Pearce family computing

Yes, I’m a nerd, and I’m sure my children will become nerds also (“cool nerds”, of course). :) Even my wife is more nerdy now that we’ve been married almost seven years! Long live computer nerds! Hey, at least we’re in the same room, right?

Marie playing chess, and Emily on the piano

Emily practicing the piano

Emily and Marie both love playing computer games. In this scene, Emily is trying out a new program to help her learn how to play the piano. It’s kind of like Guitar Hero, but for piano, and it actually teaches you how to play – it’s fun and educational. Impressively, she was able to learn in about a half-hour, how to play middle c, middle e, quarter notes, half-notes, and whole notes on a grand staff, and I didn’t have to teach her much at all! She had a blast trying to beat her score. The program is called Piano Marvel, and was developed by a friend of mine in Colorado. If you want check it out, you can get a free trial and a 20% discount when you sign up by using the code: 3EEED31A. Or just go here.

Marie playing chess

Here, Marie is playing chess with herself on the little computer. Not that she really knows how to play chess, but she likes to move the pieces around and see how many she can “kill”. So I guess she’s at least learning how the pieces move.

I think she wouldn’t have been interested in it at all had we not played yard chess in Boquete, Panama. So I’m glad we did that. Chess is pretty nerdy, too, isn’t it?

In the top picture, I’m probably working or checking e-mail or something. I’m on the computer a lot, either upstairs with everybody, or down in my office, or on my iPhone. I’m trying to use it less, but computers are just so useful and so much fun! :D

Jen is the only one not shown here, and this is obviously because she’s the one taking the pictures. But you’ll often find her reading blogs, searching for new recipes, or looking up something on-line.

Not only are we a computer nerd herd, but I’m also a word nerd, and on Saturday morning, I woke up with a great new joke! Ready?

Question: What do you call a cookware salesman who’s not making any sales?

Answer: A pan-handler! HA!!!

Pretty good, eh? Not all my jokes are dumb. :)

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Cabanas Sabrin - view from our cabin

On our first morning in Boquete, we received quite a shock about the place where we’re staying (Cabanas Sabrin). When we stepped into the shower, we discovered there was no hot water! All the faucets, including the shower, have only an option for cold water. So we both took cold showers, which really woke us up! And Boquete is colder than where we came from as well, so we were feeling a bit chilly today. I am now finally glad that I brought my jacket (it seemed like I would never need it until we got to Boquete).

Emily and Marie on a bridge

After breakfast, we went to Mi Jardin es Su Jardin (My garden is your garden), which is someone’s garden they’ve opened to the public. There are many beautiful flowers, lots of ponds with carp, pretty bridges, and a beautiful mountain backdrop.

Afterward, we took a drive to see another hotel we thought about booking later. We then rested at our cabin for a while. The girls napped and colored and played outside.

Playing chess

Then we all went outside and played a game of yard chess together. I taught everyone how to the pieces move and how to play, and we played a good long game (probably 30 minutes). The girls moved the pieces and helped decide where to put them. Marie lost interest about half way through, but Emily kept focus almost all the way, even if she didn’t understand the strategy. She just wanted to kill the other pieces. :)

We then took a walk to see a nearby castle, which turned out to be a private residence, so we couldn’t go in. But we did see some toucans in cages at a hotel next door which we watched for a while. Beautiful birds!

Then we went to dinner at Macchu Picchu restaurant. It’s Peruvian food, and was very different but very good. I loved the soup I ordered. It was a some kind of shrimp chowder. I have recently started to chew my food and eat more slowly to help with digestion, as I’ve been having a bit of indigestion – nothing serious – I get this at home regularly, too, whenever I eat too fast, and almost every time I eat chocolate.

I’ve recently learned that chewing your food more (20-30 chews per bite) lets the saliva break down the food better, and prepares your stomach acids for the food that’s coming. And it’s also better not to drink water with your meal, but instead to drink water about 30 minutes before you eat. I’ve found that doing this does help my digestion, and I also taste the food more and enjoy it more when eating slowly, so this may be my new thing. I’ll no longer be the first to finish a meal! (This does prove unfortunate when sharing a chocolate cake with the family, however. I only get a few pieces. :))

When we came back to our cabin, we realized that we have intermittent Internet access in our hotel room! It doesn’t always work, but if you’re in just the right spot, you can get it. Jen and I were thrilled since we’d been without it for so long, so we stayed up until 1:30am answering e-mail, blogging, and living in our on-line worlds. :)

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