Surprise!

We're gonna have a baby!!

I posted this on Facebook yesterday and got lots of questions, so I'm going to try to answer them all here in one post...

-I am 7.5 weeks, and due on September 4, 2010.

-I am feeling good, just very tired. The nausea isn't too bad (I hope it stays that way!), and is worse at night than any other time.

-I love my OB! It took me weeks of calling every day to try to get in to see him because he is one of the best (ok, I think he's THE best!). His office is one of the nicest doctor's offices I've ever been in, and I was very impressed by the technology, etc that he uses. So all you people in the US - don't worry...I'm in good hands over here!

-We weren't exactly trying, but we weren't trying not to either. We figured it was going to happen sooner or later. :)

-The plan is to have the baby in Kentucky. I will hopefully be going at the end of March/beginning of April for a week to do some paperwork and meet with an OB, etc. Then I will be going back in August to have the baby.

-We do not have any names picked out yet.

Thank you all for your lovely comments and well wishes. We are so excited!!!

updates....finally

Our lives have been so crazy lately! I think when you read my updates, you'll understand why...

Since August, I have changed jobs 3 times...

First, I started at one school working as the Bilingual Academic Coordinator. The owner was nutty, she felt that God had sent her to earth to save Satan's children. Yes, her exact words. And, it was a really horrible neighborhood. The first day of school, there was a series of 5 or 6 gunshots right outside the school, and no one even flinched. "Umm, didn't anyone else hear that?" I asked. "Yes, but it happens all the time, we're used to it," they replied. Ok, thanks, but no thanks....

I decided from the first school that I really enjoyed the work, so I went to interview for a position at another bilingual school, in a safer neighborhood. I ended up being hired as a 3rd grade teacher. There were 2 sections that I shared with another teacher, so I only taught language, reading, and health in 3rd grade. I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. And I didn't want to leave, but.... I got an amazing opportunity to go work at one of the private universities. So I will start teaching English full time at the university starting in January.

This whole time, I've still been running my stationery business from my house instead of the store. The storefront is still there, but it's more of a showroom, and it's by appointment only. I've done several weddings and a lot of social stationery. I participated in a couple of local Christmas bazaars where I got so many orders that I was completely booked for 3-4 weeks and couldn't accept any other orders.

Charles is doing okay, but pobrecito, he has suffered from several Honduran ailments the last couple of months. First, he got amoebas, which, according to the vet, he most likely contracted from licking water off of the concrete patio in the backyard. That was a 10 day regimen of pills and a bland diet. Then, he was infested with these teeny tiny ticks. I still haven't figured out where they came from, because we don't have rats/mice (they would be getting into the trash outside and there's no evidence of that) and no other dogs have access to the yard. The only thing that I can think of is the birds....does anyone know if they carry ticks? When I say infested, I mean I was pulling 20-30 ticks off of him everyday. And we were using Frontline regularly, so I don't know what happened with that. A few days later, the house was infested. Yuckkkk. We had to use foggers in the house and spray all of the nooks/crannies with this bug spray. That took care of them in the house, and we treated the yard with these granules that you spread around. So after about 2 weeks, we finally had the tick problem under control. Then, just last week, he got this mysterious skin condition that looks to be like some type of mite (mange?). His ears are all scaly and crusty on the inside and on the tips, and he's got the same thing on his "armpits." I tried taking him to the vet last week, but I guess they were closed since they didn't answer all week. Jose is going to take him this week, since I can't because...

I'm in the US! We spent Christmas eve together in Tegucigalpa with Jose's family, and then on the 25th I flew to KY to surprise my grandparents for their 50th wedding anniversary. I'm staying until the first week in January.

Okay, I'm sure you're dying for more ;) ... so stayed tuned for stories such as...

The Stolen Wallet and Crazy Scam Artist

Our Marero (gang member) Gardener

and

Immigration Problems (aka, almost not being able to leave Honduras)

12 days of giving

Christmas is a time of giving and sharing. In the US I usually pick a name from the Angel Tree each Christmas. But here....?? And this is a country with such poverty that I had no idea where to start...

So I'm snagging an idea from Heidi over at Sacred and Profane....

I'm modifying it a little since I'm getting a late start (can you believe there are only 4 days until Christmas?!) and I'm going to do 12 ACTS of giving instead of 12 DAYS.

And I think you should do it too! If 12 acts is too much in 4 days, do 10, or 5, or even 1!

For those of you that live in the US or elsewhere, check out Heidi's blog at the link above for some ideas of what you can do. For those of you that live in Honduras, here are some ideas ...

-Collect all the coins in the house/car and put them in one of those buckets in the check out line at the supermarket
-Give the guard at your office or neighborhood a small gift
-Christmastime adds a lot of extra work on our maids since we are having more people over and cooking more. Give yours an unexpected afternoon off to do whatever she wants
-Pay for the coffee of the person in line behind you in the drive thru at Espresso Americano
-Let the kids at the gas station/intersection wash your windshield (even though it makes it more dirty!)
-Stop to let someone cut in front of you when they are trying to turn at a busy intersection, etc instead of speeding up so they can't get through (like we all normally do)
-Keep several sandwiches/apples/bags of water/cups of noodles in your car and give them to the kids that beg at the intersections, instead of giving them a few lps that their mother is probably going to take anyway
-Give an extra tip at a restaurant instead of only what's already included in the check

Do you have any other ideas?? It's usually just the little things that make a big difference here.... Once, at the gas station, I bought some gum from a little girl going car to car. She commented on how pretty my lip gloss was, so I put a dab of it on her finger to use. She was smiling ear to ear and went on and on about how pretty she looked in my side mirror. The bombero almost cried, haha. It cost me nothing, but made her day (and mine)! So you see! It's the little things. :)

Now you go try, and then come back and leave me a comment telling me about it!

The Little Country that Could...in jewelry!

Yeah yeah yeah, I know, I've sort of abandoned you. But I promise there are exciting updates coming soon.

As you wait in giddy anticipation for my life updates, feast your eyes on this...

It's a custom creation designed by my friend Mandy...a bracelet depicting the story of the Honduran political crisis that, thank the Lord, is basically over. Que creative, right!?

It's handmade with silver and precious stones. You can order them via her Facebook page, or you can email me and I'll put you in touch with her.

Delivery time is approximately 2 weeks after ordering, and costs L. 1,700 (about $90).

This is the story behind the jewelry...

There once was a president (Mel's cowboy hat) that violated the constitution and national institutions. He tried to remain in power via the fourth ballot box (4 colored stones). He was so disrespectful that he said that neither the Virgin of Suyapa nor God could stop his plan (Virgin of Suyapa charm). And then, by the national institutions (Congress, MP, CS) and based on Article 239 of the Honduran Constitution, he was sent abroad (airplane charm). Together, all the Honduran people, government, and armed forces (doll charms) fought 5 months (5 pearls) to defend its sovereignty (Honduran flag charm). And on election day, the sovereign people spoke as never before by voting among the five political parties (5 colored stones, each color depicting each party). They selected the candidate of their choice, recovering and achieving peace for their country (dove charm).

Que bella! It brings tears to my eyes. I've GOT to have one! :)

Door Monsters

Our house is cursed. Haunted. Possessed.

It has my poor Charlie shaking and trembling. He has been hiding under my desk and trying to crawl in my lap all afternoon.

It's the ....

DOOR MONSTERS.

They enter our house on windy days through the open windows and slam the doors shut. Evil things.

I wish they would stop terrorizing poor Charles.

you should be proud of me...

I accomplished something major today. Something that I haven't been able to do for the last 1.5 years of living here.

I ordered a pizza all by myself.

That's right! Aren't you proud? What's that? No? You don't think that's a big deal?

Oh but it is. It really really is.

You see, ordering a pizza here requires speaking Spanish. Duh. But ordering it isn't the most difficult part. It's giving the directions. And when you live in Tegucigalpa and there are no street names (and if there are, who knows what they are because there are no signs), giving directions is quite a task. In the US, you tell the pizza guy "I live at 123 Mulberry Drive." In Honduras, directions usually go something like this: "I live in X neighborhood. Do you know where the Esso (gas station) in that neighborhood is? Ok, from there turn right, and then take the 3rd right, and then the 1st left. And then turn by the old movie theater. You know, the one they tore down 10 years ago. Then my house is on the right. The one with the wall. And the barbed wire. It's beige/yellow/white. Oh wait, all the houses here look like that. So, stop and ask the guard at the gate to the neighborhood, and he'll tell you the wrong way so you can end up lost. So, you know what? I'll meet you at the Esso and pick up the pizza there."

Okay, okay...maybe that's a bit dramatic. But it really is quite a task. Especially when you don't speak Spanish all that great.

So tonight I was realllly craving a pineapple pizza from Il Padrino. But Jose is out of town for work. I'm a little ashamed to say I called him and asked him to order me a pizza...from San Pedro Sula (a city 5 hours from here!). But he said no and told me it was time for me to do it myself. I said no way, and sent him a message telling him I hated him for making me order my own pizza. HAHA. I even contemplated calling my friend to order it for me.

But I decided to try it. What can it hurt? I thought. These people can't see me through the phone. If I sound like an idiot, I'll just hang up and eat a sandwich. ;)

So I took a deep breath. And I called. And I ordered. And I gave the directions. ALL BY MYSELF. Easy peasy.

And now I'm waiting for it to get here.

I guess the true test to my direction-giving skills will be whether or not the pizza guy shows up. :)

How YOU can help "the little country that could"

I have been upset the last few weeks knowing that I can't vote in this historic Honduran presidential election coming up on November 29. HeLlooOO...I'm living in this country and I want my voice heard. But I can't vote since I'm not a citizen. Que triste! :(


Then La Gringa posted information on her blog about being an election observer!


You can read all about how to do it on her blog here.


I read all of the official application documents that she posted. My thoughts? Oohh, we get a security badge? That's so CSI, so Law & Order, so SWAT.... I'm in!!!


I honestly thought that, but I really want to do it because this is the BEST way for my voice to be heard.

Hello, CNN, I am tired of you telling the wrong side of the story and manipulating the US population.

Forget voting! Now I can participate in an even better way.

And if I can get away from work to actually do it, I will so be blogging about the experience and telling the world the truth. (Okay, maybe not the world, maybe just my few hundred readers. But every little bit counts, right?)

If you are an expat living in Tegucigalpa, or if you want to travel here for the elections.....come with me to be an election observer! Pllllleeeeaase? I don't want to do it alone. :)