Bittersweet return

I'm always sad and happy at the same time to be coming back "home". When I'm enjoying my family in Mexico, part of me is missing Mike, when I'm here in Orlando, I'm missing my family in Mexico and my mom in CA. I really hope at least my parents move closer to us one day, especially with the baby on the way.

Anyway, I had a great visit. I spent my whole vacation just hanging out with my family, I didn't even do any sightseeing this time. All the pictures I took were of me and my family. I'm usually pretty spoiled when I'm over there, now imagine how spoiled I got by being pregnant. My aunts were busy knitting blankets for the baby and my mom trying to learn how to crochet.

I went to the movies twice, less than $4 each time. I also got a haircut for $4! I got to see some high school friends one night, some of them I haven't seen since high school. I ate yummy food, had lots of fruit they don't even have here and drank fresh coconut water. I started having a weird craving once I was there, I wanted beer... still do, just thinking about a really cold beer with lime and salt makes my mouth water :/

I got to meet a new family member, the baby or toddler I suppose, in the picture. My cousin was pregnant with her last time I was there. I totally fell in love with her, she was so cute, sweet and smart! I miss her already :( She made it really hard to not have a preference to what we have.

Speaking of which, I was supposed to have my first ultrasound this past Wednesday, but Mike switched jobs and we were waiting on insurance stuff, so we had to cancel our appt. So, I'm now 20 weeks pregnant (half way there omg!) and we have out big ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning! I don't know if I'll be able to sleep :D

I'm off!

Hi guys! So I think I'm all packed and ready to go. I'll be in Guadalajara, Mexico for a few weeks. As some of you know, my mom lives in California, but she will be in Mexico as well, so I'm super excited to see everyone.

I'll try to update my blog and maybe post some pictures while I'm there. I think I'm mostly going to miss: my air conditioner, Mike, Lily and my bed... yes, probably in that order :) Alright, I have a plane to catch, adios!

So happy!

Just stopping by to tell you that I'll be going to Guadalajara, Mexico in May. I'm so excited! But first, let me start by telling you that I believe in the "power" of visualizing and positive thinking. So a few weeks ago, I figured I'd better get my passport, that way, good things could come my way. I figured if I was prepared, the universe would arrange itself to make some traveling happen (I know, corny).

I went to the post office on Tuesday to mail out all the paper work for my name change on my passport. Then yesterday, I went online to check air fare prices to Mexico (I do this a lot) and what do you know? I find a great deal on a flight to GDL on the dates I wanted to go, because my family is planning a big party for my grandfathers 80th birthday. If I changed the travel dates, it was double the price.

So there you have it, Mike bought my ticket last night so I could go see my family :) It's been 2 years now and I really miss them. I told most of my cousins that I was going and they couldn't believe it. They're all as excited as I am. Now, I just hope my mom can be there too. My grandfather is going to be so happy to have everyone there. I can't wait! Thanks Mike for making this happen.

A little homesick

This is the time of year I miss the most, wishing I could be in Mexico. Even though I'm not super religious, I really miss the way my family celebrates Christmas in Mexico. Christmas Eve was more important than actual Christmas day.

We would usually get together at one of my aunts or uncles house to celebrate on Christmas Eve. We would have a posada, the whole family would split up in 2 "teams" and actually sing the litany to pedir posada. We would also have our gift exchange, have a fancy dinner (not lunch), and wait till midnight to see what "baby jesus" or sometimes Santa, left under the tree.

A traditional drink would be ponche, a hot drink, sort of like tea, but with nuts and different fruits, and we could add some sort of liquor if we preferred it that way. We would also make buñuelos, just for this day.

But instead, i'm at home, waiting for Mike to finish working. We are driving over to my mother in law's house later, have a normal day and wait until tomorrow to open up some presents and cook a nice lunch/dinner. I miss my family so much. I would love for Mike to experience a Christmas in Mexico one year.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas with their families and loved ones. Remember that presents are just temporary material things, love, friendship and family are priceless...corny I know. Merry Christmas!

My dream last night

This is what I dreamt last night, bear with me, it gets a little weird and random at points. I think all of it took place in Mexico, because most of my family was there, even Lily.

Part I: We were in a house/old supermarket kind of building, when we saw a gator inside, we tried escaping but Lily was left inside somewhere in the building. I was hysterical, I just knew she would get eaten by the gator. For some reason I couldn't go back in there and get her so we left. I was extremely upset. Other things went on that I can't remember, but at one point, one of my family members did go back to get Lily and she was still alive. I was so happy to see my little baby.

Part II: I was in Cocula and it was night time. I had a little girl, about 3 or 4 years old. We went outside and there was a procession. The people carried candles and Dia de los Muertos type decorations. My daughter and I joined in the procession. I remember I was so excited for her to see all this, I kept asking her, do you like this? and she would also be excited, to see all the candles and people and would respond; yes mommy, I love it!

Later we found my mom in the procession and she introduced me to some distant relatives. They were 3 teenage girls, but I noticed they all were missing 2 or 3 fingers on their hands. I remember thinking the cause of that might be that they practiced charreria. After that we ran into hubby, I was really mad at him because I hadn't seen him all day, but he was helping out one of my cousins or something. There was also lots of firecrackers and I was trying to protect my daughter from getting burned by one.

Part III: My family was all gathered inside the house, talking about flights and parties. I didn't have a little girl anymore, but instead a little boy. My little boy and I were looking at some wooden spoons, and talking about the day we broke some of ours while cooking. We were having an amazing time, laughing and just being silly together. End of dream.

This dream left be feeling so happy. The times when I was with my daughter or son, I felt so much love towards them, or a feeling I can't even explain. I wonder if my motherly instinct is finally trying to break in? I remember thinking, this feels amazing, I've never loved someone this much. I don't really know how to talk to young kids, so I was surprised how easy it was to talk to my own, it wasn't awkward at all. This dream left me all emotional. I tried to explain to my hubby the part about my kids, but I couldn't, it made me want to cry.

In other unrelated news, we had dinner with hubby's mom yesterday. I also did not get a new phone. The girl "helping" us at T-Mobile last night pissed me off, she wasn't being helpful at all. If I want to keep my same number, since we are doing a "change of responsibility", there's all these things we have to do for that, ugh so annoying! I need to talk to my step dad and see what they told him. Hopefully I'll get a new phone tomorrow then, since today hubby has a boardgame date with a new friend he made. Time to entertain myself or be productive, toodles!

What I left behind...

Pictures taken in Zamora, Michoacan; Cocula, Jalisco, and Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

(Update! now you can purchase my book from Blurb.com,with some of these photos and many others. Thanks for looking!)

Greetings from Guadalajara, Mexico!

I didn't have time to update before I left. Thank goodness I finished school ok. Then I packed and came to Mexico.

The wedding was a little dramatic, mostly problems with my cousins inlaws. I photographed what I could, I don't think I like photographing weddings, maybe because it was my cousins and I felt like I couldn'd enjoy it because I had to be taking photos.

After the wedding, I have been spending time with my parents. We went for a couple days to Cocula, a small town where my grandfather lives.

I have been eating all the food I had been craving, it's been great! For example, tortas ahogadas, flautas, quesadillas, tacos, sopes, etc...

The only bad thing has been is that from the moment I got off the plane, my sinuses have been horrible. It hurts everytime I breathe. The air pollution here is really bad and there has been lots of fires in a forest near by.

I went to a homeopathic doctor, he gave me "medicine" for 3 months. I hope it works, my family says he's a great doctor, that he even cures Lupus.

I still haven't taken all the photos I want for the book I want to self-publish. I think tomorrow I'll go downtown.

Ok, that's it for now, I think I'm ready to go home, even though I'll miss my family, my food, my country, I miss my hubby, my Lily and our daily routine, oh! and my clean air and ac!

Almost over

I only have week and a half of school left and I'm done with this semester. I feel like I can't focus because I'm too excited thinking about my trip to Guadalajara.

I have to make my book for the Illuminated Book class, you know like cut paper, get paper printed, sew folios together, make a book cover and all that stuff.

I also haven't finished shooting for my photo class and my final critique is on Wednesday. I did however already buy foam core because I want to mount them, I just find it easier to handle or put up on the wall for critique that way, hopefully I don't ruin them in the process.

I have to paint 2 more paintings for, yup you guessed it, Painting class. Then I have to photograph them and put the prints in a portfolio, he cares more about that stupid portfolio than the actual paintings.

Then I'll just have to study for my art history final and off to Mexico!

In other news, today I hung out with Candice, we went to Target, then met Richard for lunch. We discussed God, Jesus and aliens, and our religious views. It was interesting, we all pretty much share the same beliefs, which is a whole other post. I did not get school work done today, well maybe just figuring out the pagination for that book, it's been so hard to figure out! I needed a break anyway.

I went to dinner with the hubbster to Urban Flats, it was our first time there. We met up with an ex coworker of his. The food was good, at least what I had, which was the turkey, pear and brie flat. Yum! I'm already hungry again.

Sabado

I can't believe how fast this semester went by, it's almost over. I thought my final projects were due in two weeks, but I checked the syllabus for my classes and everything will be due in one week, yikes! I did write a paper for my History of Non-Western Art class today, I also started the background of my new paintings. I also did housework today, which I usually don't do on weekends. I even washed all my make-up brushes. I felt accomplished today. We did our usual week end errands, like go grocery shopping, Barnes and Noble and library. The hubby watched basketball and worked on his taxes.

Yesterday I went shopping with Paola. I was so lucky! I was looking for shoes and either a dress or shirt in plum, purple or lilac color. So I found a shirt at Dillard's on sale for $17! I was so excited, and it has different hues of purple. When I went and paid for it, it was only $10! I was beyond happy, it was my lucky day for sure! I never find stuff I'm looking for, especially not for that price. Then we went into Payless, because lets face it, I'm not a huge shoe fan, so I never spend money on shoes. But I saw some black peep-toe pumps, with a snake print a long time ago that I loved. Anyway, I saw them again yesterday on sale for only $7! And if that wasn't good enough, Paola had a $2 off coupon. Seriously, it was totally my day for shopping!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the purpose of this shopping trip. My cousin and pretty much my best friend in Guadalajara, is getting married in a few weeks, and I'm going! I applied for my passport last Monday and should be getting it next week. Then I bought my plane ticket. I will be broke for the rest of the year, but it will be so worth it. I haven't been to Mexico in 2 yrs. My parents will also be there for the wedding , so our family will be complete, well except for the hubby, he gets to stay and work, it sucks. But it also means I'll spend Mothers Day with my mommy and all my aunts and cousins. It will be great! I'm also shooting my cousins wedding, which will be the first time I ever shoot a wedding, I'm excited and nervous. I'll be in Mexico for 3 weeks.

It was also a good bye (or for me, good BUY, haha!) shopping day with Paola because she is going back to Cancun. She said she'll try to be here for my graduation, and knowing her, she probably will.

The hubby also told me he was going to open up a Roth IRA account for me, which will make me feel like an adult...sort of. I'll actually pay more attention to finances and investing now that it will have my name on it.

Ok, time for bed.