A Simple Life

I am not a country girl....

But lately I have been day dreaming about living somewhere like this...

A quaint farmhouse nestled in the mountains and trees.


This is what living in Mexico City long enough will do to you.


It will make you long for the seclusion and simplicity of country life.


Although, I'm pretty sure I would quickly tire of this life once I realized the nearest grocery store was 1 hour away and the ocean was no where to be found.


But still.... it's nice to day dream sometimes.

Thankfulness

There are so many big things I am thankful for this year.

my husband

my family

my friends

our new house

our growing baby

our sweet dog

But when I try and think of the little things I am thankful for, I find it's a challenge. Living in Mexico City can be overwhelming at times. It is literally a concrete jungle and with people moving at a mile a minute, it's hard to find any real connection in the day to day.

When I lived in San Diego it was so easy to be thankful for the little things. The beauty of the ocean, the cool breeze, the local coffee shop, the lazy walks down my favorite beachy neighborhood. I was always surrounded by so much beauty.

This Thanksgiving, I am pushing myself to go beyond the big things, and to really search for the little things. The kind person on the metro who gives the old woman their seat, the pretty park we have by our house where there are always families and children playing. It may be harder to find, but I am making it my goal this season to look harder for them.

Every Tuesday on one of my favorite blogs, Chatting at the Sky, there is something called Tuesdays Unwrapped. This is a time when everyone writes in about something they are thankful for. It talks about going beyond the obvious and becoming an intentional noticer.

I love that phrase, "intentional noticer." This is my goal for the holidays and even more, in the day to day, to intentionally notice the beauty around me, even if it seems hard to find.

Dear You

Dear son or daughter of ours,

This is my first time writing to you, and hopefully not my last. 4 months ago when I started this blog I had no idea what it would turn into. It is a bit about everything, from life in Mexico City to life with your dad and our ever growing marriage, to everyday happenings. But now, I have a sneaking suspicion, it will be mostly about you.

You are a joy that your dad and I had no idea was coming a little over a year ago. You are a surprise and a blessing. You are your dad and I's biggest anticipation. We love you so much and we haven't even met you.

Somehow, though, I feel as though we are getting to know each other more and more every time I look down and touch my ever slightly growing belly.

I can't wait to hold you, to watch you sleeping on your dad's shoulder. I can't wait to introduce you to Lila, our dog. I have a pretty good idea that you two will be fast friends. Just watch out, she licks.

Every time I think of you my heart is full. It's full of my love for you and the ever deepening love I have for your dad. I can't wait for you to meet him. He's one of a kind. He will scoop you up and love you with such great passion. That's how he loves everyone, with passion. He is pretty amazing and will teach you so many things.

I can't wait to sing to you and to play with you in the park. I could go on and on about what I look forward to experiencing with you.

Right now I will continue to enjoy having you growing inside of me. By Saturday you will be the size of a plum and a third of the way through the journey of coming into this world. Keep growing my little plum. I love you.

Love,

Mom

Sleeping...

The last month and a half has consisted of mostly three things for me....

work

eat

sleep

then sleep some more.

This first trimester of pregnancy has kicked me on my butt and zapped out any ounce of energy I had in me. I've managed to bypass the vomiting and sickness, but with back aches and droopy eyes I feel about the same as a 60 year old woman (no offense meant to 60 year old women).

My wonderful husband has hung in there, but I can't help but feel bad when all I want to do when I get home from work is put on some sweatpants and jump into bed. Needless to say, we've been lacking on the quality time.

I hear good things about the second trimester. Energy is supposed to come back and most sickness is gone.

I'm looking forward to that second trimester.

So much so that I might throw a second trimester party, entitled, "I'm Back!"

In the mean time I am reminding myself that there's a life growing inside of me, so it's ok to be tired.

I heard the heartbeat a couple weeks ago.

So exciting.

I even saw the blob that is our baby.

And it was just that...

a blob.

So happy for our blob.

1 year

James and I have been living in Mexico City for 1 year today. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year. It's even harder to believe how much has changed in that year.

A year ago today, James and I were hugging my grandma goodbye, packing our backpacks into our friend Andy's truck, and crossing the Tijuana border to the airport.

We arrived in Mexico with just one bag of clothes each and little clue as to what our future would hold. James' job with the Micro Finance company wasn't working out and I was jobless. Each day was a guessing game; would we have enough money to stay, or would we be heading back to the states with our tails between our legs.

I quickly got a part time job teaching english which was our sole source of income for about 3 months. We slept on an air mattress in our empty apartment, carefully considered which food items we really needed, and hoped that things would get better.

February came and I found myself with a wonderful new full time job with a consistent paycheck and benefits. James enrolled in a grad school program and we welcomed our dog, Lila, into our family. Our apartment soon became filled with furniture and our food budget now allowed us some "going out money."

Now, a whole year later, we are preparing to move into a new house, both working on our masters degrees, and in 7 months, we will welcome our first child into this world. Yes, that's right. I am pregnant.

Life is unexpected and wonderful. It's ups and downs and spins and twirls. It's messy and beautiful, often at the same time.

I am thankful for this past year. I am thankful for Mexican street food. I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for the life growing inside of me.

I am thankful for that air mattress.

One of those days...

Today is just one of those days... a day when life seems to catch up with you and decides to lay it's fat self right on top of you so that you lay there uncomfortably, having a hard time breathing, just waiting for it to get off of you. Kind of like being stuck in traffic in Mexico City.

Like that time James and I were stuck in traffic in a taxi for 2 hours... in the rain... with a driver with a lead foot... with a car sick dog on our laps... a dog that proceeded to vomit all over James... with 1 hour still to go in the ride...

You know... those days.

But today, life made the kind gesture of reminding me that I have the most amazing husband on earth... possibly the universe.

So thanks for making it up to me life. After the vomit there's always a hot shower waiting.

Rest

I have officially finished my first class as a graduate student. Well.... the in class part, not the actual class. I still have one hefty group project ahead of me, but the long days are over. It was only 8 days, but it managed to suck all the energy out of me.

My grad school situation is unique. I am getting my degree in International Education through Buffalo State SUNY, but the program is designed specifically for international teachers. There are 2 classes a semester and the professors are flown down to Mexico City to give an 8 day intensive course. Intensive is a great word for it because every day this week I got to work around 7:15, finished work around 2:45, started class around 3, finished class around 7, and got home around 7:45.

Needless to say, I'm exhausted. I took a 3 1/2 hour nap today and am already feeling better. I look forward to a restful Sunday and a work week that won't be quite so long.

I look forward to REST. Rejuvenation. Time with my husband. Walks in the park with my dog. Baking cookies. Listening to music. Reading for FUN. The little things that make life so good. I will leave you with a picture of what this afternoon looked like for me.