Sculptures

When we were in Vail there were sculptures all over the place and Bella, who usually refuses to pose for pictures, insisted on taking pictures with most - if not all - of them.

Vail - The Pictures - Part 2

Vail - The Pictures - Part 1

Catching up

It always happens that when you come back from vacation you have a ton of accumulated work. This time around was no different, and in fact it was even worse. I am not saying that in a "whiney", but rather in a "matter of fact" sort of way. It has been so busy ever since we came back from Vail that I've hardly had the time to myself, let alone to write. So several things have happened that now - in the interest of time - I will just quickly summarize.

After 3 months away Zidane's allergy treatment was finally done and he was able to come home. We were happy to have him back, but unfortunately it did not work out and after just couple weeks he had to go back. He is a super sweet dog, but he kept stealing food and getting sick all over our living room carpet.  In two weeks we had to clean more dog poop than we ever did in the 10 years that Rusty lived with us. And it happened all around the clock, including one time at 3:00am during the work week. We were sad to give him up after we waited for him for such a long time, but we are confident that it was the best thing for all of us.

Last week Sofia, my mom and I also made it to one of the concerts of the World Choir Games. During dinner Sofia lost another tooth, and even though the concert itself was underwhelming, it was nice to take a break from the routine.

Last weekend Sofia also went to a birthday party, and even though the intent was to drop her off and pick her up, Bella wanted to stay and so we did. It was at the Beechmont Rollarena and even though Bella did not have her rollerblades, she had fun chasing after the older girls and playing ski ball.

Other than that we have been go, go go.

Pretty people

Yesterday morning I was on the phone with somebody who is not part of my organization, and doesn’t report to me, but is helping me with a specific piece of work. She is a recent hire and because of that and her voice I assume she is very young. She is located in the UK so I have never met her face to face, but she has been doing a great job.

As I was talking to her it occurred to me that I picture her as a pretty girl. Maybe it is just me, or maybe it is human nature, but when somebody is nice and smart or shows other attributes that I appreciate, I tend to picture them that way.

Children curiosity

Children always have strange questions, and even stranger timing. Tonight, during dinner, Sofia asked: "Mami, how come when dogs poop they don't have to wipe and they don't smell bad?" ... Ayyyyy.....

Cincinnati summer fun

This vacation has made me particularly aware of all the fun things we can do back home, without having to get away. In fact, I almost feel a bit cheated for making the trek out here only to do those very same things. I tend to feel bad for my friends who can't afford a vacation, but this time around I feel like the joke is on us. Don't get me wrong, the place is beautiful and we've had a good time, but it is the activities themselves that I am talking about. Sofia liked the wall climbing, but there are places to do that in Cincinnati even if it is not at the top of a mountain. Both girls liked bike riding but again, there are a number of biking trails back home. And how about going to the pool, the playground, the 4th of July parade, and going out to restaurants to try new things? Enough said... The thing is, when we are home it is hard to find the time, clarity of mind, or motivation to do most of those things. We do go out for dinner once or twice per week, and since Bella is now 3 this summer we are making more of a conscious effort to go to the neighborhood pool. However, the wall climbing had never even occured to me and I couldn't even tell you the last time we touched our bikes. As for the 4th of July parade? I honestly believe we had never been... Actually listing all the things we never do but we could makes me feel like a really lame mom, and it makes me want to rush home and put together our Cincinnati summer bucket list. We still have several weeks of summer ahead of us, and we need to make them count.

Day 3

When I am on vacation day 3 always tends to be a turning point. That is usually when I start getting anxious and the relaxation of not having to go to work tends to get dangerously close to ... well... boredom. Maybe it is because we have so few days off that when we are away I unconsciously feel like we should be having some great adventures besides having time to get up a little later, workout, go to the pool, and just walk around. Or maybe it is because there are so many things we never did as kids that I feel like I need to catch up. Regardless, today is day 3 so I better find myself something else to do...

Politics

Everyone who knows me well knows that I am not big on politics. And whether it is in Mexico or the US, I don't have a preferred political party. The main reason for that is that in essence I feel they are all the same. I do believe that many people enter politics in good faith, but I am also convinced that somewhere along the way they get corrupted when they realize that they don't have that much influence and the best they can do is be selfish and take care of themselves. Having said the above, I am still deeply disappointed in the results of the presidential election in Mexico couple days ago. Below is a short excerpt I took from an online article describing the man who has - most likely fraudulently - been elected as our new Mexican president. As one of my Facebook friends said: "The results of the election make me happy ... Make me happy to be living abroad". Online article "... This is despite the fact that Peña Nieto's public image took a lot of hits during the campaign. In December, the candidate struggled at a literary fair to name three books that had influenced him. When he was criticized for the flub by the country's intelligentsia, his daughter poured gasoline on the fire by insisting, on Twitter, that the story was driven by class envy. Later, in an interview with a Spanish newspaper, Peña Nieto admitted that he didn't know the price of a package of tortillas. When criticized for being out of touch, he insisted chauvinistically that he wasn't "the woman of the household." He also admitted in another interview that he was unfaithful to his late wife and fathered two children with two women during his marriage"

That darn dessert!

When I go on vacation I always like to buy magazines that have nothing to do with work. I am careful like that because I don't like to trigger any work memories or thoughts that could get my mind to start spinning indefinitely. Given my renewed emphasis in getting in shape and dropping those extra pounds that could otherwise become the beginning of the end, I bought Health Magazine this time around. One of the articles talked about the importance of eating and exercising at the right time. Most of the stuff in it I either knew or simply made sense, including the fact that eating late at night is not a good thing. But what I did find to be a new concept for me is the fact that -according to them - you need to fast for 12 hours per night so your body can actually burn calories while you sleep. This means that if you have dinner at 8:00pm, you should probably wait until 8:00am to take your next bite - even if that bite is an innocent piece of fruit. Given that Lionel and I are constantly having dessert past 9, and sometimes past 10pm, it is no wonder that I have put on several extra pounds in the last three years. But no more! This article was a good reminder of what we are doing to ourselves, so I am determined to change our ways.

New rule

Last night, during dinner, I had to get up not once but TWICE to take the girls to the bathroom. The first time our food wasn't even ready, but for the second time our food was indeed ready and I wasn't even close to finishing mine. So when I got up I told Lionel: "I am not done eating, but Bella wants to go the bathroom again". However when we came back my plate and my fork were gone, which made me extremely upset. It was like adding insult to injury! Not only did I have to get up over and over, but apparently that had also made me lose my chance at a meal. All others had already finished, so I guess it was my bad for not doing the same. Lionel said he didn't hear me, and that he thought I had taken Bella back to the bathroom because I was done, since he had previously asked her to wait. Yea right, like the 3 year old is relly going to wait... So after arguing about it for a few minutes, I simply told Lionel that from now on we have a new rule. Nobody takes my plate unless I personally say it is ok to do so.

Vacation goals

For this vacation I have three simple goals: 1) Have fun 2) Relax - Do NOT think about work 3) Don't gain weight. I have been working hard at losing the extra pounds, so during vacation I don't want to pig out. The first two usually come out naturally during every vacation - at least for the most part - but for the third one I am trying to make a conscious effort because I know it will pay off. So yesterday morning I ran in the treadmill, and this morning Lionel and I ran couple miles outdoors. It wasn't easy with the altitude, and I had to take couple breaks, but we ran them in 22 minutes. Not a great time for any serious runner, but pretty good for me.

In a land far, far away...

This week we are on vacation, and unlike most of our previous summers we are not at the beach. This time around we decided to come back to Vail to check it out during the summer, since Lionel's parents have been wanting for us to come here for quite a while. I love going to the beach, and giving it up is not an easy thing to do, but trying something new is also a good thing. Besides, we are so lucky to be able to afford a vacation and freely decide where we want to go and what we want to do. Lionel's parents have always talked about how beautiful Vail is during the summer, with all the ski runs covered in a beautiful green and flowers everywhere... But not this year. This year everything is a bit dry, which unfortunately has caused wild fires in other parts of the state. Don't get me wrong, the place is still very nice, but apparently we are just not getting to see it in all its splendor. Regardless, I am glad we are here. Lionel and I needed a break from work, and spending vacation away from home is key, especially for me. Otherwise I would just spend my entire time off doing chores around the house, stressing myself over a bunch of stuff, and not giving myself a moment of peace. On Saturday we arrived in the afternoon, so we didn't do a lot more other than unpack, take a small walk, have dinner, and go to bed. But yesterday we took a long walk in the morning and visited a large beautiful park that has the mountains as a backdrop. It also has a huge playground, which the girls enjoyed very much. On our way back we walked around the farmer's market and had couple smoothies and crepes for lunch. The girls also enjoyed a bounce house even though Lionel and I didn't enjoy that much paying 5 dollars each for just 5 minutes in there. It is not that we can't afford it, it is just that it seemed like a giant rip-off. Then, in the afternoon we went to the pool, took showers, went out for dinner, took a walk, and came back to the hotel. Come to think of it, our days are turning out to be pretty similar to what we do when we go to the beach. Today we took a gondola to the top of the mountain, where I took a short walk with Sofia and Lionel's parents while he sat with Bella waiting for us because she was whining about everything and didn't want to walk. But she did get a lot happier when we took them to a mini bungee jumping, which would have scared the you know what out of me, but she and Sofia enjoyed very much. Not surprisingly, Bella wanted to go as high as she could go. They also rode on a horse and Sofia went on a climbing wall a few times. We then had lunch and took the gondola back down. After that Sofia wanted to go biking, so we rented bikes from the hotel. Unfortunately Sofia was not doing very well with her rental bike and even fell once and hurt herself, so we ended up returning it and she had to sit next to Bella in the trailer we had rented since she is still too small to ride her own bike. Poor Lionel was the one who had to pull them behind him, which was no easy task considering that the roads went up and down. After our bike ride we stopped for ice cream, and eventually made it back to the hotel. A quick visit to the pool, and then it was time to shower and go grab dinner all over again. We had dinner with an acquaintance of Lionel's parents who lives in Vail year round, and then again it was time to come back to the hotel and get ready for bed. The girls were very tired, and Sofia was still hurting from her fall earlier in the day, so luckily they fell asleep somewhat quickly - especially for Bella's standards - and that gave me time to finally sit down and write about our last few days. As for tomorrow, I have no idea what we have in store. For this vacation I am not the one planning anything, so I am just going with the flow...