Goodbye is sad. :-(

Mexico, I already miss you.  Yes, I don't leave till tomorrow afternoon, that is true.  But I am feeling the sad pull as I look out at the waves, sitting on my little porch, in a nightie, bare legs crossed in front of me, listening to a women croon Spanish music to the left of me....

I am heartsick for this!

Not dramatic (ok, a little, sure), but true stuff!! 

Today I said goodbyes to people that I have enjoyed for over a month, and to some that I have met more recently.

Everyone says stay!  Get a job!  Don't go to the cold!!

It's hard to resist.

Very Hard.

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One of the early morning beach walks I take with Tamra Rose. The best part for her?? The birds, and passing dogs. :)

Melissa Roloff
An Organic Market
a greener way to shop
www.AnOrganicMarket.com

Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children

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Uh, what IS that???!!

What the HELL is that?  Oh, wow, that is big!!  LOL.

All somethings you would have heard if standing by the pool the other day as people glimpsed the rather large reptiles on the low hanging roof by our heads.

Anyone know what kind this is???

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Hey Mama, where are the kids??!

I took a little walk this evening.  Tamra Rose asleep on the bed, Eddie watching some TV, Grandma reading...I kinda ran for the door, I admit.

I just want to walk, all by myself, with no one holding on to my hand or hanging from my back.  ;-)  Crazy, I know.

So I walked in a loop, up the hill a little and then back around to the ocean to walk along side it till back to the hotel (oh ya, another story will be that little fact, that we moved!  For the FOURTH time!!!  Bring it world, I am strong).

Anyway, on my little jaunt, I had at LEAST 6 different people call out to me Hola!!  Where are the babies??!! 

I am used to this when I run down to the market, but I always "know" the locals talking to me.  These people, well, I don't think we had ever met.  Just seen me trucking along with the kids enough that it was odd to see me by myself.

Puerta Vallarta feels like a small village to me, more so everyday.

Got to love it!  :)

Your name? Please... Su nombre? Por favor ...

I am listening to an online radio station, it's in English, and ya, it's really great to understand all the words being sung.  I had no idea that I would feel like that, honestly, until I found an online site that would play in Mexico and also was in English.  Then as soon as the first song played, I was hooked, I hardly want to turn it off...damn it, I want my own soundtrack in my life...playing always...and mostly in English.  Thank you.

I took the kids to the beach around 10am, because supposedly the fridge guys where coming to fix the damn refrigerator (hafuckingha) at 10 and I had no desire to be in the small apartment with 2 kids, 2 repair guys, the apartment owner and my mom.  :)

Mom escaped to get a pedi and then pick up the laundry. 

So babies and I on the beach from 10-ish till around 3:30 (mom did show up, with very pretty toes).

Lots of sand, sun and surf.  Running, dancing (to the bands and groups that roam the beach looking for tips), swimming, floating, eating, drinking, digging...

& then mama saw something she liked.  Mmm  hmm.  That's right.  ;-)

I even pointed him out later in the day to mom, she agreed, pretty cute indeed.

So, there are these guys who take people out fishing, or on these things called "banana boats" which are really long blow up raft style things with handles and fit like 6 people.  They get towed behind a speed boat for a fun filled fast ride.

Anyway, I see the same guys everyday, doing this.  It's their business, we say hola pretty much at some point, every day, they tease me that I always say "mañana" and never do ride the banana boat (mawahahaha...for some reason as I type banana boat, my dirty mind went all crazy.  Deep breath.  Ok.). 

So, today, ah today, there was this guy.  You know, when someone grabs your attention?  For no real good reason?  Like, he is cute and all...but so what?  Well, there was that guy today.  He asked me when I was going to ride the banana boat (are you gonna drive that ride??  NO I did not say that out loud thank you very much), I said not now (big smile on my face, and I will admit with the head tilt and I slid my sunglasses down my nose to give him the big eyelash flutter....god it just comes natural), he said later???....big smile and turning to watch me walk away ( I know this cause I turned to look at him over my shoulder). 

Sigh.

The rest of the afternoon was little flurries of random comments to each other, and lots and lots of staring.  At first I thought it was just me, but then every time I would look up from watching the kids in the surf or sand he would quickly look away.

Hmmm.

Ahhh, sometimes being single is just too much fun!  :)

I love the play, I really do.  I almost ( I did say almost) don't care if I ever really "meet" him.  The play!  The suspense!  Fun.  So fun.

Anyway, packed the kids up, headed home while he was off getting people ready for another boat ride.

I will be looking for him tomorrow....

;-)

You know it.

This is so wrong, & strikes fear in my heart as a mom traveling. Fuck you TSA. I will NOT hand you my baby.

http://www.mybottlesup.com/2009/10/tsa-agents-took-my-son/
 

Melissa Roloff
An Organic Market
a greener way to shop
www.AnOrganicMarket.com

Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children

Mmmm! Dinner for a week??!! Or two....

We stared down at the pile of giant fish laying on the beach.  The fishermen and just jumped out of their small fishing boat, into the waist high water and strode ashore each holding a fish that when held aloft stretched from my upper thigh down to my foot.

Wow!

Eddie was very interested in all this, and in fact, spent a great deal of time staring intently down at the pile, as if to mesmerize what each huge scaly body looked like.  Maybe to be able to tell this tale at a later date when he gets home, he needs to be able to visualize every detail.  :-)

The other day we had witnessed one fisherman bring out 2 such monstrosities.  We then got to enjoy the matter of fact job of gutting and cutting apart the fish as well as watch them hand out to their friends good sized chunks of raw fishy juiciness...which they gobbled down right there.

Yum.

When I pressed them for some sort of fish name, they seemed to say over and over Yellow Jack.

:)

*Shoulder Shrug* At least that is what it sounded like.  ;-)

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The best picture yet!

I think, my most favorite picture this trip!  Thanks Becca...this says it all.  :)

Dear to my heart-SEX.

The Art of Green Loving

by eartherotics

No matter how long I stare off into the distance with a creased brow, I cannot fathom a more natural human behavior then the sexual encounter. What started out as normal behavior 100,000 years ago has been molded over time into numerous culturally influenced categories. In the past, we called it wild, taboo or dirty, but nowadays – sex is fashionable. Today, sex is more commercialized than ever, yet sexual experimentation remains a dirty business. I don’t mean “dirty” - as in your conservative mother’s nagging reminder: ”not until you are married!” What I mean — is that if you aren’t careful, it can be toxic.

It turns out that humanity’s most natural expression of love can easily become a toxic affair for both lovers and the environment. When you and your partner are playing with sex toys, there is a good chance that they are made of poly vinyl chloride PVC which is a toxic and environmentally damaging plastic. Dozens of studies on phthalates, the plastic softener commonly used in PVC sex toys, clearly indicate a direct relationship between exposure and reproductive, cancers, and obesity. Believe it or not, your intimate toy has been manufactured as a mere ”novelty” by a completely unregulated industry. Since sex toys are not held to any measurable governmental standard of health, you shouldn’t be surprised to find a “not intended for internal use” warning on your brand new, tightly packaged stinky PVC vibrator. Under the eye of the law, your personal pleasure is nothing but a gag gift — but instead of laughing — we really should be gagging!

In Portland, we tout healthy living, family planning, and population awareness, but we are finding ourselves caught up in hypocricy regarding individual sexual practice. Most individuals own a sex toy, whether for themselves or for their partner, yet most toy owners are completely unaware of anything beyond an impending pleasurable experience. As good green citizens of this earth and caretakers of our bodies, the key question we always ask ourselves is: What am I putting into my body?

Why should such a crucial question end at foodstuffs, cosmetics, or pharmaceuticals? Earth Erotics would like to announce: The Green Love Project. In this online forum, we will pose the very same questions that spurred the organic foods revolution, but this time — we want to talk about “Doing it Green.” This blog is an open space for discussion on toxins, plastics, organics, the environment, and sexual health. Cheers to your health and your pleasure!

 

(Mom, Lydia & I are now launching into a new area of "Greening" our lives (and yours??).  Please ask for info on how we can bring some new fun to your bedroom!  ;-)

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How do you say "I am going tell everyone I ever meet that you have crap for rentals & I think your customer service sucks" in Spanish?

I love Mexico!  Oh wonderful warm weather, soft sand, the fact that the ocean is not freezing and I can play in it with the kids and not turn into an ice cube are a few good reasons why I have a major crush on Mexico.

Let me take a stroll down the dark & angry side of my Mexico though.  Don't you worry, I will still come back to my new love, I just need to do a few pissed off jabs at someone.

Rental drama.

Yes, oh yes.  More rental drama!!!

I feel like my expectations where not very high when I decided to rent here for a little over a month.

I wanted a fair price, not looking for luxury rentals by any means but also not looking for the cheapest thing out there.

Things I expected (and oh ya, was TOLD I would have thank you ever so much):

a working fridge (ya, so I could have groceries.  Ha fucking Ha.  Once more the damn fucking fridge does not work, and oh guess what Christy, the food went bad cause it is HOT HOT HOT here in Mexico!!!)

a working sink in the bathroom (guess who had a major leak this morning and had the bathroom flood, and then some repair guy came and turned the water off till maybe MAYBE sometime tomorrow when he might get some parts to fix it MAYBE)

not having the apartment shown while you are on vacation with your two kids and mom and are feeling sick and ya oh by the way you DID tell the owner/manager that you had been sick and they STILL said they where coming by to show the place when could you be out for the day???

WOW.  Hellooooo???  I am on VACATION???  Remember??? I PAID for this crap??!!!

So now, here I am, once more debating just telling them to fuck themselves and go and stay at a hotel (which really, I can't afford but at this point whatever)...

Sorry, I know I am freaking out.  But how do you relax when someone emails you in the morning that they want to come hang pictures and do some remodeling so when could you be out??

Who does this while people are staying in a apartment on vacation??

Sigh.

I am mad.

I feel like I have to flipflop my emotions all over the place.

One moment I am relaxed, all warm on the beach with the kids and the next I am dealing with flooding (for the SECOND time) and multiple repair guys and someone drilling holes in the walls to hang stuff.

I must be learning something in all this.

Maybe patience?  How not to do physical harm to someone??

I dunno.

OH, and these people are from the US of fing A.

More Cowbell Please

 I am laying on the bed, writing, with my coffee perched precariously next to me.  I'm thinking that I need to get a move on, it's after 10am already, and the kids are fed...but I need a shower and to get ready because we are supposed to being heading to the beach with Becca soon.

However, the shower stays hot for about 35 seconds, and I need at LEAST 60-ish!  I guess it is a good wake up, all the cool (er, COLD) water slapping me in the face.  Mmm, Good Morning World!

I MUCH prefer my lovely warm cup of coffee, thank you very much.

I wanted to write about the cowbell before I forgot about it, which is why I am on the computer instead of grooming myself.

So, last night I stuck Tam in her pack, and Becca and I headed out for a few hours of late night roaming.  It was a nice warm night with a bit of a breeze and so we ended up quite a ways aways and then slowly made our way back...stopping for drinks along the way.  We met nice people, had some good conversations...all with Tamra Rose asleep on my back.  It is awesome, no one looks shocked that you are leaning on a outdoor bar counter having an adult beverage with a sleeping toddler strapped on your body.  :)  Good time people, good freaking times!  :)

On the walk home all of the sudden, behind us came an extremely loud clanging noise.  And I mean LOUD.  Becca and I stepped out of the way ( we were startled to say the least) and a man with a very large COWBELL came striding by.  He was swinging that thing like a crazy person, and then I remembered having read someplace that there is an actual job where someone rings a bell through the streets here to let everyone know it's last call for garbage pick up.  LAST CALL folks!!  Get your garbage on the curb!!!  Last call until tomorrow night anyway!

So, in addition to the truck with the five gallons of water, the truck that plays loud music to tell you that he is on the street with propane & other various others selling interesting things...we have The Man With The Cowbell.

Very cool.

Organic and in Mexico

Things I have found Organic in Mexico:

Coffee

Granola

Bread

Milk

Salsa

Salad Dressing

Ketchup

Fruit

Tequila

Wine

Pretzels

Honey

Coconut Oil

Agave

Salad Mix

Some Veggies

Peanut Butter

Jam

Cereal

Chocolate

Ice Cream

Tea

Beach mornings are yummy

Morning at the beach.  There is something about eating breakfast with your feet in the sand while watching people play in the ocean a few feet away.

Everything tastes better with a little coating of sand...right? 

;-)

Blueberry pancakes, bacon, hash browns, ham and avocado omelet...mmm...it was a "spoil" ourselves kinda morning.

& then it was a spoil grandma kinda afternoon when I took the 2 cranker babes of to nappy nap time.

Enjoy gma!

:)

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New Friends For My Eddie

Today was a wonderful day!

Eddie made 2 new friends, they are on vacation here as well, staying a few blocks from us, and also just off the beach.

A 13 year old and a 10 year old, making friends with my Eddie, you could tell they wanted to play just by body language alone!

And it is a good thing we have body language!  Cause the boys and their family don't speak English, and, well, we all know how my Spanish is!  LOL.  ;-)

The boys played ALL day, literally!  We got to the beach sometime after ten in the morning and did not leave till dinner time.

There was swimming, floating, splash fights, running, chasing, tag, throwing-things-at-each-other-and-laughing-really-hard, snacks, laying in the sand, covering each other in sand....you get the idea.

They took pictures of the boys, playing, standing with arms around one another, sitting in the sand.

As did I!

It is all just to frickin' cute!!  :)

It makes a mama's heart (and grandma's) glad.  :)

A ice cream vendor pulled his cart up next to their family and they bought Ed a strawberry Ice cream...for so many reasons (we don't eat sugar, ice cream happens every blue moon) Eddie was almost shaking, he was THAT excited!  And yes, he asked before taking, and YES, the parents WANTED him to ask! 

Sigh, I heart Mexico.

After Tam took a nap on my lap, I wandered over to where the Mama was standing, watching the boys play.

As soon as I went over I was surrounded by a very very large Mexican family.  All talking.  And smiling.  Laughing.  Touching.  In Spanish, I mean the TALKING was in Spanish, the touching was very easy to understand.

;-)

Through my broken Spanish and their broken English we managed to get a few points across:

We all are on vacation

They are from Mexico

I am from Washington

The kids ages (this was all me people!!  in Spanish!!  be proud!!)

Tamra can walk

That we all (both our families) will be back on the beach Sunday so the kids can play

They leave Monday

Did I need sunscreen (HAHAHAHA!!!  poorpoor white girl they are thinking!)

Where we are staying

Where they are staying

I want you all to know, that right now I am basking in the glow of meeting an awesome family, Eddie making new friends, and fact that I did not shy away from trying my hardest to make new friends myself-whatever the language! 

:)

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Jump Tam! Jump!

Tamra Rose decided shortly after arriving in Mexico that the pool is a wonderful place to be after all.  She even has grown fond of the shower (and it is a damn good thing with the amount of sand she and Eddie bring back on their bodies and in their clothes from the beach!).  :)

She thinks of herself as Grandma's swim partner, and it is a bad time indeed if we should forget for a moment!

How dare you Grandma head into the pool without me?!  Here I come to throw myself to you from pool side!!

You should see her lunging for Grandma as soon as we get to the pool! 

Grandma Tamra & Baby Tamra enjoying some sun and splashing. 

 :-)

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Wanna be a birth junkie?

For all you wanna be doulas out there!  Mom (Tamy Roloff), will be starting to train birth doulas on a more regular schedule!

Next training starts in February!

Check it out here!

http://birthdoulaclasses.posterous.com/

Sounds like happy to me

I want to share with you some of the sounds I hear very often through all the open windows.  I have grown to quite enjoy the sound of this music.  I even know I will miss it, for some reason it just feels cheerful.

;-)

 

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Sweet, sweet beach man

Yesterday I took the kids to this awesome little place right on the beach for dinner.  They had an awesome salsa band playing, so there was lots of dancing going on in the sand as well as little kids running around (mine included) and playing in the sand and by the water.  I thought one of the really neat things to see (besides the awesome sunset) was watching the waiters walk over or around all the kids, patting a head here and there, bending town to talk with a cute kid everyone in a while.  No one was bothered that people had come out to dinner with their children, or that the kids where right under foot.  :)

Today we found a awesome part of the beach a little farther down from our place.  We went to the used book store and from there to the beach so we had ended up walking farther then we do normaly when on our way to the water.

It is great!  Clean area, no tourists (mostly), lots of local families, great big open beach with pretty big waves.

It was awesome!  :)

We also got to hear the band from a few days ago playing-awesome drumming...I can't stop myself from dancing in place even while watching over the kids in the sand.

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