Happy Thanksgiving

Well here we are again. Another year goes by. Another Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday of the year, or I guess I should say it was my favorite holiday growing up.

I miss the gathering of my mom's family. Grandma made the turkey and stuffing. She also made her famous spaghetti and cheese, like a macaroni and cheese but with thin vermicelli. My mom usually made a pork roast, as my dad didn't like turkey much. Sitting around the table of my grandmother's house with family and always a few strangers that my grandmother invited for the holiday.

They are all gone now. My grandma, my mom and dad, my brother Bobby moved away thirty years ago and never came back. My Aunt Peggy died two years ago now. The ones who are left are scattered between Ohio, Florida, England and California. 

Liz and me

Here are a few photos of when our family was together in August of 2013. Miss you guys!

my cousin Julie's family

So tonight my husband and I will celebrate with my friend DeLea. We have lots to be thankful for. But I still do miss those big affairs each year, with the steamy kitchen and loud chatter and all that love. Most of all, I miss you mom!

Where Do I Go From Here?

Me, Moises and Jimena on our Transatlantic Cruise in April 2014

2015 is going to be my year of reflection, probably has something to do with the fact that I will turn 60 this year. How did I get so old? Secondly, I ask myself ... where do I go from here?

Cruise on Eurodam May 2011

I guess I need to back up four years. I started this blog in August of 2011, after taking an online blogging course with Zora O'Neill. First came Gargoyles & Graffiti blog, about my travels, and all the wonderful architectural features I find along the way. But I also wanted a blog that chronicled my life and work on the island of Cozumel. That is how Design in Cozumel was born. 

Our Godchild's Baptism

I have blogged about babies being born and being Baptized, coffee filters arriving at the grocery store and where pregnant ladies can park their car at Mega. I've blogged about the crowds at the license plates bureau next to our store. I've blogged about The Magic of Design Furniture & Interior Design, our store and sales we've had, quality of our furniture and the models we've done in the past. 

Amber when pregnant with Mila

I've blogged about the traditions we have here ... Carnaval each year, Iron Man and one of my favorites, the season of quinceañeras, when 15 year old girls have their coming out parties. 

In April, I will begin my 15th year here on the island of Cozumel. What will I do? Where will I go from here? Care to guess?

Young girl celebrating her 15th birthday

Reflections and New Beginnings

One thing I am certain of is I am not perfect. We all know that none of us are. But the one New Year's resolution I want to make this year is to be more clear of my intentions and hope others can do the same. I will try my best to approach each new hurdle or situation with an open mind. Really a tough one for me.

I never really understand where somebody else is coming from at any given moment. I have unkind words or a horrible email from family, and immediately I get angry. But after a few days revisiting the issue over and over again, I realize that most of what makes me upset or hurt is not really about me, but more about them. This is the kind of stuff I know but seldom practice.

So I approach this new year with a new lesson. Take what I can get and leave the rest. Enjoy my friends and my accomplishments. Take it one day at a time and don't take life so seriously. All the crap will still be here tomorrow. Relax, enjoy and understand that we all have problems. Often when another person is unkind or judgmental, the best thing to do is to let go and let God.

That is my wisdom for 2015! Happy New Year. Feliz 2015!

New Christmas Memories 2014

Isabella with her new bike

It may be a trite statement but I totally believe Christmas is for kids, or for those of us lucky enough to be around children for Christmas. It is always a thrill to see the look in a child's eye when they receive their gifts. We had the pleasure of spending Christmas Eve with my sister-in-law Daisy and her family, which included our Goddaughter Isabella. 

me and Isabella riding her bike

As her feet don't quite reach all the way to get the pedals moving, I pushed the bike around the living room. It was a good thing, as it gave here something to do until she opened the rest of her presents with her mom and dad.

Jasibe and Jason opening gifts with Isabella

Jasibe and Jason, Isabella's parents, opened gifts with her as Jason and her new beau John looked on. A great time was had by all. Too much food and too late, but that is a good Mexican Christmas!

MariJo helping to prepare the Christmas feast

Another great year in Mexico for me and my hubby, Moises!

Brother-in-law Miguel on the left, hubby Moises on the right

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Christmas is a close second. The memories of crowding around my grandmother's warm and fragrant kitchen come back to me now. I remember the smells of the turkey, sage dressing, mashed potatoes and the pies cooling on the rack near the sink. Seeing my grandmother in apron buzzing around getting everything ready, and the place where we ate - the dining room with the too large ornate table and chairs from Uncle Joe, the people my grandmother always took in on this holiday. She was a giver, my grandmother. She was the best person I have ever known.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! 

Musings of the Day: 15 Years in Mexico

Our Godchild's Christening

My family

12 Things I have learned after living almost 15 years in Mexico

When at the grocery store meat counter, I know to order 200 or 300 grams of ham, not 200 or 300 kilos like I used to 15 years ago. (What a look of shock I saw on the women’s faces!)

I have learned how to pronounce “estacionamiento” (parking lot) and “impermeabilizante” (waterproofing … materials for our roof).

I know to order camarón (shrimp) con “un poco de ajo” (a little garlic), instead of “un poco de ojo” (a little eye).

Spanglish is okay; at least it is better than only speaking English.

I have learned to accept things the way they are, at least most of the time.

I no longer refer to the United States as my home.

I don’t mention anymore the way things are done in the states. Standard answer from my husband always was: “Where do you live? Not the USA.”

People from the states look too tall and pale.

If somebody doesn’t arrive for an appointment, just come back later.

Kissing and greeting people you barely know is acceptable behavior.

Forgiveness is a way of life.

Happiness abounds.

Gymboree Graduation

Isabella at her Gymboree Graduation

At eleven months, Isabella experienced her first graduation, going from Level 2 to Level 3 at Gymboree. It was also Valentine's Day Week, so the children all wore red. Here she is above with the special Graduation hat, that is actually a fabric cake.

Singing and clapping during Graduation with Jose

We sang and clapped our way through the hour with our favorite teacher, Jose. There were two children who graduated, Isabella and a friend named Manuel. Of course a lot of the hour included playing with balls, toddling around and practicing walking with help. She really has come a long way in the few months we have been going to Gymboree.

Isabella accepting her cake

In the end we went back to doing what Isabella loves best, going down the slides.

on the slide

Old Lady Road Map

Courtesy of Dr. Morales website (definitely not me.)

If you had asked me at twenty whether I would want an Old Lady road map, I probably would have said no. Why worry about tomorrow? That’s how I was in my teens, twenties and even in to my thirties. Even at 58, I talk myself in to believing I am still young. I ignore the crow’s feet and laugh lines around my mouth. I look in the mirror at times and wonder who that person is that stares back at me, but I convince myself that I don’t look all that much different.

I try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, chicken and seafood. I limit red meat and pray I get enough fiber. I lost thirty pounds two years ago and religiously keep track of my carbs, protein and fat. I get my blood work done to know my cholesterol and triglycerides readings. I am checked for sugar and blood pressure and it all looks really good. I feel for my age, I am a healthy person. But once again since I have no Old Lady road map, a health issue has come along that surprised me.

Having sore legs the last few years really didn’t come as a shock. I work on my feet, run around all the time and almost never sit still except while doing computer work. Even then, I get up a lot and try to stretch. I go to the gym and attempt to work on cardio. I do like to walk. Then last month due to some canceled flights, I ended up on seven flights in five days. When I got home, my legs felt heavy and weird, swollen. Everybody told me to keep my feet up and drink more water. But I do drink water, probably at least three liters a day. I don’t drink anything else. No soda, juice or alcohol. But it didn’t seem to help.

Finally after a month of this, I went to Dr. Cruz and he ran all the blood work to make sure it wasn’t something serious. It wasn’t my kidneys, liver, sugar or blood pressure. All normal. He checked the pulse in my foot and said it felt weak. So he suggested I go to a vein specialist to see if I had a blockage from all that travel. He was concerned for thrombosis or a clot.

My appointment was yesterday. The doctor, Dr. Morales Bravo, in Cancun, a vein and vascular surgeon, looked at my veins with a type of ultrasound and showed me the problem. I have hidden varicose veins. Can you imagine my surprise? I know I had ugly spider veins, but I don’t have varicose veins, I screamed. You are confusing me with my grandmother, who had the gnarly, ugly beasts sprouting from her calves. He told me that he needs to do six to eight treatments of sclerotherapy.

It was quite disturbing when I read about it that the doctor actually kills off the vein that is varicose, and he reroutes the blood to another vein. Who knew that we have 400% of the veins we need in our bodies? Again something that would be helpful to explain in the Old Lady road map.

More info on this procedure can be found here from the Mayo Clinic.

The good news is I had no blockage or clots. I spent last night going back and forth if I should do the procedures. Since I have symptoms, it seems I really have no choice. By the way, it was not due to any lifestyle choices, but purely genetic. Varicose veins run in families. 

After reading both Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic’s websites, they both recommend the procedure I am getting for my problem. I also got a personal referral from a neighbor, who has been going to Dr. Morales for four years. She could not have recommended him more highly.

So my post is two-fold. One is introduce the idea of the Old Lady road map, that I think a lot of us could use and would be happy to buy. Now somebody just needs to write it. The second reason is to alert other women my age about this problem. Since I saw no veins popping out of my skin, I assumed I was fine. Varicose veins start long before, hidden away undetected to the normal person. It turns out one in five women over 50 will have some type of problem with their veins. Since we have all become so much more attuned to tracking our blood pressure and diet to arterial hypertension, it is probably a good thing to also know about this type of hypertension. If you have spider veins, there is a good possibility you could have varicose veins hidden away, espcially if you have a family history of varicose veins. My suggestion is to get the ultrasound in Cancun, especially if you have any swelling or heaviness in the legs, as I did. The visit costs $600 pesos. You can find out more information on Dr. Morale’s website, here.

Cincinnati Visit Part 2

Bobby Lammert and family

You know the old saying, you can't go home again. Well I did, but boy was my memory lousy. I happened to sit in a room across from one of my brother's best friends for many hours and never realized who he was. My brother even gave me prompts, like remember Bob this or Bob that. But the guy I remembered was named Bobby and was thirty years younger! Sorry, Bobby Lammert, and if you make it to Cozumel, I promise to cook you that flank steak you liked so well.

We have a new tradition of meeting up each summer, my brother and his girls and a few select friends of my brother. One of the ones I enjoy speaking to and also talk to throughout the year is Liz. She is just such a wonderful, warm and together person.

Liz and me

The other is Tom, who shared his home with all of us. He has been a constant in the lives of my nieces and really like another Dad. I am honored to call him my friend.

Tom, my brother's good friend

One of the highlights of the Cincinnati visit was a party that my niece, Sarah, put together for us to see our first cousins, Julie and Lisa, their children and spouses and one of my favorite people in the whole world, Uncle Bud. Everybody should have an Uncle Bud, a guy who always believed in us, clowned with us and loved us unconditionally.

Uncle Bud

Our cousins Lisa and Julie

Seeing Jule and Lisa again was awesome. It was a tiny bit sad as their mom passed away in January. But she will live on in all our memories, love you, Aunt Peggy. I really need to pull out some of the old photos with Bud with Elvis hair and Peggy with her beehive and cat glasses. I just love those old photos!

Adorable Emmet with one of the puppies

One of my favorite photos from that day was of my cousin Lisa's younger son, Emmet. What a doll and of course, he is holding a puppy!

Cincinnati Visit Part I

Me in Cincinnati

Now home almost a week, I can finally clear the cobwebs of my brain and begin to tackle all the emotions a trip back to Ohio brings. It had been seven years since my last visit. I feel like I am reciting how long since my last confession. It is almost the same process. Each visit back brings the ghosts I think I have finally put to rest running about again.

Good points of my visit ... seeing family and friends, visiting my parents' graves, staying at a wonderful place (Mariemont Inn) ... more to come about that on my Gargoyles & Graffiti blog. Great food and beautiful architecture. I forgot how gorgeous Cincinnati is.

Bad points of my visit ... feeling the void of my aunt's passing, worrying about the health of one of my favorite relatives, seeing how old everybody is ... when I don't see them, they don't age ... and just having too little time. Always too little time.

Gorgeous lobby of the Mariemont Inn

My cousin Julie & her three children

And of course the theme of the trip ... puppies, puppies and more puppies. My brother now has twelve dogs, of which four are to be sold. The rest are Bella, Worley, Paisley, Chocy, Churchy, Tinkerbell, Rocket and not to be forgotten Baby Ruth. The four puppies entertained my cousins' kids for most of an afternoon. We had a great time last Sunday with everybody.

Patrick with one of the puppies

I am always amazed and awed by the friendships my brother has that have endured more than thirty years. Two of his good friends have also become my good friends as well.

Friends Liz and Tom with my niece Emma

My brother Tim with one of his puppies

Last but not least, there is my brother and his two daughters. My niece, Sarah, was visiting from England so that was the main reason I went to Cincinnati. Her little sister, Emma, flew in with her new husband and my brother, Tim was there too. A wonderful time was had by all! And, wow, boy can my brother cook.

My niece Sarah visiting from England enjoying a Margarita