New Schedules

I got the best news ever last week. Well, maybe not as good as having my son living with me, or a green card for my husband, but as good as it gets in this life I live. Awesome news. My husband finally got switched to day shift. I know I haven't really talked about it in the blog, but this schedule was eating me alive. I never saw my husband. I am gone for work from 5:00am-6:00pm. It's a long day in itself. What has made it worse is that my husband left for work at 2:45pm and came home at about 12:45am.

At first it was fun. I was so excited that he was working because those 5 months when he wasn't were rough, to say the least. He had lost his motivation to succeed, second guessed the decision to move to Mexico, and drove me completely insane. So when an opportunity finally came up for work, I considered it a gift from God. I didn't care that he was earning $1 US an hour, he seem revived, proud and productive. He had reconsidered his place in this world. It is impressive and dramatic really; what a low-paying, back-breaking job in a third world country could do and did for him emotionally is indescribable.

Only a month or so later our "Mexico fund" ran out. Everything we had saved, for almost 2 years, while planning our move was gone. With our accounts depleted we realized what was important. The logistics of my El Paso salary surfaced and it was finally time for us to adjust to my 30% (and my husband's 90%) salary decrease. Suddenly, the $50 US he brought home each week became a huge deal. Sure the cost of living is lower in Mexico but we still have several bills in the US such as medical and auto insurance as well as student loans. My checks are now gone the day I receive them and we depend on his check for groceries, gasoline, etc. The importance of his job became quickly and ridiculously apparent. And so his inconvenient schedule had become just that, an inconvenience. It wasn't a "make or break" factor for us.

After about a week the novelty of having my "alone time" wore off. About two months in we had encountered about 15 instances where his schedule affected our daily activities, such as car repairs or bill paying and something as simple as him getting a haircut became difficult. We only have 1 car. 3 months in we were dying for a day shift. It wasn't so much the little details that bothered us, but we never saw each other. Ever. That's no marriage, in my humble opinion. I may catch some back lash for saying this because I know I have readers that never see their spouses (due to immigration issues), but for us in particular, that is not a long-term option. In our eyes, if we weren't ever going to see each other, this whole move made no sense. I began to wonder why I was even living in Mexico. If we were only going to see each other once a week, why didn't I live in the US and commute to Mexico on Saturdays for visits?

Upon inquiring he was told that he needed to wait until he had been with the company for at least a year, or find someone who was willing to switch shifts with him. After about 4 months of digging, he was able to find a man whose wife was pregnant and was longing to spend time with her during the day. In the end, after quite a bit of struggle and paperwork, they ended up switching shifts. My husband now works 6am-3:30pm. I even drop him off at work in the morning. At this point, with the schedules we have and the companies we work for, I couldn't be happier.

Everything is falling into place for us here in Juarez and I am amazed to see that, over a year later, I have yet to regret our decision to move here. Now I just have to figure out how to get Mr. Cruz in bed by 9:00pm!

What does your Facebook Status say about you?

They say your Facebook Status updates say a lot about who you are as a person. I have really read into this more and more recently as I become increasingly more annoyed with some of the things I read. Some people have no clue how draining their negativity is on Facebook. This is a relatively new problem/debate as social networking such as Facebook and MySpace is still pretty new; it still hasn't been super popular for more than what, 10 years now? They haven't had time to write too many self-help books on the topic. Anyway, I decided I better stop pointing fingers and take a look at myself for a change. Here are my status updates, without editing, since I got my internet back just over a week ago:




Who else misses Baywatch?

My husband cleaned the whole house for me today!! Not unlike him but not common on a Monday! Gracias Raymundo Cruz! Eres lo mejor...

Just sitting here thinking about it, and, the killer in me really IS the killer in you... Wow, I really need to stop listening to Exitos de las 90's.

Listening to Chumbawaba and pissing the night away. You know, singin the songs that remind you of the good times, and the songs that remind you of the better times...

Fried chicken and red wine on a Tuesday night. 'Cause I'm classy like that...

Just realized that I have been reading Wikipedia for 3.5 hours straight! :stuck:

I am so excited for winter. I am going to wear scarves, take my morning nap with a fluffy blanket and eat pot pies for 3 months straight.

‎50 Primeras Citas ♥

I just almost hit a coyote...

My grandmother had her first round of chemo today and I am so inspired by her attitude and outlook on life. I am so proud to be related to her. Keep on keepin' on Grandma!!

went to Kohl's today with my birthday coupon and got the cutest pair of earings for 72 cents. Now if I could just get them in my ears...

Watching Man vs. Food. Bacon Cheeseburger on a Krispy Kreme ♥

I am so happy to have Cablemas back in my life. I get to hear things like, "cuando Behind The Music continua..." in between FB status updates. Sigh... :first world feliz:

Up, feeling good and ready to start the day. Wait... it's 1:30 AM? Crap! Didn't really think through the whole falling asleep at 7 thing now did I?

Talking to my dad and I hear nothing but roosters and helicopters. He's still truckin' in Haiti... It's so nice to talk after 2 weeks without communication!! ♥ Skype.

Dinner will be chicken breasts stuffed with cream cheese, jalapenos and onions, wrapped in bacon. Sides are a spinach and roasted red pepper salad and beans... what should I do with the beans? They are home cooked pintos but I am not sure what to do with them. I'd like to do something different. They are still whole, fresh out of the crock. Any ideas?

I passed =)


And of course Facebook has the cool new feature: On This Day In... which shows me my status updates on this day in the last couple of years:

2009 -

breakfast in bed with soap net :D

2010 -

Dawson's Creek on the Liv Network!! Geez, Mexican cable really caters to a rerun whore such as myself =)

Loving the Sony line-up for today! Beverly Hills 90210, ANTM, Real Housewives of OC... =) PS. I want a dryer and a burrito.



Obviously, I haven't changed much over the years...

So what have I determined with the little project folks? I think it's pretty obvious. I can't believe such a wonderful man married me because I am a disgustingly weird lush who eats too much, watches too many movies, has poor taste in television programs, a goofy sleep schedule, and gets excited over the dumbest things. Oh, and a little solo karoake streak/YouTube marathon never hurt anyone, right?

I could be ashamed or embarassed by this experiment, but, in all honesty, these updates pretty much describe me in a nutshell, whether I like it or not. And so I have decided that I need not care about people's negativity because my irrelevant babbling is equally annoying. I am just as lame as those whiners and quite frankly, I don't care. I may bitch about someone's constant complaining but somewhere out there someone is reading my updates saying, "Seriously? I don't give a crap what you ate for dinner and if you quote one more 90's pop song I am going to figure out how to slit my wrists with my iPad!"

Oh well. They can whine on while I wine on.

AutumnISH Ramblings

Yesterday the high was 86F and the low was 66F. It was a little cloudy to start but the clouds broke mid-morning and revealed a clear blue sky. Delicious. I was walking my dogs when that feeling came over me... Autumn. You know that leaves falling, pumpkin pie spice, trick-or-treat, cardigan over the t-shirt, back-to-school, fresh pencil shavings feeling? I don't care that I've spent the last 15 years in the Southwest where the leaves don't really fall and school starts at the beginning of August and I wear cardigans all year because I'm self-conscious of my arms and I despise using pencils anyway. That feeling still comes over me. I still remember actual seasons from when I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and the same feelings still take over at the exact same time, no matter where I am. All it takes is one cool(er) day to bring it all flooding back to me.

I know I complained about the cold last year but we really weren't prepared for that freeze. Everyone told me that it only snows once every couple of years in Juarez yet our first winter it snowed 3 times. We were without running water for 8 days due to pipe damage and didn't have a heater. My rants were warranted, right? This year we are bit more prepared with a working heater, the new and improved rice sock, and a whole lot of faith that there won't be record breaking freezes 2 years in a row.

I am beyond excited for the coming months! I cannot stand heat and sunshine and I am thrilled to be done with it for a little while. I would much rather bundle up and watch movies while the snow falls, or go for a long walk on a crisp cool night than sit by the pool eating popsicles while all my concealer sweats off. I know it is supposed to be 95F tomorrow and I am getting ahead of myself but I am going to go through my winter clothes. Did you know scarves are one size fits all?