Puerto Rico

So it started out a little rough - like all plans made my the Rios clan. We left exceptionally early for our flight and sat around in the airport with our coffees. Once arriving in San Juan, I asked Paul what company we rented a car from. Of course he said he forgot but "I'll know it when I see it." He didn't. We ended up waiting at the wrong car rental company wondering why they didn't have their reservation. After some leg work by me and some help from my sister, we found the right place. You get what you pay for. Paul trying to be as frugal as possible ended up with a very small company where we had to pay extra for insurance (unless you brought proof with you) something that wouldn't have happened at Hertz or another well known company. In addition - GPS is cheaper at Hertz though not by much. I believe we ended up saving all of $20, but wasting valuable time.

I had enough and I let Paul have it. I hate people who are cheap on vacation but worse yet I hate ones who don't even print or check the itinerary before you leave. Rather than confirming all the information of our trip, he played video games and sat on the computer reading ESPN and personal emails. It's just irresponsible and lazy. Rather than touring the area for the 2 1/2 hours after we landed, I was hobbling around in the heat and rain trying to find which company we were renting a car with. What we got ... oh again, you get what you pay for... we ended up with a super old brown Ford Taurus. Oh yes it ran perfectly well... for an old car. Check out the chewed up steering wheel on the right.


But all was well after getting the car. We drove into Old San Juan - Viejo San Juan and got to see the Fort, Castle and all the old buildings, apartments, and cobble stone streets. It was beautiful. I got to enter and tour around Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Fort San Cristõbal which were full of history and culture. We saw dungeons, look outs, cannons, and beautiful views.

Calle del Sol (there is also a Calle del Luna)


The beautiful colors and balconies lining Calle del Sol

The Cannon at Castillo el Morro

A Door at the Fort

A Ship drawn by a prisoner years ago in the dungeon

Some Romance on the old Castle

I forgot to mention the food! We found this small quaint little restaurant the sold traditional Puerto Rican food. I had carne asada with rice and beans and it was delicious! Paul had mofungo stuffed with beef. Paul's dad had fish that looked just as scrumptious.

Later that night it was time to pick up Andy. Being that most places were closed and we didn't know much about the area we ended up back in Viejo San Juan for dinner where we learned they were having a festival. The streets were closed and littered with thousands of people old and young, tourist and local. It was a pretty unusual experience. After getting our fill, we were on our way at 12:30 AM to head west towards Mayaguez.

In Mayaguez we were greeted by Paul's Uncle Junior who led Paul and I to the apartment behind the house. This is where we stayed the weekend. It was nice, cozy, private and appreciated.

Saturday we woke up, had breakfast and separated from the bunch. Paul, Andy and I headed out with our GPS in tow towards La Parguera, but on the way, we stopped to grab some beer. So after about one hour of driving and a boat rental later this is what you see!

Paul driving the boat

A happy passenger in the shade with my beer

One of the many canals we navigated through

More beautiful canals

Paul and Andy up in the trees

Then after the beer was consumed:

Picture Gollum but instead of the ring its beer

Yeah, I don't know

What happens when you let a fat man climb into a wet boat

3 Monkeys climbing in a tree

After the fun at the beach we were off to dinner and then to get showered and ready for the Cotto fight and some dancing. Here are some of the pictures:

Getting ready to go out - this was just too funny not to post

The Rios Men

A semi group picture!

The next day we were off to the farm to have a picnic with some of Paul's dad's friends. Imagine a picnic under a mango tree drinking whiskeys and coco waters?

A view from the grill Paul was manning of the mango tree and picnic spot

I love coconut!

On the back of a tractor pulled trailer for a tour of the property

Andy came too!

This was pretty much an all day event. Once it was over, I found myself exhausted. We showered and I passed out. The next day it was breakfast and then a drive to San Juan and back home for each of us. It went by way too fast but while there the topics arose... maybe another longer trip is in our futures but maybe a jointly owned summer house is as well. Only time will tell.

Camping Romance?

Love in Nature

So... I love camping - a lot! Two trips are already planned... one already happened. My birthday camping trip which was a mild success - basically all went well except my Tooth problems and ER visit. In 2 weeks, we'll be going on our 11 person family trip with the kids. It will be similar to my birthday except in PA at a Family Friendly DRY campsite. And the rafting trip will be guided - safety 1st when Mr. Kyle and Miss. Amanda are in tow.

Now I'm setting my trip planning energy into a Romantic camping trip for 2. Oh how excited I am. I've been pestering Paul to do a date-like camping get away with me for quite some time. I've thrown around ideas and places and he can't seem to make up his mind or give it any attention. This is okay by me - I don't mind doing the leg work - as long as it happens!

I've mentioned going back to our secluded site at Kittatinny - right on the Delaware river. Maybe some Kayaking during the day and some romantic fire pit roasting, eating, and smooching at night. What better way for two nature loving people to show their love not just to mother earth but each other?

I've also thrown the idea of doing Fire Island. I've gone before as a child and loved it - however there are some down sides. They are rules rules rules and more rules. Many of the rules aren't bad - they are actually good - its all about preserving nature and its natural vegetation - can't argue with that. Basically all the sites are sandy - and well, I'm cool with that. It's on the island but not on the beach. They are semi secluded - there are no trees but many beachy shrubs (still watch out for poison ivy). The part that disappoints me is that they don't allow camp fires - not even in a fire ring. They provide a BBQ grill at each camp site and you can only use charcoal. Which is fine for cooking but how about snuggling up near the camp fire and making smores (Paul doesn't like them anyway). The advantages of being at Fire Island are that you spend all day at the beach and there are tons of trails to explore! Not to mention the boats, docks, and ocean breeze.

Romance in a Tent

So we shall see where we end up. In two weeks we will head out to Jim Thorpe, PA to camp out at Maunch Chunck Lake. Maybe we will want to revisit there?

Either way - I am sure we will have a great time together.

I envision
early mornings
cozy breakfasts
morning walks
quick easy lunches
long meaningful conversations
many hugs and kisses
excessive cuddling
boating/beaching
exercise!
clean deep breaths
green green green
laughs
bruises
bites
hearty dinners
cozy fires
and romantic nights

A Wood and Speratus fire we made up at Jerry's Upstate House

Future Awaits Me

It has been quite sometime since anything truly meaningful was written in this blog. I’ve complained, I’ve vented, I’ve done a lot of meaningless banter, but I haven’t really written anything worth remembering. Maybe today that will change? It’s hard – a blog almost becomes a diary no? Yet it’s open to many peering eyes and everyone’s life should remain a bit personal… private.

So today I write about myself – yet I don’t reveal too much (some must be left to just me).

Filled to the brim with emotion lately, emotions I cannot control. I’ve been wondering what it is I want from this life and the changes I need to make so that they will happen. I’ve been living a wonderful and blessed life thus far, but hope to live one rich in nature, rich in love, rich in knowledge, compassion, and in all the beauties the earth has to offer.

Compared to many NY peers, I suppose I’m a bit more in touch with nature – after all we are surrounded by cement, glass, steel, cars, single purpose products, and anything man made to make our lives “easier”. I don’t want this and never truly did. An old friend used to joke… he’d call me a country girl – I’m not even close, but I suppose considering my surroundings, my cloths, how I act and dress, I can sometimes appear to be (but only by comparison).

Notice the contradiction in this photo - nature surrounding steel

I have a deep craving for certain things in my life – it’s maybe more than a craving it’s like an insatiable hunger or passion that I can’t yet fulfill. Many are listed below but not all encompassing.

Property (terrace, yard, balcony): I am wishing, hoping, craving, longing for a home of my own. Not a rental, not an apartment, but a house. However in the mean time I’d settle for an apartment with a terrace or balcony – a yard would be a bonus! I want to bring my plants outdoors. I want to have an herb garden. I want to have a morning cup of coffee sitting outside, smelling the sweet smell of morning. I want to BBQ at night. I want to enjoy a Saturday lunch in the sun. I want to be closer to mother earth.

Countryside: I so desperately desire moving out of New York – maybe even out of the Northeast. I’m dreaming of Rocky Mountains, green grass, brilliant flower petals, bare feet, dirt roads, wild animals, soft fluffy snow, tall trees, bright sun, starry nights, and of course – fresh fresh air!

Trees - Earth - Seasons

Our Own Home: A real home with multiple rooms, abundant space (yet not too big), a front door, a back door, a full kitchen, windows on every wall and in every room, bedrooms, and of course … the deed allowing us to do mostly what we want. Paint walls fresh colors, put up shades and blinds, buy beautiful sturdy furniture, hang art, plant window boxes, live life!

Financial Stability: Paul and I both have great careers, great jobs, great job stability, and adequate financial stability for now… but he is leaving his job, going back to school and obtaining yet another master’s degree which can only increase our chances at leading fulfilling lives (him being the working hubby and me being the primary home care-er). Hopefully this leads to amazing opportunities in his future affording us the flexibility to raise our children without the aid of day care or full time baby sitters. Also we hope this will allow us to continue our current lifestyles which include but are not limited to travel, hobbies, snowboarding, exotic foods and local foods alike, and of course, gifts and treasures for each other, friends and family. I pray that we are able to sustain on what God and the future will provide for us. But because I’m also a professional, I have confidence that we will be able to live very fulfilling lives – as we live simply, love greatly, and are both very capable of providing for our families individually, let alone as a team.

A Family: Only 27 – I know I know. I’m young. I have time. Yet I am overwhelmed with the desire to be a mother. I’ve always loved children and I’ve always longed for them. I used to joke that I’d steal a little baby that I saw here or there … steal them to give them ample kisses and hugs. Clearly I would never do this – but it does show my desire. One day Paul and I will be married – and when that day comes we hope we will be ready for children. We hope we will be mature enough, selfless enough, and financially and emotionally stable enough to give our children everything and anything they will need to strive in this every evolving world.

Harmony & Peace: There is very little to say here – I hope that my family … immediate, extended, and future all find peace and harmony within themselves and each other. I hope that they are able to move as a unit while being filled with love and companionship. Maybe – one day?

Not to lose myself: I see myself changing each and every day – from my priorities, my desires, my wants, needs and emotions. I hope to find balance and not lose who I am. I hope to find a balance in this modern world. I hope to balance nature and simplicity with technology and complexity. I hope to balance love and life. I hope to balance family and friends. I hope to balance work and play. And all the while – being true to my heart.

Paul and I - happy as can be eating snow in Colorado

:(

Crap, poop, shit, ugh

PR Weekend

So this weekend I'm off to Puerto Rico. Our flight leaves early Friday morning allowing us to have a few hours in San Juan before we have to pick up Andy and head to Mayaguez (Paul's Dad's home town).

So some things I'm worried about - I don't know what to bring. I don't know what we'll be doing. I don't want to over/under pack. My source of information is coming from 2 boys and their dad - I mean really, their advice about what to pack consists of ... umm shorts, bathingsuit?
Useless I tell you!

Concern #2 - I feel fat. I'm worried I'll look as fat as I feel!

Concern #3 - I don't know anyone- and I'm meeting his paternal side for the 1st time - 1st impressions on both fronts.

Concern #4 - Again none of them speak English - apparently its even worse than Argentina. So basically I may not be able to communicate

But the plus side - its only 4 days - I can survive anything for 4 days

So I hope it all goes well, I hope that we all have fun, I hope I eat lots of food - and I hope everyone likes me and I hope I like them


While there - we are planning on going to a beach on Saturday. Paul told me that you take a little boat out into the ocean and about a mile from the beach is a reef and sandy area that people set up tables and have picnics and play dominoes at. Also young boys dive for live oysters and sell them on the beach - can't get fresher than that.

After that, Paul is supposed to make an asado - a little Argentine flavor in Puerto Rico I suppose. I was hopping to have more Puerto Rican local foods.

Periodontists

Did you know what a periodontist was? I didn't - and for good reason, my periodontium were healthy! Well now they aren't.

Yesterday I went to the periodontist for the 1st time. He was a very soft spoken, gentle Chinese man. He came highly recommended by my dentist who I consider a wonder dentist. She is not just my dentist, but also my friend.

Anyway, after some poking, prodding, and x-rays, he came to the conclusion that my tooth under the crown is fractured. That my crown was made too large and too high. He also decided the post used was too large and that my root canal was done haphazardly. So much for my old dentist and endodontist. I will continue to praise my old oral surgeon though, the one who did my 4 wisdom tooth extraction was great.

Anyway, do to all of the above, my tooth underwent some trauma along with the surrounding tissue and gums. My infection went from tooth to gum to sinus to lymph node. The tooth now needs to come out to allow healing and once that occurs (3-4 months), I'll need to get an implant. How ridiculous!

So it looks like it will be extracted - and in pieces no less... but I'm flying to Puerto Rico in 2 days and he's afraid that a blood clot will burst in the pressure and I'll begin to bleed on the plane (eww). So it's postponed till next week.

BAH! STUPID ORAL GARBAGE!

Birthday Blues - an Understatement

Almost everything that could go wrong on my Birthday did! How ridiculous! But so many things went just right.

I woke up Thursday morning with a sense of foreboding. I was sad, yet happy. Excited, yet dreadful. Tired, yet relaxed. It was just one of those days.


Paul took the train with me to work, he even bought me breakfast. While finishing up my coffee I felt a presence behind me and it was Paul with a plant. He didn't want to buy me flowers (they die). Here is a picture of them.
Throughout the day I was wondering why my Mom hadn't yet called. Oh yeah, its because she forgot. When I called her out on it, she said ... maybe we can do lunch, but already feeling lazy and tired I declined saying we can do it another time. I thought maybe I could grab something with Akash, but he already ate. So I called Paul, he picked something up and met me at my office where we ate. He then headed home while I headed back upstairs to work.

When I got home, my mood had worsened, but Paul convinced me that a trip to Franks was the only cure. Steak, potatoes, dirty martinis, and desert! But it was raining, and I was tired, and I was lazy, and I just didn't feel like it. But then I began thinking with my tummy and I was up and putting on my birthday dress (that Paul bought me) and I was on my way to the car.

At Franks I ordered my FAVORITE Romanian skirt steak, deep fried garlic mashed potatoes and some spinach. Paul had a steak with stilton cheese on top. Both were very tasty and both were finished completely. We were two satisfied customers. For desert I had a Jamaican Mocha Mud Pie and boy was it delish! But I was a bit sad. During our dinner, waitress after waitress brought out deserts singing Happy Birthday while my desert came out quietly. I complained a bit to Paul, but he put me down, saying it was corny and I was too old for it. After I was done with my desert, I decided a potty break was in order. Upon returning my 1/2 eaten desert with a lit candle was bring brought to the table while the wait staff sung me happy birthday. It was funnier than if they had done it the 1st time. Who brings out a 1/2 eaten cake with a candle on top. It was hilarious. Props to Paul for thinking that through.

When I got home, my back tooth begin to feel sore. Worried that maybe I had something in it, I flossed and brushed my teeth extra well before bed.

In the middle of the night, I woke up feeling intense pressure in my mouth. I took some Advil and gargled some listerine hoping it would help. It was then that I realized my period had come! Of course on my birthday, the night before my camping trip at 3 AM I not only wake up with a toothache but also my period! Again, a big FUCK YOU to mother nature!

Friday we woke up, packed the car and headed to Bellerose to pick up the grill and grab some ice and breakfast at the dinner. Lauren and Bryan met us. It was at the dinner that it became apparent that my mouth was much worse that I suspected. I couldn't even finish my 2 eggs. SOFT EGGS!

Once we got through the traffic, visited Papa, reentered the traffic and finally got to the campsite we began to set up. We made some hot dogs to hold us over till the masses got there and I was able to slowly eat that. All in all though, my mouth hurt and I was NOT having a good day. It was good having Lauren around to be my bathroom buddy though. Once everyone got there we made some sausage and peppers but my mouth was not having any of that. I ended up gnawing on a smore before bed, but that was all I could get down. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that our site ROCKED... right on the river and secluded... maybe the most secluded site on the property!

The next morning was rafting - YEY! I ate some soggy cereal and we were on our way. The water was frigid and my mouth was not happy, but I was going to make the best of it. We had 2 boats and had a blast. We were all laughing and drinking and then I decided it was time to play pirates. Basically I wanted to throw my sister off the other boat and get her in the water. Instead her fiance accidentally bumped her and in the water she went. It was great. We then began trying to turn over each other's boats, tried to steal each other's oars, etc... eventually Lauren abandoned ship and jumped into our boat, I jumped into theirs with the sole purpose of stealing oars and then tried to fly back into my boat... but Bryan grabbed my feet and in the water I went. That tilted the other boat causing Kareen and TJ to get in the water too! In the end most of us were wet, my boat had 1 extra person and 3 extra oars.







Back at camp we took some nice showers and got back to camp to have some delicious skirt steak... well I did get to gnaw on a piece :) but soon after my mouth was angry and I laid down. When I got up I knew I couldn't keep going. I was just in too much pain. My mouth was swollen and throbbing while sending shooting pains up into my head and down into my neck. My throat hurt. When I took in breaths through my nose, it felt like I was inhaling water. When I stretched my neck it felt sore. I couldn't do it anymore. I decided it was time to go to the ER! And to the ER I went. The nurse took one look at my face and said, you're swollen! The doctor said, wow that's a big jaw. He looked inside my mouth, concluded it was a bacterial infection, and said he'd give me a prescription. Well smart Lilia, forgot her insurance card, so I begged the nurse to talk to the doctor the give me a dose now and something for the pain to get me through the night. They did! They gave me a Tylenol with Codine and some antibiotics. I decided Paul and I had to leave 1st thing in the AM to get my scripts filled. The Codine only helped for a few hours and only because it made me fall asleep. I woke up in tears 3 times begging for Advil, Tylenol, Motrin and all other over the counter pain killers we brought. I think I may have gone over the recommended dosage within hours, let alone days. It was definitely the most pain I've ever been in in my life... and I've gotten 64 stitches at once, 4 wisdom teeth pulled while I was awake, and broken bones... this was the WORST!

Morning finally broke and I begged Paul to pack up and get out. Everyone was great and packed up my remaining things and took them home so we could leave extra early. We got home and I ran to Duane Reade... guess what - PHARMACY CLOSED! My luck right... so I went to CVS... and they were opened! I got my stuff and went home where I slept for almost 24 hours... the pain was too much to bare. I've been taking the meds and I'm getting better but not out of the woods yet. I saw my dentist, Jersy, on Monday and she said it looked like it was still pussing and still swollen. I'm going to see her again next week. Apparently the infection spread to my sinus which has been horrible... now that's bothering me as much as the tooth. Next week I'll also see a periodontist to see if the tooth... i mean crown, is even salvageable. We shall see. She thinks I'll need an implant.... I don't think my insurance covers that... CRAP!

So all in all my birthday was a disaster! But it could have been worse. I had great people around me... always trying to make me as comfy as possible. We had great laughs, told great stories and in the end it was still a success. Rafting was so much fun. And despite the fact that the nights were cold, we sat around the camp fires, chatting, drinking, eating, talking, and laughing. I think it was a great time... and I'm pretty sure everyone else did too.

Oh yeah, I'm going camping again in a month with my family... guess what I realized... I'll have my period AGAIN! FUCK YOU MOTHER NATURE!