling of my husband wonderful qualities or else I'm afraid I'll sound like some type of nut. I guess, for now, next time someone says, "You've done good for yourself, Laura, you really have."

I'll just have to smile and say, "Yes, I have."

Check It Out

So with all the blog reading that I've been doing, I've come across a lot of cool contests. I never enter any of them because once I read how to enter the contest, I have no idea what they are talking about. I saw a contest for this cool bike and thought I'd give it a try! And it worked.... the ad appeared on my page! Yay!

I'm not a big bike rider but Harold is - take a look at the right bar ad and check it out! Don't you think he'd look great in a baby blue bike with two cute lil girls sticking out the cargo bin?

I thought so, too!

Three Bananas

Isabella ate three bananas today, in about three minutes. Three bananas! I can't stop saying it - three bananas! 

Me:   Isabella, where did you put the rest of the bananas?

Isabella:   I ate them all.

Me:   No, the rest of them. Where did you put them?

Isabella:   I ate them all.

Me:   What?! Isabella, where did you put them?

Isabella:   In here. (opens her mouth wide)

Me:   WHAT - three bananas?! Are you sure? What did you do with the peels?

Isabella:   I put them in the trash.

Me:   Three bananas! (as I literally count three banana peels in my trash can)

Isabella:   Yup. 

I just bought them two days ago so their size is fresh in my head. I only bought three. And they were not that small. Geez. 

Stay tuned and I might just write about the day she asked me to boil her some eggs and ate five of them. Five eggs! 

(banana pic courtesy of www.forevernintendo.com)