Dedicated to Amy!

My friend Amy is in the throes of potty training her firstborn. This gives me a perfect excuse to share with y'all my favorite Japanese potty training video. I've been wanting to post this for ages. For the sensitive among you, the subtitles are a little indelicate in places, but it's pretty funny. Enjoy!

So... I just got back from Mexico..

People at church probably think I've gone inactive... an idea I contemplate sporadically but always have the good sense to reject. Last Sunday Bill and I were on the road, driving from Florida to Dallas; this morning we were traveling as well. Bill's company sponsored a company retreat of sorts to a resort that they designed near Playa del Carmen, just south of Cancun. All of the employees plus one guest each got 3 nights in a lovely room at the resort and transportation on a chartered flight. Such a nice fringe benefit!! We were on our own for most meals and entertainment. Bill and I - skinflints that we are - took instant oatmeal and had breakfast in our room. Our one splurge was an all day trip to the Mayan city of Ek Balam, an archeological site that has been partially restored. Bill and I even climbed to the top of the acropolis! Our tour guide was very good and our group was only 10 people, all from Bill's firm. After Ek Balam we visited a family's home business and saw them making hammocks and hanging chairs. Then we all got on bicycles and rode around this mainly Mayan town. Many of the people in the area are still pure Mayan and speak both Mayan and Spanish. After that we drove out to one of the many cenotes in the area. We hiked about a half mile through the jungle to it. It was not especially commercial. It was underground with a fairly large opening. It looked like the roof had caved in some time ago forming a sort of island in the middle of the pool. The water went around the island like a moat. The 6 younger members of our group rappelled down into the cenote, but we over-50 wimps took the ladder - which was a bit of an adventure in itself, as it was very steep and made of wood lashed to trees and such. At that point we were hot and tired and most of us took a swim in the cool, cool water. Our group was the only tourists there. It was kind of off the beaten path. The dressing room was a three sided little hut made of wood and palm fronds lashed together and open to the sky. I should have written down the names of all the fruits we saw. One was from a cactus I think, and grew in the manner of sunflower seeds, only they were on the ground and each seed pod was about 2-3 inches long. You could slit it open and just eat the fruit from the pod. I wish I had written down the name of it. It was a greenish pod with little brown hairy things on the outside; the flesh was white and sweet with hard black seeds. Very interesting. Lastly we had a home-cooked meal with a Mayan family... not exceptional food, but interesting to see how they prepared it. I told our guide that I got more exercise that day than I normally get in a month. Not too far from the truth. But because I was interested and involved, I did just fine and was not even sore.

Notes to myself - next time, if there is a next time... I hope there will be but it depends on how successful the company is over the coming year... Anyhow, next time I should get more excited and prepare better. I am so used to traveling non-rev that I forgot that normal people wear jeans to travel. I did not take the right kinds of clothes. Actually I do not own resort clothes. So if it happens again, I can use it as an excuse to shop. I took my mom's Florida straw hat... which was fine, but not really MY style and it was a pain to keep track of since it wasn't squashable. So next time: take a hat that I am comfortable with. And next time, if Bill plays in the company golf tournament, DO book a session at the spa. I am not a spa person and it seems a lot of money to invest in something so transient, but if Bill is going to abandon me for most of the day, I may as well have a cool experience of my own. If not the spa, then plan something fun. And I came out of my shell a little and got to know some of Bill's co-workers and spouses. This mostly happened when I was on my own.. not a bad thing. I went to the beach at about 11AM on Saturday and left Bill a note, thinking he would be finished with the golf thing at 12 or 1PM. No such luck. I visited with some of the group during the three or more hours I spent at the beach waiting for Bill. I finally gave up, but I still had a good time. One of the best experiences was dinner Thursday evening at one of the resort restaurants. It was not crowded and there was a great live musical group. Our table was next to the balcony overlooking one of the ponds/canals, and there was a nearly full mooon rising. The food was great and the mood was magical. Very nice. They are now involved in building a new resort in Costa Rica... that would be nice!

Our New Car -

is not really new. And it's not even here - yet. It's in Florida. My mom is selling her Snowbird home in Florida and moving permanently to New Hampshire. Since she already has a car in NH, we made an offer on her Florida car and she accepted. Actually I worked out the deal with my brothers and sister when I was in FL a few weeks ago, and Mom approved. I pay this year's taxes on the camp which we all own jointly; I get the car. Pretty good deal. So this weekend Bill and I will fly to Florida and drive it back while Steve holds down the fort here. We will also load it up with some other stuff from the house that she didn't want or couldn't take to NH. Like her new vacuum for Sarah, a very large framed picture, some vases and lamps, the Kitchenaid mixer... and whatever else we can fit into the car that might be useful. It will be a long trip.

I am officially old

I not only have old-person church callings, I now have an old-person disease or condition. The at-risk population is over 60. I just barely turned 60 and it found me. I have shingles. So far my case is mild. It's a bit of a nuisance, but not as painful as I have heard and read it can be. Since I don't have a doctor, I went to PrimaCare. The nurse said it looked like shingles and told me why; the doctor disagreed, mainly it seems because I am not in excruciating pain. He separated the symptom of blisters near my R eyebrow from the symptom of swollen lymph nodes in the R parotid area, saying the blisters were an infection and the swelling was a diseased parotid gland, not lymph nodes. Even I, with my limited experience, made a connection there. I had looked up the lymphatic system before I went to the doctor and found that the vessels that drain into the parotid lymph nodes come from the area affected by the blisters. I hadn't suspected shingles though. So when I went home after the initial PrimaCare visit, I did some internet research on shingles. Anyone who has had chicken pox can develop this. The chicken pox virus lies dormant in the body for years. If the virus becomes active, it manifests as shingles. It seemed to me that the symptoms fit. Then the next day I had an outbreak of blisters in a vertical line on the R side of my forehead. I was worried because all the articles I read said that anti-viral treatment should begin as soon as possible to be effective and I was losing time. That was on Sunday, so on Monday morning I went back to PrimaCare and asked to see the other doctor for a second opinion. She agreed that it was probably shingles and put me on an anti-viral med. They also took some blood for a test, so we shall see in a couple of days, whether that smart, observant nurse who was the first person I saw was right. I suspect she was. She makes me proud to be a nurse. I hope I will be as good as she was in time.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE my flight benefits???

On the last day of school before Christmas break, December 21st, my mom called from Naples, Florida to say that my brother Rollin and his wife were there from Alaska, my brother Steve and sister Susan were arriving in a few hours from Boston and wouldn't it be nice if YOU could be here too. Well be careful what you wish for! She threw down the gauntlet and I picked it up. I managed to leave work a little early (2:30-ish), drove home and packed a few things and drove to the airport! Actually Bill drove to the airport with me and James and Melissa. J & M had real tickets to visit her dad and the extended Rodriguez family outside of Orlando for the weekend. Anyhow, I managed to stand by and got the last seat on the 5:30 flight to Ft. Meyers; my brothers picked me up that evening! I was glad to be there and my mother really was pleased. She is 83 and her 4 children are 61, 60, 57 and 55. Every time a neighbor came by, she would introduce us and say "all 4 of my children are here! Isn't that wonderful?!" I had a good time visiting with everyone. On Monday I flew home and had all 4 of MY children home for Christmas on Tuesday. I have a great family - I am truly blessed.

The first day of the year

I was up and dressed before 8AM. So far I've eaten healthy foods... like one of Bill's fruit smoothies, yellow dal, an orange and rice cakes (plain). So except for the one TINY piece of dark chocolate with almonds and 3 or 4 potato chips, I'm doing fine... right? I watched the director's commentary on the special features of Pan's Labyrinth with Steve - the whole thing! And I've put some black eyed peas in a pot to soak. I haven't figured out how to cook them yet. Bill's dad used to just toss in a can or two of Rotel, a can of mushrooms and a can of green chilies I think. I'll go recipe browsing on the internet, but I may end up doing the Rotel thing.

The other thing I've done is apply for a coupon for a DTV converter box. We have never had cable or satellite TV and have old TV sets so we qualify for this program. The problem is that I tried to apply twice and got an error response both times. So I'll try again later. I have until February 17, 2009!!