Las patronales de San Gustavo

Desde el jueves Gustavo decidió empezar a brindar por su cumpleaños (yo lo acompañaba con algo comestible naturalmente), aparentmente preocupado que iba a ser demasiado licor para el sábado que era la fiestecilla. Llegó y pasó el jueves, luego el viernes en la misma cosa y afortunadamente no faltó qué ofrecerle a la gente el sábado.

Primer regalo para el cumpleañero (y sus dependientes)


Lovely ladies celebrating with the cumpleañero (cumpleañero already wearing one of his presents, a.k.a. "my new favorite t-shirt")


Munchies hechos con amor para el cumpleañero y nuestros amigos. (Clockwise from top left: Cherry tomatoes stuffed with olive tapenade, Dark chocolate truffles, Stuffed mushrooms -30 more seconds and the picture would have been of an empty plate)

Gracias al clan por celebrar con nosotros, y de nuevo FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS GUSTAVITO (AHORA SÍ)! We love ya!

Un par de fotos más AQUÍ!

August 12, 1999

Almost exactly eight years ago Pablo was born and everything changed for the better in Gustavo's and my life. This past Sunday we celebrated the occasion (2007 version) with a soccer themed party and a bunch of his closest friends.


Thanks to everyone who accompanied us, and thanks to you Pablo, for having chosen us!

TE QUEREMOS MUCHO HIJO!

More pics here!

ps: I swear I'm still pregnant, Pablo's friend's head just happened to cover all of my belly...

Pablo & Gustavo Expeditions presents

Playa Venao - Isla Iguana 2007

El 3 de agosto de este año, un par de aventureros dejaron la ciudad de Panamá rumbo a provincias centrales, para irse en busca de olas y tesoros naturales desconocidos para la mayoría. Regresaron no solo con una enorme sonrisa dibujada en sus rostros y reflejando la satisfacción de una misión cumplida, sino con muchas historias que contar (y picadas de chitra a tutiplén).

Gustavo y Pablo trajeron de vuelta imágenes que merecen ser compartidas. Abajo el video que registra parte de la aventura. Disfruten.

In a nutshell

...and in no particular oder, this is what I've been up to lately:

Pablo's Soccer Final... Arsenal Campeón!!

The winning team, proudly holding their trophies


First half of the game, he scored a goal, second half he was goalkeeper (not a ball went in !!)


Gabriel's birthday party at Coronado
Choir singing Happy Birthday in at least 76 different languages, conducted by Heidi "Julie Andrews" Arias


Our room at the Coronado Resort, where Gustavo took me to spend that night and get massages the next day!!!!!


Latest Craving Report
I can tell this really was a craving because I usually bake stuff with chocolate somewhere in it and cheesecake has never even been something I picked for dessert when eating out. Well this lemon cheesecake made me a believer and I had no idea it was going to be so easy to make. 200% recommended!


Second mid-year vacation trip to Coronado
The water was PERFECT. It brings a smile to my face just to think how good it felt to be in it (I was doing somersaults in it it was so good!). We go more often during summer when the water's kinda cool so Diego had a blast this time and actually enjoyed a nice dip.

Pablo and Gustavo surfed, of course...

...and two dead animals washed up on the shore.

"The Pelican from Nemo"

Some sort of eel


Rainy season afternoon
This is one of the things I'll miss looking at when we move out of this apartment and into a house.


House projects
I had my mind set on a design for the kids' room (mini flip flops and a surf board) and decided to make my own stencils, grab a brush and see what happened.


Step two


It's back!
Anyone who knows me well knows that 1) I'm not big on television and 2) one thing I AM addicted to is this show. Guess the degree of excitement when I found out about this.


From Germany, with love...
Gustavo is so charming that a couple of his clients had promised to send him some German brot (=bread) flour so his wife (that would be me) baked him some and he could remember his childhood days. Well they actually did send them, 5 different kinds, along with the famous book by Janosch "Oh, wie schön ist Panama" and it's activity-filled companion for the kids (and me).

Anyway, that's it. So long and goodnight!

Audacity

So what does mommy do when she's left home alone? (Ok, besides eating)

You guessed it, put on the wig, grab the broom-guitar and play "rock star"!!

Actually, forget about the wig and replace the broom with a (beat-up, yes, but nonetheless real) guitar and this is what you get: Sweetness Follows

Audacity is quite the operative word here, and the name of the program I used to record this. It even lets you use multiple tracks!!

One more time... in slow motion please!

This is it. The infamous Williams-Sonoma Flourless Chocolate Cake that fell upside down last week mere seconds before it should've entered the 375°F oven. It was reduced to a puddle of brown goo sadly smudged and smeared onto part of my kitchen floor; needless to say, so was I.

Well I just couldn't leave things like that, I needed redemption, revival. So today, since we were having lunch with Juanpa and Kelly and Luis, Penny and Bibi, I decided I'd give it a second shot thinking that if something tragic happened at least I'd have group support.

Small yet mighty, one hell of a moist, rich chocolate treat.

It was so good that when I thought about getting the camera to take pictures of at least one of the wedges, so graciously accompanied by a dollop of whipped cream, it was mostly gone and instead I had to run and get my spoon.

And to further please Kira upon her request of a recent Craving Report, these stuffed tomatoes, along with scrambled eggs with sautéed onions and toast, were part of our breakfast this morning:

Lemony and fresh, with a side of Juanpa and Kelly!

The end of an era

Some things you live through and immediately move past them. Others make you think you've come to a full stop in your life, somehow freezing passing seconds as you stand there grasping the moment, digesting it. You are left contemplating the possibilities of what now lies ahead and weighing past events, baggage if you will, that you carry with you.

As I approach the 30 (years of age) mark, I got to thinking about the line that should divide my life before and after this date, which happens to be, time after time, the very last day of the year. I realized there was none. I remembered how life is made up of the big and small, and even the events you don't remember make you who you are and are no less important than those you never forget. So today I had to remind myself to be grateful for the things I already have under my belt because engaging in lengthy house projects, getting wrapped up on week after week of work or just dealing with the nuisance of traffic at 8 o'clock in this city can make you temporarily lose sight of much more important stuff or at least prevent you from fully enjoying them.

So yes, I'm basically excited to be entering a more grown-up decade, it means something when I say my age out loud and confirm my status as a twenty-something and I know I'll inadvertently expect some kind of change, even if it's secretly giggling to myself, now that I begin to say, "Hello, my name is Greta and I'm a thirty-something". Maybe I'll even start to believe I should know better. However, I am very fond of the years that have made up my twenties and I know I'll miss them dearly, but kind of like you miss your school years: they were great and who knows where you'd be without them but you wouldn't go back. I guess I'm looking forward to finding out what's behind door number 3.

Un día para celebrar mil sentimientos

Toda persona sobre la faz de la tierra tiene o ha tenido padre. Muchos experimentan o han experimentado lo que es tener hijos. Algunos conocemos a hombres, sea hermanos o primos, colegas, amigos, que son padres y los tenemos cerca. Otros no lo están tanto, pero igual se les celebra.

A Gustavo, el padre de mi creciente familia, tenemos la suerte de celebrarlo todos los días y no somos nosotros sino él quien nos regala momentos que hacen que cualquier intento de darle algo para esta fecha sea irrisorio. Así es que thank you babe, de parte de todos y de nuevo, ¡feliz día del padre!



A todos los padres que conozco y quiero, ustedes saben quienes son: ¡FELICIDADES EN SU DÍA!

Mi hijo prestado nos visita

Este fin de semana conseguimos traernos a la casa al ahijado de Gustavo, Don Carlos Iván Vergara, para adoptarlo temporalmente y celebrar de viernes a sábado su cumpleaños (un poco pasadita la fecha pero ya saben que más vale tarde...).

Gustavo lo recogió con Pablo y Diego y se los llevó a los tres a gastar energías jugando fut mientras yo dejaba todo listo para preparar la cena con los chefs invitados de la noche. Después de mandar a todo el mundo a la ducha antes de que terminaran de entrar por la puerta (hasta Diego olía a chivo!) Carlos y Pablo se encargaron de armar su pizza y me cuentan que les quedó muy rica. Debo quejarme, sin embargo, porque no me dieron ni una migaja para probar y tal vez por eso a Carlos Iván después le dio dolor de barriga. Pero tranquilo Iván, nada que un montón de Coca Cola no pudiera curar! A continuación fotos de la hermosa velada.

"Un peperoni para nosotros, otro para la pizza..."


Comiendo rapidito para que yo no llegara a tiempo a pedir un bite... 'ta bieeen...


Diego bien peinado!


La pizza de los grandes

Gracias a los padres de este muchacho por el préstamo, todavía hoy sábado nos queda algo de tiempo con él, ahorita andan de nuevo por la calle. De hecho supuestamente yo me quedé para hacer almuerzo así es que hasta aquí la dejo.

I give you... Pablo!

Two jewels of modern cinematography... next time you see him be sure to get your autograph!

Afro Pablo
(This was 2003 and apparently back then there was no such thing as decent lighting so adjust your screen o just bear with me.)




Mozart Pablo
(Ok, apparently in 2005 there was still not much of an improvement in lighting, promise the next ones will be better!)