Happy New Year!

The best part of 2010 for me was moving to Nicaragua.  I have fallen in love with this country and its people.  This brought on the most fulfilling part of my year and probably life to date:  our Christmas Eve Party for the local kids here.  Most of these children get nothing for Christmas at all.  They are lucky to even have toys or shoes for that matter.  When my hubby found out that the local clinic couldn't afford to give out toys this year, he stepped into action and even made it to where everyone was fed and games were played.  Here's a peak at the action that ensued:

kids lining up to get in...

waiting for grub...

Getting them served...

Pinata time!

 

 

 

And of course trampling people for candy!

Tug of war was played...

As was the sack race...

And they just LOVED bobbing for apples!

"lined" up for toys!

And then God capped it all off nicely with a double rainbow!

We also enjoyed an amazing sunset on our ride home to "Santa's workshop".  This event was the best Christmas present ever and a big thanks goes to my hubby and all who supported with either money, time or both!  Happy New Year everyone!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Great news!  Chris got another donation of almost $100 last night, so now we'll have toys for almost 250 local kids!!!  These children usually get NOTHING for Christmas, so this is truly a blessing!  He is at the store right now stocking up.  He also has enough money to get some games for the fiesta.  They will be bobbing for apples (who says this is only for Halloween?!), doing an egg toss, tug of war, hitting a giant pinata and other games like drag the body (never heard of that one, but should be interesting!) and more.  We bought gifts for our nanny and housekeeper's kids as well.  This is the first year ever that we spent more on helping others than our own kids and each other, but it sure does feel good to give back!

We are off to Popoyo today for a week long stay-cation.  It's about 30 minutes driving time North of here.  Looking forward to combing some different beaches with the boys.  Ryder is excited because the little girl he has a crush on lives there.  Boys will be boys!  He is also excited because they are having a Christmas party at school today.  They will be singing for the parents (YAY!!!) and eating some sweet treats.  And you know I'll be stuffing my face, too!  Feliz Navidad!

Ryder's class (chica w/tiara is his lil crush!) and yes, he's the only boy!  =)

Merry Christmas Feasts...

Wow, has it really been SIX whole days since I've blogged?!  I have had a crazy busy week:  went to a fun Christmas party one night, worked an event here for three nights, made and sold lots and lots of jewelry and had a few play dates with the kids.  Not to mention, we are going to stay in Popoyo (about 30 minutes North of here) for a week (packing, packing, packing!) and getting ready for Santa! 

Speaking of Santa, we have also been preparing for a BIG gift to the local community.  I have to say, I am so proud of my hubby!  He raised almost $200 for a big Christmas Eve feast for the village of Limon, which is right outside of our community.  He is actually in Rivas right now getting all of the food and some games for the local children to play after they eat.  We are helping to cook and set it all up most of Friday, so we will have our own feast the next day.  I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than giving back.  Then we will relax to our own Christmas feast of lobster, mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes, stuffing, brocoli and cheese and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  yummy!!!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!!

Feliz Navidad!

Last night was fun!  I went to a ladies only wine tasting at the Rancho Santana restaurant and had some good laughs.  Before that, my little artist and I made some Christmas ornaments and decorations.  We now have our tree up, so we're FINALLY starting to get into the spirit.  (It's hard when it's 82 degrees outside!)  Here's some pics of our very first Nica Christmas:

Rio sporting his big boy pants!

The artist at work

My snowboarding chica

Feliz Navidad y'all!!!

Adventures in lava rock...

This is what they made us wear down the volcano!

 We left last Thursday for our anniversary trip to Leon.  (Here's to NINE years of marriage!  woo hoo!)  We stopped for one night and saw Paranormal Activity at the movies.  (not too impressed, but oh well!)  We also had a big mac attack and did our Christmas shopping.  Here's where I have to brag:  We got about $250 worth of American toys for $51 with tax!  Good ones, too.  Playmobil, Elmo, Tag Leapfrog, Thomas the Train, Elefun game, zhu zhu pets, and a play-dough kit among others.  We were stoked!  Next up:

Best wings yet in Nica!

We then bought ourselves some tires for Christmas.  (not exactly what I had in mind, but life happens sometimes!)  Then we were off to Leon, a city filled with backpackers and university students.  We "roughed" it and stayed at a hostel for the first time in like 13 years.  I can't say I'll be doing that again anytime soon, but at least we had a private room with our own bathroom.  We saw an awesome live Latino band the first night and ate at the best restaurant so far in all of Nicaragua called Mediteraneo.  (so good, we ate 3 meals there!)  Then we took on the volcano boarding on Cerro Negro.  (Doesn't Chris look great in his D.O.C. uniform above?!  Don't worry, no arrests were made.  lol.)  Basically, in a nutshell, you fly down a mountain of volcanic rock on a wooden sled.  It was really fun and I have the cuts to prove it!  I ate it a few times, but each time with a smile!  Bottom line:  if you're an adventurer, you have to try this! 

Before (yes, we slid down this volcano!)

At the top!  (yes, this is an active volcano!)

 

 

 

 

Wah, wah, wahhhhh...

So I went for a run yesterday and had a coral snake crawl across my foot!!!  Coral snake = dead as a doorknob, or is it doornail (or does anyone really care which it is?!).  Not good, but at least I'm still breathing!  Then today I spent 6 1/2 hours making jewelry to sell and chipped my tooth!  (Yes, I use only the finest methods. ;))  It's not very noticeable, but geesh!  Anyway, the good news is here! 

Some of the fruits of my labor...

If you would like to purchase something for that special lady in your life (of course that maybe yourself!), email me at melputnam@yahoo.com.  I can give you more specifics on dimensions, pricing, etc.  All items ship from Nicaragua for $10.  (Of course you only pay this once if you buy multiple items.)  Paypal is preferred.  Please allow two weeks for shipping.  Happy Holidaze y'all!!!

How about a little piece of Nica for Christmas?

You can view my entire line of Sol Rojo jewelry here

Most pieces are made with shells found on the beaches of Nicaragua.  I can also customize a piece.  Items ship to the U.S. from Nicaragua for $10 and take about 2 weeks to get there.  Please email me at melputnam@yahoo.com for specific prices and dimensions of each piece.  I can also duplicate most items that have already sold. 

Love from Nica...

Rats, snakes and crabs, oh my!

I've neglected the blogosphere this week.  Believe it or not, it does get very busy down here at times.  I've been very busy with my jewelry business.  (13 sales to date!)  I've taken little Rio to the beach three times this week to go shelling for jewelry materials while Ryder was in school.  I also helped out at a Christmas party at an amazing house with the most amazing sunset.  I'll take that for an office any day!  We also had a little fiesta for Monday night football with yummy red snapper.  Ryder even had a play date with Neila on his day off so that he could play with her oh-so-cute bunnies, Rosie & Jack.  They were saved by one of the gardeners in the community before a stray dog had them for lunch.  And last night we took the boys up to the restaurant for sundaes because Ryder got a "shining star student" award this week at school!  Both boys had an awesome week!

With the good comes the bad... 
We have a rat!  Yucky!  The little monster has been sneaking into our pantry at night and destroying our food.  Three days and some rat poison later, I think we've solved the problem.  (fingers crossed!)  This morning, Ryder woke me up and told me there was a snake in the pool.  Upon further investigation, we found it in our pump and it's a coral snake!  Very deadly!  Yikes! 

On a funny note...
At the beach the other day Ryder says, "Mommy, come quick there are tons of homo-crabs over here!"  ha ha!  That would be hermit crabs to the rest of us.  Kids are so funny!

Ryder's been begging for this little guy since he met him!