PALOMINO DRIVE

Front entrance

Front door

Backyard: bar and pool

Backyard-grapefruit and lemon trees

Guest bedroom 1: closet

Guest bedroom 1

Guest bath

Guest bath

Hallway to guest bedrooms/bathroom

My bedroom, with door to backyard

My shower

My closet and bathroom

Spanish tile in my bedroom. I love it

TV is gonna go on the wall above the table

Living room

Dining room table

View from laundry room (where you come in from garage)

Kitchen

Kitchen, view from front door

Living Room, view from front door

Front Door

we live on pandora

it's days like today that make it hard for me to understand how people don't believe in God. manifestations of His love are all around us; all we have to do is stop and take it in. i walked along the beach today, feet in the clear, blue water, sun on my skin, thanking my Heavenly Father for creating this unbelievable world that i am blessed to live in. the collaborating ecosystem and heirarchy of plant and animal life never cease to amaze me. that all life exists and works together to survive against an oftentimes harsh mother nature has to be by the hand of a higher power. alone with my thoughts, the ocean and scenery helped to recharge my spiritual batteries. and i'm so thankful.

this primary song kept running through my head as i walked in the sand. and since i was mostly alone on the beach, i sang it out loud as i strolled.

heavenly father, are you really there?
and do you hear and answer every childs prayer?
some say that heaven is far away.
but i feel it close around me as i pray.

prayers of gratitude. to borrow a statement from a good friend: LG. life's good.

reptropolis

every morning i play a little game i like to call "find the reptile". through the window outside my room there is a jungle of trees. a family of iguanas live in this network of trees and i have enjoyed getting to know just a few members of the clan. grandpa is large, yellow, and has a row of long, very sharp-looking spikes lining his spine. the mamma is smaller, green, tends to keep to the same branches and looks like she knows how to use that mile long tail should anyone try to pick a fight with one of her litter. it's been overcast and rainy the past week or so. not ideal for working on my tan. my iguana friends have also been m.i.a. from their usual posts. come back, sun. come back, friends.

almost ran over this guy the other day. dead iguanas in the road are a common site here on the island. and although i prefer them alive and kickin, even the smashed ones provide a palette of vibrant reds and greens that is beautiful to behold. before i started loving dogs, the only pet i ever wanted was a fat, mean iguana. one i could buy a spiked collar for, put on a leash and walk around the neighborhood. just as people say dogs resemble their owners, stanley would likely have been a mirror image of myself: sassy, independent, appreciates correct grammar, an avid reader and alone movie-goer.

just kickin down the cobblestones, looking for fun and feelin groovy

i've laid out twice since being in puerto rico. the first time i was extremely cautious, taking measures to ensure my pasty white skin didn't get burnt to a crisp. 45 minutes in the sun was my maximum and there was no payoff. showing up at practice the next day my teammates assured me i was just as pale as the last time they saw me. so yesterday i decided to up my game and withhold the sunscreen for the first 20 minutes i was at the pool. i was feeling good, contentedly floating on my borrowed raft while listening to jen spin her story of true love and married life. when we packed up our stuff and called it a day my jovial group of comrades surveyed that five months living in the north pole must have left my skin devoid of all melanin. i still looked like an eskimo with a slight acne problem. well, dear readers, here i am almost 24 hours later with a lobster colored chest and forehead, nursing the first sunburn i've had in i don't even know how long. and i am THRILLED about it!!

you see, a sunburn means there is sun in my life again. and friends. and beaches. and pools. and fruit smoothies. and tostones. and all things puerto rico! i am ecstatic to be back here, playing a sport i forgot i loved, living with a very good friend, playing with teammates i am coming to like so much more every day, enjoying an island i fell in love with three years ago.

last night as i sat at dinner with lexi and casey and their adorable son cash, two people who have known me for so long and who are very near and dear to my heart, i was feeling so grateful. how blessed am i?! i am so thankful to my heavenly father for always listening to my prayers and for always making sure that things work out the way they are supposed to. thanks, lex and case, for being such good friends. thanks for the talk. you mean the world to me. my family and friends mean the world to me. so if any of you want to come visit a gorgeous island, book a ticket and tell me when to pick you up at the airport!

i read this scripture today. psalms 48:14 "for this god is our god for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death."

so long, suomi

sorry for the prolonged absence. the past month has been rough and i could not muster the motivation to blog no matter how hard i tried. insomnia has set in and i feel like a soulless corpse, just floating through the days. most nights i don't fall asleep until around 5 a.m., getting in a solid 2 hours of sleep before waking up for morning practice. i would lay in bed, forcing myself to stay still until being whisked away into dreamland. after two hours i wanted to pull my hair out and cry. thanks for nothing, tylenol PM. it seems my sleeping issues were directly linked to me becoming increasingly unhappy with my volleyball situation because since i made the decision to quit two days ago, i've slept like a baby. now it's 4:23 a.m. here in helsinki and i am wide awake. this time out of excitement. i'm on my way home. on my way to be reunited with people who love me and care about me. people who will say hello to me when i walk in a room. people who don't question my effort and my intentions because they know i give 100% in everything i do. people who won't sigh and roll their eyes when i make a mistake. people who won't give up on me. my family. my friends. i can't wait to see them!

somebody get me an ambien, please

oh hey guys. how was your christmas? mine was A-MAZING! more to come on that later, though. it's 4:21 a.m. north of the arctic circle and i'm going to attempt sleep very soon, i swear. perhaps some of you noticed that i changed my "friends" column to "friends and family". i've been waiting for this opportunity since my blogging christening and that day has finally dawned, thanks to my rad cousin janae. seriously people, i dig her. and she loves movies just as much as i do. and she's just rad. thanks cousin. xoxo

merry christmas

my blogging moratorium is now in effect. merry christmas everyone! and happy new year!