7 months

When we got married in December, we had a ceremony here in Mexico on December 12th and a ceremony in Charleston on December 29th. So technically we have two anniversaries. And in honor of today being our (2nd) 7 month anniversary, I wanted to share some things that I have learned since December...

Things marriage has taught me:

-how to cook! (I know, this is suprising, considering I used to hate to cook, but now that I have someone to cook for who loves to eat and enjoys my food, it´s kind of fun! And I´m getting pretty good at it if I do say so myself)

-when to walk away from an argument (I used to be the type of person that had to have the last word, but now I know when to step away)

-that I´m not always right (Say it ain´t so!!! I know, I´m in shock too, but I´m learning to admit when I´m wrong)

-how much fun it is to have a roommate, best friend, partner in crime, lover, fellow Christian, and go to guy all in one person

-that now I have to consider another person´s feelings, schedule, wants, needs, etc. besides just my own (which can be difficult sometimes, but I´m working on it)

-PATIENCE!!!! Which is a big deal to me, since I´m one of the most impatient people you will ever meet, but luckily Abe is extremely patient and it´s rubbing off on me

-how to go with the flow (again, I´m an advance planner/Type A person, so living in such a relaxed culture with such a happy-go-lucky, laid back guy has really calmed me down a lot)

There are lots of other things I´ve learned, but these are the first 7 that popped into my head. So a big thanks to my husband for putting up with me for the past 7 months, as I know I´m a pretty difficult person to live with! And Happy Anniversary Abe...te amo mucho!!!

Weekly Ritual

For those who don´t know, I was born and raised Lutheran. Baptized, confirmed, and married in my home church. I was lucky enough to go to college in my hometown on a full ride and was fortunate enough to participate in Lutheran Campus Ministry, which took place at my church with my old pastor.

LCM was like a college-age group that met every Tuesday for dinner and some sort of activity. The activity usually varied. Sometimes it was a service project, sometimes we played games, sometimes we had worship, sometimes we just talked. But what I always counted on every week was the ritual that we had during dinner.

Everyone would go around the table and say what their highs and lows for the week were and where they saw God. It didn´t literally mean, ¨Wow I actually just saw God himself!¨ It meant where did you see or feel God´s presence in your everyday life and how.

That LCM group was very special to me and I loved going every week. I´ve been out of college for a while now, but now that I´m blogging, I decided I want to get back into that Tuesday ritual. So here goes...

My high for the week: I have several, which is good, as I´m trying to be a more positive, optimistic, thankful person.

1. It has actually drizzled several times this week! (Refer to my earlier post about the water situation as to why this is such a miracle)

2. A book I ordered for one of my online book clubs got here in 1 week! Again, this is amazing because usually things on Amazon take anywhere from 4-12 weeks to get to Mexico! And for all those who don´t know, I LOVE to read and I´m a complete book nerd, so this makes me really happy! :-)

3. I got to talk to my parents on Saturday on the phone, which always makes me happy. Phone calls to the US are quite expensive, but so worth it to stay in touch with two of the people who mean the most to me in the world.

4. Last Thursday I got my hair cut and highlighted by my sister-in-law Debbie. For all those who don´t know me very well, I´m a pretty low maintenance chick, especially when it comes to my hair. I don´t own a blow dryer, flat iron, curling iron, nothing. My routine consists of brushing my hair and letting it air dry. I usually only get my hair cut every 3-4 months, as my hair is quite strong and healthy and does not get split ends easily, thanks to my low maintenance. So anyways, I´m happy because my hair looks great, the highlights are very subtle and natural looking and just what I wanted! And I haven´t ¨done¨ anything to my hair since probably high school, so it was time for some ¨me¨ sprucing up.

My low for the week: Saturday would have been my maternal grandmother´s 78th birthday. But unfortunately she died of colon cancer on 4/15/2006. It´s hard to believe that she´s been gone for 4 years. I think about her all the time and miss her everyday.

Where I saw God this week: On Sunday there was a newborn baby boy at church. Every time I see a baby it just reminds me of the miracle of life and what a blessing from God it is. I continue to hope and pray that one day I will know how it feels to have such a gift from Him.

(Photo above is from our LCM group back in 2007, my last year there, I´m in the middle with the blue shirt and black capris-miss all you guys!)

The Water Problem in Hermosillo

For all those who don´t know, Hermosillo is smack dab in the middle of the Sonoran desert. Which is the 9th largest desert in the world, by the way. So needless to say, there is definitely a shortage of water here.

So far in 2010, it has rained maybe 4 or 5 times. And when I say rain, really I just mean drizzling, a few drops of water from the sky here and there. But because there is never water here, the streets are not equipped to deal with it and flood super easy. (For all you Charlestonians, think downtown Charleston streets when it rains.)

Also, the entire city is on a water schedule, since there isn´t enough for everyone to have water in their houses 24/7. Each area has a schedule of anywhere from 8-12 hours of water per day. We originally were on a 2pm-10pm schedule. (Yeah, mornings were super fun without water!) Now we have been switched to a 5am-5pm schedule, which seems to be working well. But whether or not we actually have water is a different story. It´s like gambling at a casino. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don´t. There have been days when it´s the correct hour for water and we don´t have it and other days when it´s not the correct hour and we do have it. So I have learned to adopt a go-with-the-flow attitude about it, which is hard to believe for all those who know me, since I am a Type A personality to a T!

Another thing I´ve noticed about water and this city is that there aren´t very many pools. Which is absurd when you live in a city that reaches 115-120 degrees daily during the summer. But seriously, in my almost 2 years of being here, I´ve only seen 1 or 2 private pools in a city of 1 million people. Some apartment and condo complexes have pools and there are a few YMCA type places that you can go, but get this....you have to PAY to swim. How crazy is that?!?! Also, the majority of the hotels have pools, but again, you have to be a guest at the hotel or a guest of someone staying there to go to the pool.

Yesterday, my sister-in-law Debbie (Abe´s oldest brother Alan´s wife), decided to get a hotel room for the day. So after church we all went and swam in the pool and it felt wonderful! It was my first time being in a pool since I came here in September 2008! We had a great time with his family. The first picture is of me, Abe´s cousin Endora, and his mom Paty in one of the hotel pools.

New at this

So, as you can see, this is my first post and I have to admit, I´m not quite sure what I´m doing. I have many friends with blogs that look so great and are so interesting...I only hope that one day this one will be also. I figured since I am in a foreign country thousands of miles away from all my family and friends, this might be a good idea to show you what´s going on in our life.

Some of my posts will be about our plans, some will be my opinions, some will be funny, some will be sad, but they will all be honest and about our life.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into our world. :-)