Tennessee

At the end of July, we went on our first family trip, Andrew's first plane ride. He did so good on the plane and throughout the whole trip. He was such a happy baby the whole time, he even slept good.

We stayed in a cabin in Pigeon Forge, TN with Mike's dad, his wife, aunt and uncle. And since it was the Dunn's annual family reunion. we saw other family members as well. Last year Andrew was in the spica cast so we couldn't make it. I wish we could see them more often.

I think what I'll remember the most is playing boardgames, it was so much fun! We played Aggravation and Sequel, fun easy games. We also went to the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg and ate lots of southern food.

We had such a great time, it really was a vacation. I've heard so many horror stories of babies and vacations, but Andrew was great and we were able to relax for a few days. We would have stayed longer, but Mike had to fly to Oregon for work and I had to fly back with Andrew for his surgery.

Kentucky

Mike's family reunion was this past weekend in Kentucky. It was nice meeting some of Mike's family (his dad's side) for the first time. It was also my first time in Kentucky. We mostly just hung out at our motel and ate together.

On Saturday, we went to the Natural Bridge Park. We hiked and I got to ride a sky lift for the first time!

On Sunday, we went to the Kentucky Horse Park. We didn't get to see everything because it was pretty hot and I was very tired by then.

But it was a good trip despite the hot weather. We went to the town Mike grew up in... that was cool to see. We also had a surprise baby shower thrown by Mike's step mom. She even got us chocolate cupcakes! Now I have my first sets of adorable baby clothes. This little one is finally starting to feel a bit more real :)

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!

We're back!

I'm so glad that Mike decided to spend Thanksgiving with his dad and his family, it was worth the 13 hour drive... not that I did any driving, but still, I had to try very hard not to fall asleep. Lily did really well on her first long road trip too. We left Monday morning and were back home last night around midnight.

It was nice being around a lot of people, I really miss that here. Everyone was very happy to see Mike. I also think they liked me, it was their first time meeting me... they sent me home with lots of goodies... among them the Pioneer Woman cookbook and a cast iron skillet to try some of her recipes, how cool is that?!

We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I even made a pumpkin pie, but for some reason I didn't like the way it came out, I'll have to make another one here at home. The weather was perfect, nice and cold. They said it wasn't very pretty because all the leaves already fell off the trees, but it was still a nice change of scenery for me.

Back to normal

Sorry I haven't been updating, but I had guests in my house for the past 3 weeks. First my friend Paola from Cancun, then my mom was here for 2 weeks, who just left today. I'm feeling a bit sad because I don't know when I'll get to see her again.

We were able to go to Miami, just like my mom wanted. We went with Paola and another friend of hers. We drove around South Beach and spent most of our day at the beach. At night, we went to a place called Bayside, where we walked around listening to live music while enjoying some cold mojitos.

For the most part, we just hung out at my house and went to shopping centers. She cooked some Mexican food for me like pollo con mole, tinga and chicharron en salsa verde, it was all so good! She also brought with her some tamales and queso panela.

This past Monday I took her to Leu Gardens and this weekend, we met up with my mother in law and her boyfriend to have dinner at PF Changs. I had a good time with my mom, I just wished I could have taken her to more places. Now it's time to go back to my regular routine and keep looking for a job.

Me and my mommy :)

This past week

Mike went to Ohio this past Monday and came back Friday. My friend from Mexico arrived on Tuesday, so I've been busy hanging out with her. We went to a Mexican restaurant on Wednesday to watch a soccer game. We walked around Downtown Disney on Wednesday. On Thursday, we went downtown to a club and danced the night away. On Friday, we went to visit a friend of hers and then shopping. Now Paola is spending the weekend in Tennessee with another friend of hers.

So that's where I've been. I'm sure the next 2 weeks will be busy as well. My mom gets here on Tuesday and Paola will still be here for another week... I'm so excited! I'm a little nervous though, because I don't really know how to entertain my mom for 2 whole weeks on a very low budget. She's never been to Miami, so maybe Paola, my mom and me can go there for a day or something, we'll see... I hope the hurricane that's heading this way doesn't actually hit us.

(Paola and me before going downtown)

Today is...

I can't believe it's already been a year since I started this blog. A few highlights from this past year were graduating from UCF, opening Sugar Village and finally getting my drivers license. I also took a few trips. I went to Key West for spring break, Mexico for my cousins wedding, California for Thanksgiving and Miami for Art Basel. I feel like it was a great year! Thanks to everyone that made it happen, I feel truly grateful.

Monday

Hello! I'm back from Miami and I have to say, I had such a great time! It's only 3 hours away, Candice and I really want to go back to continue exploring such busy city, but this time with a GPS please.

We were lost many times, I feel like we missed a lot of the art fairs that where going on, but we still got to see some art and the city. We also went to a club at the Hard Rock Casino and ate at delicious restaurants.

The main event, Art Basel at the convention center, was pretty cool. I loved the way everything was decorated and set up. I was so excited to see a few works by Yoshitomo Nara, one of my favorite Japanese artists, and also an awesome painting by Mark Ryden, another favorite.

We thought they weren't allowing bags or cameras at Art Basel and left them in the car, I saw tons of people taking pictures inside, I was so mad, I didn't want to waste time going back to get it though.

On Saturday we went back to South Beach and walked up and down Collins Ave looking for more art. The weather was hotter than I thought it would be, but it still wasn't too bad I guess. We stayed at some of Candice's friends place, they were so nice and had a nice place, right in front of a marina, there was even a kitty living there.

Here's just a few photos, I actually didn't even take that many, so yeah...I miss Miami. I need to go back for more photos and art.

Candice and I (Taken by Candice)

I like old signs...

A cool looking diner...

I think this was someone's actual home,
using it to show an artists paintings on Collins Ave.


A cute little street,
with lot's of yummy looking restaurants.

Ink Miami Art Fair on Collins Ave.
Each hotel room becomes a mini art gallery

South Seas, where my former photography professor,
Brady Robinson, showed her work at the Art Now Fair. (Taken by Candice)

Inside view of one of the rooms at Ink Miami Art Fair.

Candice and I @ Passions.

Last trip of the year

I'm still adjusting to eastern time, and it's already time to go to our very anticipated trip to...Miami! We are going to Art Basel, one of the biggest art shows in the U.S. We are both super excited!

Candice and I leave tomorrow morning and shall return on Sunday. I can't wait to see some great art and hang out with my bf, I haven't seen her in weeks. Hopefully I'll come back with some good photos to show. Have a great weekend, I know I will ;)

I'm back!

I'm so sorry! I feel like I left without warning. I went away to spend Thanksgiving in Anaheim, CA with my parents. I had no idea I wasn't going to have internet access. I feel so left behind now! I have a lot of blog catching up to do.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, just like I imagined it would be. My step dad makes the best stuffing ever! He also makes a great Cesar salad dressing from scratch. I made the pumpkin pies, but my parents tiny oven didn't have any numbers on it, so I had to guess on the temperature, they also didn't have any measuring spoons, so I had to eye-ball the spices that went into the pie.


I had the opportunity to go see Kukula's paintings in Santa Monica, it was the last day, so I was so happy that I got to see them. They were beautiful! After that, we went to the pier and just drove around Beverly Hills and then walked around Hollywood.

I'm glad to be back home, I enjoyed my time with my mom, but there's nothing like your own space and things. I was also missing my little Lily like crazy, I was so happy to see her. She stayed with my mother in law and a few days with our friends, she was in good hands.

So that's about it, we didn't do anything exciting, it was even a bit boring I would say. We were broke, so we couldn't do much. Right before Mike left for CA, our water heater broke. So that was a chunk of money we weren't expecting to spend. At least I got to spend time with my parents.

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!