A new place to call home

We moved!  Yes, really, we did.  Though I will have you know, that even here, in our lovely "new" apartment, I can hear the donkey.  And as mom said, I am rather glad I can.

Our new place is only one lowly block DOWN the hill from the old place.  Did you see how I wrote down in all caps?  That is to show the significance of the down part.  The hill we are on is steep my friends, very very steep.  While good for my endurance and doing my legs and ass a world of good, it makes for a very sweaty and hot day if you have to go up and down very many times.  Which we do.  Many times.

This lovely new place is right off the street with a sweet red door (pix will show up on here tomorrow of the sweet red door).

It is clean, it smells good, it is big, it is bright, there is lots of running around space and lots of space for all our stuff.

The old place was dark, it was dirty (do you know what it feels like to go on vacation and have to freaking clean the vacation apartment WHILE trying to move yourself in??  In another country?? With no phone??  With 2 small kids???  Who want to touch every single dirty and disgusting thing they see?? DO YOU??!!!), it had interesting bugs all over, it had no pans to cook with, no sheets on the bed, no towels, it was a interesting hike into a little jungle area and over a very sketchy little concrete bridge that runs over a small stream (from where I ask, is this water coming form?  sewer?  sometimes it has bubbles like someone upstream is doing laundry...you know what, never mind.  I don't want to know)...basically like Eddie said, it was an adventure.  Each and every frigging day we where there. 

You may remember that the first night in Mexico I checked us into a lovely little hotel for the night.  Yeah, that would be because even thought the very cute half naked Mexican man "cleaning" (and yes, I am using this word loosely) told me there would be sheets in a little while...there where NOT any sheets in a little while.  And well, gosh, I sure as hell was not going to tough it out on a bare mattress.  HA.

So, anyway.   Here we are.  This place has a pool across the street and is closer to everything...I am looking down at the water and beach when I walk out the front door.

Interesting fact.  Did you know that many houses (ours included) in Mexico do NOT have glass on the windows?  So you get a lovely breeze, as well as enjoy everyones conversation as they wander by.  Or stand in front of your home.  And chat.  For a while.

Interesting fact number 2 for the day.  Every night here in PV is garbage night.  You just grab your garbage sack, wander to the nearest pile on the curb (mine is right across the street, very handy) and put your sack with all the others.  I have been looking for the garbage trucks but mom beat me to seeing one.  She said it is a truck with whole bunch of guys hanging off of it to grab the garbage.

As far as I am concerned...this is a FREAKING awesome way of doing garbage pickup!!!  I think the states could learn a thing or 2.  Also there are rules for all this, you do NOT put your garbage out before late afternoon or evening.  NO garbage just hanging on the side of the road till night time please!!

:)

Off to enjoy my 2 sleeping bambinos.  And maybe a drink.  :)

Oh, and in case your happened to be worried.  My personal care for myself has improved as of tonight.  I even smell good.  YES.  The vacation is officially in full swing!!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

A new place to call home

We moved!  Yes, really, we did.  Though I will have you know, that even here, in our lovely "new" apartment, I can hear the donkey.  And as mom said, I am rather glad I can.

Our new place is only one lowly block DOWN the hill from the old place.  Did you see how I wrote down in all caps?  That is to show the significance of the down part.  The hill we are on is steep my friends, very very steep.  While good for my endurance and doing my legs and ass a world of good, it makes for a very sweaty and hot day if you have to go up and down very many times.  Which we do.  Many times.

This lovely new place is right off the street with a sweet red door (pix will show up on here tomorrow of the sweet red door).

It is clean, it smells good, it is big, it is bright, there is lots of running around space and lots of space for all our stuff.

The old place was dark, it was dirty (do you know what it feels like to go on vacation and have to freaking clean the vacation apartment WHILE trying to move yourself in??  In another country?? With no phone??  With 2 small kids???  Who want to touch every single dirty and disgusting thing they see?? DO YOU??!!!), it had interesting bugs all over, it had no pans to cook with, no sheets on the bed, no towels, it was a interesting hike into a little jungle area and over a very sketchy little concrete bridge that runs over a small stream (from where I ask, is this water coming form?  sewer?  sometimes it has bubbles like someone upstream is doing laundry...you know what, never mind.  I don't want to know)...basically like Eddie said, it was an adventure.  Each and every frigging day we where there. 

You may remember that the first night in Mexico I checked us into a lovely little hotel for the night.  Yeah, that would be because even thought the very cute half naked Mexican man "cleaning" (and yes, I am using this word loosely) told me there would be sheets in a little while...there where NOT any sheets in a little while.  And well, gosh, I sure as hell was not going to tough it out on a bare mattress.  HA.

So, anyway.   Here we are.  This place has a pool across the street and is closer to everything...I am looking down at the water and beach when I walk out the front door.

Interesting fact.  Did you know that many houses (ours included) in Mexico do NOT have glass on the windows?  So you get a lovely breeze, as well as enjoy everyones conversation as they wander by.  Or stand in front of your home.  And chat.  For a while.

Interesting fact number 2 for the day.  Every night here in PV is garbage night.  You just grab your garbage sack, wander to the nearest pile on the curb (mine is right across the street, very handy) and put your sack with all the others.  I have been looking for the garbage trucks but mom beat me to seeing one.  She said it is a truck with whole bunch of guys hanging off of it to grab the garbage.

As far as I am concerned...this is a FREAKING awesome way of doing garbage pickup!!!  I think the states could learn a thing or 2.  Also there are rules for all this, you do NOT put your garbage out before late afternoon or evening.  NO garbage just hanging on the side of the road till night time please!!

:)

Off to enjoy my 2 sleeping bambinos.  And maybe a drink.  :)

Oh, and in case your happened to be worried.  My personal care for myself has improved as of tonight.  I even smell good.  YES.  The vacation is officially in full swing!!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

The air at last was moving, and helping a little bit with sweat slowly dripping down my backz

Ahhh, today is day 4 in Mexico.  I am at last starting to relax and let things just happen.  Well sorta.  I mean, I am ME after all, and things generally do not "just happen" for me.  I plan those things damn it.  So, I am learning to just "be".

The breeze was wonderful today.  It made all the difference in the world while wandering around with over twenty pounds of sweaty baby attached to my back and a mildly whiny large freckly boy attached to my hand.

I told me mom the other day that never in 15 or so years has my personal care been so bad.  LOL.  But no, really.  Make up??  HA.  Not even a tiny bit of mascara.  Moisturizer?  Maybe...if I can find it before Tamra fusses to much and I just don't care anymore and mustmust get the freak out the door NOW.  I have used dr bronners liquid soap for hair, face and body for a few days and find myself no worse for it.  Might also have something to do with the fact that I am no longer deathly white...color on the face from the sun makes all the difference I am seeing.

I eyed my armpits the other day and said FINE, and did a dry shave in the kitchen with Tamra already on my back.  Oh ya baby.  That is HOT.  You know it.

Tamra Rose really likes routines and so, every morning we leave Grandma to teach classes on her computer and Eddie to sleep or veg out in from of the tv watching spanish speaking cartoons, while we trot down to the little market to get the day's food. 

I love LOVE the little market that is two blocks down the hill from us!  I go in everyday and they smile and chat with us like we all have known each other forever.  I find myself leaning on the counter chatting to five or so women that work the store about babies, food...general gossip.  And it is so fun.  One of them speaks ok english, but a lot has to do just with body language, facial expressions and pointing.  :)

We had some errands to do and after that while walking home we passed the World Of Beer store.  Yes, there is a lot of beer in that store!  I took pictures, mainly for my dad!  ;-)  Maybe I will  buy some and ship them to him...hmmm...can I even do that??  Must check...

Before I run off to bed I must say that the eggs from the market are amazing!  I comment on them because after growing up on a farm where we had our own chickens I very rarely see the kind of eggs that I grew up used to.  This morning when I cracked them open I actually took the bowl into mom and demanded that she look at how big and how very very orange the yolk was.  YUM.

Side note, the eggs are in giant flats sitting in the middle of the store, I was confused as to how one would walk away with eggs-juggling them??

You put them into plastic bags, that's how.  And now you know.  Don't look for egg cartons people, just pop them into a plastic bag and then they weight them when you check out.

You learn something new everyday.

:)

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Hola Donkey

There is a donkey right next door to our apartment.  He (I don't know if he is a boy or girl guys, but I am going with a dude) just stands there in this little area over looking a stream.  I walk by him many many times a day.  We look at each other, I even talk to him (I admit that the kids and I call out "hola donkey!  How are you today donkey?!" As we walk by).  He does not talk back.

HOWEVER.  At night, and sometimes during the daytime, he brays.  Really freaking loudly.  Really.  First time it happened I thought a car alarm had gone off like in my dang window.  Mom and I looked at each other and said about the same time "donkey".  Then, we laughed.  I mean, a DONKEY lives next to us in the more downtown-ish area here in PV!

I admit, I kinda dig it.

There is also a rooster and some chickens.  I am down with the chickens but the rooster might find himself without a head if he can't keep his beak shut.  I mean, sure, cockadoodledoo a few time, whatever, knock yourself out.  But for HOURS?!  WHY rooster WHY??!!  Did your alarm break?  They sun is UP man!  Everyone can see it!  Now why don't you shut it for a while??!

Just sayin'.

The whole apartment thing has been quite the learning matter for myself.  I will not dwell on that right now.

The babies have been able to spend hours at the beach, in the water, playing in the sand (Tamra Rose often stark naked!).  We have walked every which way..or so it feels.  We have taken many taxis.  I have drank many drinks.  I have had lots of conversations with people who speak a couple words of English (and me with my handful of Spanish words), it involves lots of smiling, hand and arm movement, pointing...repeating the same thing a few times..and it has been FUN.  :)

Must go sleep!  In the morning I will strap Tamra Rose to my back, grab my basket and head down to the little market to pick up food for breakfast, and then wander past the closest laundry to make sure it is open. 

I can't wait!

:)

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Day 1 of our trip to Mexico...please read my blog to see all wonderful details. ;-)

The flight into Puerto Vallarta was really not bad at all.  Especially when you consider that I was flying with a 1 year old and a 6 year old...oh and we flew out at 5:30 in the morning.

 

Both bambinos did quite well, tamra rose slept a freaking ton (thank you oh goddess for large mercies!).

 

We arrived in Mexico around 12:30pm, got off the plane, went through customs (all with Eddie saying I LOVE this place!!!  This is SUCH an adventure!!  Thank you mom!!!  I love you mom!!  This place is SO pretty!!), ran past the timeshare people, got a taxi...it all went really fast.  Everyone- the customs, the taxi people, they all helped us quickly and with a lot of laughing and smiles.  Everyone loves tamra rose's hair and Eddie’s freckles.

 

The taxi driver (after much talking with his fellow taxi drivers) drove us the 15 or so minutes to our apartment.  Or so we thought.  No!  He DID drive us there!  It is just that when we got to the address we (he) could not find it!  He spent a good 10 or more minutes going from house to house, person to person trying to find the dang apartment.  We sat in the cab, doors open, sweating...well...sweating a freaking lot.  Outside was over 80!  I have no idea what inside the damn cab was!!!

 

At last a very cute youngish man can out with our cab driver.  He told us we could come down and see the apartment but he had not been told that we would be coming that day so the cleaning was not "quite" done yet.

I asked (and by asked, I mean I said quite firmly with a big huge smile on my face and a head tilt) if our suitcases could stay in the apartment while they cleaned.  He smiled back and said of course!

 

We left our stuff and walked the 2-ish blocks down to the beach.  We wandered along for a bit till some chairs and a table called our names and there we plopped ourselves and let the babies play in the sand and water and we enjoyed some food and cold drinks.

 

Once everyone was tired, sandy and hot we struggled back up the little hill to our apartment.

Once we got there we where surprised (and greatly disappointed) to see that the 2 young guys were still there cleaning.  Well, sorta cleaning.  And wait.  Was that one guy hauling out clothes and shoes???!!!

Double wait!!  Did they stay there??!!  Before we arrived??!!

 

okok, never mind.

 

Head young dude said that the sheets where still at the laundry for the 2 beds (wait, HUH???) and that normally they have more time to clean when they know someone is coming (excuse me?  I fucking rented this bad boy the end of august!!) .

 

The super cute young dudes left.

 

I looked in the bedrooms. Sure enough there were 2 beds with nothing on them.  Checked the bathroom. 

1 towel. 

 

huh.

 

I looked at mom.  She looked at me.

I had a moment of freaking out.

I decided that since it was already evening, that we would be going to a hotel and staying the night while I figured this all out.

I strapped tamra rose to my back in her pack and ventured out.

 

We had remembered that we had passed a really cool looking local little hotel with blue gated doors and I went in search of that.

I found it only a couple of blocks down.  The lady at the desk was the sister of the owner and was amazing, wonderful and kind. 

We checked in for the night, Eddie got to play in the lovely blue tiled pool and we got a good night’s sleep in the very clean little hotel room.

The owner’s sister even explained to Eddie about their Day of the Dead festival and showed us the hotels alter.

Eddie was quite thrilled.  I was as well I must admit.

She made sure that we took with us a flyer of all the great stuff they do for the Dead on November 2^nd and made us promise to take part.

…To be continued…

 

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