Muy agradecido...

Perhaps I’m a bit late in posting this, as this post is about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, mostly because I am blessed with such a wonderful family (not a huge fan of turkey…truth be told). They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Mexico. It was rather strange to see all the Christmas decorations up ahead of Turkey day. Okay maybe really strange, as I’m also not accustomed to seeing Santa Claus standing next to a palm tree. Pretty lucky they don’t have to worry about snow…but as far as Turkey Day goes…I tend to think they are missing out. So yeah, this year was pretty great. Here are some of the things I’m thankful for:

• Mom and John home from their mission
• Stephanie, who is now sweet sixteen and shared her birthday with
• Caleb who celebrated his first birthday
• The boys (it was cool to be their transportation, even if the their occasional arguing and the non-stop questions from the most inquisitive 5-year old on the planet tested the limits of my patience…and my ability to stay focused on the road)
• The fact Johnny finished the garage all those years ago so we could have a place big enough for turkey day dinner for everyone
• The fact that the swimming pool at the hot springs really was warm this time
• Grandma “whistling” at my vacation swimsuit pics (of course it felt weird, but it was cool too)
• The fact that when grandpa was sleeping…he only LOOKED like he was dead
• The fact I got to go to Mexico
• Having the will power to go back to the gym for a solid workout on Saturday
• All the rest of my wonderful family and friends

Oh…and something else that made the holiday unusually special. Passing the big exam!

Okay, technically won’t get the official results (and know with certainty) for about another month, but my preliminary (unofficial) result was a pass…and I feel really good about how things went. If I didn’t pass, I at least know I was extremely close. That being said, an acquaintance of mine who took the exam the same day commented in a state of utter exhaustion:

“I hope I never subject myself to something like that again.”

Yo también, mi amigo. Yo también…

la mariposa

Muchas flores bonitas

Aqui están unas fotos de las flores de Baja California Sur.

I took all these photos the last morning I was in Cabo. Apparently, I was there at just the right time for everything (well nearly everything) to be in bloom:)

La vida diaria mexicana

Well, definitely in need of another study break. Yes, today was one of three "full study" days, on this crazy vacation. I've taken some cool breaks though. Played in the ocean this morning (too much of an undertow at the resort to swim, so mostly just stood or sat in the water and tried to see if the waves could knock me over...they did a few times, but mostly just filled my swimsuit with sand). Swam 10 laps (in the pool) this afternoon. Took a hot tub break earlier tonight...so now...the blog break.

Some more (yes, more than a few) photos to share about daily life in Mexico...


This is the coconut palm just outside the door to my unit.


This is the pig that lives next door. Can't really tell from the photo, but he's huge. About 5-6 feet long.

A Domino's delivery bike. They have "Mexican" pizzas here (in addition to the usuals). The one with chorizo (spicy ground meat) and jalepenos is my favorite. Domino's is actually within walking distance, but I still thought the bikes were cute.

A sign close to Domino's. It didn't take me long to figure out that "mini super" is Mexican for convenience store, but the sign still put a big smile on my face.

This is the milk section at the grocery store. They actually do sell refrigerated milk too, they call it "leche fresca."

Me gusta mucho...

In part to make sure my friends and family know I'm still alive and well...here's a few pics from good old Mexico...

This was taken just after I went parasailing. That is the closest I've ever been to a cruise ship. They're big!

Muy bello...

This is what they call the Mickey Mouse shot. Kind of like when you go to Disneyland, you have to get your photo with Mickey. In Cabo, they have the arch.

Yes, I did get to see a pelican. Many of them! This was the only one willing to pose.

Then I became an ATV bandito.

Yeah, it was cool.


This is my favorite shot so far from the trip. A guy and his young daughter fishing in el mar pacífico.

Well, back to studying:)

The Pelican Brief-aka ¡Hola México!

This upcoming week I will be going on what may prove to be my most unusual vacation to date. At long last, I will be traveling to a Spanish speaking country. Thought I’d be brushing up on the Spanish prior to the trip, but a little focused elsewhere right now. Fortunately, I watched some Spanish TV the other day and seemed to be able to understand what they were saying well enough…so not totally nervous from that standpoint. Probably the scariest thing is that I’m going to a foreign country all by myself, but, I’m pretty sure that is for the best.

I scheduled (and paid for) this vacation over 6 months ago when I had planned to go to Mexico in May. However, that was right around the time the swine flu scare took hold, and not wanting to be “the one” who brought it home, I went to southern Utah instead. Fortunately, didn’t cost me a dime extra to reschedule for the fall. What is unusual about this vacation is that it is more of a study retreat than an actual vacation, as I take the big exam a week from Tuesday. Of course I plan to do some fun stuff while there, but I also plan to spend a rather large chunk of my time studying (hence better to be going alone). Studying that intensely is fairly stressful, and being isolated in a foreign country may be just what I need. Definitely looking forward to freedom from the damn blackberry…

Oh, regarding the pelican. My parents went to Cabo (where I’m going) a couple of years ago and told me about these cool gray pelicans. Hope I see one.

Wow was that early...

So this morning I went to the gym before work. That’s the first time I’ve been before work in almost 3 years, and I have to say, I have a lot of admiration for the folks who can get up that early (5 a.m. for me) to work out on a regular basis. There were a lot more people at the gym than I anticipated. Seemed to be a few more housewives and older people than usual, but overall, a pretty diverse crowd.

I had an unusual experience in the locker room, and even though I usually subscribe to the sentiment that what occurs in the locker room should stay in the locker room, I’m going to share this particular experience. I happened to notice this old guy (unintentionally, I assure you) changing in to his gym shorts. What surprised me was not only how old this guy was (in his 70s at least), but the fact that before he slipped on the gym shorts it was apparent to all he was wearing…zebra striped panties. While my first reaction was a deeply disturbed “OMG-what did I do to deserve such a visual image,” I couldn’t help but ponder the situation a bit more on my drive to work.

This guy deserves some credit. Firstly, he’s in his seventies and getting up at 5 am to go the gym. I only hope I have that much perseverance when it comes to taking care of myself in the later years. And secondly, this guy must have a pretty awesome sense of self-esteem. If in my old age if I can have the confidence to wear, in public (more or less), zebra striped panties, or leopard panties, or even better yet, a hot pink thong with yellow and purple polka dots…I will consider mine to have been a life well lived:)

At the end of the tunnel...there's a light!

As much as I love Halloween (one of the best holidays of the year in my book), I can’t deny I’m very grateful October is over and November is here. November is usually not my favorite month, and I guess it still isn’t, but I’ve been looking forward to this one (with both gratitude and trepidation) for quite some time.

In three weeks, I take my CIH exam. Okay, three weeks from tomorrow. Since I still have a lot of study material to digest, part of me wishes it was further out, but for the most part I’m really grateful to know that this crazy lifestyle of work, work-out, then study until your brains are fried…is coming to an end...well...the fried brains part at least.

The exam is tough…8 hours long…with only a 30 to 40% pass rate among a candidate pool where about 90 % have master’s degrees, but, I think I’ve been studying intelligently, and I suspect my odds of passing are at least 50/50. Not the end of the world if I don’t pass, as I will be able to sit for the exam in another 6 months, and having experienced the exam should make any future studying substantially easier (always helps when you know what you need to know), but it sure would be nice to have this particular project behind me. Either way…it will be a very thankful Thanksgiving!