Dave's Long Awaited Return to Leyah's Blog

Hola Leah's regular blog readers.

It seems she has something important to do this week so she asked me to step in and write this week's entry. I have been given free hand to write what I want with the exception that I can't write about her dog's personality or hibachi vs Smokey Joe grills. So I am not going to mention any of those things. I'll just say he a lovely little fellow who needs to find a girl friend soon, if you know what I mean.

Leah's mom and I have been down here now for five weeks. From the reports we have received from up north it is safe to say we prefer being here at this time of year. For those of you who will be making the trip down here in the very near future expect warm sunny weather. Tee shirts, shorts and flip flops are about all you will need from the moment you step off the plane until you get back on it to go home.

Yesterday we went with Pako, Leah and a surfer friend of Pako's to a beach called "the ranch" about 55 kms north of Zihua. The ride there was interesting as we were stopped by the Mexican Army so they could search the car and take a photograph. . Leah and Pako are used to the stops but the photography was apparently something new. It is a little disconcerting when you are stopped by men wearing hoods and carrying automatic weapons. Fortunately everything went smoothly and we were back on the road in about 5 minutes.

Driving in Mexico is a bit jarring for your average gringo. Pako is a good driver and understands the unwritten rules and norms of driving down here. It seems a little like bumper cars in reverse. Instead of looking to "bump" into someone the object appears to be to see how close you can get without actually making any contact. On the way to "the ranch" there were a couple of moments where I could feel my stomach start to travel to my mouth but everything turned out fine.

The last 5 kms to the beach are on a dirt and rock rutted "road". Pako was very careful not to tear the bottom of his car out as we rocked and swayed ourselves up the road. Pat and Leah felt a little carsick on the way back but no so bad that any medical intervention was needed. When we got to a thatched roof restaurant (the only one on this beach) Pako and his friend headed out to ride the 2 meter waves (about 8 feet). I was impressed with the size of the waves but Pako wasn't and Leah said she had seen 4 meter waves at this beach before. Being a water chicken myself, I was impressed with the way these guys would get up on the top of the waves and ride them. It's been a long time since I've seen people surf real waves and it was fun to watch.

Then we tackled the road out again. The road reminded me a little of a trip Pat, our friend Mary and I took about 35 years ago from Oaxaca City to Puerta Angel. This is a particularly famous road that we were unaware of at the time. The three of us were standing in line to buy bus tickets for a thirteen hour ride to the west coast of Mexico south of Acapulco when we were approached by a guy from Boston who said he was going to drive there and would we like to ride along. We decided to ride with this guy who was constantly popping candy in his mouth. His name was Andy and will be forever known to the three of us as Candy Andy.

Candy Andy had a mint condition 57 Chevy, a classic even back then. As we headed out the road snaked through jungle and was absolutely the worst road you can imagine. There were times when you actually stopped because it was very difficult if not impossible, to tell where the road was and what was just part of the jungle. The top speed should have been 10 mph but Candy Andy, perhaps all hopped up on candy, would go 20 and even 25 miles per hour at times. He proceeded to rip the muffler off his car and we were pitched back and forth and up and down hitting our heads numerous times on the ceiling of the car.

Just when we though it couldn't get much worse, Andy decided to pick up a passenger. An Indian woman was by the side of the "road" and she had with her a huge wicker basket. So Andy packed her in and the wicker basket ended up on my lap. So away we went pitching, bouncing and roaring (no muffler) for several hours. The only thing I remember about the end of the trip was running toward a small tienda and buying the last three cold beers they had and drinking them in about 20 minutes.

I have heard that there have been improvements made to that road but that it still is no picnic. Oh well, we were young and I am pretty sure that my spine has straightened out somewhat over the years.

Last night we went to Pako's sister, Lorena's house for dinner with Pako's parents, Lorena and her husband Luis and their good friend Jim. Luis has just began a job with a cookie and snack company and he was sent, last week, to Acapulco for a training seminar. At the seminar Luis learned about Vince Lombardi and was shown video clips of the Packers. The company is teaching a sales technique it has named after Vince that emphasizes determination and not giving up. I think we are getting closer to making Luis a Packer fan but have a ways to go before he asks for a cheesehead for Xmas.

The cookie and snack company was also naming a sales technique after the Vikings. It's called "that's how the cookie crumbles". I want to apologize to any Vikings fans who might be reading this but I can't control the actions of a Mexican corporation.

The wedding is less than a week away and things are getting exciting. This week we will be welcoming the 40 plus individuals who are coming from the states. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and having a real good time. The wedding itself will be on the beach around 5:30 followed by a dinner and reception at a hall in Zihua. Leah asked me what music I wanted for the traditional father daughter dance but rejected my first two choices - Yes we have No Bananas and I'm too Sexy for My Shirt. Now we will dance to something more "appropriate". One thing I know for sure is Leah will make a beautiful bride and Pako a very handsome groom.

Last, I would like to offer a shout out to all of those Wisconsin people who are resisting the union busting tactics of the newly elected Governor. On Wisconsin. Forward!!!

Take care everyone and next week, thankfully for you, Leah will return to once again to write her blog.

Leah's dad

Stressed? No. Tired? YES!

Hey Kids,

I know, I know, it's been awhile since I've written anything of substance (not entirely true, but more on that later), but better late than never, right? Right!

This is Wednesday night of the first week that I have all 5 of my classes again (6th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades) and I am EXHAUSTED! I correctly predicted that 3 weeks of only 2 classes would spoil me and I would be soooo not ready for full time school. Darn. I wish I had been wrong. How often does one say that?

I am happy to see my high schoolers, though! I missed them! They probably wouldn't believe that if I told them that, but I did! They are such a good group of kids and their levels of English make it possible to have some really great conversations! Plus, they're funny! I am happy to have them back, but the schedule will take some getting used to again. I'll only be here for another 3 weeks after this one and then it's another blissful vacation of 12 days! I'm taking 2 days before and an entire week after the wedding so that I can spend some quality time with my new hubby and visit with all of my lovely guests! :)

We're preparing for the 25th anniversary of Montessori (Feb. 14th) right now so I've been rehearsing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' with all of my classes so much that the dang-on song has popped up in my dreams! It's such a cool song, I hope it's not ruined for me forever! That also means that a lot of class time is stolen from me and dedicated to rehearsing for the big day. That's always mildly stressful because it means that I'm having to hurry up to stay on track for exams. This time around it's even more stressful because there is a certain amount of info I need to get to my kids before I leave for my wedding-stravaganza. Oh well, it's Montessori, I don't know what else I was expecting?

Wedding plans are pretty much on track. Within the next 7 days I'll be ordering the beer and wine and that will be the last of the major purchases. Everything else will be smaller details and won't be on my radar as much. Neither Pako nor I are feeling very stressed yet, but we are feeling fatigued! We've been (slowly, but surely) working on this wedding for about a year now and we are tired!!! I am SO excited to marry my best friend and to celebrate it with my friends and family, but I am also exceedingly excited for the planning part to be done! On Friday we're meeting with the caterer to discuss layouts of the hall and other details. The guy is a godsend! He is so organized that I don't even have to pretend I know what is going on! I can just nod or shake my head when he asks me something and then his people take care of it! Yes! I wish I had a person like him in my life all the time. Do you want fajitas for dinner? *nods* It is taken care of! Oh wait, I am getting a husband... they do those sorts of things, right? Right? Hahahahahahahahaha! Actually, my future hubby makes a mean chicken fajita!

My parents have settled right into their own routine here in Zihua. There apartment is nice (I think I probably like it more than they do, solely because of the hot water - which I use as much as possible) and in a pretty nice location. I'm sure you'll here more of that as I am going to ask my dad to guest-write the blog in the near future. Although, if he writes anything about my dog and crocodiles or hibachi grills, he will be in big trouble! Consider yourself warned, dad! Pako has been working the 3 - 11pm shift (the worst, in my opinion), so I head down by the rents after he leaves for work. We usually take a walk somewhere and then make dinner or eat out somewhere, then I shower (it's SOOO nice to have a hot shower!) and I cab home to my boys (Teki and Pako).

I had a momentary brain-fart and forgot what I was going to write next. And to think some people call me a writer! Ah yes, that's it! Apparently, I'm a writer... or so says my byline on Imagine-Mexico.com, the local Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo internet magazine that has just hired me to write 1 - 2 articles a month! Yeah, I know... what?!? I didn't even apply! Remember when my seniors participated in the peace conference and gave those AWESOME speeches that made me so proud I could have cried? Well, the woman who organized the entire peace summit is also the co-founder and editor in chief of this magazine and she asked me to write up an article about Montessori for a follow up on the conference. Luckily I had the anniversary to write about because I was majorly stumped otherwise. Anywho, she must have loved it because after Christmas she invited me to meet with her and talk about a possible position as a contributing editor. Wooo! Check me out! Here's the link to my first article (after the Montessori one, which I totally do not count). I'm going to write my next article on a program called Niños Adelante, which is a program that works with local kids and connects them with sponsors who help offset educational costs. It sounds like a really cool program and I'm looking forward to interviewing in person, face to face some old fart that I know around these parts :)

Last, but DEFINITELY not least, some uberextremelysupertotallyandcompletely awesome news: I'm going to be an AUNT!!!! That's right, my very own Lorena (haha, I've already become totally protective and possessive of her.. just imagine her husband!) is preggers! HOORAY!!! I am SO excited (if you can't tell)! Unplanned, but an extremely happy surprise! Tito can't stop smiling. She can't either, really! Neither can I! Not having siblings, I'm totally reliant on Pako's brother and sister to make me an aunt and here we go! Technically I am already an aunt as Pako's brother has 3 kids, but they're all older and I don't get to see them as much as I would like to! This is a NEW baby! I love those!!! Especially when I can give them back to other people! I know my mom's grandma gene is kicking in hardcore, but she is just going to have to wait another 2 - 3 years! She will make an excellent great-aunt to this little bebé!

Ok, that's all for now folks! Time for me to drag my tired nalgas into bed! Look for a guest blog from my father (as long as he's willing to behave himself) some time in the near-ish future!

XOXO - stay warm!

Leyah

PS. One of my all time favorite teachers is here for the month (and the wedding) and I am blown away when I think how much this one person has influenced my life! Great teachers really impact their students and often unknowingly turn into mentors and friends. I hope to someday have the positive effect on my students that this man has had on me! Go teachers!

Tiny Update < FOOTBALL!

Hola blog readers!

I've had a week back at school. I am ready for vacation again. Just kidding, almost. This past week and for the next two weeks, I'm only sort of back at school. Elementary and middle school have stared again, but high school doesn't start until the 31st of January. There are perks and drawbacks to this arrangement. Perks include the fact that I am done by 11am each day and have the extra time to be planning and staying on top (and hopefully) getting ahead of myself so that I'm not feeling overly stressed come wedding time. Also, I get to hang with my padres in the afternoons. The drawbacks include not getting a full-sized pay check until Feb 15th and being left in this limbo of sort-of-go-mode. Since I only work 2 hours a day (inconveniently separated by a half an hour break, which you don't need if you are only teaching 2 hours, but it's whatev), it's hard to really get in a groove. I'm just getting in a groove by the end of secondary (ugh, secondary) and then boom, I'm done working! Plus, my high school classes are my favorite ones. Also, the fact that they got pushed back by a week means that I'm going to have to scramble to teach them what I want to teach them before I leave. In all likelihood, I'm going to have to cut some things out, which I don't like to do. Again, it's whatev (see what I mean about not being able to get amped up? I feel 'whatev' about the whole business right now).

More importantly, FOOTBALL!!! Stop reading here if you're not a Packer fan because this is about to get real boring for you. You've been warned!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The Packers not only won their second play-off game last night, they stomped those dirty birds! Aaron Rodgers played out of his head, OUT OF HIS HEAD! I believe he had 4 incompletions the ENTIRE game! OMIGOSH, I love him. Also, the packers did not punt ONCE during the whole game either. When does that happen? I'll tell you when, it happens when your quarterback plays a rockstar game and the entire offense gets together and decides to play football! Aside from that one fumble at the beginning of the game, the Packer offense was amaze-balls.

The defense played well, too. Clay Matthews, I think I love you. I mean, I know I love you. Also, Shields. I'm gonna love that guy next season, for sure. I've always loved Woodson and will continue to do so for a long, long time (I hope). I can't not mention Tramon Williams. I love that guy, too! I am one big bundle of Packer love right now!

Next week we'll battle the Seahawks (and continue with our theme of avian destruction) or we'll play the dirty bears, again. The NFC championship. Ah, how sweet it is! I love post-season football (especially and in a seriously over-the-top way when the Packers are playing)!!!

Ok, that's enough now because I could go on and on. And I would, but it's time for coffee and a novel, the best parts about a Sunday morning! I hope you all had a fabulous couple of weeks since I last wrote and another couple of good weeks until we meet again!

GO PACK GO!

Leyah

PS. Grandpa, if we end up heading to Seattle (and by we, I mean the Packers, I'm staying on the beach), we better make sure Gary and Kenny are rooting for the correct team! Maybe you should give them a call and assert your fatherly (and Wisconsin-oriented) opinion :) XOXO!

1 - 1 - 11 ... whoa!

Hola Everyone,

Happy New Year, Prospero Año to all of you!!!

It is somewhat of a miracle that I am out of bed and writing this blog. I had not intended to write this blog today (I have intended to write it any number of days in the past week, but I believe I have mentioned before my procrastination issues..), but I woke up (for the 5th time or so) and realized I wasn't going to get back to sleep (dang) and I opened the door to let the breeze in and hey - what a nice day! Now, as to why it being a nice day inspired me to write a blog rather than say, going for a walk with my dog, venturing out to start the new year with some sort of physical activity, I cannot say. Well, that's not entirely true, I know why I didn't start the day with physical activity - it's a new year, not a new Leyah. Anywho, here we are.

This break from school has been excellent! My body has decided that it is going to make up for any and all sleep that I have missed over the last 25 years of my life and thus I have been sleeping quite often and quite deliciously! My best sleep occurs from about 2:15pm - 4ish. Weird, but those teensy naps really make me feel great! My goal this break was to plan for all 5 of my classes through the middle of March... Well, I'm into the 3rd week of February with 3 of my classes, but haven't started on the other 2 (minus the compulsory "Welcome back, what did you on your break' first day back business). Ugh, 10 more glorious days of vacation and then it's back to the grind. I'm not ready and I know these 10 days are going to fly by. Today doesn't even really count because I'm all out of wack from last night's party (more below) and Pako's work schedule change (again, more below). Plus, I plan to watch the University of Wisconsin Badgers really dominate TCU in the Rose Bowl today (pause for chest-swelling moment of pride for all UW alumni... ok, breathe out), so one can assume (rightfully) that very little planning will actually occur today. Whatever, I'll get to it.

Christmas was very pleasant this year, if somewhat nostalgic and bittersweet for me. On Christmas Eve Eve (or December 23rd for the non-Christmas-obessessed) Pako was working and I decided to decorate and make the place more Christmas-y. I threw on the Christmas tunes (which I love because they are non traditional, my favorite being WHITE CHRISTMAS by the Drifters



which I can thank my Father for because he eschews traditional Christmas music (for the most part) and has a wealth of different Christmas albums, including Doo Wop Christmas where I first heard this jem!) and got to work making some MORE cutout snowflakes. I had practiced quite a bit at school and got pretty good. In a moment of unusual foresight on my part I had purchased some fake garland and so I pulled that out as well. The result was my very own White Christmas (as far as our gate/door was concerned anyway). Then all of a sudden I felt very nostalgic and missed my family and friends far away in the foreign tundra. Luckily, Pako came home shortly thereafter and my melancholy as not drawn out.

Snow flurries in Zihua!


Christmas Decorations at the Comercial Mexicana - Coke anyone?

Christmas Eve Night, Lorena, Tito, Petra and I went to Aunt Lucy's house for lots of yummy Mexican food. I had spent the whole day making Christmas cookies (Peanut Blossoms and PBJ cookies) and learned that conveniences like a hand mixer, a number of large-ish mixing bowls, cookie sheets and a regular oven really help to make the cookie making process not so clumsy. Anywho, I made do with what I had and the cookies turned out well (thank goodness because otherwise all that work would have been for naught and I would have been one cranky Christmas elf)!

PBJ cookies and modified Peanut Blossoms - All in my tiny toaster oven make-shirt cookie tray!

The mini-toaster oven that could (and did for about 4 hours on Christmas Eve)

The tradition in Mexico is to hug when it changes from Christmas Eve to Christmas, so the party doesn't really even get started until about 11 o'clock. We (Lorena, Petra, Tito and I) didn't even go until about 10:30 (which felt so strange for me because that's probably when I'd be leaving a Christmas party back home). Pako made it about 11:30 and got down to the serious business of eating before he had to hug anyone. Then midnight rolled around and everyone hugged everyone (I had to bend down to hug almost everyone and I was returned to the elementary school days in which the then-teensy Mexican boys dubbed me Jolly Green Giant - ouch) and then we all went inside to make sure no one got hit by a falling bullet. Oh yeah, it's also a tradition here for some people to take out their guns (automatic because shooting one bullet at a time would be too slow and boring) and shoot up in the air to demonstrate their happiness...? I don't actually know why they do it, but it's no longer shocking for me as this is my 3rd Christmas/New Year celebration here in Zihua with Pako and the fam.

Teki and I on Christmas Eve, waiting for Pako to come home from work. Teki does not like to get his picture taken and much less photos of the cell-phone self-portrait ilk.

Rocky II's first Christmas :)

Pako and I were the first to leave the party and we took off at 1:45. We came home and Pako couldn't wait to do presents (because at heart he's just a big kid) and so we exchanged gifts. He bought me a beautiful top (or blouse, if you will Ms. Twohig) and matching sandals, that I have been eying for about 6 months. Score!!! I bought him a year-long subscription to Xbox live (see above comment about being a big kid) which allows him to play videogames with other big kids all around the world and a military-style chain with dog tags. We were both quite happy with our gifts! Then we fell into bed.

The next morning, Christmas day, Pako got called into work (which he had volunteered to help with as long as he could have the morning shift) at 7:30am. A bit later I went and grabbed Lorena and off we went to Bambi's to prepare the Christmas turkey, stuffing and tiramisu! YUM YUM YUM! With the three of us and Bambi's total preparation, it only took about an hour to do the leg work and back to Lorena's we went. At one we put the turkey in the oven and I assumed responsibility for the bird. This year, for some reason, it took a full 4 hours for any dang-on drippings to seep out of that sucker and I was distraught! It was my responsibility and the turkey was drying out before my eyes (at 20 minute intervals)! I was able to skype with my parents and my Jane of All Trades and excellent chef Mama suggesting rubbing butter all over the skin to keep it moist (*ugh, I hate that word, even in type) and my dad agreed - he's been part of turkey basting quite a few times as well it appears. Anyway, it worked and eventually the drippings dripped and all was well with in my turkey world.

**I am listening to Christmas tunes as I write this because I love them so much and now I have to wait a whole year to listen to them again after today - which I'm deeming the official end to the Christmas season (and because finding that Drifters youtube video made me really want to listen to them and as I am alone and no one can tell me no, I am currently singing along to 'Snoopy and the Red Baron' by the Royal Guardsmen :)**

I also made green jello salad a la Grandma Claire/my mom and a vegetable medley (which consisted of me boiling frozen vegetables provided by Bambi). Eva, another Las Urracas alumni, made a serious vat of gravy (seriously, a really large pot of gravy) and mashed potatoes. The end results were seriously delicious and true to form, I ate way too much. I gave myself heartburn and a stomachache and had to lay down. No will power. I couldn't even eat any Christmas tiramisu (which turned out to be ok as I probably ate half of if by myself over the next two days). It was still totally worth it. Yum, yum, yum, have I said that already?

The delicious Christmas Day Buffet

YUM!!! (Note that I am drinking water and NOT Coca Cola... also, that wine is mine, too).

Then came a period of frantic lesson planning when I realized I had done very little and January was rapidly approaching, upon which I would rather not linger (as I forsee another similar frantic period looming... tomorrow-ish). I got quite a bit done and didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. That's not entirely true, I don't hate lesson planning at all, I actually kind of enjoy it, but not on Christmas vacation. Everyone, please remember that while teachers get the same vacations as the students (mostly), we're not totally free - EVER.

New Year's Eve happened at Lorena's house. Pozole, tamales, tacos dorados (which I made all by myself!!!! awesome!) and chile-sprinkled cucumber and jicama sticks (don't ask because I don't know why there is chile sprinkled on perfectly good cucumber, but there is). Again, non-traditional, but all sorts of yummy. Again, and this time in keeping with many NYE parties back home, nothing happened until about 10:30. Bambi came over and was our food guinea pig. Luckily, everything passed his inspection and he went home satisfied. He went home a big early in order to hold things down on La Ropa.

Bambi and Eliseo test-driving the pozole. All systems go!

The fam (Aunt Lucy, Cousins Erandy, Mari, Ray and Zirintzi, Aunt Pachita, Uncle Ray, Eliseo) showed up later and set to eating and chatting and drinking coke and later the 4 bottles of classy Andre champagne that I bought at the Comercial Mexicana. Ok, I drank one bottle and the rest of the family drank the other 3. That seems right to me. Please note that Champagne and I have a much better relationship than Tequila (liquid, not dog) and I ever have and I'm quite looking forward to our next meeting, whenever that might be :) The party went on until about 1, when poor Pako needed to go home (he had to go to work at 7am this morning, which was kinda a bummer, really). So we came home, we feel asleep almost immediately and here we are.

I'm including a few pictures from the recent weeks. They don't really have anything do with Christmas or New Year's but I find them amusing:

Lorena was cooking one day only to see something move out of the corner of her eye. It was an iguana. Luckily we pulled up at that exact moment and Pako caught it for us. I am including the next two pictures so that you can see our different reactions to having caught a large, scary looking iguana.

Is it at all evident that we have had very different upbringings?

That same day, I decided to hold something much more agreeable (and in keeping with my iguana-sheltered childhood)

Rocky II (named after the movie.. just kidding, named Rocky because his predecessor who is no more was named Rocky and there was a name tag ordered. Waste not, want not.)

What in the name of all things holy is this car doing in Zihua???!!!

It's even in Spanish. What in the HEY??? Yuck!

Staring contests are a regular occurrence in our household.

My boys, trying to show the other that they're tougher. I think the hat really helps Teki's case for toughness, no?

Ok, that is all for today (and for the foreseeable future I'm thinking). I probably won't write again until school starts, so sometime after January 10th. The next 10 days are going to be full of lesson planning (ugh), spending time with the family and continuing to catch up on my sleep with those ever so awesome afternoon naps. I hope you all had a great holiday season and here's to a lovely 2011 full of love and laughter!

I'm getting married this year. Holy crap.

XOXO,
Leyah

AaaAAAaaah Vacation!

Hello Blog Readers,

I'll start this post my apologizing for not having written in over 3 weeks (sheesh, has it really been that long?). There were at least 3 times when I thought to myself 'ok, tonight I'll sit down and write a blog' and then... nothing. Procrastination set in and as per usual, the more I procrastinated, the bigger the task seemed and the less energy I had. Anywho, starting is always the hardest part so here we are.

I left off last with Pako's various birthday celebrations. Tequila and all that. You'll all be happy to know that I've been offered tequila on three occasions and on 3 occasions have turned it down. I did have one small margarita and that was quite enough to remind me that Tequila and I are not really great friends right now. I'll stick to white wine every 3 weeks or so, thanks very much. The final celebration of Pako's birthday was the traditional family meal at Lorena's house. We ate... tacos? I really can't remember now, but I do know that there was some seriously delicious chocolate cake.

Blowing out the candles on the seriously delicious chocolate with chocolate frosting cake!

One traditional part of a Mexican birthday celebration is called 'la mordida' and it's when the birthday boy (or girl)'s face is smushed into the cake. Being the ultra traditional person that I am.. I didn't want to let this tradition fall by the wayside, so I helped Pako keep in touch with his heritage :) Only with his own piece of cake though, because I didn't want any whiskers in mine!

No explanation necessary :)

Immigration showed up at school one day. Now, even though I have all the right papers and permissions to work and live here in Mexico, it's still kind of scary to see a uniformed guy from immigration marching up to your classroom. Luckily, the guys from immigrations were super nice and just asked for my identification. I gave it to them, they checked my work visa and off on there merry way they were. Phew. It did remind me that I wanted to get my FM3 renewed before the year was out so that I wasn't rushing to do that at the end of the year. Luckily, renewing your FM3 is way easier than getting it in the first place, so it took all of 2 trips (plus one very aggravating and colorful-language filled trip to the bank) and $2104 pesos. Now they give you a laminated ID card with your picture and thumbprint on it instead of a little passport-like book thingy. Guess what color the card is... Yep, it's green. That's right, I have a green card. Ironic, no?

December 3rd was my last full day of classes because high school spends the next two weeks taking their exams which are run like college exams - they only have to show up if they have an exam. So, I spent that day reviewing with them and making sure they were ready for their oral and written exams. Exams were Monday the 6th and they all went off without a hitch and I said good bye to my high school students (all 21 of them) until the last week in January. Then it was time to review with the 6th and 7th graders, my only remaining students. I'm not sure how, but the last 2 weeks, even though I only had 2 classes a day, felt like the longest and hardest of the semester. As soon as the high school students leave,t he rest of the students decide they can check out, too (and who can really blame them?). I wanted to check out, that is for sure, but no such luck. 6th and 7th grade exams were on December 10th and everyone was happy to get those out of the way. The last 3 days of school were devoted to making Christmas decorations for the school's Christmas Concert - paper snowflakes were a huge hit with both 6th and 7th grade, and rehearsing songs and dances to Christmas Carols.

We didn't make these snowflakes, they're too impressive, but this is what I showed the kids - they were fascinated. We watched videos of snow falling and they had all sorts of questions about what it feels like, what it tastes like, etc. I feel a field trip to MN in December is in order! If only for the sake of a well rounded education for these kids! :)

The Christmas concert was this past Thursday and it was... well, it was sadly unorganized and kind of chaotic, but the kids did a good job. My 6th graders sang Silent Night. The idea was for them to walk on stage holding candles and then all the other lights would be turned off, but it was slightly windy and at least half of the candles blew out before the kids made it to their places on stage. Oh well. The 7th graders danced to Mariah Carey's 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town.' They did a really good job and looked rather cute in their outfits, but unfortunately, as my camera is on it's last leg of life, the flash doesn't work and I couldn't get a good picture of them.

My 6th graders singing 'Silent Night' with 50% of their candles... oops.

When I got home from the Christmas concert, a weird thing happened. CHRISTMAS CAROLERS MADE THEIR WAY THREW THE INFONAVIT (the apartment complex where I live). It was so bizarre, here we are in a 200+ building complex and all of a sudden a group of about 50 people carrying candles (theirs stayed lit, go figure) walked through our parking lot singing Christmas songs in Spanish. Now, maybe not so bizarre if you live in a suburb in the US, but I ask you, when has that ever happened here in Zihua? Well, I asked Pako and his answer was 'um... never, what the heck are Christmas Carolers anyway?' Helpful as ever. There is a tradition similar to Christmas Caroling that is practiced here and it has to do with Las Posadas or the reenactment of Joseph and Mary going from place to place asking for shelter. As far as I know, that was not taking place last Thursday night and this group of Christmas Spirit spreaders just got inspired and got out their candles. Again, no flash or I would have taken a picture. It was such a Christmasy night, I kept the pattern going and turned on the Christmas playlist and made some hot chocolate!

Sometime last week, when I was working very little, Pako and I and his two friends, Hilson and Eder, went to a beach called Loma Bonita. I had never been there before, so I was excited for the adventure. It's about 45 minutes outside of Zihua, just beyond the pueblo of Petatlan. You leave the main road and off road it (in true surfer style) for about 20 minutes until you come to a cliff. Then you scale a rather steep decline to get down to the beach. All in flip flops. All this effort means there aren't very many people at this beach and it's a pretty tranquil place. Unfortunately for the boys, the waves weren't great, but I still had a super time reading on the beach and digging for clams in the sand (clams are in season, apparently - I just threw them all back as they were tiny babies still AND there's some sort of bacteria attacking bivalves that can paralyze humans - no clams for me!). Anyway, it was a nice day at a new beach.

Excellent sign on the cliff where we left our car. I believe it speaks for itself.

Untying the surfboards at the top of the cliff. (We borrowed Tito and Lorena's SUV to get to the beach, our car is NOT off road worthy)

The Boys at the top of the hill: Eder, Pako and Hilson

Pako, happy to have made it down without damaging his most precious possession

Here I am at the bottom of the climb, happy to have made it down without breaking anything!

Look at all those clams!

Wedding planning is coming along. Caterer, check. Cake, check. Booze, almost check. Favors, check. There are so many little details, who knew?!? And if you knew, why didn't you tell me. Anywho, I'm thankful for my mom (she bought a book, so she's the go-to expert), my friends and my future sister in law, who have all been quite helpful when I ask them all the same question 7 times in a row. I'm hoping to get all of the big stuff taken care of this break so that when I do have to start teaching again I won't have too many distraction and hopefully won't be all that stressed... wishful thinking, I know. The knot.com keeps reminding me of the day count - 73 days until your wedding... 72... 71... AAAUGH! I think it's designed to stress you out! Luckily, I'm not the kind of person to get uber wrapped up in this sort of thing, so I'm keeping my stress level at a low-medium level. I'm more excited than stresse, so as long as I keep that balance, I'll be happy.

Christmas is in 6 days and that is AWESOME! We're having a turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes and peas, cranberry sauce and tiramisu (just like last year and very reminiscent of a Thanksgiving meal back home) and I am EXCITED!!!! My fast should start now because I know I'm going to over indulge, but it won't because I like to eat, too much. Pako has the 3-11pm shift these weeks, so he's working on trading days off to see if he can make it Xmas dinner! We hope he can. Otherwise he'll get leftovers (which are just as good, let me tell you). We're staying in Zihua for both Christmas and New Year's this year, so it should be pretty relaxing! I'm looking forward to the 3 F's: food, fun and family!

I feel like other things have happened, but they're escaping me. I felt really busy the last couple of weeks (so busy, in fact, I couldn't write even write a blog entry!), and now I haven't nothing to write about. I'll just let the pictures do the rest of the talking I guess. Until next time, blogites (which I promise won't be another 3 weeks), take care of yourselves and have a very happy holiday season!

xoxo,

Leyah

No More Tequila, thankyouverymuch!

Hola Blog Readers!

It's Saturday night at 10:25pm and I am still hungover from last night's party. I'm not saying this to brag, I'm telling you all so that the next time I mention tequila you can remind me that the best response to tequila is a negative response. Ugh. My body hates me right now (I also hate me for my poor decisions). I have spent all of today regretting last night (even though I had a rocking good time - the next day is hardly worth it) and do not plan to repeat this experience. For future reference, I'm no longer accepting tequila shots (or any shot, really), free or otherwise.

I blame Canada. That's right, Canada. I'll explain. Last Saturday, Pako's friend, Dave, and his girlfriend arrived from Regina, Canada for a stay of 10 days in paradise. It was negative 40 degrees Celsius (which is exactly the same temperature as -40 Fahrenheit, I guess when it gets that cold, nobody really cares about conversion) when they left Canada, so Zihua really was a nice change. Dave and his family used to come to Las Urracas and so Pako and he have been friends for a long time, but hadn't seen each other for over 8 years before a week ago. They've both been pleased as punch to hang out together as adults. It's been pretty cute to see, actually. Anywho, I digress. It's cold a good chunk of the year where they come from so, as Dave tells me, they drink to keep warm. I am familiar with this strategy as I did go to the University of Madison (GO BADGERS!). Which means that Dave can hold his liquor. Well, as you know, it's fairly warm in Zihua and so drinking is less necessary when it comes to body temperature regulations. Thursday was Pako's birthday (more on that later) and so on Friday night, Dave, his girlfriend, Melissa, Pako and I went out to celebrate. Dave bought us a lot of tequila shots (Pako didn't imbibe, he drove and also, doesn't hardly drink anything - leaving us foreigners to make complete asses of themselves). Nobody danced on tables or anything, but my world was definitely spinning. Ugh ugh ugh. Do not try this at home (or at the bar, or the beach or anywhere, really). I used to go to Madison, the #1 party school in the US... how is it that I can't hang anymore? Now, Dave did not force me to drink anything, hence my earlier mention of my poor choices, but at the very least he was an enabler (who turns down a free drink?) and it all started because it's cold in Canada.

Pako, Dave and Melissa at Sr. Frog's on Friday night. The good news: no cover on Fridays; the bad news: more money with which Dave bought rounds of tequila...

Pako's cousin, Yair, was supposed to come out with us, but ended up not making it. He sent his regards via the DJ at the club. In case it's too hard to read, it says "Felicidades Francisco Atte: Yair" which means "Congrats Pako, from Yair." I think I was more excited about it than Pako was... it was cool!

When Pako picked me up from work on Friday, there was a tiny black lady chihuahua in the car with him and Tekila. Apparently, Petra had done some matchmaking and the lady chihuahua, Coli, was coming over to our house for a sleep over in hopes that one day, little Tekilas would spring forth unto the world. No dice. Tekila wasn't having it and spent a lot of time keeping Coli at bay with growls and nips. Coli, on the other hand, was all for puppy-making and whined when Tekila wouldn't let her near him. It was rather amusing and according to Petra, who is in cahoots with Coli's mom, there will be future rendezvous to see if Tekila lets his guard down. Coli was a very good house guest and is a super affectionate dog who likes to sit on people's laps. It was fun to have her around for the day, but I'm not terribly upset about Tekila's rejection of the set - up. We've got all the puppies we can handle right now (did I tell you guys in last blog that Mimi had puppies again? Well she did, there are 10 and they are adorable - as long as they stay at Lorena's house).

Here's Teki attempting to escape Coli's constant advances. About 30 seconds after this photo was taken, Teki bit Coli and jumped onto the bed to hide behind me. Aaah, puppy love ;)

10 little puppies and one tired mama!

Pako turned 25. He joined the quarter of a century club. He doesn't seem too worked up about it. Poor guy had to work 16 hours on his birthday (he worked the 11pm - 7am shift on Wed. night - Thurs. morning and then the 3-11pm shift on Thurs) so he didn't really celebrate on that day. I did make shrimp fried rice, on of his favorite meals, and gave him a jelly donut with a candle stuck in it. Not just any candle, this candle played "Las Mañanitas" when it was lit! That candle was the highlight of his actual day of birth.

Earlier in the week - Tuesday - Eliseo made us octopus soup (sounds gross, is pretty yummy if you can get over the purple pieces of tentacle on your spoon), ceviche and tiritas! YUM!!! That was the pre-birthday celebration. Tomorrow Eliseo is making tacos and we're eating cake with the family (Bambi, another goofy Canadian, is part of the fam and he's partaking in the celebration tomorrow and bringing a cake!). I suppose that will be the post birthday celebration.

On Tuesday (before chowing down) we took Dave and Melissa surfing. Well, Pako took Dave surfing and Melissa and I sat on the beach and chatted over frappuchinos, an arrangement that suited everyone just fine. Dave gave it a real shot, but he couldn't get up. It's really hard work (so I'm told, I can barely swim with a surfboard) and requires a lot of upper body strength (something I lack completely). It also takes a compliant ocean and Dave, unfortunately, didn't have that part of the equation - the waves were small and not very strong (you want a wave strong enough to support you). They may go again on Monday, depending on who knows what.. I'll be working :(

The surf trip to Playa Linda in Ixtapa... Not such a bad place to spend the afternoon on a blanket in the sand! (Or playing in the waves, if that's your thing!)

School is ALMOST DONE for the year! My last day of classes is December 15th and then I don't go back until January 10th!!! WOOHOO!!! The only thing I'll miss is the paycheck. I love the kids, but chances are I'll run into many of them at least once over the break (hopefully not at the bars - wait a minute, I'm boycotting bars for a while - ok, hopefully not drinking on the beach) and I'll see them quite a bit once the school year picks up again. I will not miss the early mornings, the grading, the assignment/project/exam writing, the administrative difficulties, the administration, etc. I will be a happy camper, planning away so that the month of February entails very little work outside of the classroom for me and working with Lorena to finish up wedding details. I'm very, very excited for break. Very.

Also on Thursday was my absolute favorite holiday - Thanksgiving. Damn. I hate missing Thanksgiving. It's still the beginning of winter, so no one is totally sick of the temperature yet, time off school, DELICIOUS FOOD in ample quantities, family, football and of course, Black Friday. What is not to love? It was so depressing to be here when all my family and friends were celebrating at home. Did I mention I love thanksgiving? Sigh. Next year, maybe.

***OOH, mini earthquake! Small enough to not be scary and big enough to feel. It's so weird. I still can't get used to the world moving underneath me***

With that I'm going to close this and go take some ibuprofen and call it a (worthless) day. Tomorrow is the post birthday celebration and Lorena and I might check out some florists to get some prices for the wedding. OH - Pako and I picked a caterer, we sign the contract on Tuesday - WOOHOO! One less thing on the list!!! See you next week and...

Remember kids: Just say NO to tequila!

XXOO,

Leyah

More Pics than Post

Hey Errrrbody,

2 weeks have gone by and remarkable few blogable things have happened and yet I managed to have more pics than usual (for such a dull period). It's because I got my camera fixed and so now I have the urge to take pictures of everything! I wish I was better at photography! I took it as an elective one year in high school and I really enjoyed the class, but I've since forgotten most of the stuff I learned (as with most of what I learned in high school...) Anywho, I'm happy to have my camera back in action (minus the flash, one step at a time) and so here we are with pics from the last two weeks.

School has been school, my 7th grade students have stolen my 'teacher's addition' of their book and thus are again on my shite list. The office has instructed me to fail them all. I hate to do that, but I also hate that someone stole my book and no one is fessing up even though I told them there were going to be serious consequences. Right now, I'm going to pass those who pass the final exam with a D and those who fail the exam will fail the month (we grade on a monthly basis in middle school - ugh). So that's annoying, but pretty par for course with 7th grade, it seems.

One day Pako and I had a mini picnic on the beach and all of a sudden we noticed a large group of people to our left and someone told us that a batch of baby sea turtles was hatching and the little guys were making their way down to the water. I was pretty pumped because I had never actually seen this happen before, though I've been in Mexico many times during Baby Sea Turtle season (official title of the season, btw). So I ran on over and took out my newly fixed camera and snapped away. Aren't they SUPER CUTE AND TOTALLY ADORABLE?

Yep, pretty darn cute if you ask me (and you did, by reading this blog). Sometimes the nests hold up to 60 eggs, which means there were a ton of these little guys roaming the sand. They've got some cool, innate radar system going on because no matter where you place them or how many times you pick them up and move them, they reorient themselves and continue to head straight for the water.

The BEST and BIGGEST thing to happen these last 2 weeks is that PAKO GOT A JOB!!! (I'm going a little overboard on the caps, I know, I'm stopping now). He is a security guard at the Holiday Inn in Ixtapa. After over a year of job searching and numerous false starts (ahem * sol * ahem), it just sort of fell in his lap. He checked the job website, noticed the job, dropped of an application on a Saturday morning, the said they'd call, they called, he had an interview, they asked him to come in for a tour of the facilities and he started the next day (Wednesday). His hours aren't the best (but they'll rotate shifts) and the uniform is anything but dapper, but we will take it. The extra income will be quite handy seeing as how we're throwing a big party coming up here in about 3.5 months and we'll both be insured (for the first time since I've been in Mexico).

The olive green pants are the worst. They don't look that bad in the picture, but seriously, olive green? What is that about? Why do hotels and business insist upon dressing their workers in horrid attire? Anywho, it's a good thing he's cute and makes up for the rest.

Sunday we went to the beach early (which is interesting now that it drops down to the high 60s at night) and Pako surfed while I walked the beach. Apparently, lots of other people walk the beach in the early morning too. There were groups of 20+ people milling about and it was the busiest that I have EVER seen that particular beach - 7:30am on a Sunday - go figure. Here's Pako's favorite surfing shot which he says I have to include if I'm going to include the one of him in his uniform.
Note how toned and athletic he looks... that is due in large part to the fact that he has lost about 10 lbs just from eating my cooking which includes a much smaller proportion of fried anything than he is used to. I'm taking credit because he hasn't changed his exercise routine at all, he's started drinking Coke Zero instead of regular coke and we eat a lot of steamed foods. Looks like I did learn some things from living with a nutritionist for all those years... thanks mama! :)

That's all for today, folks. I hope you're all safe from the snow and had no driving mishaps! See you in another 1 -2 weeks!

XXOO

Leyah

PS. Just for fun, a pic of Tekila in a "hat" Petra made him. He loves it, as you can see ;)
It's hard to see because of the lighting, but there is a ribbon that ties underneath his chin. That's easily his favorite part!