Moved

My new blog address is:

http://manningmountain.blogspot.com

See ya there

Back by Popular Demand

Well...

It's been months since I've visited my blog. Why??? I don't really know. Maybe because I've let lots of things slide, including eating right, working out, taking alone time... Moderation is not and has never been my lifestyle. I'm kinda all or nothing-, so when I focus,I achieve and reach goals. Lots of the time, I'm kinda up in the air, just leaving everything up to the moment.
ENOUGH ALREADY. Time to take charge.

I was very gracefully asked to continue my writing by one faithful follower. I was rather surprised because I feel my stuff is sometimes trivial and not terribily interesting.

So here goes>>>

Lets's go back

First off, we never retrieved our camera after Thanksgiving; although, I'm sure someone has it. Let's just say my hubby and I took some "playful" videos. I cringe at the thought.
Whatever.

Spain was bittersweet. Horrible weather. It was the worst they've had in years. No trip to Morrocco. Rain and clouds almost everyday but one. That day we went to the beautiful village of Ronda, nestled in the mountains, maybe an hour away. Disgustingly delish--- I found a beautiful black leather purse for next to nothing. Bob found the most decedant pastry shop. ----------------
It was great to visit with my siblings and nieces and nephew. They're all so grown up-- and frankly, WOW, I realized... How do Kim (sister-in-law) and Lissa (sister) do it?? I knew I was never going to be a mom from early on. BUT- I was just amazed at how incredibly these two their manage children. Am I weird to admit that having Freddy was a big responsibility to me???
Having family time was nice though. I loved the way Bob interacted with the kids. (I forgot what a big kid he is himself.) I asked Bob who the "most normal" of the family was. Hands down---My bro- Chris. I guess I agree. I know he's a hell of a great father. (That makes me proud.)
Suck city... Iberia Airlines lost our luggage. I was in a t-shirt most the time- no make-up, so comfy shoes, no nothing. Bob's bags arrived the day after mine- just before our departure. Guess what??? No more overseas travel during the holidays for us. It really sucked so badly. It's still undescribible--- and I won't try.

Bob meeting my Mom in Miami was terrific. Mom has mellowed and was very entertaining. She's a great cook, great hostess, and won Bob's heart. I was so happy to spend time with Mom after so long. I love you, Mom. You're truly exceptional.

So we arrive back here only to argue about our girls, Ratty and Luna, and miss the New Years celebration with friends at Morelos. Oh well.

Then the next event was the Black and White Party at Ken and Carol's. Fun and I danced like a fool with some Mexican guy who was quite the Juan Travolta.

Will follow up with photos this weekend

Later

WE LOST OUR CAMERA!!

Last Thursday at Nick and Roger's Thanksgiving celebration, we lost our camera. I'm pretty sure I dropped it getting into the car when we left. I've been so upset about it. I've spoken to various townies to advise I am giving a $500 peso reward for info leading to the safe return of my beloved digital.
So, for now, no pictures of Erin and Mark's wedding at Meg and Marnie's, no pictures of Thanksgiving and our wonderful friends. I'm truly bummed.
Later.

Whale Report

About two hours ago, while talking on the phone with chum, Carola, I looked out to the ocean and damn if I didn't sight my first whale of the season. I screamed so loudly I'm sure I blew her ear out. It was quite large, seemingly alone, and did the whole water spouting thing. She was quite close to shore. She was moving east so Carol and I ended our conversation quickly in hopes her and Ken might see her eventually. Rockin' cool.
Well- off to shower and start the "process". We have a wedding at 5pm today on the beach. (Meg and Marnie's home). I hope I don't cry. I always do, even if I don't know the bride and groom.
Later.

Halloween Bash at Carol and Ken's

Yeah, these two retards are Luly and me. No one else seemed to be in the Halloween spirit. Actually, it wasn't even a Halloween party. It started off as a very modest dinner for four and then blew up into a free-for-all, (maybe 28 people in all and 3 dogs.)

One party animal, next door neighbor, a little guy named Roberto, fell in lust with me, was constantly letting anyone know it who would listen to him, and eventually was escorted home due to general obnoxiousness. He was not happy, called Ken and Bob racists, and threatened to bring his gun back to the party so Ken and hubby could shoot him. I understand he made his way back, snuck in and grabbed a beer, and left for the evening. Weird shit, huh? I'm sorry I missed all that. I understand that the next morning he did not remember the events of the previous evening. I feel I little sorry for him. He seemed pretty harmless, actually.

Here we are, our standard three amigas photo. I feel I look like a linebacker. Whatever. Good time as always when we go to C&K's.

Our computer was again down since Tuesday, and we finally had it returned and fixed yesterday. Something to do with the "motherboard". I have no idea what that means. Well, that meant no work for 3 days, and we passed the time playing dominoes and watching TV. It's not like we could have hit the beach all three days. The business phone still rang, and we had to keep vigil on the Mexican phone line for news from Miguel, the computer miracle-worker.

So, I'm taking Zumba classes M-F for 4-5pm. I'm the only gringa in the class, and we number about 25. We work out in an old large garage space, NO fans and hardly any light. I hate sweating, and God knows I do there as not only do we dance these weird Mexican line dances, but we run, do lunges, leg lifts, crunches, use weights, etc. The maestra almost killed me Wednesday, as we must have done at least 60 squats. After about 30, I was toast. Everytime she would turn her back, I'd take a quick break. Well, she caught me and some of the other slackers and became a little testy. I told maestra, "Hey, listen. I'm 48 (for sure the oldest in the class), and I smoke like a beast." All she said was, "Huh". I'm pretty sure I'm not the teacher's pet, and when maestra made me count to 30 in Spanish during our leg lifts, I definately heard a few snickers from some of the village girls. I don't care. My stomach is tightening, and although I HATE going, once I'm there and into about the first 20 minutes, I'm okay with it. However, my right thigh still hurts though a few hours in the ocean earlier today helped it. What beautiful water today!

Later.

Happy Birthday To Me

So I turned 48 on the 21st. Sneaky Luly and Carol threw me a surprise party on Saturday the 17th. We had a great time. I, however, spent much of my time making vodka martinis for the crowd,13 of us in all. Luly made a most delicious pork roast with apples and Carol, Patty, and Juan also brought some yummy edibles. I walked in with my famous bacon-wrapped mushrooms and a new strategy for winning at Mexican train. Needless to say, I was quite surprised to see so many people at Luly's for the game.

My first tip-off should have been that Ed greeted me at the front door, looking very handsome in a nice button-down dress shirt. As I put it all together, the Saturday prior, us girls discussed dressing up for the next week's game. I like dressing up and wanted to show off a dress I bought from a catalog for next to nothing, so I thought...FUN. They're one up on me...only short-term.

Some photos of the festivities:

It was a humid night. Here are the three sweaty amigas. It's painfully obvious to me I should have worn some support for my girls.

Here's my birthday piñata. No candy, just balloons under her skirt. Bob would later mosey on under and pop a balloon. I'm hanging this Hagatha on the front gate for Halloween.

Hubby... under yet another woman's skirt.

The partiers. Lower right is Juan enjoying his second martini.

Thanks Luly and Carol. It was a wonderful evening.

Later.

This and That

I truly wonder what the other full-time Gringos do down here. I mean, there's really nothing going on in this little village. I hate working everyday, but frankly, if we didn't have this job to focus on, what would we do?? Summers are too hot and humid to be outdoors unless you have a big pool or become a beach rat. Hell, even indoors is unpleasant. Thank God for our terraza and AC in the bedroom. So, with nothing to really do for six months of the year, I'd probably spend us into bankruptcy, and become a booze-hound, and Bob would just be a very unhappy camper. As November and December roll around, the snow birds return and for about six months, there is lots of socializing. We'll miss out on some of that too, as work is the priority. Just can't win...

It's finally cooling off, and soon we'll be riding our bikes to run the errands that we use the van for. It was incredibly windy last night, and our palm trees were bending just like during Hurricane Andres. This went on for about two hours. The stars are out this pre-dawn morning, and they are truly a sight.

We have finally purchased our plane tickets for Miami and Malaga, Spain for our Christmas with Dad and Wanda and my siblings. I'm really looking forward to that, and I am serious about dieting myself down a size. If I could stay away from the junk I indulge Bob in, such as: ice cream, cookies, brownies, cake, chocolate bars, and potato chips, I'd drop easily a couple of sizes. I also haven't been doing my morning walks as it's too buggy in the mornings. ( Bullshit Excuse #1). Then I bought an exercise tape, complete with workout mat and exercise bands and told myself that I could not possibly exercise downstairs in the guest bedroom until the old AC unit had been replaced. Well, a brand spanking new one was installed over 2 months ago, and I have yet to put the DVD on play. Now my thinking is that we need to try save a little money on the electric bill, which brings me to Bullshit Excuse #2. Now I could go on and on, but why beat myself up at 5am??

So a couple Mondays ago, Carol and I venture into Tecoman with the intention of bringing her new pup, Sammy, to the vet. He has a severe skin condition that needs tending to, and as all beach strays, he was malnourished. He is the most delicious baby. Well, we drop him off at the vet and were to leave him for two hours while they examined and bathed him. Well, five hours later we we returned. My buddy knows every killer clothes boutique and shoe store along the
main drag. She knows some of the owners by name. She scored a beautiful black dress that we're thinking would be perfect for New Years Eve. My big score was a knock-off Louis Vuitton
purse that we spied in a shop window. The shop was closed, and yet it was 4:10pm. Late opening up, I thought. Isn't siesta over at 4pm? So I ran the bell, and the owner grudgingly let us in as she told me she was getting ready to shower. " We won't be long", I said. My new purse is beautiful, and for $550 pesos, it was too good to pass up. It replaces the real Vuitton that I splattered orange paint on. This woman has beautiful purses shipped down from NYC every month. Carol and I have a date in 3 weeks to return. We picked up Sammy who has mange, but has been receiving medication for it, and it should clear up in about a month.

Bob has decided to get his hair cut this morning. It's down to his shoulders, and hasn't been cut since last winter. I guess he finally tired of the scruffy, hippy look. I'm secretly thrilled. I prefer a more polished look.

Later.