Friday, May 28, 2010

Our home for the next four months

One of the views from the upstairs patio, there are three patios in this house, two up and one down, we are not going to want to move from here !!!

Our living room, with a view of the patio





My spot to read and relax !!





The master bedroom, the cut outs in the walls are lights, they look really pretty at night.




The patio, we really love it out here!





Looking into the kitchen from the living room






Our dining room table, Elaine bought me the flowers they are beautiful !




Hope you all enjoy the pictures, this is a really nice home and we are getting spoiled living in it, we hope our 4 months don't go by to fast.

This is a flower garden in the corner of the yard, this picture is not the best, it is much prettier, in the morning there is usually a humming bird feeding on the flowers.








Billy grooming Micky, he loves being groomed and going for walks !

There is a swallows nest on one of the patio's this nest has two baby birds in it, he is waiting for his mom to come and feed him.










Tuesday, May 25, 2010

I'm back !!!!! with new pictures

Hi everyone, I finally have time to do this post, Billy and I have been very busy getting ourselfs
set up in our new home, well our home for the next 4 months, hope you enjoy the pictures, now that this post is done I plan on doing one on our house. Hope you all enjoy the pictures !





Little girls on their way home from school, this is why you have to bring your camera with you all the time, you never know what you will find around the corner !





Our friend Patricia, she writes a blog called Mexciodailyliving, and she has a huge following, check it out, great pictures , and you will even see Billy and I on it once in awhile !


This is my favorite fruit stand, the fruit is cut up fresh, and you can pick what you want, only 200 pesos !! and so good !







Me and Hubby 35 years together !!






Our friends Elaine and Luis, they own Ajijic Suites, a great place to stay







Billy at our plazza in Ajijic





Market day in Chapala, I thought this was an intersting way to use your car !



The beach on a Sunday in Chapala



Me ejoying the day









Monday, May 10, 2010

Pictures of our journey

These are just some of the pictures that I took on our journey, they are not in order, sorry! It was hard work getting these posted, as I am not on my computer, hope you all enjoy them, I know I had fun taking them. Don't forget if you click on the pictures they will enlarge.



Crossing the boarder, into our new life.

Our first view of the lake, a very welcome site, almost there!!!

These two pictures are for all my horsey friends !!!!!









Hotel that we stopped at, halfway point in Mexico, felt good to relax





Small dust cloud, it is very dry right now.





Awesome views, took these pictures from the car.



The secenery in Mexico



The sign says it all





The City of Houston, they drive crazy here !!





First rest stop in Texas!!!



The Mississippi River



All Packed up and ready to hit the road !!!




We didn't get to bring everything we wanted to, oh well there are stores here.

We couldn't get another thing in here !!












Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Our Journey

Wednesday Morning: We woke up at 7:00, thought it would take about 2 hours to finish packing the odds and ends of the house up, and get the car packed, wrong so wrong ! It took us 4 hours before we got on the road. When we went to pack up the car we realized that we weren't going to be able to bring everything, so some things got left behind, let's face it most of my stuff got left behind! There are lot's of stores here so I can just buy what I can't live without. I sent Billy to Walmart in the morning to buy some space saver bags so we could fit more in the car, and he came home with a new camera, which we needed, our old one up and died on us. I like this new camera better than the old one, this one is easier to use.
I am taking notes for my blog while Billy drives, it's the only way I will remember everything.So far we haved stopped twice, and we have been in the car for 6 hours, and we are still in Florida! This is a big ass state.
7:30 Stopped for something to eat
8:30 We are now in the central time zone, it is chilly up here.
10:45 We are now in Alabama going to stop here for the night we are very tired, we thought the state of Florida would never end.
Thursday morning slept in, we are not in a hurry , went next store to the Waffle house for breakfast.
10:15 Back on the road again, we have been playing with the Ipod, it let's you do email, but the keys are so tiny it is just easier to check your emails on it, and of course listening to the music is great. I have also been playing with the camera, figuring out how to use it.
1:00 stopped for a much needed break, we went to a Best Buy and bought a charger for the Ipod, bought some gas.
1:45 Back on the road again
5:00 Texas, stopped at the first rest area, , 3 hours in the car we need a break, today the weather was cloudy with some showers but not bad for driving. Driving through Houston, was a little nerve racking, the drivers drive really fast, tail gate, and don't know how to use their blinkers !!!!
7:30 Stopped for the night at a Comfort Inn, very nice hotel, beds are super comfortable, they have a business area with computers so we could check our emails, see who was missing us,lol
actually a few friends did say they were missing us and that made me sad.
8:00 Woke up, we have been sleeping very well I guess that is because we are so tired ! Had breakfast at the hotel, it's included, they had a good selection of breakfast foods to choose from, even a waffle machine, so we had fresh waffles, with fruit.
10:00 Back on the road again, our drive to Larado should be about 5 hours, so today will be an easy day for us., The day started out a little rainy but it is clearing up.
1:00 Stopped for a bathroom break, and lunch. another 3 hour long drive.
4:00 Larado !!!!! Stopped at their rest area, really nice place, beautiful out and hot !
5:00 Went to the mall in Larado, yes you read that right the mall, we had a request from the man who's house we are going to be house sitting, he wanted a Martha Stewart blanket, king size, now just to let you all know Kmart does not sell MS anymore, just Macy's , Billy did find one at our mall in Florida, but it was 120.00 I said that is crazy, so we decided to wait, and it turns out that was a good idea, they were on sale at 50% off !!! Also going to the mall worked out great because behind it was plenty of hotels to chose from, we stayed at another Comfort Inn, this one wasn't as nice as the first one, as a matter of fact we had to request new sheets for the bed, seems like the maid didn't do her job !!
When Billy checked us in they gave us room # 119 (cue the twilight zone music ) this was the same room # at the last hotel !!!
Another good thing that happened because we went to the mall, was finding an Olive Garden, we wanted to use our gift card up before we left the states, and there it was. So the universe is still working for us.
6:30 Saturday morning up !!!!
8:30 Crossed over the boarder, went to immigration office, filled out our paper work, got our car permit and exchanged our money for pesos, and on our way we went. Very few people were there so it was all done quickly, and that was great. Now on the other side of the road people were crossing into the states and that line of cars and trucks was really long !!!
12:30 Stopped for a bathroom break, and some gas, bought some snacks.
3:45 We reached Matehuala, this is where most people stop for the night, you don't want to drive at night, to many animals out there, and no street lights. The hotel we stayed at was the most expensive one so far and not the nicest , they know they are the only good game in town so they charge you for it. They did have a nice pool which we hung out by and just relaxed, the weather was beautiful. This day was stressful for us so getting to relax felt really good.
7:30 Sunday morning: We know that this is our last day of driving, we are both excited, and ready for this driving to be over with !!! When we stepped outside this morning we were cold you forget how much the temperature goes down when you are in the mountains.
8:30 Stopped at a local hole in the wall for breakfast, we asked for some coffee, and she brought us two cups of hot water, the coffee was instant, I can't remember the last time I had that, but it wasn't that bad, we had a plate of fruit for breakfast, then back on the road.
I just told Billy that I am surprised that I am not stir crazy after all this time in the car, I did bring a book to read, and all the notes I took for my blog helped keep me busy. Billy did all the driving, he said that he felt better behind the wheel , so I said fine by me !! His knee did start hurting from keeping it bent for such long stretches at a time, but it is doing better now.
We are driving in the mountains now and the views are beautiful, along the road you see animals tied up and grazing, or you see farmers with their herds letting them graze, we have seen horses, goats and cows doing this.
10:20 Bathroom break and some snacks really nice rest area, we bought some real coffee here.
1:20 Another break, in the field next door were some mares with their foals, I took a few pictures of them for my horsey friends.
We finally hit some roads that were bad, only about an hour of them for all this time of driving, not bad at all, we were amazed at how good the roads were in Mexico. It is only 1:28 right now and I feel as though we have been driving all day, I guess I am ready for this to be over with.
We finally reach GDL lot's of traffic, but we are not in it for to long before we start seeing signs for Chapala, and Ajijic, yes almost there.
4:15 FINALLY HERE!!!!Ajijic Suites It has been a great trip no problems, beautiful weather and the car rode great, we are so tired !! now we just have to unload it and then we get to rest, and go grab something to eat.
8:00 All settled in and very happy to be here.
Hope you have enjoyed reading about our journey, I will be posting pictures soon, since I am on the hotel computer and I don't know how everything works the pictures will have to wait. I will try and post them asapa.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

My emotional roller coaster ride

Gran daughters making brownies with gran pa


Trish and I at lunch




Visiting my girl




Well the last two weeks have been very emotional for me, I've been up and down, overwhelmed, excited, tired, stressed, had some sleepless nights,
and lot's of tears have been shed. It is not easy saying goodbye to all our friends and family. When you decide to move it is the one thing that you may not give to much thought to. I know I didn't , I guess you are so wrapped up in all the things that you have to do, and the decision to move, that you don't think about what it will be like in the final few days before you leave, and how it is going to affect the ones you are leaving behind. Today it was all brought home, painfully when we had to say goodbye to our gran daughters, we had them over night for a final sleepover, and it was a very tearful parting. We will miss them very much, thank god for the Internet, it will be easy to keep in touch and to send pictures back and forth, we even have a web cam so that will help too.
I went out to lunch with my friend, Trish, and during it I cried, boy did I feel stupid!! She asked me if I was sorry that we made the decision to move, and I said no, not all I we just didn't realize how hard it was going to be to leave.
Went and saw my mare last Friday and guess what happened, yes that's right cried again!! but not to much just a few tears, she looked good, and I know my friend loves her very much.
Tomorrow I am going to the beach with my friend Pam who I have know for years, and I know that I will cry, I think it is better to cry than to try and hold back the tears, that takes so much effort, and your face gets all funny, so I just let the water works go. They say that I good cry is good for you , well I should be feeling good for a long time!
The woman who is going to be renting our house is also a friend, she has had her horses here now for 7 years, and I know when I say good bye to her, it will be tearful.
The other day I was packing and my poor husband looked at me, and that was all it took for the tears to start, he is very understanding, but today got to him too.
My friend Helen and I went out on a trail ride on Wednesday, and she told me she hates goodbyes, don't know if we will get another ride in before I leave, but I told her it will be hard to ride the horses and see where we are going if we are both crying!
I told my husband you would think I wouldn't have any tears left, but I know I do.
On Wednesday morning we will be heading down our drive way on our way to our new life, and yes it will happen again but they will be tears of joy, saddness, excitment and to new beginings.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Random Ramblings

Only 16 more days to go before we leave, and I am starting to freak out, are we doing the right thing, are we going to miss the states to much? Are we crazy ? Who's idea was this? What were we thinking, were we thinking??? My friend Jim who lives in Mexico, has told us to take a deep breath and say we are going to LOVE Mexico once we get there, see that's the hard part getting there. I know we will have a great adventure, and I am looking forward to it, but it is a little surreal at times. We have our list of things to do before we leave and everyday we cross something off of it, today we went out and did some errands and tomorrow we need to work on the barn, just a few loose ends to take care of. Next Sunday Billy's aunt is having a small going away party for us, which is very nice of her. We also want to get together with our friends one last time, still things to do but it will all get done. Wednesday night we are going to go over the lease with our new tenants, and get that all taken care of. The one thing that we haven't done is sell the truck, we had a guy come out and look at it the other day so maybe he will buy it. I am keeping my fingers crossed. On Sunday the woman who bought our couch came and picked it up which left us with nothing to sit on, just some patio chairs, but the universe was working and our tenant said we could pick up her couch and chair and use it till she moves in, so that is what we did. We have been blessed with how everything is working out for us, and we hope that it continues that way.




Our gran daughter Brianna playing softball on Saturday

We only have a few more days left here and I hope we get to see one more game.


Practicing outside


Me and Stef



Providence Cheerleaders


My In laws at the beach


Sister in law Deb at the beach

My sister in law flew into town to watch her daughter 's cheer leading competition in Daytona, my mother and law and I went with her, now cheer leading is nothing like it was when I was a cheerleader, there is serious money being spent on this sport !!!! It was fun to watch, I really liked the coed teams.

Now as everyone knows that when you live in Florida and you have out of town guests you have to go to the beach which isn't a problem for us because we happen to love the beach, and as you can see from the photos my in laws still go to the beach with us, which I think is great.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Sad Saturday !

It was a sad Saturday for me, it was the day my friend Chris came and got my mare to take her home. Now I knew this day was coming, it was my decision to give my girl to Chris, and I know she will be loved, and cared for, but it still hurt so much. It was hard to groom her up with tears in my eyes, and in bed on Friday night, I cried some more, does anyone know why tears can be hot!!! My tears were really hot.
So Saturday morning was sunny and beautiful, and at 10:30 my friend Chris drove up in the trailer to pick up my girl, it took me a little while to get her to load, she hasn't been in a trailer in a long time, but she was nice and calm for us. I followed them to her new home, so I could make sure she settled in ok. Well we unloaded her and she dropped her head and started grazing, a sure sign of a very relaxed horse, so much for me worrying !!!! We showed her Chris's horses which are in another field, they will all be together in a few days. Everything went well and my friend Chris is very happy and I am still very sad, it is so hard to look at her empty stall, but it is getting better. I will go and see her next week, and I hope that I don't cry, but I guess it will be ok if I do.





Charisma checking out her new home



My friend Chris with Charisma



Chris's horses



First meeting



Me with Charisma