Monday already! And not turning out as planned either...Mexico is the best place for the saying...best laid plans.....This week Semana Santa and so the second big opening week of the season. Last Thursday my Spanish teacher, Isabel told me that she and her novio (boyfriend) have the same beer concession Thurs thru Sunday so we agreed to do class Monday and Tuesday instead of Tue-Thur. I sill wanted to get 2 classes a week in. I am very motivated and want to stay that way. So she agreed- then I asked if it could be from 12-2, since Monday is the day Everardo takes off work; then he could go to his nooner (AA meeting) which is an hour and a half, and I could have class. She said she'd get back to me, and when I didn't hear by last nite I emailed her. She replied about 9pm and said yes noon was good for her as well. Ok good.

So Everardo left around 10am cause there was a guy who wanted to buy a necklace with an elephant on it and he found one yesterday so thought he'd see if the guy was around. I think someone who was staying at the rv park. Some other people asked him the day before yesterday if he sold burritos, and he said no, but he could....they said they'd buy what he had. So yesterday morning he got up, spent about $5 USD and made burritos. Less than an hour later he called to happily tell me he sold them all, already, for $25 bucks- so $20 profit...not too bad eh? Friday, when I took Sam to the beach, I saw Poppi and he had found 2 key chains on the ground, they both had 2 little Mexican sandals on them-harachis? Tiny, one set green and the other blue I think...anyway he sold one of those for $5 ha ha. So he kinda has his finger on the pulse, I think he'll probly find the guy who wants the elephant necklace...then he's going to his meeting and there's a guy there who is interested in buying the trailer so he wants to talk to him too.

Anyway this morning at 9:58 Isabel emails me- she can't make class. I only checked my email on my phone cause I had been hanging laundry on the line right up until 10, and as I ram to pee really quick before she arrived I grabbed my phone to check email, actually more to see if Halla (my younger daugher) had sent me a msg. That's the other thing- I wanted to talk to her on the phone, since lately we mostly have been fb chatting and I don't want to lose the closeness we found when she visited. i want to ask her how she is, after the mess with her friend dying and the cover up that seems to have happened to protect the hotel I guess, and maybe the concert venue as well. Also 2 of her friends went to Europe for this semester for school, then there's someone she's kinda crushin' on, who is a friend but kinda...well I'm not sure if that person knows how she feels, or just isn't interested in anything more than friends...this daughter kinda hangs in a group of kids that are all really close. She's also about to finish her second year of college! I am sooooo proud of her! Ok so we were gonna talk about 1pm today, but then I had to send her a message and say I had a class that's not usually on Monday and what would be a good time to call later? She hadn't replied, but Isabel did with this story about a student from England in the beginner class at Las Conchas who was really sick and at some clinic and they didn't know who to call...so maybe we could have class later. I'm sure it was a valid story, ha ha I almost wrote excuse....but it feels like it's always something...I emailed her back and said ok no problem, but let's just skip it for today and I'd see her tomorrow for our regularly scheduled class.
I immediately tried to call Karen out at the center cause she told me she had asked a guy who had previously tutored her husband Mark, if he would teach her, Mark, and Kelly, and he's half the price. I was interested but felt bad to Isabel, but now, not so much. I understand this is Mexico and everything is inconsistent. If you don't have it in your hand, you don't have it. But I also pay her about twice the price it should be here. It's still not much, but for this area, it's alot. So- I can can switch to something more consistent I will. I didn't get thru to her and I'll try later and/or send an email. Like I said, I'm motivated and I want do this. I didn't do it in Playa Ventura for 6 months, my espanol improved a little bit. Buy here, between the center teaching English, Isabel and now my women's AA meeting, I think I can improve much more quickly.

I tried to send another message to Halla, but I'll just call her in a little while.

At the beach on Friday with Sam, we stayed 2 hours and there were a few more people, and some were swimming, Sam too of course. I had his ball with me, the hard one that rolls farther on the grass than a tennis ball does. He was whinning before he even got out of the car, something he does now whenever we get near the water. It's funny, in my 20's I had this black lab named Sapphire. He was a good dog, too. And whenever we went camping or for the day to a lake, he would start whining when we got close to the water- I think they can smell it, you know? So Sam was bursting to get out of the truck, and I let him out and he started jumping at me to throw the ball. So I had a folding chair and a bag from Trader Joes with a towel (yep I smartened up yuck yuck), and my book, my purse at the bottom, a big bottle of water...and of course his ball. So I lugged it down the sand, and threw the ball...and realized.....it was the HARD RUBBER ball that I use in the park cause it rolls farther on the grass....but sinks in the ocean. I thought all that as it flew (ha ha flew like I threw it really far- which I did not cause now I have wimpy arms), anyway Sam chased it and spent about 5 minutes out in the water. I finally called him back in, and then kept telling him to "find it" so he'd go back in the water. He's such a baby...he needs you to be involved in his every movement at the beach...in Playa Ventura we were always throwing sticks in for him, but when we weren't he mostly stayed out, but after a few months, if we were just sitting on the beach he would go in and swim around in the pools in front of the rocks. Here it's more wading at the edge..and it doesn't get deep for a long time. It's best when the tide is really high cause that volcanic rock rock has all these holes and crevices and I don't want him to break his leg, or hurt himself.

I don't know why I called Everardo, but I thought maybe just maybe he was nearby- and he was! He was down the beach where the condos and hotels were, I could see there were way more people down there...anyway he was also near the car- the car that had the tennis ball in it. So a little while later he showed up with the tennis ball, and for Sam- it was all good. Like I said, I stayed a good 2 hours, when Sam got tired, he laid behind my chair and dug around his ball. He ended up digging a huge hole! The ball would fling out behind him and he'd jump on it and bring it back to the hole. Then I leaned back and my chair almost fell in the hole cause he just dug wherever ha ha! So I had to keep moving my chair....but I read and soaked up the sun- Oh I almosy forgot! When I was talking on the phone to Everardo, I spied a fin, maybe 2 out in the water. Dolphins I'm sure, but the fins seemed really black, so a whale?...It was nice though, almost like my rock when I'd sit out and talk to the universe...nobody was too close to me, so I talked some, and it was nice.

Last nite I found the mediation tapes I bought before we moved to Mexico, a Buddhist thing called "Eight Steps of Happiness". I listened to the introduction CD, and it was nice. As in- why the HELL didn't I listen to these CDs when were in Guerrero? I got to a place where I was so isolated, questioning everything in my life, about my life...ha ha I guess we get it when we get it. I even have a Buddha statue that I made Everardo make room for when we left Calif, that I wanted with me. It had been in our backyard and gave me comfort, I liked it, so he came with us. Of the few things were brought from down there, I mean we brought a ton of shit, but personal items mostly; clothes, pictures, knicky knacks, but hardly any big stuff like furniture. I think the kitchen table and Buddha were the 2 biggest things. And my poor table got all scratched and will probly not make the next move- I mean a far move like back to Calif, but Buddha will. So I'm gonna start the series, maybe today; I had been going only for a short time to a Buddhist mediation class before we moved and was really diggin' it. So I'll start. Oh and the other funny thing is- here we found out that magic jack is a free ap on a smart phone as long as you have internet, and altho' is was intermittent down there, we coulda had phone service, free to the states...just another thing that added to my isolation was not being able to talk to family and friends in the states with any regularity....as well I guess I had lessons to learn, and I think I did embrace some things I might otherwise have if I hadn't felt so lonely. Aceeptance, and my spirituality, doing some deep looking....sounds great but I don't really do unless there's nothing else ha ha.

Yeah now I'm learning some new lessons and yet they are all connected. Acceptance- letting go of my big ego, remembering everyone deserves compassion, people are on different parts of the spiritual paths than others. That maybe I'm not as smart as I like to smugly think so. That I need to learn to listen. and NOT judge! Ok I think it's time to try to call my Halla....

I am so happy...ok now say it like an Italian pizza maker...."ima so appy". Last nite I went to the women's meeting (AA) in Spanish. It's at 5pm and lasts an hour and a half, like all Spanish meetings (the English meetings are just 1 hour). Anyway I was a little intimidated about going, but decided it was time. It was a very small meeting, but I knew one woman who was there! She remembered me from the meeting that Everardo was going to down on the malecon every day at 5pm, and I also saw her once at another meeting in the evening- that's the thing, almost all of the Spanish meetings are at night; usually 8-9:30pm, and I think there's even one at 10pm. Most nites I like to be home at 8pm.

Ok so anyway- I went to the meeting, and the first person to share was the lady I knew...and I understood EVERYTHING she said!! I was so amazed at myself (ha ha) that I almost missed some of it cause I started thinking about how I could understand her....and then realized I wasn't listening...ha ha my peabrain is a dangerous place. It was so so so so cool! Of course then the next woman shared and I understood zero! She spoke really fast....then the next one- well I understood a little bit. The first lady spoke slowly- for me. I got up and shared, too. Not for the full 15 minutes, this takes some getting used to. It's about 5 minutes in the English meetings. But these are mostly small groups and you speak for 15 minutes, so an hour and a half is only 4 or 5 people because there is the opening and the closing stuff. It was really great.

After that we picked up the cable so we can connect our laptops to the tv and watch movies. Yeah we found this website where you can watch movies for free. New movies. A few weeks back I watched Flight and Silver Lining Playbook, which both came out in late 2012 and were both nominated for some awards. They were both great. But I watched them on my laptop only- I wouldn't mind watching Flight again since I love Denzel, and I think Everardo would really like the movie. He's pretty tired when he gets home from walking all over the beaches and other tourist areas all day, so mostly we just have the tv on and are both on our laptops. He plays a couple of games; Farmville or Cityville I think, and he also plays chess. We both have facebook accounts and he has been finding family all over the place. His oldest brother lives outside Juarez, and has kids, and he has been chatting with at least one nephew and one niece, then he also talks to his niece in Michocan- that's his sister's daughter, and I think he's really happy being able to chat with them all. We have a nice picture of him with his brother who lives in Morelia (Michocan), one of our friend's here printed it out as an 8x10 and we framed it and it's on the wall, along with some framed photos from when the girls were here. I think hubby is pretty happy these days....

Ok  today I had Spanish class with Isabel and it was good. She gave me all these phrases that are very commonly used. Some of them cannot be translated literally- you just have to learn them. But they were good conversation starters, like talking about the weather, a new job, etc. Then how to say- oh that reminds me, so you can change the subject, and things like -what were we talking about? Or -as I was saying- I need to memorize them, cause I wanted to use them later on today out at the center for my English class, but of course I couldn't remember any of them. But tonite on tv, I heard one of them..oh yeah-I'm gettin' it! Next week I have to have Spanish 2 days in a row cause she will be busy later in the week with a beer concession stand since Semana Santa is starting, but that's ok, I'm totally into doing my tarea (homework).

So in the afternoon I was out at the community center for English class and did it completely different. I brought out a bunch of fruit; grapes, apples (red & green), pears, strawberries, cantaloupe, oranges, lemons, and lines. I brought paper plates and plastic sliverware & cups. And napkins Everybody got some of everything, and then I asked questions about what everything was called in English. I asked specific people what they had on their plate, or how many of something. Then I asked one person about what was on another person's plate. Before they came into class I wrote the names of all the fruits and the utensils on board in English only. Anyway it was a fun class, everybody was talking to each other and trying to answe questions, and I wrote what people said on the board and we talked about present and past. The time flew by. I just wanted to have a fun day, since I think it's hard to sit and recite words for the sounds of the vowells...but I can really tell who practices at home!

I came home exhuasted. Too tired to take poor Sam to the park or the beach. But when Poppi came home first he threw the ball out in the street for him, and then later he took him for a ride in the truck cause we needed water. And I take him every day, so one day he can survive. I just come home wiped out on Tue and Thurs. I think exercising first thing, then 2 hours of Spanish, really trying to concentrate and learn, then get out to the center for and hour and a half of English; which is also hard trying to explain so many little things...like Spanish verbs conjugate in a future tense so you don't need a word for "will". I will do it tomorrow- well in espanol, will do (future) is all one word- the verb...But we had a good laugh with an American asking if they can pay tomorrow- I will pay you tomorrow- to ride Manuel's banana boat...and to answer..NO please pay me now!. Manuel has a banana boat and a couple of jet skis and that's why he wants to learn English. He speaks some and both he and Rueben help me and help the others. Rueben is great cause he is always happy and helping the others, and me to. Manuel taught me Hizlo! (Do it!) today. So I enjoy both of my classes but they both tire out my tiny brain ha ha.

So I came home, made a peanut butter sandwich, laid on the couch with my book, and promptly took a nap. Tomorrow I have neither class, but I will spend time studying and trying to memorize those phrases. The English class is helping my Spanish alot, and so will the women's meeting. I was just watching a novela (Spanish soap opera), which they have lots of, all the time, and on 3 or 4 channels. They are different than in the US cause one novela is on for a few months and then it's over. Then a new one starts. But I understood some of it, too! So it's coming folks!

Tomorrow I will take Sam for extra long whether it's the beach or the park. He loves the beach, but he also loves the park- I think he is so happy to be on grass. He rolls on it, eats it, smells it...and lots of times there are kids who appear and want to throw the ball for him and pet him and sit with him so he gets lots of attention. Silly dog.

I was talking to my daughter last nite on fb chat and said I thought my posts here probly aren't as interesting as when we lived down south in that remote...ok insane area. I mean I haven't seen a tarantula walking across the street, or even fighting a chicken, and I haven't seen any pigs walking around, or even tied up in anybody's front yard. I do hear roosters crowing, and I can hear birds, and I hear chruch bells; all things I like, but not weird like before ha ha. But I guess I just write about what I see, experience and ultimately feel, so oh well- it si what it is....

I had both Spanish class and English class today. My Spanish teacher is a little bit flaky; last week we had no class cause on Tuesday she was in Arizona, but never called or emailed me to let me know, then on Thursday they had a concession on the beach for the Spring Break crowd....That's all fine but I'm sure they knew all this before....so anyway we decided to have class this week 10am-noon, but she wasn't here at 10am...she had emailed me about 9:20 to let me know she'd be here at 10:30. Too bad for me I was not on my laptop so didn't get the email until 10, when I checked it since she hadn't arrived. aarrgghh. She's a very nice lady, but crap- I am paying her 200 pesos an hour- which doesn't sound like much (about $8), but here- that's pretty expensive. So she stayed for 2 hours which was 12:30, so as soon as she left I had to get dressed quick (I was in sweats and a teeshirt when she came), and make a pb&j sandwich and get out to the community center. Well hurry hurry Terry- always a mistake. I walked out the door, locked and shut it, and realized my keys were still on the hook in the kitchen next to the door...

I called Everardo and he came home and opened the door for me. Ok on the list for this week- make another copy of the house key and hide it outside. It was my good luck that Poppi was near his truck and not an hour's walk away! So he got here in about 10 minutes and I was back in business. I called out to the center to tell Karen I was on my way...and they were a little behind with lunch so it was all good. Class was full...I don't think any more students can fit in that room. I had a couple of new women today, and there's a couple of young girls who haven't been back- they didn't come last week or today- they probly don't like the class with a bunch of "old" people. Notice the quote marks around the word old....I don't think we're old...but to a 15 year old...maybe we seem like it. I think I had 15 again today, including the new ones. I think tomorrow I'm gonna buy some paper plates and plastic silverware (ha ha plastic silver), and maybe strawberries and grapes...I can take a banana and an apple from here....I think I wrote about this when I did it with the kids- that one was just about the fruit, this one is more about the utensils. Just want to keep it fun...cause practicing the vowels is boring for them I'm sure, especially since they don't know what the words mean...man when are we getting those dictionaries??? But they gotta practice. Also maybe over the weekend I can think up some simple conversations to have with each other...put them on little cards- no, if I do it on regular paper and maybe have 3 different ones on one side and print them out, ....oh man today I was trying to explain about all these verbs that conjugate the same way, and yet somehow it seemed difficult...I think I had too many verbs on one page...

After exercising, a Spanish lesson and then teaching English, I came home and took Sam to the park for an hour...I was exhausted. I came in, plopped down on the couch with an ice cream bar...and within 2 minutes Everardo walked in. He said BUSTED! I said yep! I know I know he walked all day, trying to hawk stuff to tourists...not all drunks this week, the students went home. But mommy is tried too. Now I'm happy that I have nothing to do on Wednesdays ha ha!! Gotta prepare for Thurs and do Spanish homework and study. I am still struggling with those damn reflexives! Ah well...maybe a little online studying after writing this. Oh yeah I promised to send Karen the link to the Spanish classes which have helped alot. And she is talking to a a guy who teaches Spanish in some local private school that tutored her husband. He may take on Karen, her husband, and Kelly, the 18 yr old girl (missionary) who also works out at the center. She's waiting to hear back- and this guy charges about half (well she thinks it's about half). If that works out I'll probably change. I definitely want to stay in a class, and if I have to stick with Isabel and her wacky class at $200 pesos a shot, then I will. See that's one thing I like about her classes- they're for 2 hours. Karen wants 1 hour and I don't think that's enough- but she did say she asked for an hour and a half twice a week, so I think that would be ok. Ah vamos a ver (we'll see) Anyway it's 8:30 at nite and we are both sleepy on the couch ha ha. And we even split a cup of coffee after dinner! Poor baby, he has to work tomorrow, and I get to kick back to study. I say poor baby- but he really likes what he's doing. He loves talking to everybody and movin' around....
ok enough for tonite...yawn yawn...

When I woke up this morning I remembered yesterday morning. Yesterday morning the little window in our bathroom was open- the bathroom in our bedroom. I woke up, actually Everardo woke up to it too, to the sound of this bird, a strong voice, singing away. And as I came into consciousness I could hear all these little birds in the background, it seemed like tons of them. Maybe they were the backup singers....This bird sang so beautifully, and he/she sang on and on. It was barley light outside and it was so comfy to just lay there with my eyes closed and listening...

Last nite was a little windy, not as warm as the nite before and so I didn't open the window- even tho I think I slept with the covers kicked off so I guess I coulda opened that window- I definitely will tonite cause I want to wake up to those birds again. It reminded me of when I first moved to this street called Metz Lane in Petaluma. It was with my ex and the kids. This place was on 2 acres, and so were all the houses around us and behind us, in fact behind us it sort faded away from the town, into rolling hills and country roads with houses getting further and further apart. So we heard birds and birds in the morning..all day. We even had these little birds- swallows- make a nest in our garage, and the came back year after year to the same place. I remember showing the kids first the eggs and then the babies when they first hatched. It was very cool. That was the house with the "twisty" stairs; it had a curved staircase and Drewy always wanted to live in a house with twisty stairs. I think it's her favorite house that we lived in. We lived there 7 years; she became an adult in that house. It was her third house, and the first one had a fairly busy street behind it, and the second was across the street from a high school, so we had birds, but not making nests like on Metz. Anyway waking up to birds is like camping....also reminds me of when we were kids and we had those birds that mad the mud nests under the eaves of the roof. Hmm maybe those are Swallows? Anyway I like waking up to the sound birds.
In Playa Ventura there are lots and lots of birds, flying over the ocean, landing in our yard looking for crumbs...but you couldn't hear them over the sound of the sea. The ocean is loud! When I went there the first time I couldn't get to sleep at nite, or next couple of times either, although maybe by the end of the week I was starting to get some sleep but probly from exhaustion ha ha. It's noisy all the time. When Everardo and I moved there, for a few days it was hard to sleep, but when you're there all the time, the sound becomes so normal that when everything else is quiet, like no tv or music, you think it's quiet....then you go to another place, more inland, and if you're not in a town or anything, you hear the silence. After a few months it started to bother me- I really wanted some silence. The constant roar of the ocean sometimes sounded like people talking; especially when I was sleepy, napping in the hammock or just drifting off at nite.

I love the silence here late at nite. I never knew how much I loved the quiet until I didn't have any...

Today is Sunday, St Patrick's Day. It's really windy but it's also really warm. I know I gotta take Sam to the park or the beach but I am feeling really lazy. I already did the laundry- well at least as much as the clothesline will hold...the rest has to wait a few hours, studied Spanish for a little while, and my book is calling to me. My Spanish teacher gave me a couple of links to study the reflexive verbs, and one site I really like. It has explanation, then little links to practice- arrange the words to form a sentence, match the words to the actions, match to English words, etc. I like it. Cause alot of words I am only gonna get by practice. But also I had a little lightbulb moment and (kinda) understand the logic . I'm excited to have my next class on Tuesday.

Everardo is so tired at the end of every day and he's gonna take Mondays off. On the weekend of course there's more tourists so he works then, and I'm busy Tue/Thur..kinda on Wed getting ready for Thurs, and Friday is probly busier than Monday for him, so...Monday is the day off. But he's making some money, and he's also been making his wire scorpions at nite and selling them as well. Last nite he came home with some skinny metal wire somebody gave him, so he made 4 of the tiny ones- I bet they all sell today! They really look like real scorpions. There's something more. Yesterday morning I went to the AA meeting down on the malecon. Afterwards I drove thru the boardwalk and I saw one of Everardo's friends- Nikko. He told me he was talking to Everardo just 5 minutes before I came along. He said that Poppi has a positive attitude and that's what it takes to be successful at this. So then I went on and turned the corner and halfway up the block I saw my handsome husband talking to some people in front of another souvenir and curios place, and he looked happy. I honked the horn and waved but didn't stop; too much traffic and no parking to be seen....anyway he was doing his thing. Driving home I realized- he was happy, he is happy doing this. I have been worried cause it's hard work in the hot sun, he walks the beaches (there's 3 or 4 I think, maybe more) he walks thru the boardwalk and other places people gather to eat, party, lay in the sun, swim, chat with friends, etc. But he revels in it. He is used to hard work, and socializing, schmoozing, that's what he's good at. He's getting to know the other vendors and says they all help each other out. He's getting to know the people that come down and live in the trailer parks; in fact a woman who lives in one is the person who gave him the wire, so the first tiny scorpion is for her. He is in his element. So it's time for me to stop worrying and just be happy for him. I have been supportive, but inside my head- worried about him- getting tired, getting frustrated, getting old, ya know? But he is happy and he deserved to be happy. He always takes care of me, so it's his turn. I need to have a little faith eh? I'm so glad I saw him yesterday out there, cause I've been saying this stuff to myself cause it's the right way to feel, but I was trying to force myself. Now I really get it, and so now I really feel it. And we can afford to give it a few months to get him going. If it totally doesn't work, he already said he'll find something else, something regular...and that's what I had been counting on. But no more. Now I plan to live this in the moment. He made pretty good money his first week and a half...and the people have only just started to come. So- go for it daddio.

I think this is the last day of Spring Break, but there's alot of people here on vacation that are not students, and then this week coming up is not Semana Santa like I thought. That's next week, so we got a few good weeks coming up.Then end of April I'm going home for 2 weeks. I'll take all the US dollars with me and put them in the bank up there cause you get a crappy exchange here. We deal only in pesos here, but his sales are mostly dollars since they are to visitors, right? Ok Sam is really bugging me to go somewhere, so I guess I can get dressed...probly gonna hit just the park since it's windy- well, I can decide after I'm in the car....adios...

OK- last nite I had the BEST cheeseburger and fries! We found this tiny place here on our side of town called Star Burger, and they have the best cheeseburgers I think I have ever eaten. Maybe it's the fact that it's one of the things I miss. And I don't want one all the time; we've been here since Dec 1, and we've only been there twice. So maybe once a month or six weeks? I had a cheeseburger back in Sept when I went to Houston for the weekend to see my brother...but it was just ok. This one was memory filled- when we were kids every Saturday nite my dad bbq'd burgers for dinner. I don't remember anything else ever being bbq'd out there, and it was always on Saturday, and it was always at 6pm, so you could eat and then go out- yeah as a teenager I was all about goin' out on Saturday nite. We mostly eat Mexican food, tortillas with every meal, and lot of rice and beans with whatever meat or fish we're having. However I have decided with eggs (unless scrambled) I wan toast, cause tortillas don't soak up egg yolk very good. Oh and heating up flour totillas is so F***ing hard that if I'm making dinner, Everardo comes to burn his fingers instead of mine with them. The flour tortillas are really good; we get them from this little store up the street- that's all they make from 6am to 8pm, and they are so thin you can almost see thru them. Poor Sam the tortilla dog gets none cause Poppi believes the flour tortillas will give him worms...I really should google it, but you know what- he thinks so, so what the heck- no flour tortillas for Sam. We always have corn tortillas as well, so after dinner Everardo makes Sam a corn tortilla- could our dog be more spoiled? We buy the corn tortillas from a different hole in the wall that only makes corn tortillas. But they also have place in one of the grocery stores we go to that makes them all day, and we sometimes remember to pick them up there- but that's only for corn.

Ha ha I was talking about cheeseburgers and ended with tortillas. So dinner last nite tasted like home, oh and the french fries were pretty darn good as well. This morning I got up and went to the 9:30 am AA meeting that's held down on the malecon, on top of a business called the Candy Cake...yep cakes and cookies...ouch. But you can see the ocean so it's a pretty view and a nice place for a meeting. The rest of the days the English meetings are always at the same place, another area. But ha ha as we're sitting there, and we were only 3- I usually don't go to this meeting either; first it has been cold, and then...well it's early (9:30). But with Poppi feeling so motivated he's hopping out of bed before 8am so I'm getting up, too. So this is Spring Break, right? H aha across the street from us, also on top of a building, are all these college kids, already drinking! One of the guys with us saw these girls ordering some big drink and then pouring them into "to go" cups and then walking down the street. I can imagine in a few hours what it will be like down there. The bars and restaurants will make some good money today, probly not so much for the vendors.

But Everardo did call me an hour ago and tell me he made a $20 sale with something he paid $2 for, so hope it's a sign of a good day! OMG this guy at the meeting told the funniest story...the short version is a long time ago, in Texas, he was engaged, and already a ig drinker, and his future mother-in-law was coming for her first visit, to meet him. He took all the booze out of his house knowing he needed to be a good boy, then realized he's want "a little access" in case he wanted a drink. So his elaborate scheme was to buy a 20 foot hose, then go to a hardware store and buy a cap so he could close it, and then fill it with straight vodka...He had an atrium in the middle of his house, and he bought these bonsai plants to put in it, and then coiled up the hose. Very creative. So future mother-in-law shows up, and has this cute little chocolate poodle with her. Next morning my friend has a 7am tee time and goes off to golf. When he gets home, he walks in and his fiance slaps his face. He says- what's wrong!! She merely points....the poodle is flat in his back, paws in the air- dead! Well mother-in-law had gotten up, let doggy into the atrium area to pee, then poured him a rather large bowl of water, and the little dog drank it all! So the engagement was off.... Oh my God we were laughing so hard...the drunks across the street must thought we were drinking too!!

But no, I came home and did my workout like a good girl. Half hour on the elliptical and then the ab lounger thing..still don't have that thing entirely straight on the best way to use it, but if it hurts my stomach after a few crunches- well that must be the way! Not sure if I'm going to the beach or the park with Sam after this, it's a little windy so not quite as hot as yesterday and I'm feeling lazy.....
Yesterday we went to the beach and I took the chair Everardo got me on the street; it has this part that goes over your head for shade- very cool- it's kinda broken of course, but still works...yeah everything here is "kinda" broken, but it's amazing what you don't really need isn't it? ha ha. The tide was up so the beach was perfect. It was way up to the sand, so the volcanic rock with all the dips and crevices were under water, so perfect for Sam going in after the ball. The lady out at the center gave me a couple of brand new tennis balls that were donated from some animal place so I could throw it out and it would float- it was green and purple so you could really sit it. Some little kids next to me wanted to throw the ball for him so he got lots of exercise. But he shook off the water, EVERY time next to my chair- so I was soaked, my purse was soaked, and pretty soon my clothes, too. So my new plan is to bring a towel. ha ha DUH a towel at the beach- who'd a thunk it?

Spring Break I guess goes thru tomorrow and then Semana Santa begins for another week. I guess then this town fills up with Mexican after a week full of Americans. Yesterday at the gas station I was disgusted to see (hmmm celoso Terry?- celoso is jealous) this kid was so young he had a face full f pimples, he was driving a brand new BMW, full of kids and the couple of cars behind him were a brand new looking big truck and some other car like a beamer. Rich kids having fun....oh well- oh and they drive like shit! But luckily for me I live on the other side of town and they don't come over here....
ok time to get up and do something outside......

The good weather has stayed! No more propane tank heater to roll into our bedroom at nite after keeping us warm in the evening in the living room. And!! Everardo is making sales on the beach. He was so excited when he made his first sale on Tuesday. He didn't go down there at all on Monday; we kinda had a get stuff done around here & pay bills day Monday. And of course you don't mail your bills- you go down to the company or some other designated place to pay. For Telmex, you go to their office, for Sky TV you go to Banamex bank and pay at a customer window. I think the elcetric bill is paid at the electric company...and water...hmm I don't know. Those 2 (electric & water) only come every other month so both should be coming soon since we didn't get bills for those in Feb.

It's a funny place. Not alot of rules; like all the traffic stuff seems to just be suggestions, unless for some reason a cops decides to pull you over. I see people running stop signs all the time, but rarely see anyone pulled over. I had also heard that they were gonna start pulling over cars with no license plates, and I've seen nobody pulled over for that- and then somebody told they got pulled over for it. There was a lengthy discussion in which the cop wanted my friend to follow hom to the police station and he refused. In the end, without even paying the cop anything- I guess the cop got bored, he just waved my friend on. I see 3 or 4 people on motorcycles; usually little ones, almost scooters. People pass all the time, and I get passed alot cause there's so much to watch out for- ha ha- that I would rather get passed then get hit by a guy running a stop sign on a cross street. I will say this: this week is Spring Break and the really bad drivers I've encountered have been Americans...and NOT students, well not young students- looks like adult vacationers to me. Wow so I guess I'll slow down even more and I'll be that old lady...uh oh I am becoming my mother!!

Well Everardo made a couple of scorpions out of copper wire he had, and sold both of them in about 10 minutes! So last night and this morning he made 4 more. Of course now in hindsight- which is always 20-20, he should have been making them during the months when nobody was here, eh? But anyway he is very excited to be making so money and confident about how it will go. He's gonna use steel wire after the copper is gone, cause to buy it will be expensive, and right now we are all about profit! So I am stashing the amount he brings home that is what he paid for any item he sold (and yes for now the scorpions are pure profit cause he got the wire for free), and when we hit the amount of the original investment, we'll put it in the bank. But we want to know when we get there cause after that, it's all profit. So I am actually stashing in another spot half the profit, and that's for him to use to buy more stuff. Now this week is Spring Break, and I just heard yesterday that it really takes off today (Thurs) thru Sunday, cause now we have the kids from Tuscon and Phoenix. But I guess alot kids from Phoenix also go to Lake Havesu, so for the next few days there should be alot more. But truthfully, the kids don't buy much- besides beer and food. However this week sort of signals the start of the tourists, and I have seen alot of people who are obviously not students (like the bad drivers).In fact none of the items he sold; earrings, bracelets and the scorpions were to kids.

Oh and I saw the beer bong! It is a hose that has to be 30 feet long that comes down from the roof of a bar, to the street where I saw these kids with it in their mouths...thank God my kids are not here this week. It's funny I actually heard someone saying (an American), that Mexico should change their drinking age to 21 instead of 18 because of all the kids who come down here to party. WOW yeah every country should just do everything we do cause WE know everything! People- get a grip.

Ok so anyway- now Everardo is feeling so motivated! So he's getting up early; this morning I think it was about 6:30am...a little too early for non working me ha ha. But at least I'm getting up at 8, and that way I can exercise before I start my day. Kinda nice. I worked out before my meeting today and in a few minutes I'm heading out to the community center for English class. Actually usually I have Spanish class (ha ha usually- it's been 2 weeks), have it Tue & Thurs but it's cancelled for this week- my teacher and her boyfriend got a permit for a beer concession on the beach under a palapa...everybody wants to make a buck right? But she was very cool and sent me a couple of links to reflexive verbs, which is the part I'm struggling with. Now that Charlie has dropped the class it's just me, and we changed the time to 10am-noon, so I can still get my work out in. However she told me that she got a couple of emails from new potential students, so we'll see. It's convenient for me having the class here, but I like having more than 1 student. The bottom line is I want the class, with only me as a student or however many come.

So we start a new phase. Everardo working selling to tourists, and me with Spanish classes. And the class I teach at the center. That is going great. We have alot of fun, and the people seem to really like it. I will do the best I can with them; I'm sure there's lots of places for the class to go- doing conversations. I was even thinking of getting the words to a couple of song- oldies of course. I might have already written this, but the song "Respect", and also maybe "Walk like an Egyptian"- it's a fun song....but today we just gotta practice the sound for the next vowels (I & O). But that's kinda boring so we'll make up some sentences as well. The other day I was feeling down, kinda lonely, but as soon as I start getting involved in things I start to feel better. Oh and a trip up to Petaluma to see my daughts and go to a dr appt is coming up- oh but gotta get out to the center...so more later. Viva!

Hot day...yipee. Took Sam down to the Shrimp Park for about an hour and a half to throw the ball and read a book. The Shrimp Park has alot of grass, and on the back side there's usually no people or just one or two so it's a great place for Sam to run. And he LOVES the grass. Our yard is just dirt. Our road is just dirt. The park has grass for him to roll in, eat, shit on. He loves it. He loves the beach more, yeah this I know, but today when I pulled up to the park he started whining to get out of the car just like when he gets to the beach. The stove is leaking gas, so I was waiting for the guy to come back. Yeah we paid this joker 500 pesos to fix the oven, and he fixed it, but now it leaks gas. He told us that the hose outside was leaking when he was here and we replaced that one. So now the gas is turned off except when we want to use the stove. ha ha that means I will use it zero times. I don't want to walk outside, turn it on, cook something or make coffee, go back outside and turn it off. That just pisses me off.

So Everado called the guy this morning before he left, and I heard him telling the guy in Spanish only I would be home, then the next comment was that he wouldn't be home until the end of the day, and the guy agreed to come at 11am. Ha ha I knew he wouldn't come but I waited until 1:30 before I took Sam to the park. This park has a HUGE statue of a shrimp in the middle; I think it's a fountain, and it has water around it. But ha ha the name of the park is the Mermaid Park I think....but I call it the Shrimp Park, and mostly everybody else does too. Down on the big patio area after the malecon there's another statue, this one is a cowboy riding a huge shrimp. hmmmm it kinda makes me laugh...out loud (yeah yeah I know- lol is the correct way right?) So the guy never came- bug surprise, I knew he wouldn't cause he was worried he wouldn't be able to talk to me, also he's kinda older, maybe he felt uncomfortable coming with no husband home- I don't know-and maybe I will be proved horribly wrong and he came while I was out.

I did not go down to the beach cause I didn't want to be gone too long in case he did come, that's why I came back after an hour and a half...the beach would have been much longer. I was gonna try going by the malecon to see all the drunks but when I got close there was a long line of cars moving really slow so I took that as a sign to turn around as soon as I could...which I did. I had heard this morning from some friends at my meeting that yesterday morning...like before noon, they saw these kids drinking from a beer bong- about 30 feet of hose coming down off the roof of a building...into their mouths...with beer...so I guess I wanted to see Spring Break for myself. Everardo said there was alot of drunk kids, but they don't buy much, from vendors on the beach or along the malecon- but the bars do a great business.

So today was his first day but he didn't sell much. Walked and walked, added some earrings to his stuff, and is ready to go for it tomorrow. He has faith. he says that Spring Break is the beginning of the season. I hope it works. I had my dream and he has his. Mine didn't work out so hot. Ha ha we call it suffering in paradise. Now I can laugh at myself. My romantic ideas; that sleepy little fishing village where people fish today to eat today. Such a simple life. NOT- if you have to fish today to eat today- you are FUCKING starving!! You don't sit around and have coffee and go on long walks and read in the hammock- well that's what I did...but I'm telling you, I did that alone. My best friend down there, a beautiful woman named Chela, she was my closest friend, she only spoke Spanish and mine was not as good as it is now...and me English, but we talked and laughed and even cried. But in the 6 months we lived there, she went swimming on the beach with me, twice. Now they had dug a pool the year before- partly in the ground and partly cement above ground, but never over my head- anyway she went swimming with me in the pool 4 or 5 times. I went swimming in that pool lots more than that, with her kids, with Everardo, or alone. It was really nice after the ocean. I love the ocean, and I really love the ocean down there; it's so warm, day and nite...but you know the waves push you around, its tiring. Then the pool, it's calm, it's refreshing. Of course it's just as warm as the ocean, but you can float around. The first week we got there, a really big storm hit, it was the tail of a hurricane that hit in another place, but it was a gigantic storm. Well Chela and I and Gume (her husband) and Everardo went in the pool and it rained and howled on us, and we just floated around and it got dark, and we finally got out and walked home, up the beach, around 9 or 10 pm. That was pretty cool.

But for the most part everybody there was trying to scratch out a living. Very rural, I mean people washed their clothes in the arroyo...some people. Chela had a washing machine, and I did it in the shower after trying to wash the clothes in the kitchen sink. The shower worked better ha ha. The washing machine is different, too. You have to add the water, and it ha no cover, no lid, you kinda have to monitor it. But the washing machine here, ha ha almost as bad. It does look like a regular washing machine, but the water just drips in so I use the hose to fill it up the first time. I'm usually off doing something after the first cycle so it drips to fill up for the rinse cycle. So it's one load a day ha ha. But my clothes line basically holds about one load anyway so yesterday I did one load, hung it all up, then today did the whites, and now they're hanging up and I'll take them down tomorrow. Anyway I was talking about dreams. Mine was naive I guess. The people in Playa Ventura have a very hard life. It's romantic when you are there for a week vacation and then fly off home. Now most of the people there love it. Many had lived in other places including the states, and came back. A couple don't like it too much, and many of the young people want to go somewhere bigger. And then there's that other small town thing- gossipy everybody knows everything about everybody gossip. And what they don't know they make up. Smiley faces and back stabbing...oh I am SO too old for that. Luckily there were so many things going on I didn't get cause of the language ha ha or I woulda been getting into it with people all the time....Everardo would tell me he heard this and that...and sometimes it was about us! Anyway....my dream was just that a dream, and reality sunk in. Well ok, so we can choose other dreams, or revise our dreams, or accept our dreams for what they really are.

Moving up here was the best move, the best choice, the best revision we coulda made. So Everardo was talking about selling things on the beach back when we were still in Calif, and at that time I had agreed to visit this place after we were settled in Playa Ventura. He was very enthusiastic about working here, and truthfully  he went to Playa Ventura thinking he could find similar work, or even work on a fishing boat, something like that. But as soon as we got there he realized that was never gonna happen. There was no work there.Ok so when we first got here, there were no tourists...and it was cold! Hey it wasn't supposed to be that cold, or even rain- but it did ha ha. But he got reacquainted with old friends here, andhis dream started to take shape, he worked a few weeks at shops on the malecon, and now he's got product and is starting to find his way as a beach vendor. I have faith in him, like I said, he could talk a bird out of a tree. So we'll see. Puerto Penasco has changed alot since he lived here last, and not in a good way. Meaning that the economic downturn- ha ha sounds so impersonal...people losing their jobs, people not coming down here for vacation. The US doing a bang up job of reporting that Mexico is sooooo dangerous and they always have these really sensational stories right before vacation times, so it's not the same as back then- when "everybody made money every day!" So we shall see. My fingers are crossed- which of course makes typing really hard- yeah ar ar ar...

So tomorrow I don't have much to do. Either park or beach for Sam, a meeting, and then oh boy review for my Spanish class and English class. Funny how they are the same day eh? For the English class just need to put the papers back in some kind of order and maybe make some copies- altho' if I get any more students we're gonna need a bigger room! Thursday we used 2 long tables- i think I had 15 students...and for my Spanish class, well the teacher is gonna come here since now I am her only student. I hope she gets at east one more, but I am already learning. I am understanding some things- I heard Everardo say "la mia" when he was talking to the lady in the laptop store and I knew he was talking about his computer!!!! Yipee I am learning!! And the English class helps me alot cause most themspeak zero English so I an getting lots of practice. Yesterday I went to no less than 10 stores looking for pins, like the kind you use with material- like hemming pants or a skirt. Tiny round head? Finally right near the house I saw this fabric place so I thought- hey might as well. Sam was with me and I promised him- last stop- and the had them!! Everardo needed them for his display case to pin up bracelets, etc. It's funny what you can and cannot find here. It's funny, starting aout Monday afternoon, the week flies by- the last few weeks have been that way, prparing for the 2 different classes; trying to study for Spanish, and think up exercises or worksheets for the English! By Friday I'm tired and sitting at the beach with a book and throwing the ball into the water for Sam is the perfect way to spend the day. Oh and Poppi picked me up a folding beach chair from a seguna yesterday, and it's like a camping chair that has a top that shades you! ha ha pretty cool!

Ok Monday- bring it on. Now time for a little tv, and sleep (read a whole paperback today and a whole one yesterday...yeah now that's what I call the weekend!)