Back by Popular Demand!

So I'm back, by popular demand, and by some loving (sometimes pushy) nudges from some dear friends. I'm looking at you M. Wimm and Cali Perez-Verdia Wofford...the last one just slipped out Cali...old habits die hard.

So sit back, lactate if that's what you're doing these days (you know who you are), and enjoy...

It's been a busy few weeks at Casa de Mason-Jezek. We had our friend Nick staying with us. I started my on-line class and my counseling job picked up all at the same time. Andy has been gigging at the preschools and had an awesome gig at The Tavern, a local bar owned by a South African man who we are convinced is a pirate. (Really, I think he might be. He just needs an eye-patch to seal the deal).

I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed with trying to figure out a rhythm here, trying to figure out what felt "normal" (as normal as you can get in a foreign country where you know three souls and one of them is probably a pirate), and what felt right for me. I have to admit, it took me longer than I thought. Remember, Brave or Stupid? Yeah, I was totally feeling stupid. It was hard for me to get my head in a space where I felt "good." I didn't want to seem like an ungrateful brat for feeling uneasy and unsettled in my new home in Mexico. (Wah, poor me, I uprooted my life for fun and adventure with the man I love and now I am not feeling 100% sure about my decision. Boo-hoo!) Get over it, right?!

But after some serious thinking, many discussions with Andy, some tears, and serious soul searching, I realized that what I had done was, in fact, a major life change. A shift in my whole life story, my life time-line now has another major jag in it. I think I was a little too hard on myself, I think I shut off my emotions to it all because I didn't want to seem ungrateful, I shut off writing because I was afraid it would leak out onto the pages. I was afraid that I had made a major mistake. Once I realized this was my reality, not to be compared with anyone else's reality, I allowed myself (with some loving encouragement from Andy), to be freaked out. To be scared. To really think, "What the fuck have I done!?" After doing some vital sign checking I realized I was fine. I had taken a leap of faith...and I was fine. I just needed to process my feelings and figure out what I needed in order to feel okay here.

I needed to realize that we were not on some vacation; we are living here. This is our home for a year. I am working now, which honestly feels like the best thing. I have missed having a real purpose, not just to be witty and cook, but an actual purpose to my days. I should also mention that I was sick, off and on, for like three weeks. It's hard to feel "normal" or "okay" when you constantly feel like shit. And I have to say, I will not be taking normal bowel movements for granted any time soon. (TMI? Sorry, I only speak the truth!)

Also, having Nick here was a sort of blessing. He is such a laid back guy, who is really living his life, and just helped to make me feel more normal. We had a house guest. It was lovely. He brought such a positive spin to everything we did, that it really helped to pull me back. It was nice for Andy to have someone to chat with, to go out with, and to have someone who wasn't in mini-freak out mode to be around. We get to see him again soon for a footie match in Mexico City. I know we are both looking forward to that!

So, now that I feel like a normal human being again, I will really and truly try to make an effort to blog more often. I feel like I have found my groove with my class (HA! actually Black Board and people's utter lack of common sense might drive me to the brink of insanity, but here's to hoping it doesn't), and with my other job...so I will schedule time in to keep you all posted on Mexico.

Here's a few pictures from our wanderings since I last blogged.

We went to Teotihuacan. We left early. Got there early. Were there alone with a French couple for about 20 minutes. A bucket list item was checked off for us all, but mostly for Andy. We are on top of the Pyramid of the Sun with the Pyramid of the Moon in the background. 

Lunch on top of the Pyramid of the Moon, you know, like you do.

We went to Oaxaca for a night and two days. This is their central cathedral. 

Due to tummy issues by some of us (not Andy) we spent the majority of our first day in Oaxaca at a museum that used to be a monastery. It was beautiful and informative and had nice, clean bathrooms with toilet paper. Yay! This is Nick and me looking out over the gardens. Like looking into the Sonoran Desert; strange and lovely.  

The pool at our lovely hostel HIGH in the hills of Oaxaca. I won't bore you with the tale of winding roads and the scrapes the poor car took on it's undercarriage on our way up to find this little gem.

Hammocks. My love. Finally learning to relax...

Andy and Nick and the largest tree in the world. Pretty amazing.

Monte Alban. A ruin site much older than Teotihuacan. 

Andy and I were invited by our neighbor, Nacho, and Pilly to go on a three hour "spiritual" outing. It ended up being 12 hours. Nick thought we were dead. We thought we might kill people. BUT we got really close to Popo (our friendly neighborhood volcano) and found some places to camp. We called it "Our 12 Hour Spiritual Journey from Hell." We survived and no one died. Now we know to ALWAYS take our own car.

Alright...that feels good. Get it all out there...and get back to blogging. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!