Became an independent sales leader for AVON in March and since then have been enjoying a wonderful and exciting new world !  I even have got my own website: https://gabrielabrooks.myavon.co.uk

I now have 12 ladies in my team and it's growing everyday.  Have had to give up dog walking and dog sitting.  But, maybe will take it up again once my little one starts school full-time.

Other than that haven't done much.  Went to Warwick Castle for my birthday and despite the rain we were able to enjoy ourselves.  The best bit was the jousting, will recommend it to everybody.  Also, my father-in law, Geoff turned 70 on the 02/06 and we went to the Mercedes Museum at Brooklands to celebrate it.  The boys had a go at driving some of the Mercedes models, all except Bracken who had to content himself to been a passenger on one of the 4x4.  The staff at Brooklands looked after us very, very well AND the food at the restaurant was delicious!!

This was a dream of an island (great food too) and a very relaxing journey on a catamaran.  As taken from their web site:

"Calypso Catamaran Cruise" also known as the Pacific Island Cruise or the Calypso Island Cruise, is a one-day boat tour full of adventure that leaves daily from Puntarenas, Costa Rica's major Pacific Port. Once on board the 71-foot Catamaran Manta Raya, you will cruise past some of the 23 islands in the calm waters of the Gulf of Nicoya, where you can see porpoise, dolphins, sea turtles and aquatic birds. Calypso offers two tour destinations daily: either the private reserve of Punta Coral, nestled in some of the world's last remaining Tropical Dry Forest and home for many species of wildlife including yellow napped parrots, and howler monkeys; or Costa Rica's famous palm studded, white sand beach Isla Tortuga (Tortuga Island). Once at your destination, enjoy the activities that include: sunbathing, volleyball, kayaks, bird watching or relax in a hammock. A wonderful gourmet meal is elegantly served accompanied with chilled white wine and live music".

http://www.calypsocruises.com/BeachParty/ and click on Jan 08, 2008 to find us in full swing.

One of my favourite tours this time around, was to Hacienda Pozo Azul in Sarapiqui.  They have excellent facilities for whitewater rafting, horseback riding, rappelling (descending on ropes), hiking, camping, mountain bikes tours, and canopy tours. The one I recommend is the "Pozo Azul Super Combo Tour":

Includes:

• 1:30 hour Horse ride through the jungle trails at Pozo Azul.
• Canopy ride through 9 zip lines on the tree canopy. Last cable with 900 Feet crossing  Sarapiquí river canyon  and lands at the reception complex.
• Lunch.
• White water rafting classes II &III.
• Instructions and safety rules presentation previous to all activities.
• Experienced guides.

It was an amazing experience and the staff were very professional and made you feel very welcome. AND the food was excellent too.  I am going back this year.  If you are interested their website is http://www.pozoazul.com.

Updating as we speak.  Might take me a few days, though.  Well, a few more days  . . .

We just came back from our annual trip to Costa Rica.  Well,two weeks ago.  But, it has taken me this long to straighten myself out and get back to reality.  Have loads of photos to show you and news to give.  Will try to do it this week.

And yes I know it's been a long time since I wrote my last blog.  My Avon and dogsitting businesses got really hectic towards the end of the year and did not have any time to spare.  I am better organised now (I hope).

Happy New Year to everybody!

Weather has not been that good this year, but we have had a really good one never the less.  The hightlight was the visit of 3 Spanish students to our home.  The cultural exchange was very interesting, including cooking recipes, football clubs and language lessons.  Thanks Gabriel, Jean and Isaac for being so patient with Bracken and for sharing so many laughs.  Come back soon!

 

I found this terrific site, where you can write your own articles, people will read them and rate them.  If you want to have a look at the first one that I have written, please go to
http://www.helium.com/tm/422095/breed-german-shepherds-loving.  It's about Labs of course!

Besides becoming an on-line writer I have also started selling AVON products. Hadn't tried them before.  Started with their ANEW range and after 2 weeks I am hooked .  Very good results.  Hopefully, will earn enough, to at least pay for all my purchases.  So, far it is going really well.

"Lazy Labs" (our dog sitting business), is not doing so well. Have left ads at a pet grooming shop and at a couple of newsagents.  Will have to advertise on the local paper, I think.

"Costa Rica has long emphasized the development of democracy and respect for human rights. The country's political system has steadily developed, maintaining democratic institutions and an orderly, constitutional scheme for government succession. Several factors have contributed to this trend, including enlightened leadership, comparative prosperity, flexible class lines, educational opportunities that have created a stable middle class, and high social indicators. Also, because Costa Rica has no armed forces, it has avoided military involvement in political affairs, unlike other countries in the region.

Costa Rica's major economic resources are its fertile land and frequent rainfall, its well-educated population, and its location in the Central American isthmus, which provides easy access to North and South American markets and direct ocean access to the European and Asian Continents. One-fourth of Costa Rica's land is dedicated to national forests, often adjoining picturesque beaches, which has made the country a popular destination for affluent retirees and eco-tourists."

Read more at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2019.htm

Just came back from a fantastic few days in Madrid.  If anybody needs to stay at a real good hotel in the center of Madrid, go to http://victoria-4-hotel.bookassist.com/en/Hotel-Victoria-4-Madrid-City-Centre.html .  That's where we stayed and can thoroughly recommended.

We also visited Salamanca and Toledo. Beautiful cities and the food is gorgeous.

Anyway we left our dogs with a lady, who does dog sitting from home.  It worked out really well and the dogs seemed really contented.  I had a chat with this really nice lady and decided to have a go at doing it myself.  But, will do for Labs/Retrievers, only.  And only two dogs per night.  Will let you know how it all goes.

Here you go:

http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/home.asp?ididioma=2


Also found this very interesting website about a travel agency that specialises in the exploration of wilderness and wild life where land meets water.  Looks pretty cool:

http://www.aqua-firma.co.uk/countries/Costa_Rica/

Haven't been able to play with my website a lot lately, as I have started doing some bookkeeping from home and it has taken me awhile to get organised.  Hence not much to report.

If there's anybody out there interested in Labrador puppies, then have a look at http://www.ravendane.com/labradors.htm .  We got our Labs from Ravendane and could not be happier with our two boys.  Very good temperament, beautiful coats and no health problems so far.  Well, except for sneakily eating stuff that they should not  . . .

 

A very interesting article was published on the BBC's website on 15.03.07. To access the article, please follow this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1166587.stm

New Service Starting Soon:

- Nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) and San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) starts April 5, 2007.

 Nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN) starts April 12, 2007.

- Nonstop service three times a week between Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) and St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles (SXM) starts April 20, 2007.

- Daily nonstop service between Atlantic City, NJ (ACY) and Las Vegas, NV (LAS) starts May 3, 2007.

- Daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) and Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA) starts May 10, 2007.

- Daily nonstop service between Los Angeles, CA (LAX) and Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA) starts May 10, 2007.

http://www.spiritair.com/Welcome.aspx

PITTSBURGH, March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ 

RPOworldwide, a leading provider of offshore Recruiting Process Outsourcing (RPO) services, and a subsidiary of $270M Global IT and BPO provider iGATE Corporation IGTE, today announced the launch of a new Global Recruiting Center located in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The opening of the Costa Rican center marks the sixth Global Recruitment Center for RPOworldwide, and increases the company's round-the-clock recruitment coverage in North, Central and South American time zones. The new center is forecasted to expand to a staff of more than one hundred in the next twenty-four months.

"By commencing recruitment operations in San Jose, RPOworldwide will leverage the highly educated and skilled population Costa Rica offers," stated Murali Balasubramanyam, Executive Vice President. "In addition to recruiting U.S.-based, English-speaking candidates for our clients in the United States, the bilingual nature of our Costa Rican recruiters will be a great asset for our U.S. clients who also want to reach U.S.-based candidates who are bilingual and Spanish-speaking. The center will also recruit candidates in Central and South America to support our clients' needs within those regions. The Costa Rican center provides a solid extension to our current operations."

RPOworldwide's Global Recruiting Centers based throughout India and Europe operate in similar capacity; recruiting U.S. candidates for U.S.-based positions, as well as local candidates for regional jobs throughout Europe and India.

Additional information about RPOworldwide can be found on the company's website: http://www.rpoww.com , or by contacting the corporate office: 877-354-8226.

About RPOworldwide:

RPOworldwide helps clients overcome today's recruitment challenges through proven Global Recruitment Centers which leverage leading tools, technologies, and our proprietary process methodologies. RPOworldwide's innovative offshore model reduces the cost of recruiting for our clients by more than fifty percent. RPOworldwide delivers Sourcing, Screening, Candidate Assessments, Onboarding services, and end-to-end recruitment for global enterprises, Professional Staffing Firms, Systems Integrators, Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) Providers, and domestic-based RPO service providers. RPOworldwide is a subsidiary of $270M Global IT and BPO provider iGATE Corporation IGTE.

RPOworldwide serves sectors including I.T., engineering, finance, and accounting. To overcome your recruiting challenges, optimize your recruiting capabilities, and outperform your competition, visit http://www.rpoww.com.

Copyright 2007 PRNewswire

I have added a new entry on my Travel page.  This travel specialist was recommended by my Peruvian friend Aidee, as she travels with them often.  Have contacted them myself for a quote for our trip to CR in December.  Here's their details:


JOURNEY LATIN AMERICA

Took the dogs out for a walk in the woods. Just came back, all muddy, tired and full of smiles.  Due to Bracken's chickenpox we have been sort of house bound all week.  So, this little outing was a real success.  They have all crashed now, in front of the tv.  Which gives me a few moments to check my e-mails and do a bit of online shopping.

Need to buy my son some more books in Spanish.  He is sort of bored of the ones he has at the moment.  As I mentioned before, I purchase a lot of his stuff at www.tresmellizas.com.  I also shop at
www.little-linguist.co.uk.  They are a specialist supplier of children's language learning resources.  There you could find books for children who are bi-lingual, multi-lingual or just want to learn a foreign language.  The site is very user friendly and they also sell books to schools and libraries. And the best thing is that they deliver all over the globe.

Bracken has had chickenpox for a week . . . say no more.

Just a quick note to let you know that if you want to read a Costa Rican daily in English, head to www.ticotimes.net.  They also publish another newspaper (also in print and online) that covers Nicaragua.

Funny how things begin to happen, once the days begin to lighten and the weather begins to get marginally better.  My brother got engaged last week (wedding on 28/12), my Mum is celebrating her 60th birthday this week, most of the National Trust Properties begin to open their doors this month and Buds (our yellow Lab), started his annual rolling in "anything stinky" madness.  More than anything, for us, that's a sure sign that spring is on its way.  Thankfully, THANKFULLY and I can't stress that word hard enough; our youngest Lab indulges on this craziness only from March/April to September.  And then, we all get a break from the weekly, if not bi-weekly shampooing of his neck and chest.  Sometimes he manages to cover most of his body . . . And he loves it!  He comes back to us, smelling something rotten, with his tail wagging a 100 miles an hour and looking all proud of himself. . . Hakuna Matata.

Well, how time flies!  We celebrated Bracks' second birthday last week. He had his big party with pinata in Costa Rica, in Jan.  So on Sunday, we just invited the family and godparents around, for a nice lunch.  It went rather well . I was afraid that Bracken would bite somebody (he has been doing that lately at the nursery), but he didn't.  Not even his little cousin, whom he met for the first time.

The next big thing now is potty training and to continue his Spanish lessons.  I have been speaking to him, in Spanish only, since he was born and it is now starting to pay its rewards.  He can now watch cartoons, both in Spanish and English, without any problems.  So, much so that I am thinking of buying DVDs of French cartoons, for him to watch.  It can't hurt to have 3 languages, nowadays.
One of my friends, who happens to be Toro and Buds' vet too, is from Barcelona and he introduced Bracken to "Las Tres Mellizas".  He got hooked and now we are well on our way of buying the whole DVD collection.  It's basically stories about the adventures of 3 little girls, they are triplets and get in so much trouble . . .
They used to do only versions in Castilian Spanish (what people generally know as "Spanish") and Catalan.  But, they do them all in English too.  I have better check if they have started doing them in French.  If anybody is interested, the website address is www.tresmellizas.com