Fun with the Funks

This week my friend, Dorothy and her family visited Mexico City. We had a great time visiting many sites in and around Mexico City

Acapulco
I actually found my way to our hotel in Acapulco with the help of a GPS donated by a friend of ours. He was having dinner with us Sunday just prior to the trip and sensed the anxiety of dad-the-bad concerning my actually making it safely to Acapulco without him. Good old "Garmen" not only helped us find Acapulco, but found the hotel, which was quite a task given that it was flooding because of the torrential rain, we'd never been to Acapulco, and arrived about 10:30pm searching for anout-of-the-way hotel.
Helpful hint for booking hotels online: Even if the "reviews" online are great, the fact that the hotel is only charging $45.00 (US) per night tells you alot!

The vendors had a great day at the beach. Dorothy bought seven purses!



We also enjoyed a "banana boat ride.




and the cliff divers were amazing!


They climb up this cliff (even in the rain) and dive into the water (after making the sign of the cross several times for good luck.)




We even stopped to buy roses from a sweet little family - $4.00 for 5 dozen.


Next trip was to the Anthropology museum and Teotihuacan.



This is a picture of us at the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.



Cholula
Thursday we drove to Cholula where we explored the ruins of the ancient pyramid, the huge Catholic church built atop the pyramid, and nearby Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl (volcanoes.)




We finished up with the Zocalo, Templo Mayor, Metropolitan Cathedral, and Palacio Nacional with many murals by Diego Rivera.

I had a wonderful week with great friends!

Bored?

I don't think I'm going to be bored for awhile. The reasons:

1. Dad-the-bad and I will be teaching Institute (in Spanish) every wednesday evening.
I have to teach by myself on the days that he is out of town (fairly often.)
2. I continue to serve as RS president because they have not called a new bishop
for the International Ward.
3. That didn't stop the Palmas (Spanish) ward from calling me into the RS presidency
in their ward, so we attend both for now.
4. I just talked with the head of the ABC Hospital Amistad clinic, who is more than
delighted to have me work in their clinic (for free, of course, but I'll take
what I can get.) I even sent him my CV that I translated into spanish.
5. There is still plenty of work to do with the Refugio which we help, although I
decided to scale back after they took the $200(US) worth of food from Costco that
I bought for them (they had a gas leak in their stove and the children were using
it, which was dangerous, so I bought food that didn't need to be cooked and told
them to stop cooking and use the other food) and they sold it on the street
instead of giving it to the children. I don't think I trust them anymore.

Preview of next two weeks

Tomorrow, my friend, Dorothy arrives and we're going to Acapulco. We'll also be visiting the pyramids, Cholula, and the zocalo. The next monday Poodle is coming to spend the week. We're going to do whatever she wants!

Where's Waldo?

Actually, Waldo's is my new favorite store in Mexico City. It is the Mexican version of the dollar store. That may not sound exciting to most of you, but everything is $1 (actually 11 pesos) and guess what I found there? Dots and Baby Ruth candy bars. I know, I'm pathetic!

Visitors welcome

I just booked a flight for Poodle to come visit us in Mexico! We're going to have SO MUCH FUN! Anyone jealous? Because you can come too!

Grrrrrr

Internet Service facts in Mexico City:

Number of hours I utilize the computer daily: 2-3

Number of times the internet service fails: At least 5-6 times per hour.

Number of times we have failed to pay the bill: 0 (the company pays, i.e. Claudia)

Degree of frustration: Red Alert!

Name of server: Telmex

Type of business: Monopoly

And that says it all!

I have a job!

Yep. I have a job. It's even in pediatrics (I will actually see all ages, but some will be children) - with a Catholic clinic in the south end of Mexico City. The pay is pretty low (nada,) but I get to practice! Yahoo! I LOVE Oscar! His dad found me the job.

New toy

I got a new toy! A new (almost) blackberry (free - I think.) The reason for my new toy is that dad-the-bad got himself a new i phone. I love hand-me-downs.

Cute pic!

Check out this cute picture of dad-the-bad with Caroline. What a pair!

What a relief!

Yesterday I taught the lesson in Relief Society (a meeting for women in our church.) For those who don't know me, I'm not exactly what you'd call a "poster girl" for Relief Society, but what makes it even more interesting is that I taught in Spanish! It actually went very well. I'm just glad it's over!

No watermelon today!

Today I was shopping in the produce department in Walmart trying to select a perfect watermelon - you know, green back, yellow belly. Apparently I got a little carried away with rolling the melon for the inspection and it rolled right off the counter. It clearly was way too ripe, as it splatted on the floor, sending ripe watermelon several feet in every direction. The produce manager caught my eye and I muttered a quick but very sincere "disculpe!" and made a quick exit. Oops!

Blessing

Yesterday I received my first Catholic blessing, complete with the cross, and the typical ceremonial "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." It was while giving a 95 year old toothless, sunbaked Mexican woman a ride home from "Feed the Women." Apparently, she was so relieved that she arrived home safely, she blessed me (and my car) before getting out.

Puebla

This weekend we took a trip to the quaint little city Puebla, known as "City of the Angels." Rich in Spanish history, puebla is well-known for its' fine cuisine and colorful, hand-painted pottery known as Talavera.

We stayed in an ex-convent with a beautiful courtyard (see above picture) where they served a fabulous breakfast buffet.

In Puebla we discovered:
Tacos árabe (I´m thinking they dethrone the previous favorite Tacos al Pastor)
Street vendors selling churros filled with chocolate, nutella, or caramel
A great talavera shop with hand-painted "Families are Forever" ceramics (they have lots of missionaries as customers)
The best hot chocolate from a tiny street café, steamy hot with mounds of whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate
(Too late)that it is actually more efficient to pay a taxi rather than try to find things on your own. They know that the even streets are on one side of Reforma and the odd ones are on the other, saving hours of walking.
Walking is actually great exercise.
We need a weekend getaway more often!

Unwanted guests

Apparently, the expression that I have used so often "mi casa es tu casa" has been misunderstood. Over the past week I have encountered (on two different occasions) black scorpions utilizing the premises as if they were invited. My offer of hospitality was not intended for poisonous creatures. Please stay out! To discourage them, I will be fumigating the house.

By the way, does anyone have information on the danger of black scorpions?
P.S. Everyone else is still welcome!

My GREAT weekend!

For those of you who may think other destinations may be more fun than Mexico City, check out these smiling faces:

My favorite cousin, John and his son, Trevor visited us this weekend. They only had one day to spend with us, which necessitated a whirlwind tour of the city. (They were here installing mirrors and art glass that John created in the Mexico City Temple) Trevor took a thousand pictures and John and I stayed up late talking. It was the best weekend I've had in a LONG time!

No hablo Español

Today I went to the beautician to get a haircut, color, and style. I was taken upstairs to the color experts, even without an appointment. Maricel was my technician, and asked me (in Spanish) if I needed my hair cut and styled as well. I responded, ¨Si!¨(yes). A few moments later she turned to another customer and told her (in Spanish) that I did not speak Spanish and would she ask me (in English) if I wanted my hair cut and styled. The woman came to me and asked me the exact same thing again in English, that I had already answered. Again, I answered ¨Si!¨, because I'm a little stubborn. I was considering not returning, but they did such a FABULOUS job on my hair, so I guess I´ll swallow my pride and just brush up on my pronunciation of si.

This has been a pretty humbling year. I don´t think I can take much more humility.

101 things about me (inspired by Poodle)

1. I was born in SLC, Utah.
2. The doctor who delivered me was inebriated.
3. That explains a lot.
4. I am fiercely independent.
5. My mom tells me at age 6 months I refused to eat unless I could feed myself.
6. Apparently, she let me.
7. My first memory is of eating a bottle of baby aspirin for breakfast (mom was still sleeping, so I helped myself)
8. My confession involved awakening my mother, showing her the empty bottle, and telling her I was "all better."
9. My honesty was rewarded by getting my stomach pumped.
10. Because they were holding me down (I put up quite a fight) and I could not breathe, I assumed they were trying to kill me as punishment.
11. It still freaks me out to be held down by ANYONE.
12. I love to learn.
13. I learned to read by looking over my older brother's shoulder while my mom helped him with his reading.
14. I was SO excited to go to Kindergarten, because I assumed I would be learning more.
15. Huge disappointment - only graham crackers and naps.
16. The graham crackers were OK.
17. The naps were a BIG problem. I flunked Kindergarten.
18. My dad was shot in the head while deer hunting when I was 6.
19. I took the bullet to school for "show and tell" and lost it.
20. I still feel guilty.
21. I have guilt issues.
22. Everyone always thought I was older than my older brother.
23. That was probably because I was always left in charge of him, for some reason.
24. I used to help out on my grandpa's farm (hauling hay, picking fruit, harvesting potatoes)
25. I loved helping the "guys" prepare the turkey every year for Thanksgiving (this involved my grandfather killing the bird, and us stripping the feathers.)
26. This disturbed my mother greatly.
27. I love to cook.
28. I am a little OCD about certain things.
29. One of them is making eclairs - they HAVE to be perfect.
30. My kids make fun of me for this.
31. I love my family more than anything in the world.
32. I have four adorable grandchildren.
33. I love Utah in the fall.
34. I love springtime in Texas.
35. I moved to Mexico a year ago.
36. I lost a lot of weight after moving here.
37. I have a sweet tooth.
38. Mexico has nothing with which to satisfy my sweet tooth.
39. I love traveling.
40. My favorite family vacation was a trip to Brazil.
41. I was locked in the bathroom in our hotel - scary!
42. So scary in fact, that I vowed I would never go to the bathroom again. (Obviously, that didn't happen.)
43. My favorite vacation with my husband was picking up my son from Peru.
44. I find it difficult to spend money on myself.
45. Unless it's half-priced candy.
46. I usually don't eat it all, however.
47. I love hiking in the mountains.
48. Once my friends and I threw colored water over the ice cliffs next to the highway in Utah.
49.The next day we skipped Sunday school to go see them and all of the motorists had stopped to take pictures.
50. I love to run.
51. I've run six marathons - one for each kid.
52. I love going for walks with my kids.
53. My favorite pet was our dog, Cooper.
54. I like dogs, but not cats, especially the ones with personality disorders.
55. I am intensely competitive.
56. I gave my first talk in church at age 4 - the poem "I Love You, Mother".
57. I still can recite it.
58. I love children.
59. I also love teenagers.
60. That's why I became a pediatrician.
61. I took my son, Ryan to the beach when he was only a week old.
62. He is now an avid surfer.
63. I started a home business typing medical records less than two weeks after Ryan's birth.
64. I typed autopsies to put myself through college.
65. That was the beginning of my fascination with medicine.
66. I threw a paper route off and on for several years.
67. I once thought that I would be throwing papers forever - on into the next life.
68. I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen.
69. I'm learning Spanish.
70. It's harder than I thought.
71. I quit college to put my husband through school.
72. Bad idea!
73. I had constant dreams (nightmares) about being in school and not being prepared.
74. They ended the day I enrolled in classes to finish my degree.
75. I got a little carried away and went on to medical school.
76. I loved every minute of it (well, almost every.)
77. I'm pretty persistent.
78. My husband calls it stubborn.
79. I can sometimes jump to hasty conclusions.
80. Like the time the Health Center at Northwestern called and told me my husband had left his wallet after his "minor surgery." (They wouldn't tell me what minor surgery.) I had just given birth to our 2nd child in two years, who cried every night, most of the night. I was fuming when he got home.
81. Turns out, he had a piece of wood removed from his foot that had been embedded for years.
82. He even had the bandage in the appropriate spot to prove it.
83. I hate to sew.
84. I used to sew most of my girls' dresses.
85. I saved myself from eternal damnation and stopped (sewing, that is.)
86. My husband and I met on a blind date.
87. We were engaged within a month.
88. He tells people I asked him.
89. That's not entirely true.
90. It's not entirely false, either.
91. I love fishing with my kids in the Uintah mountains.
92. I don't require a lot of sleep.
93. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
94. It's even better if my kids are with me.
95. My daughter and I used to play a flute/piano duet - Pachabel's Canon in D.
96. It's now my favorite piece.
97. I have few regrets.
98. One of them is telling my daughter she shouldn't become a high school teacher instead of getting a PhD.
99. I'm glad she doesn't listen to me. Best decision she ever made!
100. The other is not being able to attend my oldest daughter's graduation from Ob/Gyn residency.
101. Lucky for me, my kids love me, even though I'm not perfect.

Three cheers for Bethany!

Congratulations to Bethany! Not only did she give birth to her second beautiful daughter only 6 weeks ago, graduate from her Ob/Gyn residency, move into a new home, AND study for and pass her board certification exam - all while continuing to be a GREAT mother and wife, (if that isn't enough) she also received an award this weekend - Most Outstanding Chief Resident! (along with $500 cash) And if you don't think combining all of the above, along with the personalities involved in her residency isn't an almost impossible feat - think again! My only regret is that I wasn't there to see her receive the award. Sorry, Bethany. I'm SO PROUD!

High Council

For those of you who are unaware, the church in Mexico City is pretty progressive. I'm on the High Council. As is Claudia. Dad-the-bad goes to the meetings and brings us our assignments. Pretty cool, huh?

Wish Ryan a Happy Birthday! Some great, funny, even some sad memories of Ryan . . .

Making a getaway out of our little apartment in Chicago crawling down the hall and turning to laugh at me (6 months)
Catching a bumblebee with his bare hands (12 months)
Crying non-stop from East Texas to Katy
His persistence at learning how to ride a bike that was WAY too big for him (money-saving idea by dad-the-bad)
Having to put the front bike tire in"time out" because of unsanctioned bike rides
Dodgeball on our trampoline with half the third grade
Calling every store in Houston looking for a specific pair of shoes, which he purchased himself (age 8-10)
Trying to sell a mouse he caught in our house to the pet store -the neighbors dubbed him "make-a-buck-Ryan"
Buying Bazooka bubblegum by bulk and selling it to kids at school
Lots of friends!
Our misadventures climbing Mt. Olympus
Playing basketball with him when I was pregnant
Catching him and his friends trying to play hookie from school
Pudge - and quite a few little dents
The paper route
Yelling "Hi Mom!" to me in the halls at Taylor High when I was subbing
Countless trips to Brazos Bend and climbing "our tree"
Countless basketball, soccer and baseball games - a great athlete
Surfing, surfing, and more surfing
Breaking his surfboard
Throwing up in the trash can at the Dome Run because he just had to beat me
His band playing "Gimme Three Steps"
Visiting the Gavanchos' in Peru
His wedding day with his beautiful bride
Running the St. George Marathon
Parties at his house
And many more! Happy Birthday, Ryan! I love you. You're the best son EVER!