Tegucigalpa, Honduras

This is the beginning of our trip! We had gotten to Venita's house...and then left. This is on a street in her neighborhood.

Not too far from Venita's house.

Need some place to park? No problem! :)
Easter Weekend is considered to be the "holy weekend" there. We went downtown Tegucigalpa for the processional. And they have these carpets that is made out of sawdust. It was pretty amazing!
Love all the detail!










The next day, Saturday, we got up and went to the market because they said it would be open. Wrong. lol
Well, here is what was open....(sorry its blurry...we were driving.)
But Venita did get some beautiful flowers!
Driving back home!
First view of Venita's school!
Driving into the school
LOVED these trees!
This is in the school parking lot looking back towards V's house. Love the view of the mountains all around the city! Just wish it hadn't been so hazy out.
LOVED this gate!
Through the gate is this beautiful courtyard at the school!
This is on the road going back to V's house. They have no zoning laws here. You can have a house like this....
And go down the road...
And have houses like this. So sad.
This is someone's home. So sad how some people have to live. It makes you very thankful for what you have.

We saw a "walking tree" man, as we called him. That's one way to carry branches! :)

Here are 3 videos from the Easter Processional. (Don't forget to pause the sound at the end of the page.)

Honduras Adventures: Saturday and Sunday

We got up early this morning to catch a 6:30am bus to go back to Tegucigalpa! First Class! Thank You Jesus for those comfy seats! It's pretty much through the mountains the whole way...and we thought we were going to tip a couple of times. When we arrived back in Teguc...I thought our taxi was going to fall apart. Seriously. There was way too much squeakage going on. I turned at Sarah and tried to tell her something but I knew if I did I would bust out laughing...and we couldn't have that. But...I was thinking "tooo much Americana in the trunk for this little car!" ha!! We finally got back to Venita's and got to do laundry! Don't think we've ever been so thankful to do laundry before. ha!!

We took a breather and went back out and drove around to see some different places around town. We ate at a really nice Italian restaurant out on the patio! We had brushetta and a cheese platter for appetizer, pizza for dinner, and dessert!

Tomorrow is church!! Night!

Sunday

We woke up early for church this morning so we could start getting ready in case the electricity went out again. But thankfully...nothing happened this morning. We watched a BOTT dvd as we were getting ready! "He's the God of the leftovers!" Goooood sermon!! All was good. :) Until we were driving to church...the excitement began.....:)

Apparently it is a national holiday today for this country. We drove around for over an hour trying to get to church and all the roads were closed. We tried 3 different routes and still we couldn't get to church. During this time...

• We needed dramamine for the car ride...


• We drove around one way streets


• Saw a dead cow head on the front of a car


• Nearly ran into a wall


• Drove up a huge hill that we thought V's car wasn't going to make it up...


• Streets so narrow that only one car could barely fit through.


• Goats hanging out on the side of the street...on a hill in the city.


• Dodged a few random barrels in the middle of the road.


• And on the way home, got stopped at a police check.

All that. And we didn't even get to go to church! ha!! It was quite the adventure!! Good thing we got church through the dvd this morning! :)

So in the meantime, we took it easy for awhile then went out and ate Pupoosa's in a hut restaurant. Oh my word, it was yummy!!! The whole meal for all 3 of us combined (and we had a LOT of food, and drinks) was $13.00! After we ate, we went to the mall and even Walmart (I'm still surprised Venita took us there. ha!)

So there you have it. Another adventurous day in the books!

Tomorrow comes time for our trip to come to a close. I'm ready to get home but I will definitely miss my bestie, V. We've had a wonderful trip!! And I am so glad that we got to experience the Honduran life together these last 10 days! It definitely wouldn't be the same without Sarah and Venita there! We always have the greatest time and can laugh about ALL our craziness that we get ourselves into! :)

*Stay tuned for lots of pictures and videos to come*

Honduras Adventures: Friday

So we got up super early this morning! 2:00 am in fact. I mean really...you only get to watch The Royal Wedding once! So we took part in history today! We all 3 piled up on one bed and watched! LOVED IT! Loved all the hats and the attire!

We missed the ferry this morning because V forgot her phone in the hotel room. So we went back to the hotel and stayed there for most of the day. Watching recaps of the Royal Wedding and catching up on the news, and took a much needed nap. Ate lunch at the hotel and it rained like crazy. Glad we weren't out walking around...although if we would have gotten wet, it would have cooled us down...and not taken very much to dry. ha!

We caught the ferry back to La Ceiba at 2:00...as we were waiting the breeze knocked our amazing hats into the ocean. :( It was a sad day.

After another flip flop ride on the ferry we finally arrived in La Ceiba and the taxi dude tried to cram 4 people in his little ole taxi. bahaha.....We got to the hotel and then went and got our first class bus tickets for tomorrow morning! Took a power nap then went and ate dinner at the Mango Tango (pronounced Mongo Tongo) along with a stray cat and a few geicos running around. But....the food was ah-mazing! And the pineapple granita (pineapply slushy) was out. of. this. world! Bro. Norris if you are reading this....thank you for telling us about this place!! It was amazing!!

Honduras Adventures: Thursday

Wow, last night was absolutely miserably H O T! Yeah, that nice breeze we had last night...didn't stick around. There are no words to describe how hot it was.

No air. No breeze. Can't sleep.

I was so mad during the night because I couldn't take it anymore. We got less than an hour of sleep. And you know what that means when your hot and tired. Cranky. LOL We all 3 got up miserable and had had enough. We loved the island, honestly (during the day ha!) but it was time to go. V and I finally lathered up the bug spray and went outside on the top deck for awhile hoping to catch some Zzzz's. Caught a few but not near enough. Let's just say...this girl is not a camper.

We started to cook breakfast this morning and the gas in our gas stove ran out. Sooo....Sarah had a cold hamburger...we threw in some yogurt, granola, granola bars, cold tortillas, mangos, and anything else we could find because we were so hungry. ha!

V thankfully was finally able to get ahold of the owner and Barry's dad came to pick us up. The ride to the island of Utila was heavenly. The breeze was amazing! All I could say was, "Breeze! I LOVE you!" :)

Our time on our little private adventurous camping island has now come to an end. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. :) We arrived and got all of our Americana luggage unloaded...we asked a lady where this hotel was and she said "Oh, its far! You need taxi!" So we caught 2 (3 wheeled) taxi's to our hotel...Mango Inn (pronounced Mongo Inn in islander English). (It was only a 10 min walk away...ha!) We got to our room and just sat in the air conditioning for quite some time.

It.Was.Divine.

Venita was freezing.....Sarah and I are thinking she has seriously gone Honduran on us. haha! There is 1 double bed and 1 twin bed in our room and the shower door is so small you had to turn sideways to get in....and it still wasn't big enough. LOL

We rented a golf cart and drove around the island of Utila today! Sooo much fun!! We drove around everywhere!! Sarah drove with "stop" and "go" pedals! ha! The steering wheel was upside down. Venita was navigating (for some reason they don't trust me with the map bhahaha)....we saw a dirt road...we went on it. The roads have so many ruts in it....We almost tipped the cart over a couple times...and I seriously almost fell OUT twice as we drove around in the "jungle"! LOL

We kept passing this "trusty" truck. The poor thing has definitely seen better days. The door wouldn't shut, and was seriously hanging on by one hinge. But it still ran...so that's all that matters right?! :) We're so spoiled here in the States.

We stopped and got our feet wet in the ocean while we soaked up some more sun! Saw some beautiful children that I just wanted to stop and hug on for awhile. They were so sweet! Saw a guy walking down the street with a machete....and also cutting their grass with machetes too!

Sarah tried to turn the golf cart around in someone's yard and also stopped to swing on a tree swing...and when we left Sarah took out a tree branch and popped me in the head!! I kept finding all sorts of tree debree in my hair! LOL

After we turned the golf cart in, we walked and found a restaurant to eat at. Ate a twist of American food tonight...and for dessert we had grilled pineapple toasted in brown sugar, topped with cinnamon, coconut flakes, ice cream, caramel and whipped cream. Oh.My.Word! It was heavenly! But we got the ice cream separately because the waiter was new. ha! Oh well...it was still divine!

Venita left to go get ice cream and while she was gone, Sarah and I were just sitting there people observing and this guy drove up to the market across the street, looked at me with a sheepish grin and went about his business. He came out of the market singing very loudly, looked up at me again, grinned real big and got on his bike super fast and drove away. LOL Sarah called him my Honduran boyfriend. I beg to differ. LOL

It's a normal day to ride to the market on your scooter and come home carrying a fan on your hip while you're driving home. :)

Back to the hotel it is....it felt so good to soak up some a/c and a HOT shower AND we have electricity!! We feel like we're in Heaven! :)

The Royal Wedding is in the morning and yes we are getting up to watch it! :)

Honduras Adventures: Wednesday

I'm sure you're just dying to know the rest of our crazy adventurous trip. :) So here it goes...

Random facts about our day :)

• We got up this morning and sat outside for quite awhile. (told you this was our morning ritual) Then cooked some breakfast...yummy!


• Sarah decided it was her turn to try the flippers out. bahaha.....no worries we laugh at her just like we laughed at V when she tried it. There is a reason why these feet didn't go in them. ha!


• The 3 of us were all relaxed under the palm trees enjoying the breeze. Sarah and I were trying to take a nap, when out of no where Venita JUMPS up and starts RUNNING around singing! Which in turn.....yepped you guess it.....made Sarah and I jump! Talk about scaring someone! ha!


• They have some crazy pelicans on this island! Most of them are so laid back and reserved...yet there is one that loves to dive in the water and eat ALL day long. It's official today...we named him Spazzy. :)


• No sea creatures today...thank you Jesus!


• We explored the island today...took us a whole 10 minutes. hehe


• The tide is so shallow in the morning and the later it gets the deeper it gets. Usually around 4:30-5:00 we had to get out of the water because it was getting pretty deep.


• We left food for the lovely crustations again and they only left specs of foil. I mean seriously...the weirdest creatures...ever.


• I was lounging in my chair (yes, in the water) again today and....it broke while in the water. LOL Guess I deserved it? ha!


• I nearly had heart FAILURE when I saw other creepy crawly things running towards me in the house tonight. Trust me, these feet stayed up in the chair while Venita mastered the killing with the broom. :)


• Dinner tonight: bacon cheeseburgers, juicy pineapple, bean dip, potatoes, homemade chips, sofrita, and lemonade. mmmm but yes it was quite the random mix.


• We had a landmark in the water that we always stuck close too (there was more sand than rocks there)....and we named it "Fern". Apparently we're in to naming things? lol


• Apparently some of us need hearing aids? Venita or I (can't remember) said something about getting the tortillas....and Sarah said, "What? We didn't bring any pickles?" LOL


• The crustations were making noises in the kitchen and Venita yelled at them saying "I hear you in there! Boy you betta back it on up!" bahaha Guess we're so accustomed to them by this point, we just talk to them. ha!!


• We had a bug fly in our oil while we were making chips and we didn't notice until we had already eaten....isn't that a health code violation? :)


• Venita and the broom were having quite the bonding session tonight...between creepy crawly things and invasion of the crustations...it was a interesting night. More like V playing hockey. ha!


• Over.It. (the crustations anyways).

To name a few very precious things that we would die to have right now...

• washcloths


• real dish soap (there's smell like ajax)


• hot water


• real showers


• air conditioning

All in all...a good day. There is a beautiful breeze flowing through the windows right now...hope it stays like this through the night so we can sleep good.

-Until tomorrow...

Trendy Bliss: Participating in Giveaways!!

So, I wanted to take a quick break from all my Honduran adventures and let you know that my online shop, Trendy Bliss, is participating in a couple of giveaways!!

Ruby Loop is having a 3000 fan giveaway, which is going on right now!!! She is having daily winners as well as one Grand prize winner!! Be sure to go check it out! Would love for you to "like" her fan page and let her know that Trendy Bliss sent you!!!

Trendy Bliss is also participating in a giveaway over at Sweet Sarenity Boutique! She is having an auction for Relay for Life to help Fight Against Cancer!! Go check out her items...it's for a great cause!! The auction is only open until Sunday at 6pm! Also be sure and "like" her fan page and let them know Trendy Bliss sent you!!

We will also be participating in another giveaway with Cristi Hoefer Photography, starting May 14th! More details to come!

Honduras Adventures: A Trip to the Generator House

Ok. This story deserves a separate post in and of itself. Seriously. It makes me laugh so hard looking back on it. I only wish I would have video'd it. We could have won some money on Funniest Home Videos or something. :)

There is only ONE word that describes our trip to the Generator House.

SCARY.

If you know any of us 3 girls then I'm sure you will get a mental picture and it will make this even funnier!

Picture this: 3 gringas. In a foreign country. On a private island. It's pitch black outside. Wearing flip flops. 4700 degrees outside. Hermit Crabs EVERYWHERE. And these 3 city girls are trying to walk from the house to the generator house with ONE flashlight whose batteries were about to die at any given moment!

Need I say anymore?!? LOL

Ok, so now that you have that mental picture going...I'm sure some of you are already dying laughing! I'm laughing now as I write this.

So we apparently were enjoying having electricity way too much. But we had to turn the generator off before we went to bed because it would get too hot. The generator house is on the other side of the island. But who is going to be the one to go out with the crabs to turn it off? None of the 3 of us wanted to be "the one". So, Sarah had a suggestion.....

"If one person has to go...we're ALL going!"

So...needless to say. We ALL went. Venita opened the door and we all just stood there like frozen stick people. There seriously was crabs E V E R Y W H E R E!!! I am not exaggerating. When I say HUNDREDS....I mean HUNDREDS of them!! They varied in sizes from quarter size to baseball size.

These city girls were not having it.

We FINALLY got the courage enough to step foot outside the house. I'm just being REAL here yall. Venita started us out, she was holding the flashlight (that barely worked). Sarah and I were following Venita. All 3 of us were screaming at the top of our lungs. And if you were present...this is what you would have heard....

"Venita! WAIT!"

"AAGH! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!"

"I CAN'T SEE!!!"

"WHERE is the flashlight?!"

"You're going TOO fast!"

"Why does the generator house have to be so far away?!"

"And just think! We have to get back after this?!"

"Why did we turn the generator on anyways?!"

"Follow our footsteps!"

"Go this way!"

"Why are we doing this?!"

"I can't handle this anymore!"

We finally reached the generator house. Ok, so it really wasn't THAT far away, but it was on the edge of the island and when there are crabs everywhere...its a LONG way!

Venita turned off the flashlight to save on the batteries...and Sarah and Venita finally got the generator turned off. I was apparently there for moral support. When all of a sudden, everything goes BLACK and everything got QUIET! I'm not gonna lie...we just stood there and yelled, "OH JESUS!!" And wouldn't you know it....

Venita couldn't get the flashlight turned back on!

WHAT?! Are you kidding me?! How are we going to get back to the house?!

Thankfully she finally got the flashlight turned back on, but its barely working so we had to high-tail it back to the house! Again, we could barely see and still dodging crabs...we finally made it back!

Safe. Alive. And. Sound.

Whew! What an adventure!

This makes me laugh so hard now. I mean seriously...who has adventures like this? Especially in a foreign country? Leave it up to us. If there is adventure, one of two things will happen. Either IT will find US or WE will find IT! hahaha!!!

Love it!

Honduras Adventures: Tuesday

Good Morning!

It's a little stuffy this morning, but came right outside first thing after waking up and there is a little breeze blowing. Sitting here under the palm trees taking in all of God's beautiful creation.

After all His love is like the ocean!

It's so peaceful and laid back this morning. Venita cooked us breakfast. Fried eggs, cheese, and toast! Yum! By the way, they don't refrigerate eggs here!

We spent all day outside, enjoying the water and the sun! Needless to say I got a "little" sunburned. I so proudly pulled a lounge chair into the ocean and relaxed in the water. :) It was relaxing just laying there in the sun and letting the water come up on you. For some reason that made the girls laugh. hehe It really is kind of funny but you should try it, then you'll know what I'm talking about. :)

Venita went snorkeling today but got to close to the coral and rocks...and got all scraped up. :( It was the funniest thing watching her walk in her flippers. LOL If only the video camera would have been out. It was hilarious! She had to walk like a soldier just to get around.

Another highlight of the day: Venita and Sarah were kind of far out in the water. I-was in the chair, taking in some waves. V had just gotten out when all of a sudden we heard this noise in the water and I heard Sarah say, "WHAT is in this WATER?! SOMETHING is IN this water!?" When about that time we saw black fins clapping together...and I will say this....

...It. Was. NOT. A. Fish!!

I'm not sure what that thing was. But it wasn't a fish. Talk about scary. Of course Sarah hightailed it out of the water, as did I. Scary moment. Pretty sure it was either a baby shark or a baby whale or something.

Random things about our day:

• 
  
  We forgot to buy napkins....so kleenex was our staple. ha!


• 
  
  It's so timeless here. No one has clocks here. But we can count on Sarah....she can "tell time" by the sun. ha!!!


• 
  
  We crossed a sand bar onto a very small island. It looked like the "party island". Tons of trash and bottles...with random things sticking onto a pole. Crazy.


• 
  
  We saw a canoe that came from the middle of nowhere ocean and we thought for a minute that he was headed our way. But apparently he just stopped to have lunch.


• 
  
  I catipulted a big log that washed up on shore. LOL


• 
  
  Some big weapon washed up on shore. Apparently they not only are used for safety but to crack coconuts open.


• 
  
  Had YUMMY watermelon for lunch!


• 
  
  V vs. Crustations 3. The crustations decided to attack again tonight.


• 
  
  The people on the private island near us walked over to another private island. In places the water is where you can walk.


• 
  
  Took an afternoon nap in the sun!


• 
  
  Dinner: chicken quesadilas, bean dip, sofrita and montequia, and homemade chips.


• 
  
  Dinner was "Off the fork!" ha! While we were eating dinner my fork decided to bend ALL the way in half. Dinner didn't take near as long tonight to cook as it did last night. Yippie!


• 
  
  Barry (the island owner) came to turn the generator on for us. We're so happy to finally have electricity! What does Venita have to say about Barry? "He's a fine looking gentleman, with beautiful eyes, with dark curly hair, and an awesome accent." haha V, maybe he has a brother? :) He really is a super nice guy and everything is "No Problem!" *said in the best island english voice*


• 
  
  Barry told us that the hermit crabs come up or in the house because they smell food. He said "they're no idiots. they come where the good stuff is." So he told us to place food outside somewhere and that way they won't come into the house. Advice taken. Anything to get those creepy crawly things out of the house. :) We placed food outside and not even 10-15 minutes later, it was COVERED in crabs. Ranging from sizes of a quarter to baseball size. Yuck. And they even knocked on our door. *not joking*.


• 
  
  At one point, I was up stairs and yelled that there was a dragon fly flying around. All of a sudden, V comes running up the stairs with her broom saying, "WHERE?" hahaha She thought I said crustations and she was running up there after them to get them out! hahaha What an awesome friend! :)


• We had to shut the generator off tonight before we went to bed...and that is a whole 'nother story in and of itself. In fact, that might even deserve its own post. :)


• Sarah and I sat up on top deck for awhile tonight and just talked and enjoyed the little breeze that we got.

All in all a good day....just wait until you hear the story about us going to the generator house. :)

Honduras Adventures: Monday

This morning we got up super early because we needed to go to the grocery store to get food for our private island before we catch the ferry. Our super nice taxi dude from last night picked us up again. At first he thought we wanted to go to the outdoor market but finally got it through to him that we needed the grocery store. :) We finally got everything we needed. We had bags and bags of food and wondered how we were going to get all of that along with our Americana luggage in this taxi! LOL Keep in mind that one suitcase is already tied to the trunk. ha!! We pushed and shoved until we finally got everything under control although it was a little tight in the back seat. :) Needless to say we were getting lots of looks...looks that read "el stupido Americanas". LOL But not only that...we got done WAY earlier than we thought so we had an hour to waste before we had to get to the ferry. So we asked our taxi driver if he would show us around La Ceiba.

We finally got to the ferry station to catch Princess Utila. It was supposed to leave at 9. We didn't leave until almost 11. lol But we're on the island so it's "No Problem!" *said in my best islander english voice* We waited for what seemed like years under that HOT and muggy Honduran sun with little breeze. But it was "No Problem"...we're going to the island! :)

So since I've already talked about some previous restroom experiences...yes, you guessed it. We experienced another one at the boat dock. Lets just say, you MUST carry toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you AT ALL TIMES. :) You hold these items near and dear to your heart when you are in a foreign land. Just saying. :)

While we were waiting, we happened to look up and we saw D'Andre's twin. Seriously. Every single thing about this guy was exactly like D'Andre. From the clothes he wore, to how he sat, how he wore his hat, how he fixed his glasses, his shoes, his smile, his facial features. Everything. So Venita decided to go talk to him...and he even posed like him! Too funny!

We finally got on the ferry, Princess Utila, and it was an hour long make your stomach flip flop kind of a ride. Dramamine didn't even touch it. Sweet Lord Jesus...we were so thankful to finally step foot off of it. ha! We almost felt like we were wave surfing. :) But we arrived safe and sound so that is all that matters, right? :)

We finally got to the island of Utila. Loved it!!! What a beautiful island! We got all 4700 bags and stopped under a huge tree to catch some shade while we waited on Barry (the island owner) to pick us up in his boat. I wish we knew what kind of tree it was. It was huge! And it had the biggest and prettiest leaves on it. It was the coolest thing! While we were waiting on Barry, we browsed through the streets a little bit, grabbed some cold drinks (we have lived on Gaterade), and also stopped at a street vendor and got a baleada to snack on. Oh my word, it was soo good! Especially when you haven't eaten all day. It's a toasted flour tortilla with red refried beans and Honduran cheese. It was wonderful! Barry finally showed up an hour later and we had to walk on what appeared to be a not so safe dock (no worries...we made it ok) and got all of our Americana luggage loaded in the boat. Now...it's off to our...

Private Island!

It's absolutely beautiful!! The house is wonderful! The view when we arrived was lovely! Palm trees swaying and there is a beautiful house hiding behind all that with the sound of the ocean waves crashing in as we arrived. Lovely! Our little private island, Little Cay. We finally made it! We quickly went exploring! Lots of sand, lots of palm trees, lots of rocks, 2 docks, a huge 3 bedroom house, a 1 bedroom cabin, a generator house, and the beautiful Caribbean ocean! You can't go wrong with that! We were so hot from being outside all day that it didn't take long to get in the water. It's so relaxing.

Sitting here on the beach under a huge palm tree, with the house sitting behind us. Sarah and Venita are reading and we just watched the sun set over the beautiful, clear, Caribbean water. It's nearing dark and I'm sitting here listening to the waves crash against the rocks. Pretty relaxed right now.

Ok, so everything has been all goodness until tonight. I started cooking dinner and it took 3 hours just for the water to semi boil on the bottom of the pan. The next time I checked it, all the water had evaporated out of the pan. Seriously?! HA! Oh the joys! So while we are waiting on the water to boil and the chicken to finish cooking, all of a sudden we hear these clicking noises. Apparently we had some "pre dinner guests" that wanted to join us. We all looked at each other and said, "What was that?!" Only to get up and find several baby crabs just hanging out in the kitchen. I didn't sign up for this. LOL It's starting to be like a camping experience....and....

...I'm. Not. A. Camper.

Not to mention the fact that I. DON'T. Do. Creepy. Crawly. Things.

So we finally got past that, and Venita and I were trying to find something to strain the noodles with...and I noticed a HUGE roach just hanging out in the strainer. I THREW that bowl faster than lightening back in the cabinet and closed the door as I SCREAMED! ha! I'm such a girl. But Venita was right along with me.

Then a huge dragonfly came buzzing through the window and kept attacking Sarah and she straight up did the huckabuck trying to get away from it. ha!! If only we would of had the video camera out.

We finally got dinner done and we were sitting there, talking and laughing. It's what we do best! :) And we kept hearing these clicking noises. Ok, so we are in unfamiliar surroundings, in a foreign country, on a private island, and it's just us 3 gringas. Not to mention that it is pitch black outside and we couldn't get the generator (so we obviously have no electricity) on, so we only have solar lights that work. So Venita gets up with her flashlight and looks under the cabinet and screams, "KRISTA! LOOK!" I creep over towards her and there are these 2 HUGE Creepy hermit crabs. Crustations as we call them. They only come out at night time. We tried on several attempts to get them out of the house with a broom (rather Venita did. She gets ALL the credit for this). She opened up the door and...They were E V E R Y W H E R E outside. And that is not an exxageration.

So now we're back in the living room, feet propped up and looking down to make sure the floor is clear before getting down. Ok, really it wasn't THAT bad, but it is....if you know what I'm saying. At this point all I can say is thank you Jesus for a flashlight, a broom, a friend that isn't afraid to use the broom for these crustations, and that we are only on this island for 3 days instead of our original plan for 5 days. It's WONDERFUL during the day, but.............I'm not a fan of "crustations".

So not to end this on a bad note. We're listening to the wind blow hard through the trees right now and listening to the ocean waves crash against the rocks and it is beautiful! Love hearing those sounds! So thankful to be spending time with my lovely besties and experiencing the world together!

-Until Tuesday's Adventures...

Honduras Adventures: Sunday

The electricity went out before church today...which also causes the water not to work. ha! Imagine 3 girls trying to get ready for church with no electricity or water! ha! But needless to say, we survived! :)

We made it to church, had an awesome service. Everyone was so friendly and made us feel very welcome! Thank You to everyone that made us feel so welcome while we were there!

We had to leave church early to catch a bus to go to La Ceiba. We rode first class style which was super nice! The seats were so comfy and they kept us provided with snacks and drinks. A 7 hour bus ride turned into 9. ha! During the bus ride, what time we didn't sleep, we saw some very interesting things.

• We saw some shacks that some didn't even have 4 walls, just metal planks because thats all they could afford to put together. It makes you thankful for what you are blessed to have.


• Saw a bike with tons of bags on it, and a Mom and a baby carseat sitting on top of the bags, riding down the street.


• The sun over the mountains were absolutely beautiful!


• The bus stopped and we attemped to use the bathroom on the bus, until a lady jumped in front of us and used the restroom with the door OPEN. Oh, and you can't forget the sign above the toilet that read, "Urine only". I'm just being real here yall...so forgive me.


• A guy from the local La Ceiba church is our taxi driver...and for some reason we kept him laughing. Wonder why? 3 gringas traveling Honduras with all our crazy comments and American luggage that had to be tied to the trunk so it wouldn't fall out. ha!! And everytime we went over a bump, looked back to make sure all our Americana luggage was still hanging in there. haha! Sarah and I were teasing Venita that he had the "hots" (ok I know that term is old school lol) for her! Especially when she almost got a kissy kissy. LOL Sorry, Venita...I had to!


• We stayed in a really nice hotel today, La Aurora. Thankful for air conditioning and a comfortable bed with a hot shower! It had lovely, shiney tile floors and an awesome chandelier in the lobby. The hotel guy showed us to our room, brought us water in a pitcher, and he ordered and brought us food from across the street! Super nice!


• Our dinner tonight: 1 piece of fried chicken, slaw we couldn't eat, and a yummy plantain!

All in all...it was a good day! :)

Back Home!

We arrived back in the United States on Monday evening! I have to say it was a GREAT trip, but I'm glad to be back home! We arrived safe and sound and although the travel alerts are high right now, we had no problems getting through. Traveling home was smooth sailing. :)

I'm having a difficult time getting back into the swing of things. I hit the road runnin' when I got back. Went back to work the next day, church, and family things...so needless to say I still haven't unpacked, done laundry, or got things back in order.

I promise I have a ga-zillion pictures, videos, and the journals (from the time we didn't have internet on the trip) to post...but please bear with me. It will take me a few days to get everything caught up. :)

Hope yall are having a wonderful week

Honduras: One Word. ADVENTURE!

Wow, no one word really can describe this week but adventure! LOL Not sure if we find adventure or if it finds us! LOL Pretty sure it's a little bit of both!

It's been a good week but....ADVENTUROUS. Some fun moments, some creepy moments. But a good experience! It's all been good though...no worries! :)

I don't even have the time right now to blog about everything but wanted to let you know we arrived back in Tegucigalpa this afternoon. I've kept a journal of everything that happened while we were gone this week so we wouldn't forget anything. :)

So stay tuned...more stories to come! :)

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week!

Sunday in Honduras

Last night, I went to bed with a lot of things on my mind and just thinking about the day. Seems like I just tossed and turned all night, and awake every hour. I finally decided to get up at about 6:15ish and get a shower before everyone else got up. Thank You Jesus I did. Because a few minutes after I was finished...

...the electricity and water went out!!

I feel like a missionary today.

Can you imagine 3 Pentecostal girls trying to get ready for church with no electricity and no running water?! Well...it happened! lol All I can say is Thank You Jesus it's back on now that we are home from church!

Church was an experience! But it was awesome! You could feel the presence of God and they really love to worship God! Everyone was so friendly and made us feel very welcome! Lots of pictures and videos to come after we get back to the states.

We're about to leave for La Ceiba, via a 7 hour bus ride. Then we're headed to our own private island tomorrow!!

We won't have internet access all week, so won't be able to post anything.

Hope yall have a wonderful week! We gotta go! Gotta go soak up some sun...it's Vitamin D right?! hehe Oh, and take in some clear Caribbean waters and some pure white sandy beaches!!!

Later!
K

Honduran Adventures: Saturday

Today was definitely just that...an adventure!

After we picked Sarah up from the airport, we came back and met V's friend, Olga. We headed up into the mountains this afternoon and explored two quaint little towns. Valle de Angeles and Santa Lucia. Loved it!! It was definitely an interesting experience! It was quite the twist and turns to get up to where we were going. And at times was a little scary to say the least going around the curves. If we would of been any closer, I'm pretty sure we would have fallen off the cliff. You know there are no guardrails. Ok, so maybe that is an exaggeration but that's what it felt like. But nonetheless, the mountains were absolutely breathtaking!

Valle de Angeles was awesome! Quaint little town full of little shops! Yep, you guessed it. We shopped our little hearts out! That's what a girl has to do right? They had the most awesome city centre square! We experienced our first real Honduran meal today. Beef, Sausage, re-fried red beans, Honduran cheese (which was very salty), rice, and fried plantains! Oh, and can't forget the awesome tortillas and amazing lemonada!! In shopping today, I bought a straw hat and a hammock!!! Oh yeah! I just couldn't resist! I feel so Honduran today. LOL They have the coolest taxi cabs too! Wait until you see a picture!

Santa Lucia was a really cool little town, we mainly just drove through it and stopped to take a few pictures here and there. Oh, and we had to make an ice cream stop. It made our day complete. :) A lot of their roads were cobblestone and just made it a really neat experience!

A few things that I observed today:

• It was nothing to see a donkey, horse, or chickens hanging out on the side of the road
• We passed a pickup truck with 2 men and a BULL in the back. HA!!
  
• Everyone talks to everyone!
• Everyone kisses anyone and anything!
• Tons of vegetable/fruit stands on the side of the road
• Random huts with cooking stations cooking corn
• Saw them make popusas! Yum! Can't wait to try one here!
• When the men gotta go, they gotta go. All you gotta do is stop on the side of the road and take a potty break.
  
• Women are not ashamed to breast feed their babies in public with no covering.
• We tried some sort of corn drink today. That's okay. We don't need to experience that again. :)
• Public restrooms are very few and far between. Nevertheless we found one today!
• They don't have street signs. How do people know where to go? They say turn by the yellow house....there's 47 yellow houses?! ha!
  
• Never in my LIFE would I have EVER thought I would wash my hands with "clean" water out of a trashcan!! LOL All you gotta do is dip the water out with a bowl, wash and rinse your hands and put the bowl back in the "clean" water! HA!!!
  

Oh my, it was a fun but interesting day. My brain is tired so this is it for now. If I think of anything else, I'll add it to the next post. :)

We will be leaving after church tomorrow, on a 7 hour bus ride, for Le Ceiba. Then going to our very own private island! Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Can't wait to soak in some sun and sink my feet in some pure white sand!

We won't have internet access for most of this next week. I'll be sure and document our adventures and blog when we return to Venita's.

Hope you have a wonderful week! Happy Easter!!

Until next time!
K

Adventures in Honduras

We're having a wonderful time in Honduras! Updating two days in a row...this is a record! But for all of you that are worried....we're staying safe!

I got to meet two of Venita's friends yesterday, Olga and Yvonne. Super sweet ladies and so friendly! Olga went with us downtown yesterday afternoon/evening. There was a big cultural event going on and its safer to take a local with you. They made rugs out of colorful sawdust and then they had a processional for the arch-bishop to walk down the rugs. They had these HUGE displays of the crucifixion, followed by the funeral, followed by Mary weeping. It was a neat experience, but I couldn't help but stand there and be thankful to have the Truth! There were TONS of people down there and we had to be really careful with our personal belongings. And most of the time, we walked arm in arm so we could stay together.

Lots of people, lots of incense, lots of smells, lots of sounds, but a neat experience.

This morning we woke up early and Olga came to meet us. We went down to the open air market, but they were closed. A lot of places are closed yesterday and today because of Good Friday. So we didn't get to go to the market, but there were some people selling flowers. Venita bought a couple of flowers and they smelled so good! Cheap too! 25 limperas is about $1.25 USD.

Now, we are waiting on Sarah to arrive on her flight. Remember I said that was another story in and of itself? Well, I have a little more time to explain...so here it goes. :) Yesterday, at the airport in KC, the airline had a different persons passport info on Sarah's airline ticket. Sarah never gave them her passport info so she's not sure how it got on there. There was obviously an error with the airline. They pulled her into a room because they thought she was a terrorist trying to fly with someone else's info. But get this. The odd name that was on there was with the name of George something. Seriously? So, by the time they got it all figured out it was 3 minutes past time she could check in and they wouldn't override it for her. Bah! So needless to say, Sarah is arriving today! Yay! We told her we were going to start calling her Georgie! We're such good friends! LOL

I'm not exactly sure what we are doing the rest of the day. I think we're going to a smaller quaint town. So I'm excited to see what the rest of this day holds.

So many, if not all, of you are probably wondering what Honduras is like. Things I've gathered so far....

• They drive on the correct side of the road.
• It's not very clean...liter everywhere.
  
• Palm trees almost everywhere you go
• They drive like crazy people
• They have American fast food places everywhere! Wendy's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Church's Chicken, KFC. They even have Denny's and Chili's!! Venita said that Denny's ran out of pancake mix the other day. LOL I wasn't so shocked to see Burger King or KFC, but I was the rest...especially Chili's!
• They have a couple of American banks...HSBC and Citi! They have about 20 banks on every corner.
  
• They have a Walmart!
  
• People walk on the street (even on BUSY streets) rather than the sidewalks.
• They have random barrels sitting in the middle of the road.
• Motorcycles can pretty much do what they want. They whip in and out of traffic...oh wait, the cars do too! It's no big deal though, just scoot over and drive on the side until they move out of the way. ha!
• All their nice houses are built behind walls.
• Their housing is random. One house could be a HUGE nice colorful home, and the next home could be a shack. In some areas of town they just pick a spot to build a home (more like what we would call a shack) and they don't even own the land. They just build it anywhere they can find room. Mostly of painted sheets of wood and sometimes metal doors.
• They have American electricity!
  
• You have to brush your teeth with bottled water! Having a hard time getting used to that one.
• Their kids (especially daughters) don't leave home until they get married. And they are very close to their moms.
• They have mango trees!
• You can see the mountains driving around the city!
• They don't have many side streets that are through streets. You have to go the roundabout way.
• Their wiring here is CRAZY!! It's one BIG MESS!!! You'll believe it when you see a picture!
• There are random guards standing on the street corners with massive guns.
• They have nice shopping malls.
• Their sidewalks are sometimes concrete, sometimes tile.
• There is a guy that walks the neighborhood that V lives in yelling "AGUA"...he's selling those big 5 gallon jugs for 33 limpiras, which is about $1.50!
  

That's about it for now...going to eat some breakfast before we head to meet Georgie...er I mean Sarah at the airport! hehehe Hope she doesn't have any issues like I did getting through customs. LOL

Until next time...

Hello from Honduras!!

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to give a quick shout out from Honduras!! It's been quite the adventurous day!! Keep in mind that the last two nights combined I've only gotten 6 hours of sleep. Woke up 15 minutes before we had to leave the house this morning-so talk about rushing around! ha! I got to the airport and get up to security, and the security lady looks at me and says, "Did you just get married?" "Umm, No?" Why do people always ask me RANDOM questions?! HAHA!! So then, my friend Sarah was flying with me and something happened with her ticket (that's a whole 'nother story in and of itself) and she couldn't fly out until tomorrow. *sniff* So I'm sitting at the gate and the biggest thunderstorm ever rolled through and our plane is delayed for 30 minutes! Which means....we arrived in Houston and I had 15 minutes to get to my connecting flight. Seriously? I was 3 terminals away and that airport is HUGE!!! Pretty sure if I walked any faster, my legs would have fallen off. LOL I finally get to the gate and thankfully they had delayed the flight for about 30 minutes. Whew! So I finally make the flight! That was a relief!

So we land in Tegucigalpa, safely I might add. They have one of the shortest runways ever...so when they land and not go back up in the air...everyone claps! ha! And that they did...everyone clapped as we landed! Got off the plane, get the luggage, and head over to customs! Hmm now THAT I almost didn't make it through custom's because I didn't have Venita's address! OOPS! The lady said, "Miss, I HAVE to have an address!" "Um, I'm sorry but I don't have the address to my friends home, I know where she works, but don't have an address." With a big sigh and a heavy stamp on the passport, she thankfully let me though customs just fine!!! Yay!!

So with that being said, Venita was there with a big smile and a welcoming warm hug....Thank God for besties!! As we traveled to her house, I saw several guards standing on the street with the BIGGEST guns you've ever seen! HA!! No worries, we're safe! :)

Now, we're hanging out at Venita's before we head to go downtown! They have a big cultural event going on this afternoon that we're going to be apart of! Yippie!

So, just wanted to say hi and update you on this crazy adventurous day!! I'll update when I can!

Until next time!! :)

Leavin' on a Jet Plane......

So, this week has pretty much been insanely busy but nothing really too exciting to blog about. In fact, there really hasn't been anything too exciting to blog about the past couple of months. Just me myself and I going to church, to the gym, and work...that's pretty much my life these days.

Last night was a rough night for me. If only I could explain how my heart feels right now, I would. Sometimes you just have to cry yourself to sleep. Last night was one of those nights. Love hurts sometimes. Let's just say that I only got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. But on a happier note, I'm so glad that we can trust in God. Admidst the sadness and pain, God is always there for us, He's faithful, and One that we can ALWAYS trust in. He's knows what His perfect plans are for us! One of my favorite scriptures is:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding." - Proverbs 3:5

Today, I'm so glad that I took the day off of work! I've been running around all day trying to get errands run and now...it's time to do some hard core packing!! Tomorrow is the big day! Leavin' on a jet plane.......to......HONDURAS!!! We'll be gone for 10 days! I'm not sure how much internet access that we will have, if any, so I may not be able to update until our return! Can't wait to spend time with my besties! It's a much needed break!

For part of our trip, we are renting a private island! And I am oh so excited about that! Can't wait to soak up some Honduran sun, sink my feet in some pure white sand, and wade in some clear blue Caribbean water!!! YES! That's what I'm talking about! No worries, there will be LOTS of pictures coming upon our return!! :)

For those of you following this blog due to Trendy Bliss...be sure and check back in a couple of weeks. There will be lots of new designs coming upon my return to the states! Very excited about it!!

That's about it for now! Time to start packing!! 6:00am flights are WAY to early for this sister girl...especially when you live almost an hour away from the airport! ha!

Hope yall have a wonderful week and I'll update soon!!!

-Muah

It's Been Awhile...

So its been awhile since I've actually posted something "personal" on here! Guess I'll take a couple of minutes to "catch up"! It seems as though things have been really hectic, but at the same time, not a lot of exciting things going on. Lately, my life pretty much consists of working full time, lots of church (which I love!), and going to the gym! It's pretty much my every day life, until... You get sick. I came down sick last weekend and did absolutely nothing all weekend! If you know me well, then you know that is NOT me! There is ALWAYS something going going! Thankfully I only had fever for a night and got on the mend soon! If you follow me on facebook, you know that I've got an upcoming trip to HONDURAS! With that being said, this past Monday I had to get shots. I don't do needles. But I didn't pass out this time. Yay! :) Needless to say, the shots made me sick. But I guess thats what you get when you have Thyphoid and HepA shots injected to you. I'm not a fan. I have to start taking Malaria pills in a couple of days and I'm praying they don't make me sick. My sister Darla and her hubby Jonathan are back home so I'm excited that I get to talk to the "beebie" again! I got to feel the beebie kick last night! It was the coolest thing! God is really blessing Trendy Bliss! I'm very excited at the things He is opening for my lil business! I'm shooting a wedding this weekend...pray saints! :) So be on the look out for a sneak view! :) 7 more days until my friend Sarah and I leave on a jet plane for Honduras!! I can't wait to see our friend Venita! We'll be hanging out with her for a few days then we're going out to basket in some Honduran sun on our very own private island!! Oh yeah, baby, thats what I'm talking about!! Hope things are going well in YOUR world! Would love to hear from you and know what is going on with YOU! Until next time...

Trendy Bliss: Newest Addition to Tote Bags!

We have some new additions to our Tote & Handbags dept!! It's our signature polkadot tote bag with felt flowers in Fuschia, Kelly Green, and Yellow! Price: $25.00

Our signature tote bag with teal felt flowers!

Price: $25.00

Want to know a little secret?!

These felt flowers are attached to our tote bags with velcro! This allows you to MIX and MATCH any color you prefer!!! And....

We are now selling trio flower combinations in ANY color!!! For just $15.00!

You can also visit us on Facebook.....come join us as a FAN and "LIKE" us today!!! To order any of our products, feel free to visit our online Etsy shop here! Or contact us via Facebook or Email at trendy.bliss.kc@gmail.com!

Trendy Bliss: Now Released! Bags and Totes!!

It's finally here!!

This new polkadot tote bag is the perfect bag for Spring and Summer!! It's complete with a trio felt flower addition in hot pink, orange, and yellow!

Price: Only $25.00!



Up close view of the flowers...

Spring has Sprung!!

I love spring time!! I love to see all the trees starting to bud and get the most gorgeous flowers on them! Don't get me wrong...I love winter time but after 6 months of being cold, bundled up, and all the bare trees...I only dreamed of wearing flip flops, tshirts, getting a much needed tan, and basking in the SUN!

I LOVE seeing the SUN shine...

...and the GREEN grass!!

This is our backyard. It's flat for about 20 feet then goes straight UP. Once you're at the top, you can see the neighbors driveway across the street, over our house! lol

And I LOVE red-bud trees! This is a Dogwood tree that is in our back yard. Yep, its the state flower...and its beautiful! So if you haven't been able to get out and enjoy the sunshine yet...do it! You won't regret it! :) Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Trendy Bliss: SNEAK PEAK

If you've been following my Facebook at all then you know that I've been working on a NEW LINE that I'm hoping to release soon!! I LOVE this new line!! It definitely puts me into the mood for SPRING and SUMMER! :)

I was hoping to get it released this weekend but I came down sick. You know...the whole achy, fever, getting chills thing? Its definitely not a fun weekend. Thankfully the fever is gone now though. But with that being said I'm getting caught up on getting things posted! Yippie!

So...here is what you've been waiting for....kind of! :) Here is a SNEAK PEAK!

Trendy Bliss: Easter Decor

Looking for something to help decorate your home for Easter?!

Order here for just $5.00!!

Trendy Bliss: Trio Classic Bloom

Trendy Bliss has just released The Classic Bloom flower! It's a trio black flower with a touch of red feathers and black netting. You may purchase this flower in our Etsy Shoppe here!

Price: $15.00

A BIG Thank You to Ragen for being a model for Trendy Bliss!!


Here is a closer view of it!

Trendy Bliss: Duo Brown Layered Rosette Flower

Trendy Bliss has now posted another listing in our Etsy shoppe! This Duo Brown Layered Rosette with a touch of brown and white feathers and added pearls is just what you need to spice up your outfit!

Price: $13.50



Here is a closer view...


Come on by our Trendy Bliss Facebook page and "like" us! Lots of new items coming up!

Trendy Bliss: Teal Rosette Flower

This teal rosette flower is now listed in our Etsy shoppe! It has an added touch of black feathers and netting with a little bling bling too! :)

Price: $12.00

Close up

Full view. A big Thank You goes out to Ragen for being my model! You're the best!

Don't forget to share Trendy Bliss with your friends! Come join us on Facebook!

Road Trip to Indy, Visit with my Bestie!

One of the best parts of this weekend in Indy was that I got to see my bestie, Jennifer, her lil man Bradyn, and her Mom-Judy! I LOVED getting to see her...and the best part was that we were in the same hotel!! But better yet?! ACROSS THE HALL from each other! That seriously rocked! However, there was just simply NOT enough time!! But, I am thankful for the time that we DID have! I love this picture of us! She is truly a wonderful person with a big southern heart who is REAL and TRUE! I love it when friends feel like family! I honestly don't know what I would do without her in my life. God placed her there for a reason and that was to be a lifetime friend and sister. I LOVED getting to see lil man....my Bubs! I ADORE him and I LOVE being his "Auntie K"!! We had quite the chat about Mr. Porkchop! When we had to leave and go our own ways....

He cried.

My heart was broken.

I can't wait to go to Tennessee again! Jen, do you notice I'm wearing ORANGE! hehehe (I love this picture too!)

We always try to get pictures with lil man...sometimes it works....sometimes it don't! :) I heart this picture! I miss them so much already!

You can see Jen's side of the story here.