Nadine Hays Pisani

SEXY HOWLER MONKEYS

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:55-04:00 April 21st, 2011|Categories: Nature|Tags: howler monkeys|

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: New iPhone- $1000 (Something I will never own in Costa Rica)

There are howler monkeys outside. Lots of them. They appear to hang out over my neighbor’s house.

My husband meets the neighbor and asks why so many loiter around his place. “Because my wife is hot,” he says, and goes back to working on his car.

I considered his declaratory statement that his wife’s “hotness” powers attracts all the monkeys in the area. That I couldn’t possibly coax such smitten animals away from the hypnotic effects of this doll-face and over to the other side of the street.

I feel a challenge coming on. I just need to find my lipstick.

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LOSING MY FRIEND

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:55-04:00 April 18th, 2011|Categories: Uncategorized|

It’s not a happy day. My beloved cat, Pumpkin, passed away.

I brought him with us from the states, stashed under the airplane seat on that long 5 hour flight. It helped having him with me. Those stressful moments in a new country was softened by his furry persistence in catching every lizard that ran across the lawn. Life to him was simple at a time when my life was complicated.

I will miss his early morning meows and his soft belly that warmed my lap while I wrote this blog. We all anticipate there will be more time to follow our dreams, as if we can deposit those precious moments and withdraw them when we are ready.

I’m glad I didn’t wait and gave him the opportunity to catch butterflies on a mountaintop.

That’s how I will remember him.

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WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:55-04:00 April 10th, 2011|Categories: Nature|Tags: beach, playa penca|

Costa Rica Cost of Living: A basil-berry martini at a restaurant with sweeping ocean views-$4

I often ask myself where would I be if I was back in the states at this very moment. It usually places me in my office, or stuck in traffic trying to get to the office, or wishing I could take a vacation and get out of the office.

It’s unfortunate that my working years were either obsessing about what happened yesterday or worrying about what will happen tomorrow. I was never mindful of the actual moment. Possibly because the actual moment had me too aggravated to want to live in it.

So now I’m sitting on the beach and wondering where I’d be if I never took this chance. I think about my former self…that overworked person…and tell her it’s okay.

She will soon end up here.

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HAPPINESS AND TOO MUCH STUFF

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:55-04:00 March 31st, 2011|Categories: Cost of Living|Tags: happiness, moving|

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 4 ounce jar of Parmesan cheese at the beach- $8

Even though I am moving from one furnished house to another, I found that things stick to me like static cling.

I thought I kept my life simple… if simple was defined by three suitcases of books, a partially functioning fax machine, and a junk drawer that has enough gadgets and doo-dads to install that waterless composting toilet my husband keeps raving about.

Moving is a great reminder that we all accumulate too many things, and happiness is usually aligned with owning less.

So now I’ll attempt to thin out my belongings and get back to why I moved here in the first place. But to the dismay of my husband, I’m keeping the ABBA CD. It’s not my fault he is incapable of appreciating aluminum foil-wrapped Swedish pop icons.

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THERE’S SAND IN MY SHOES

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:55-04:00 March 24th, 2011|Categories: Cost of Living|Tags: building|

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: Moving van with crew-$300

It looks like we are moving to the beach. Time has come to investigate the possibilities of building a house…in a foreign country….with very little Spanish skills.

Building is rough on anyone but this recipe should even challenge my calm and mild mannered husband. He’s excited about the project; constantly sketching house designs with many green energy ideas. One of which is a waterless composting toilet.

Really honey…you had me at hello.

It’s going to be a bumpy ride partnered with an equally depleting bank account…and not one flush in sight.

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About Nadine Hays Pisani

SEXY HOWLER MONKEYS

LOSING MY FRIEND

WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

HAPPINESS AND TOO MUCH STUFF

THERE’S SAND IN MY SHOES

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