How to Know it's Winter in Mexico

As I mentioned in my last post, the season changes are much more subtle here and definitely not what we're used to having moved here from the Pacific Northwest... I've been seeing friends back home post pics of below freezing temps and snowy roads and here people are commenting how they haven't been turning on their A/C at night so it must be winter.  So weird.  Last night while I was sleepily pulling a blanket up over us, the idea of this post popped into my head... Enjoy. 

How to Know it's Winter in Mexico:

• you start turning the ceiling fans off in the evenings because it's "too cold" (low 70s)
• you start pulling a light blanket over you at 4:00am instead of just the top sheet because you're "freezing!" (low 60s)
• you start wishing you had kept more than one hoodie when you got rid of all your winter clothes and drove to Mexico
• you start wearing socks around the house (still wearing shorts, mind you) because the tiles are cold on your bare feet 
• you start wishing you hadn't given your favorite pair of slippers away before you moved
• you start wanting (your husband) to make soups and chili and homey comfort food and stay in at night instead of roaming the streets in search of live music 
• you get a hacking cold that lasts for two weeks because of the major temperature drop (85 down to 75) 
• the sun starts going down super early (like 6:30pm) 

• your husband starts wearing "pajamas" (shorts) to bed
• you start wearing more than just your husband's t-shirts to bed
• your husband starts swapping his frat boy tank tops for grown up shirts with sleeves
• your husband actually wants to snuggle on you at night! 
• your husband stops commenting on your "sweat stache"
• you don't go through like 10 napkins during dinner because you don't hafta keep sopping up your dripping face
• you start closing your sliding glass doors and a couple windows before bed 
• you start watching football inside on the couch instead of on the patio
• you see houses fully decked out in Christmas lights and decorated Christmas trees in windows and you say to yourself, "Oh yeah, it's December." 
• you don't leave a butt crack sweat mark on your chair during your outdoor Spanish class 
• you don't sweat off all your makeup before you're even done putting it on
• you can actually blow dry your hair without just re-wetting it with your sweat in the process
• you start taking warm-ish showers instead of cold 
• you start turning the A/C off in your car and roll the window down instead
• when a random rainstorm moves through you think about getting your "warm clothes" (long pants) down from the top closet, but don't actually do it
• the coconut oil in your pantry isn't in liquid form anymore
• you delay your pup's haircut because surely he will freeze to death on his morning walks

Welp, that's all I can think of for now.  I'm really curious to see what celebrating Christmas in Mexico will be like compared to back home...and of course, there will be a post about it! 

Love and miss you all!  

"Nothing is Ever Easy"

It's funny...this move has made me realize, more than ever, that problems or pet peeves or annoyances never go away, they just fall in line with your current situation.  Meaning...we still bicker and whine or get annoyed about things, but now instead of complaining about working 12-hour days, I whine when I can't find my flip flops, or when I accidentally leave a dirty dish on the counter and some ants find it....or that I have to get out of bed because the maid wants to clean our house.  (I know.  Someone smack me.)  Ty is no better...he whines when he has to get up to find a laptop charger, or when he has to put on a shirt to go into public, or complains when he gets mosquito bites even though he never wants to put on bug spray.  We've become super annoying humans. 

But at least we realize how ridiculous we sound when we complain about our life in paradise.  Every time we catch ourselves saying something we should be punched in the face for, we both bust up laughing and in unison say, "Nothing is ever easy."  It's turned into a sarcastic game around our house and we're always poking fun at each other.  Needless to say, life is good and we have absolutely no (legitimate) complaints about our new life south of the border.  We're very grateful to be here!

Let's see...what's new with us?   I was really hoping to post an obnoxious selfie today with the caption, "Guess who got their Temporary Resident cards today?!"  But nah.  After our second trip to the immigration office today in Nuevo to finalize our visas, they found a minor typo on our application and we have to fill it out all over again and go back again in the morning.  Argh.  ("Nothing is ever easy.")  

Here's an obnoxious selfie anyway....(when I asked Ty to take a picture with me, he asked, "Ugh.  Do I hafta put on shirt on?"  No lie.) 

Some tidbits about our 3rd week in Mexico:

• In case you were wondering, sugar is kept in the refrigeration section of the grocery store here and not in the "baking aisle" despite how many times you try to look for it there.  I guess it must melt or get sticky in the heat?
• I can join a gym (very similar to a 24-Hour Fitness back in the states) for 83 bucks for 12 months of unlimited use.  83 DOLLARS FOR A YEAR!?!  I couldn't even buy workout pants back home for 83 dollars.  
• We've been here for almost 3 weeks, and I have yet to drive anywhere.  Ty is making me drive to immigration tomorrow, so that should be fun/terrifying for both of us. 
• Ummmm, it's almost the rainy season here which apparently means creepy crawlers are starting to come out of hiding in search of shelter... My next post is gonna be about the cons of living in a semi-tropical climate.  For those of you who are sick of my annoying, braggy palm tree posts, you'll enjoy the terror I've experienced over the last week.  Stay tuned...
• We're learning more and more Spanish everyday, but it's slow-going and really frustrating at times... It took me about 45 minutes to translate an immigration form today into English and then translate my answers into Spanish...while I leisurely sipped locally-roasted coffee in my pajamas and gazed out over the ocean, mind you.  ("Nothing is ever easy.")
• I reeeeeally need to sit down and just memorize the friggen metric system already.  Just like not being able to speak the language, it's also embarrassing to not understand what the hell a kilo is, or what 400 grams would look like, or how many centimeters tall I am.  I mean...I could tell you how many feet long something is, or many pounds I think a bag of oranges weighs...but I just stare off into space when Ty tells me he bought a half a kilo of tuna at the market.  It could be five pounds, or it could be one.  I have no friggen clue.  (One kilo = 2.2 pounds, by the way.)  Also, any time I hear the word "kilo" I instantly think of cocaine for some reason... So, there's that.
• Much to our dismay, we haven't figured out how to watch Hulu here yet, or if it's gonna be possible.  Everything we read said we just needed a VPN, but we tried that and it still didn't work.  ("Nothing is ever easy.")  Any suggestions as to how to watch American TV shows in Mexico are welcome.  
• Pandora isn't available here either, which I already knew...but the Mexican equivalent, "Jango," kinda sucks a big....well, jango.  I've never even heard of half the artists on there and sometimes a cringe-worthy rap song will pop up on my Mumford & Sons station for some reason, and I spend more time giving the "thumbs down" than I do listening to music.  ("Nothing is ever easy.")

Okay, well...I think that's just about enough pointless blabbering for one afternoon.  I hope all three of you who read this are doing well!!  Ha.  Adios!