South Of The Border

Around Town

2010-04-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from around town. I know its been a while but I only get online once or twice a week and then I am watching my shows or downloading books to read. Every town I have been to here is the same, in the center of town you have the square with a church on one side and the town hall on the other. Something thats really funny is that half of the car tags you see here are American, people bring cars here and never register them.

South Of The Border

2009-12-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Mexico on Oct. 27th. We are with my husbands family and doing really well. My daughter has already started school and she loves everything but the uniforms, HAHA. Alot of things here are different while others are the same. We went to see New Moon last week in english and we bought pizza the other day. You can buy food for the week to feed 6 people with about $40 (dollars) and the electric bill was $20. The showers here are different, there is no tub or even shower stall, just a curtian seperating the shower area from the rest of the bathroom. Oh, and no matter where you go BYOTP!!! (bring your own toilet paper)

I will post again later with more about living here. Bye for now

Flurries in the air

2008-11-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

There were flurries in the air today!!! I LOVE SNOW!!!

My co-worker is not doing so good. We really don't know how long he has at this point. We are all just trying to take it one day at a time.

Life has been pretty routine around here, which is a good thing I guess. I have noticed that everyone has been a little slow to post. I guess concern for our financial situations kinda makes it hard for the creative juices to keep flowing.

I have already applied for our passports and we have been going through the house getting rid of a lot of crap we have accumulated over the years. It's amazing how I have been able to let go of so many things that I use to think were important. I am really making a fresh start. Other than our cloths we are not taking much. I am having my Native American pictures that I have collected over the years shipped down next month with some of the larger things that Abby wants to take. When we leave we are only taking what will fit in the car. I am in the process of boxing up summer cloths so they can go next month as well.

I have had the dental work done that I needed. I had two teeth pulled last week and I had a physical also. Need to use the insurance while I have it.

I had to go to the Dr. yesterday because I was having pain in my lower right stomach. They told me I have a cyst on my right ovary that is sort of squeezing the ovary. They said we are going to wait it out a bit to see if it will go away on its own. They gave my some pain meds to help until then.

I had a meeting with my daughters teacher Friday. She absolutely loves Abby. She did not have one bad thing to say. I am soooooooooooo lucky to have such a great kid!!!! I did talk with the teacher about the move and while she is sad that she will lose her early she is also excited for her. She and I discussed creating a blog for Abby when we get there so that she can write about her experiences there. The teacher thinks it will be a great way for her to keep in touch with everyone and also a good learning experience for the class.

Well, I will try to be better about posting more often. And I hope more of you will do the same. I really miss reading everyones great stories.

Updates

2008-09-23T06:48:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I have several updates for you.

First, please keep my coworker in your prayers, he was just diagnosed with brain tumors yesterday. He is a very good man and he still has not gotten over the loss of my boss (his best friend) in march.

Now, to the up coming move.

We are in the process of getting our passports. I am having some dental work done now while we have insurance. I am buckling down and learning much more spanish. We are leaving in March so I still have time. I will be living in a small town called Zimapan in the state of Hidalgo. We will be living in the house my husband grew up in. His parents no longer live there.I will only be taking with me what will fit in my car. My husband will slowly send more of my things with his cousin that makes the trip every couple months. I really don't care about things so much anymore so its OK. The house has a microwave and a washing machine, whoo hoo!!!. I will have to apply for Abby to have duel citizenship so that she will not have problems in school. I completely understand that women there do not act the same as they do here, I am prepared for that. Abby's school will be a five min. walk from the house and town is a ten min. drive. There will be a couple people in the family there that will speak english, so until my spanish is great, I will have help. One problem that I will have is not being able to go to my own church, but his family knows that I am not catholic and they are OK with it.

My Cousin/SIL/Best friend is pregnant!!! this will make child number 4 hahaha we are all happy for her.

Taking A Flying Leap

2008-08-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

I am doing something I never thought I would do. I am moving to Mexico. I have put A LOT of thought and research into this decision. I don't want to be here anymore.
I am going to live with my MIL with my daughter.
My daughter is going to go to the same school that taught my husband, he is a very smart man so I am not worried.
I am going to help my MIL with her store and with her house.
My husband is going to stay here for about a year so that he can save lots of money for us, it will be easier to do if we are gone.
I may, in time teach an English class or two.

I know it sounds crazy but a major crisis will change your perspective on your priority's. Mine are no longer about material things. I want my daughter to grow up with at least my husbands parents in her life. I am also very tired of my daughter becoming more and more materialistic. I am going to keep up with her schooling so that she will be able to attend a collage in the US if she wants to.

I have already begun to make preparations with my SIL here, she will be leaving at the same time. She is going to help me adjust to my new life. My MIL is thrilled and is already looking for a larger house. My husband is worried about me being there without him but he does know that his family will take really good care of us.
I am ready to get away from a place where the most important thing is money, I want my daughter to grow up in a environment where family is the most important thing in the world.

The area where he is from is about 17 hours from the violence of the border towns and 4 hours from kidnap city (Mexico City). It is a small town where everyone knows everyone and there is a Wal-mart about 2 hours away. That isn't too bad considering I drive 45 mins to one here every week. I will be getting about $800 a month due to a past settlement, so money will not be a problem.

I waited a while to post this because I needed to do a lot of research and planning. I have not jumped into this without a lot of thought.
I would like to know what some of your concerns would be so that I can make sure I have covered that base.

Comments are welcome, even if you think I am crazy!

Checking in

2008-08-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

I am still here. I have wanted to post something for a few days now, but couldn't seem to get the motivation up to do it. I'm hanging in there. It seems sometimes like the pain will never go away, but I know someday it will be easier to deal with. Going through my parents things was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I got through it. My real dad never wanted to admit that he was my father because he had cheated on his wife, I was the proof. So when my step dad adopted me at 15, I finally felt like I had 2 parents who loved me.
Me and my mom were very close, we had been through so much together that we were more than mother - daughter, we were friends.

When I was born my mother had to take me to work with her because no one would babysit a handicapped infant. Her boss would entertain me while she worked, she made him my godfather. He died about 15 years ago. He had given my mother a teddy bear and a jewelry box shaped like a ginger bread house. My mother gave me the teddy bear after our car wreck. She told me that when she was gone, the jewelry box would go to me. It's sitting on my dresser now.
The thing I got from my father, I got 13 years ago. Most of my life I carried the family name of the man my mom almost married that said he would raise me as his own. That is until I was born, then my disability was too much for him and he took off. At 15 my dad gave me his name, something I had always wanted. And because of the way that Mexicans pass down names, I was able to give my daughter this amazing name.

Oh, The Things We Eat

2008-07-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

I had my cousin living with me for a few months last year and apparently I eat a lot of strange food.

Ketchup on my eggs
Syrup on my eggs
Ketchup in my grits
I dunk my pizza in ranch dressing
I dip my fries in my frostie
I put BBQ sauce on my hamburgers
I put BBQ sauce on my mashed potatos

What sorts of strange things do you eat?

Our 4th

2008-07-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Sooo, last minute (of course) the hubby's family decides to go to Myrtle Beach for the fireworks. AAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Hubby doesn't get off work until after 12. Then he has to take a shower and get ready. We waited 30 minutes after that for his family to show up. We all load up into the two vans and we are on our way. It is a 2 hour drive to the beach and there are 6 kids, can you say nightmare????? We got to Myrtle Beach around 3:30 and they decide that they want to go to the aquarium before we go to the beach. Do they know where it is????? NO!! of course not. We stop to ask for directions, who do you think is elected to go ask? ME!!! At 4:30 we finally get there and who do you think is elected to purchase the tickets???? YUP!! ME!! Well after I stand in line forever and it is finally my turn, they run up to me and tell me they want to go to more than one place (you get a discount if you purchase more than one attraction at one time) so I had to get out of line while they decided what they wanted to do! I was about to my boiling point right about now. Ok, we got the tickets and we are on our way. It was beautiful. It was worth the price if not the hassle. Next we were headed to the Ripley's believe it or not. And once again they had no idea where it was, yup I had to get back out for directions. (by the way, throughout all this jumping in and out, I was seated in the back of the van!) We got there at 7pm and had to circle around for 20 minutes. looking for a parking place. when we finally got to the ticket gate, the hubby's cousin lost their tickets. We had to stand outside while they went to their car to look for them.
We didn't leave there until 9pm. 9pm is also the time that the fireworks show started on the other side of town!!! We saw 15 minutes of the show from inside the van looking for a parking place. We then spent over an hour trying to get out of there (MAJOR traffic jam). We stopped at a waffle house for sustenance at 11:30 just outside Myrtle Beach. Now, I am on a diet and I was doing really good all day so this really ate me up....I was starving and I was trying to keep on track, I ordered the chef salad, they tell me no-can-do we don't have any lettuce. OMG!!!!! Mumbling under my breath, I order eggs and hash browns. We finally got home at 3AM. I was tired, and aggravated.

Sound like I had a bad day??? Well this is how all outings with his family go. Welcome to my world. LOL

The past

2008-06-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

Since it has been so boring that I don't have anything to blog about, I thought I would blog about some of my past. It might help you understand me better.

I grew up in Florida. I moved 3 times a year until I was 12. I have had 5 step-fathers, but the last one was the keeper and he adopted me. My real father will not even admit he is my father. I believe that it is because I was born deformed but my mother assured me it was because he was scared of loosing his family ( he was married to someone else at the time)

Step father number 4 molested my older sister and beat me She was twelve when it started and 14 when she finally told someone. He only served 7 years for ruining the future of a bright, pretty, young girl. I was in foster care for 7 months before my mother got me back.

Growing up I was always teased for my feet (club foot, in both) and my eyes (severe lazy eye, in both) I had surgery for the club foot when I was 18 months thanks to the Shriner's (ALWAYS give them money, even loose change please!). Even though I had the surgery, I still have major problems. All the little bones are out of place and the tibia is sitting wrong on the ankle joint. I had surgery on my eyes when I was 15, It is not completely gone but usually only comes back when I am tired.

In high school I gained weight partly due to inactivity (Dr. said no running, no jumping, no walking or standing more than 15mins.) and partly due to depression, like getting fat helps that problem. I started dressing in all black, stopped caring about grades and started smoking pot. I started dating a very bad guy, I'll just call him psycho. I only dated him because no one else would even look at me (maybe it was because I was goth in a hick town?). We dated for almost 2 years and I regret every minute of it. Its not like he beat me up or anything, he was just very good and messing with my head (except that one time he held a knife to my throat).

Up until I was 19 I was terrified of being in cars, including driving. I had been in three traumatizing wrecks in less than 3 years.

Wreck #1 with my Aunt on interstate 95, she lost control and we spun around about three times before we hit the cement wall twice. We walked away with only cuts and bruises but it scared the hell out of me.

Wreck #2 with my mother, an old pick up hit my mothers door head on doing 55mph, it almost killed her. She was trapped in the car for over an hour until they cut her out. She broke her hip bone, and tail bone in several places. those type of breaks can be fatal due to bones puncturing organs.

Wreck#3 with my friends, the road collapsed and sent the whole truck into the St. Mary's river. the truck ended up getting wedged between two trees and we were stuck on top of the truck until rescue could get us with a boat.

Ok, that's enough for now, I'll write more later.....Maybe I'll even share the corny way me and the Mexican met.....lol

If I won the lottery

2008-06-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

How many of you have dreamed of what you would do if you hit the big one?

Well here is my dream.

I would buy alot of land in the country and build houses for everyone in our families.

One word- Maid

Another word- Cook lol

I would make sure that my husbands family in Mexico were taken care of.

I would buy an awsome RV for our trips to Mexico.

Maybe a little nip here and a tuck there hehe

My house would have a movie theater

I would have a HUGE pool

I would have my own night club for family use only

What kinds of things would you do if you won??

Saving Money

2008-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have been looking all over the internet for ways to save money without going overboard.

1) switched all my light bulbs to the new low energy. It saves you more than they claim.

2) I now shop at Aldi's, it is one of those store's where you bag your own, buy or bring your own bags and insert a quarter for the cart. I save about $40 a week
there.

3)I have always shopped at thrift stores as much as possible.

4)I read A LOT but that can get very expensive even at used book stores so, here is what I do. I go to yard sales and buy books of all kinds in good condition dirt cheap, then I take them to the used book store for store credit. I get much more for those than for what I read (historical romance). They only give me about .30 per book for mine, but non-fiction books they will give you 2 or 3 $ for them. If I buy a whole box, like 30 books for $5.00 and trade............well, you do the math.

5) Meatless dinner nights ( having pancakes for dinner can be dirt cheap and everyone loves pancakes!)

6) Me and the hubby take leftovers for lunch everyday

7) During the summer we cover the vents in our bedrooms and bathrooms during the day. We spend most of the day in the living room and kitchen, why pay to cool rooms not being used?

8) We love netflix!!! One of the only luxuries we allow ourselves is watching new movies. Instead of getting 2 a week and paying $3.50 each for a total of $28 a month, we pay about $17 a month and can have up to three out at a time with no monthly limit.

What sort of things do some of you do to stretch the green? I would love to hear some new ideas. And if I think of anymore I will add them.

Chili

2008-06-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

This is a funny joke I found, enjoy!

Notes from an inexperienced Chili taster named Frank, who was visiting Texas from the East Coast:
Recently I was honoured to be selected as an outstanding famous celebrity in Texas, to be a judge at a Chili cook-off, because no one else wanted to do it. Also the original person called in sick at the last moment, and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the beer wagon when the call came. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides, they told me that I could have free beer during the tasting. So I accepted.
Here are the scorecards from the event:
CHILI # 1: MIKE'S MANIC MONSTER CHILI
JUDGE ONE: A little to heavy on tomato. Amusing kick.
JUDGE TWO: Nice, smooth tomato flavour. Very mild.
FRANK: Holy @#$%!, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway with this stuff. I needed two beers to put the flames out. Hope that's the worst one. Those Texans are crazy.
CHILI # 2: ARTHUR'S AFTERBURNER CHILI
JUDGE ONE: Smokey, with a hint of pork. Slight Jalapeno tang.
JUDGE TWO: Exciting BBQ flavour. Needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
FRANK: Keep this out of reach of children! I'm not sure what I am supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave of two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich manoeuvre. They had to walkie-talkie in three extra beers when they saw the look on my face.
CHILI # 3: FRED'S FAMOUS BURN DOWN THE BARN CHILI
JUDGE ONE: Excellent firehouse chili! Great kick. Needs more beans.
JUDGE TWO: A beanless chili. A bit salty. Good use of red peppers.
FRANK: Call the EPA, I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now. Barmaid pounded me on the back; now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting sh!t-faced.
CHILI # 4: BUBBA'S BLACK MAGIC
JUDGE ONE: Black Bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
JUDGE TWO: Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods. Not much of a chili.
FRANK: I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Sally, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills; that 300 lb b!tch is starting to look HOT, just like this nuclear-waste I'm eating.
CHILI # 5: LINDA'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER
JUDGE ONE: Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
JUDGE TWO: Chili using shredded beef; could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
FRANK: My ears are ringing, and I can no linger focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly from a pitcher onto it. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Freakin' Rednecks! ! !
CHILI # 6: VERA'S VERY VEGETARIAN VARIETY
JUDGE ONE: Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spice and peppers.
JUDGE TWO: The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions and garlic.
FRANK: My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulphuric flames. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that big ol' Sally. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone!
CHILI # 7: SUSAN'S SCREAMING SENSATION CHILI
JUDGE ONE: A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.
JUDGE TWO: Ho Hum. Tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. I should note that I am worried about Judge # 3.
FRANK: You could put a #)$^@#*&! Grenade in my mouth, pull the #)$^@#*&! pin, and I wouldn't feel a damn thing. I've lost the sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava-like crap, to match my shirt. At least the during the autopsy they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful. I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the four inch hole in my stomach.
CHILI # 8: HELEN'S MOUNT SAINT CHILI
JUDGE ONE: A perfect ending. This is a nice blend chili, safe for all; not too bold, but spicy enough to declare its existence.
JUDGE TWO: This final entry is a good balanced chili, neither mild now hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge # 3 passed out, fell and pulled the chili pot on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor Yank.
FRANK: - - - - - Mama?- - - (Editor's Note: Judge # 3 was unable to report).

Mary ( my sister-in-law)

2008-06-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take some time and talk about someone who has made me feel more welcome in my new family than anyone else.

She came here from GA 3 years ago. She lived with us for a year and when she got here she didn't speak any english (if you don't know already I don't speak hardly any spanish) so the communication was a problem, but before long we were chatting up a storm.She has since learned to speak english very well and I learned much more spanish. She was a very good roommate. She helped me with Abby without personal opinion. She helped me keep up the house because we both worked. She really appreciated anything I did for her and I found out later that she stuck up for me to a lot of people in his family. She was calling her mom and telling her how wonderful I was (if you say so).

When she first got here my husband changed how he acted towards me. He was pulling the whole "I am lord of the manor". It only took me a few days to nip that in the bud. I would cook dinner for everyone and after we sat down he would ORDER her to made him something to go with it. I DON'T THINK SO!!! I told her to sit down and told him that she was not his personal slave and that just because she was staying with us did not mean that he would have 2 women taking care of his every need, and that he could just lay around and order us about! She has since started standing up to him about all kinds of stuff, I am so proud!

When she was pregnant she would call me for advise all the time and when she was in labor, she had me in the room as her coach. I was very honored. And as you can see, he is such a cutie!!!

She is going to leave in December to go back to Mexico for good, I am really going to miss her.

An Cough la

2008-06-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

I really don't like the way my name sounds in spanish, it sounds like you got something caught in your throat. Angela = An(flem)la
But My middle name is kinda cool Hope =Esperanza
My husbands family name is Rangel = wronghell
Some other names

Mary = Maadie
Daniel = Danyell
Laura - Lowerra
Martin = Marteen
Judy = yudy
Victor = Bictor
Miranda = Meeranda

My daughters is the funniest, it sounds like some one pinched you at the end of the name.
Abigail = Abbygaeeeel

I don't obey

2008-06-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we set up our daughters pool. Its not very big and the water only comes up to her waist but it has been so hot we thought it was time to drag it out.

There was a hole in the blow up ring (its one of those where you blow up the top ring and then the pool rises with the water) Well the hubby swore that the air was leaking from the plug, I said there was a hole somewhere. Turns out there was a hole and I patched it up. After about two hours it was almost full and Abby wanted to get in, she had been begging us for over an hour and I finally said OK. 10 mins. later he saw her in the pool and said "who gave you permission ?" and she said "moma" he walked over to me and said .................................................." I didn't give you permission to let her in there. You are suppose to obey orders!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.OBEY!!!
I DON"T THINK SO!!!!!

So I grabbed the water hose and chased him all over the yard until he begged me to stop!
I don't OBEY!!!

Prejudice

2008-06-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yes I get other white people looking at me and my hubby funny and I deal with that. BUT you know what really gets me mad? Hispanic women who are rude to me because I am married to a Mexican. I have had waitresses who almost slammed my order down. Women roll their eyes at me in the store. The first couple parties that he took me to, none of the women would even say hello. The women in his family are nice to me now, but they use to be the same way.
What is it that makes most of them dislike us so much? I wouldn't think that it is because they think we are taking their men cuz lets face it there are more Mexican men than Mexican women in NC (plenty to go around LOL).

A kids 2 year B-day Party

2008-06-06T11:06:00.001-07:00

Most of the men in my hubbys family will drink at any party, even for a 2 year old. We went to the party Sat. If you have never been to a mexican party, let me fill you in. Parties are for the adults, kids just run around. They had food that none of the kids wanted to eat (tongue tacos). There was a Mariachi group that the kids didn't even notice. ALL of the men were drinking and the women were bored. At these parties with his family, the women can only drink if the hostess is drinking. The men stand in a circle in the corner of the yard while the women sit at tables talking to friends if they have any there. Of cource I usually don't have anyone to talk to because I don't speak very much spanish and a couple years ago I tried to talk a little with what I new, and several of the women laughed at me, not doing that again.
I HATE going to his familys parties, but I put up with it because then he can't get out of doing things with my family.

I love questionnaires

2008-05-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Two Names You Go By:
1.Angela 2.Moma
Two Things You wear (don't leave home without,either of these!)
1.shirt 2. pants
Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:
1. love 2. respect
Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. read 2.spend time with my family
Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. lots of money 2. my parents here in NC
Two things you did last night:
1.made a baby blanket 2. watched my show's season finale
Two things you ate today:
1. ceral 2. salad
Last Two People You Talked To:
1.rhonda 2. baltazar
Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow:
1. work 2. getting ready to leave friday (trip to FL)
Two longest car rides
1 NC to Fl (everytime) 2. FL to KY
Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas 2. Halloween (I make abby's costumes)
Two Favorite Beverages:
1. coffee 2. diet cherry coke
Two Things About Me You May Not Have Known:
1.i am not as strong as everyone things (sometimes I need a hug) 2. I worry that I will force abby to do things I wanted to do as a kid instead of what she wants (I missed out on a lot due to my handicap)
Two Movies I would watch over and over:
1.dirty dancing 2. something to talk about
Two Places I have lived:
1 FL 2 NC
Two of my Favorite Foods:
1.Pizza 2. chicken from "Outback"
Two Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:
1.I am where I want to be location wise, but I would LOVE to be rich LOL!!!

Men

2008-05-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, before I start to rant, a little history.

My cousin/bestfriend/soon-to-be-sister-in-law, moved here almost three years ago after a nasty divorce. She had two kids and I was going to help her get back on her feet. She grew up in Texas and we never got to see each other, but we have always been close. We use to drive my husband crazy because we talked on the phone for at least an hour every day. After she had been here a couple months and had a job and was saving up to get her own place, she met my bro-in-law. Lust at first sight.

Now she has a child with him, to make a total of three kids. The whole time they were dating he would tell his brother what a big mistake he was making and how she was only with him for his money????? WHAT???? What money??? He makes $10/hr
He and I fight about this all the time. I get so angry with his opinion of white women. Before I met him the only time he ever had any contact with white women, it was the sluts in the bars who would get drunk and throw themselves at anything that moved. He can't seem to move past that opinion. He once told me that I was the exception to the rule. Ya, thanks for the complement.

My cousin is NOT a slut. She is a good person. She is also my best friend and understands me more that anyone, even more than my hubby, lets face it there is only so much a man can understand about women. It really hurts when the man I love doesn't think that my cousin/bestfriend/soon-to-be-sister-in-law is good enough for his brother, who was a little too wild before he met her, and now is a mature father.
How can he really think that any American woman would wake up one morning and say "gee I think my life would be soooo much easier if I married a Mexican. I could stick out like a sore thumb at his family gatherings. I could deal with ignorant stares from everyone around me. I could be treated like a second class citizen by my own country. Be expected to live by a different set of rules for women. Make just make enough to pay the bills. Or get pulled over all the time because he won't take the "la Ley" bumper sticker off the car. "
What part of that is easy?????
My cousin is a VERY pretty, young happy-go-lucky girl. She could have any guy she wanted. She fell in love with him. What part of that is difficult to understand?

Dealing with death

2008-05-15T10:42:00.001-07:00

I am just now learning to deal with death. As a child we always moved around so much that I was never close with anyone who died. Other that immediate family and grandparents, we didn't have any one around that we got a chance to get close to. In the past couple years I have had four people close to me die and it seems that it gets harder with each one. First was my grandfather, this one didn't hit me as hard because he had been sick for along time before he passed and was in hospice when it happened, so I was somewhat prepared. The next to go was Billy, he came to work for our family business and we sort of adopted him even though he was about 55 at the time. He was a very sweet man and had no other family, he even moved in a couple doors down from my parents. Well a couple weeks after I moved back to NC, he passed away from a spider bite. I was upset for a while but part of me didn't let it seem real because I was so far away at the time. Bubba has hard, even though I saw it coming. He died last year from cancer of the colon. He was my cousin and he was only 25. I couldn't understand how a young man who had so much living left to do could die so young. He was more brave than I could have been, He fought the whole way and lived as much as he could in the process. The most recent was my boss. I sat ten feet from this man for two and a half years and then one day I get a call an hour before I was to leave for work telling me he had just died a few mins before. Looking at that empty space in the office is hard. I work for a small insurance company that is operated out of his house. His widow sits 5 feet from me and his best friend of 40 years sits to the other side. His imprint is on every nook and cranny of this office. It has been a month and a half and it is getting better but I wonder if all of this would have been easier had I experienced death as a child. I never even had a pet that died. We usually had to give our animals away when we moved.

One of the ways that I have learned helps me in dealing with death is to write about that person. Below are things I wrote when Bubba and my boss passed away.

Bubba

His name was Randall Wayne Moody Jr., but everyone knew him as Bubba. He was quick to smile, and made friends with everyone he met. He was the kind of person that you liked instantly. When you were around him you felt how he warmed the room with his presence. He was a man that his family was proud of. In the past couple years he showed us all courage I didn’t think one person could possess. He always put on a brave face, never giving up. His faith was an inspiration to everyone around him. Most people in his place would have given into self-pity and screamed why me, but not Bubba. He was going to fight to the very end no matter how hopeless it seemed, and that’s just what he did. When we ask ourselves why this would happen to someone so young with so much life in him, I’d like to think that it was so we could all carry around just a bit of his courage with us, and when something seems impossible in our lives we can remember Bubba’s determination to see us through it.

It Took Us By Surprise

Jimmy was a rare man who was full of surprises. He had one of the biggest hearts you can have. He was the type of man who could brighten your worst day with one of his winning smiles. He was truly a man of his word, a trait sorely needed more in this world. He was the type of person that when you talked with him you knew he was really listening to what you had to say, he valued everyone’s opinion. In this life it is a lesson that people come and go, sometimes we are prepared and sometimes not. In his life Jimmy surprised everyone. With his wit he would make us unexpectedly laugh. With his sharp mind he could find a solution to any problem. With his compassion, always ready to help. He was a man who, when he hit rock bottom, climbed his way back to the top. “It took us by surprise” is a phrase I have heard often in the past couple weeks. Is it any wonder that a man who was always full of surprises would go out with the biggest one of all.

Things you should know if you are going to marry a mexican man

2008-05-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

1) Men have a different set of rules than women (me Tarzan you Jane ahahah)
2) You must always ask visitors 20x's if they would like something to eat or drink
3) Women don't smoke
4) You will be asked at least once amonth "when are you having more kids?"
5) When having a party at 5pm, inform his family it is at 3pm (so they will get
there on time)
6) Don't think you can plan anything (last minute is their motto)
7) Expect to be invited to partys 1 hour before it is suppose to start
8) The first words you should learn in spanish are food words, trust me you want to know what you are eating, one word................tongue

A little about my daughter

2008-05-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Abigail,

She is my world. Very bright, but she hates to read, which drives me nuts. She loves babies, even when they are crying lol. Makes friends easily and is easy to get along with. I expect big things from this wonderful person.

A little about my husband

2008-05-14T08:54:00.001-07:00

Baltazar, is from Zimapan, Hidalgo Mxo. its about an hour north of Mexico City. He grew up in a small town and he is related to half the people in that town lol. He is a very smart man, but he will admit when he doesn't know what he is doing (which isn't very often). He doesn't like to drink and he HATES smoking. Loves maps and planning places he would like to visit. He gets me mad on purpose because he thinks its funny. His parents are good loving people that raised their kids right ( I can't say the same about some others in his family :(

He is one of the only people who really understands me.

A little about me

2008-05-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

I moved to NC 10 years ago when I met my husband. We have been married for 7 years and have a daughter together. He is in construction and I am in insurance. The only family I have here is my cousin (soon to be sister-in-law) that is in a relationship with my brother-in-law. (I know, it gives me a headache to)I met my husband when I was 17 and trying to get a 17 year old and a 20 year old to make comprimizes in a bi-racial relationship is a vonlaco ready to erupt, and it did. I left and went back to Florida for a couple years and grew up a little (ok, alot). He did some maturing of his own. We were seperated for a year, but even after we started working things out I stayed in FL. I was a single mom that wanted to prove she could make it on her own. I had a nice place to live in a great area, I was a police dispatcher and was well respected in the community (something this poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks never had). Something else to help you understand my need to prove myself is that I had some road blocks to get past. I am disabled, I cannot stand on my feet for more than 15 mins or so without being in pain. I even have one of those handy blue things for my car mirror that I never use because I hate the looks it get "she looks fine, I bet she is driving her grandma's car".
I moved back to NC 4 years ago and we are doing great, most of the time :)

South Of The Border

Around Town

South Of The Border

Flurries in the air

Updates

Taking A Flying Leap

Checking in

Oh, The Things We Eat

Our 4th

The past

If I won the lottery

Saving Money

Chili

Mary ( my sister-in-law)

An *Cough* la

I don't obey

Prejudice

A kids 2 year B-day Party

I love questionnaires

Men

Dealing with death

Things you should know if you are going to marry a mexican man

A little about my daughter

A little about my husband

A little about me

An Cough la