What A WEEK :0

It has a been a looooooooong week, let me tell you.  First, let me recap our vacation, since that was the last blog I did:  vacation was OK.  Just OK.  Not great, not good, just OK.  Let's just say, we have definitely taken better vacations than that.

First off, it was a true hassle to find a hotel room I know my grandmother would like that could accommodate all of us (about 8 people) and not cost an arm and two legs.  Finally, at my hubby's urging, we booked a hotel we know and have been to many times before:  Casa Verde Lodge in Puerto Viejo (did I mention Puerto Viejo is one of our all time favorite vacation destinations).

So we book the hotel and I had to reluctantly and embarrassingly cancel the other hotel I had reserved, which in hindsight probably was a better option although just a bit further out from the beach.  After all that, we had to figure out HOW to get to the beach.  We all would not fit in hubby's car, so I searched for options.  There was a  'bus' company that could take us to the beach, leave us (without any transport) and then pick us up for around $500.  The gentleman that took us to Baldi was also offering his services for about $400.  But I felt it would be better if we rented a car, so we searched for affordable rentals as well.

When we found a car rental company with a vehicle big enough for all of us and within budget, we reserved it but the problem was the deposit.  A $1500 credit card deposit was needed. That was steep! We had to jump through a lot of hurdles to acquire that deposit but we managed and "viola", a 7 passenger SUV was booked and with a few rearranging was turned into an 8 passenger vehicle.

All we had to do now was go on our mini weekend getaway.  We were booked up for 2 nights:  Saturday and Sunday, returning home on Monday (I had to write a note to the kid's teachers.)  So we show up in Puerto Viejo and immediately I regretted the entire trip.  The hotel that we knew and loved is under new management and a lot had changed and not for the better.  The rooms we reserved had no air conditioning and it was hot as Hades at the beach.  The fans we had were not working so I had to request new, working fans.

Now, if I had gone to the beach with just my hubby and kids, it would have been a much better trip but trying to cater to my almost 90 year old grandma made the trip almost unbearable.  There were good parts but hearing people complain about the hotel I booked just put me in a sour mood.  Not to mention the dining situation, which was not really as fun as I thought it would be.

And to top it all off; it being TOO hot, the beach not being close enough, the hotel being a piece of crap, nothing to eat; my hubby and I got into a HUGE fight.  One of my least favorite vacations ever.  I was so glad to be heading home 3 hours before we were scheduled to leave.

Now, that was just last weekend.  Move to Wednesday, the last day my uncle's wife and grandma would be staying in Costa Rica.  I decided to book a rainforest tour for me and my "aunt", something fun for her to do on her last day in "paradise".   Well, the morning of, my grandma pleaded with us not to go as she had a bad feeling and a nightmare which was most likely a premonition of bad things to come on the trip, so we canceled.

To make it up, I decided to take my "aunt" to a bio-diversity park here in Costa Rica that I thought she would love.  Ok, so we head out in my mother in laws car only to find, as we get there, that the park has closed down indefinitely.  WHAT!!!!!!!  I just felt terrible.  My uncle's wife wanted to come on a vacation and do fun, vacation-like things and all she did was go on a day trip to the hot springs and spend a few not so fun days at the beach.  I was so sad for her; this was not how I pictured she should have spent her vacation (and I am sure she thought her vacation should have been more fun.)

So vacation done and family on their way back home, Thursday I had to take the kids to their dental appointments.  I get on the bus (as per usual) with child and my new Coach handbag on my person.  As a mom of of a toddler (and 4 kids total), it can be a little distracting to travel with all four kids at once.  The trip is worse if you have a crying toddler.  As a man standing next to me started talking to my toddler, I try to settle him down as best I could, my hands full.  As I get to the clinic, I notice my phone missing but I hoped I left it at home.  But I didn't.  If you can guess where this story is going, then you guessed right.  My cell phone was stolen out of the front pocket of my bag by the man talking to my toddler , I figure as a distraction so I would not notice him going into my bag to rob me.

I'm not going to lie, once I realized my phone had actually been stolen, I cried.  I know it is a material object, but it was MY material object and I had never had that happen to me before.  To top it all off, the day could not have been any shittier, literally!  I woke up that very morning with stomach pains and TMI.... diarrhea!  So it was a bad day for me from the start.  To have it end like that just made it even worse.

Of course, I went to the police, the bus central station and the court house to report my stolen cell phone.  Today, I made a report with the OIJ, which is sort of like Costa Rica's version of the FBI (they have a section that deals with stolen objects).

I am pretty sure they can't do much nor will they be able to find my phone.  But I have hope.  I was lucky that the night before I transferred all my photos to my hubby's work computer, so I didn't lose any impossible to replace memories, which always depresses me when that happens.  I also went online after the theft and changed all my passwords and set my phone to factory settings.  Finally, I got on Facebook to let everyone who had my phone number know that for now, I am off the grid.  No cell, no cell phone number for the foreseeable future.

I know a cell phone can easily be replaced but I loved my phone.  It was practically brand new, less than a year old.  I used it for everything; to take pictures, to check email, to post to Facebook, to check the time,  to record info, to film and post youtube videos; basically to record and manage my entire  life.  And now, I am lost (not really) without it.

I hope whoever stole it (that guy, I am sure) gets caught and thrown into jail, even for a few hours to teach him not to steal other people's property.