Nadine Hays Pisani

THE TWO OUT OF THREE RULE

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 April 11th, 2014|Categories: Utilities|Tags: electricity, internet, phone, running, utilities, water|

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 1 Pound of Kiwis— $2.81

It’s a rare occurrence when we have all three of our utilities (electric, water, and phone/Internet), working at the same time. We just survived a month without the Internet due to a wildfire that came uncomfortably close to our house. Thankfully, a new line was installed and it started working again. And when I mean working, I mean my upload speeds are equivalent to the World Wide Web circa 1988. While others are enjoying Google Glass, it takes ten minutes to open my inbox. If you gave me a spiral perm and a few floppy discs, it’s my freshman year in college all over again.

Now, it’s not my Internet but my water that is off. This creates anxiety since dishes pile up, dirty laundry accumulates, and anything that gets sticky stays sticky. And since my husband is currently on a mango kick, he seems to get the stickiest of all. (more…)

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BUILDING UP AN APPETITE

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 February 22nd, 2014|Categories: food, Uncategorized|Tags: building up an appetite, cooking, show|

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: Misc. PVC parts and glue to fix a garden faucet that exploded outside—$26 (Rob said men would like to know this.)

Our first episode of Building Up An Appetite is almost finished! Here is a sneak preview of the cooking segment. This clip was shot in a gorgeous house, Villa Bougainvillea, with a ridiculously beautiful pool and view. I could have filmed there all day.

It’s also the place where Rob periodically yelled out, “Stop sounding so Jersey.” I’m not quite sure what that meant. I didn’t say, “Badda Bing” once throughout the shoot. Nor did I tease my hair or discuss waste management.

I did wear lipstick, as per my mother’s advice. She had also advised me not to talk about monkeys, since according to her, “I’m heavy on the monkeys.” Apparently, my mother has become my publicist. My sister just told me not to say anything stupid. It’s the same advice she has given me for the past 20 years.

Thanks for watching. We can’t wait to release the entire episode . It was so much fun and I’m already teasing my hair for another segment… FuhGetAboutIt.

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MORNING MOMENTS OF ZEN

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 January 29th, 2014|Categories: Nature|Tags: avocado, happiness, howler monkey, monkey, morning, zen|

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: Yummy Avocados— 72 cents Per Pound

My mornings are a lot different than when I was working. There are no more alarm clocks, snowy cars to brush off, traffic, or stopping for a quick cup of coffee at a gas station.

I’m not rushed, aggravated, anxious, sad, exhausted, or any of the many things I felt during that forty-five-minute drive to work. Now I wake up and can’t wait to start the day. Somehow, someway, I fixed what was ailing me.

I don’t have the perfect recipe for happiness, but I think it might have something do with being awake… wide awake. Present for all the good and the bad in one’s life. The recipe might also include watching a bunch of monkeys outside your window every morning. They never look rushed, aggravated, anxious, sad, or exhausted during their morning commute.

Monkeys can teach us a lot, one of which is we’re going to have to hang upside down to reach the sweetest flowers. I know exactly how that feels. It was when I stretched the farthest that I finally found what I was looking for.

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COSTA RICA OR BUST

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:22-04:00 January 6th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: oven, shoveling, snow|

Costa Rica Costa of Living Update: Cost to get my oven fixed—I don’t know, the repairman never came back

This was the temperature one morning in New Jersey. It was also the temperature when I decided to help my parents by shoveling their driveway.

It was then that I felt a sharp pain and proceeded to get a Charlie Horse in my butt. I wasn’t aware this could even happen. But there I was, frozen in pain next to their Nissan Sentra. It would have made the perfect Christmas card.

When I was finally able to stumble my way back into the house, my mother instantly went into the motherly mode by yelling at me for not wearing boots.

I died a little inside that day. I am happy to be back in Costa Rica and looking forward to blogging more and getting my third book out. As for my oven… I think it’s dead for good. But I’ll take a broken oven over shoveling snow any day.

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A HAPPY COSTA RICAN APPLIANCE THANKSGIVING

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:24-04:00 November 27th, 2013|Categories: Cost of Living, food|Tags: appliance, Thanksgiving, toaster oven|

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: Hamilton Beach Deluxe Toaster Oven— $170

My oven is not working. In fact, I think it might have exploded. Rob turned it on and heard a loud bang. This isn’t uncommon: most of my appliances expire with this type of fanfare. They never just stop functioning but instead go out like a Chinese New Year.

But I shouldn’t worry. A repairman came to our house and ordered the correct part. He said it would arrive in a week. That was four months ago. Perhaps I should have asked what week he had in mind. A week in mid-December? Maybe the week the next Explorer lands on Mars? These pressing questions always slip my mind.

So I gave in and splurged for a super duper Hamilton Beach toaster oven. “Horno de Mostrador!” it states on the box. How can I resist an appliance with that kind of advertising? “Maxima versatilidad,” it promises. I have to agree, when it comes to choosing a toaster oven, maximum versatility is prominent in one’s expectations. To think, I would have settled for it to just cook things.

It even includes a rotisserie. That part got shoved in the back of my cabinet… who am I kidding.

I’m happy to say that I’ll have a warm meal this holiday, and I wish a warm Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. It doesn’t matter what we eat, as long as we enjoy the people we are eating it with. And I’ll be enjoying mine with my husband and a bunch of howler monkeys, and doing it all with maximum versatility.

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About Nadine Hays Pisani

THE TWO OUT OF THREE RULE

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 1 Pound of Kiwis— $2.81

BUILDING UP AN APPETITE

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: Misc. PVC parts and glue to fix a garden faucet that exploded outside—$26 (Rob said men would like to know this.)

MORNING MOMENTS OF ZEN

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: Yummy Avocados— 72 cents Per Pound

COSTA RICA OR BUST

Costa Rica Costa of Living Update: Cost to get my oven fixed—I don’t know, the repairman never came back

A HAPPY COSTA RICAN APPLIANCE THANKSGIVING

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: Hamilton Beach Deluxe Toaster Oven— $170

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