A stamp in my passport, and it says...

Well, not Italy. It says Mexico. The customs guy scared the crap out of me. I felt like a criminal, and even though I did have jewelry and said I didn't (it was $10, not the Diamonds International kinds of stuff), and even though I lied about touching livestock (do pet goats count?), I didn't really have anything to feel guilty about. It wasn't like I was smuggling in knives (cause money can't buy knives). At least I managed to state my name correctly (if I ever take a lie detector, I'm going to fail because they won't be able to get a baseline, I'll be so nervous).

Okay, so customs aside, here's a whirlwind tour of my whirlwind tour of Mexico.

Sailing in Puerto Vallarta--it just doesn't get any better than lying in the sun on a sailboat with a pina colada watching a half dozen dolphins swim alongside while listening to Jimmy Buffett. Unless of course, you add in humpback whales, fresh fruit and sushi, a hysterical tour guide, and a chance to drive said sailboat. Yup, pretty awesome.

Mazatlan--too many highlights. We skipped a tour in favor of letting Elise and her family show us around. We started at a local shrine, frequented by hundreds of thousands of Mexican pilgrims, seeking healing miracles from "ninito Jesus," a statue of the child Jesus blessed by Pius XII. The house is full of gifts for the ninito in thanksgiving for miracles--holy cards, rosaries, pictures, and of course, because it's the child Jesus, toys. Then we celebrated Mass at the cathedral after a quick stop to see the famous cliff divers, hit up the huge downtown market (freshest produce, fish, and meat in the city), had a traditional Mexican lunch of tortillas (the good kind that you get fresh everyday), beans, rice, guac, shrimp, and smoked marlin, and finished the afternoon with a game of soccer on the beach. Heck yes!

What we saw of Cabo San Lucas was from the driver's seat of a Yamaha Rhino, the latest craze in 4-wheeling. Picture a stripped Cherokee crossed with a typical ATV. Add miles of cactus-filled deserts, gorgeous beaches, helmet and goggles, and tons of dirt. It was yet another of my attempts to be James Bond. Total blast, except for the fact that we ran late and they literally had to hold the ship for us as we caught a tender boat back on board 20 minutes after we were supposed to sail.

Not to mention of course, our glorious digs aboard the Carnival Pride. Dancing shows, buffets, gourmet meals, live music, Mary's lucky penny slots, sun decks, mini golf, 24-hour pizza and ice cream (which I controlled myself to one use each), and plenty of Euchre games (more a function of my family than the ship). Michelle and I even attended an art auction, and surprised ourselves by buying a piece each. It was a riot.

I would say the only downside, though it is a fairly significant one, was the lack of Mass onboard, even for Christmas. I think being in the middle of the Pacific qualifies as a travel dispensation, but I missed the Eucharist, and was thrilled to get back tonight for Mass. It's comforting in a way to know that no matter how much fun I'm having, I still miss the ability to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I'm blessed to be so drawn to it.

So that's the bare bones version, kids. I can't believe we're about to start another year, a year in which I am going to be trying to grow in trust, in many ways. It's an appropriate follow-up to everything I've done this past year and considering everything that's coming my way in the next few months. As always, your prayers are appreciated.

Blessings.

Classic(al)

I am sitting on my couch in my slippers, listening to classical music, which is just wonderful (except for the fact that I should be listening to board review lectures, but I'm not going to let the fact that I should be studying ruin every enjoyable moment from now until April 4th--I set my date today--so hopefully, you won't hear me qualify everything from now on). I love Canon in D. I love that I love it, too, because it makes me feel sophisticated, like riding in on Andrew's shuttle every morning. The classical radio station somehow made college seem more noble and enlightening than it felt at the time, like we were warming up our brains to go conquer the intellectual world. I also laugh at Canon in D because of the YouTube "Pachelbel's Rant" and I did notice that the same 8 quarter notes were played over and over again by the presumably very bored cellists. But it's still beautiful. And I still want to walk down the aisle to it someday.

I saw "The Ultimate Gift" last weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Not going to lie, I thought it would be one of those cheesy, Hallmark movies, but it was surprisingly well-acted, fairly well-written, and very touching. Made me grateful that I wasn't raised by money, that I already have the gifts of friends, hard work, and family, though I wasn't immune from examining my own life either. I recommend it. And now, in other classic film news, I'm off to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on my parents' home theater system.

I'll be writing next after a little jaunt up the Mexican coast. Merry Christmas everyone.

Tidings of joy

"Snowflakes fall and decorate these ordered, pristine streets..."

I felt like I was in a movie, driving home last night, snowflakes falling softly on the warmly-lit streets, Christmas music floating out from my car speakers. I love it when my life feels like a movie. Of course, movies never show when you get home and have stacks of board books to page through because your NBSE came back with abysmal results. The thought of my schedule for the next 4 months (not including my glorious Mexican cruise) pretty much depresses me. At least the snow is still beautiful.

"Seems to me you could give the Man upstairs the same benefit of the doubt as you do an invisible fungus."

My favorite episode of Bones was on tonight. Christmas miracles for all. I just smiled through the whole thing...and laughed out loud...by myself...at the tv. Yup. So nerdy.

The Case of Joy

The difference between men and women: (actual quotes from a real live married couple)

Woman: What do you think about it? What do you think about when you think about it? What color is it when you think about it?
Man: I don't really think about it.

Woman: It was a difficult time, there was a lot of strain. We weren't talking as much.
Man: I didn't really notice anything different.

So funny. But in all seriousness, it was from a patient interview today with the parents of two girls (different families) with rare genetic diseases--beautiful, beautiful girls. I really believe that the heartache of knowing your child will not do all the things you always planned for her is balanced by the joy of such an innocent and pure life. I don't think it makes up for it completely, but I do think that all children are a gift, and was happy to see these families realize that.

It was our last PBL of forever. Very sad. We went out with a bang (in a culinary sense, not literally, like last time when Adam dented the ceiling with the champagne cork). I decided my family should have been Swedish so I could have spent my whole life making 7 kinds of cookies on the First Sunday of Advent like they do. Although maybe it's better to have the cookies and still get the Greek last name. We'll go with that.

Sunday musings

I haven't posted in a long time because I was waiting for something "worth writing about" to happen. Well, I have no one event or thought that has inspired a blog-length rant inside my head, but I do want to jot down a few thoughts. Expect this post to be fully random and fulfilling only for me.
*My first parade last night set the standard pretty high. I was one of the handlers for the 60-some-foot-tall Kermit balloon in the Parade of Lights. We got to wear sweet frog hats and had by far the hardest job of anyone in the parade (well, I mean, if you don't count those people throwing fire or playing lots of songs from memory). It was so fun to hear the crowd scream when Kermit "stood up" (after having to go under a traffic light), or when he did a nose dive into a tree and got caught (he was hard to control, okay?). The night was made all the better by the impromptu gathering at Laura B.'s house afterwards--what a great group of people. I love Denver.
*Got to chat with Bre today from Ecuador (well, she was talking from Ecuador; me from my living room). It was so good to hear her voice, and to talk about tons of things, and to get excited about seeing her at graduation in two weeks. Yay for lifelong friends.
*The beginning of Advent...I'm trying to open up my heart so that Jesus can fill it, but I find my heart is distracted by so many things, and that I get more excited waiting for the next "Bones" episode than for the coming of Christ (now, the coming of Christmas is another matter, because it brings the cruise, and that's easy to get excited for). But I decided that this year, I really want to try to focus on preparing my heart and reserving my heart for the coming of Love.
*At the same time, I do love Christmas music. Listening to "Love Has Come" pretty much made my week.
*Saw "August Rush" on Saturday. I really liked it a lot. I think it was a combination of the truly great music, my enjoyment of seeing Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers on screen, my love of a happy ending, and again the great music. Sad story though, so many years of longing.
*Brunch with Marian Group today. Yay for cooking together and Christmas music and good food and fellowship.
*Good, good episodes of "House" and "Bones" to finish out the year.