Oh wow....I just realized I haven't updated the ol' blog in more than a month! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Things have been a little crazy since I last updated on December 9th. Let's see, my last week was in Puebla was filled with preparations to leave and go home to Arkansas for a little bit, as well as a few Christmas celebrations here. This included many mornings working at the church with Diana, filled with task-lists and things to get done before and during the time I was gone. We were working so hard to have everything ready because the first Club Neon would be January 15th! Preparations also included many afternoons spent downtown shopping for pottery and fun, authentic Mexican Christmas presents to take home with me. (I also ended up buying a 45 piece set of china for my Meme...but we'll get to that later.) And of course I had to spend a lot of time preparing to bring out little Nina home. Yes, I traveled across the border and into the US with a 3 month old German Shepherd (yet Mexican) puppy. I ended up making pretty good friends with the guys working at the local pet store. Only made a few dozen trips to buy a cage, a carrier, toys, a sweater, a collar and leash, waterbowl, etc... Traveling with a dog is stressful and I think I've learned my lesson. DON'T GET A DOG IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. It's just too difficult. But how fun it was to celebrate Christmas with my Mexican family and friends, decorating a boot for Samy at his school with Diana, church Christmas dinner, small group Christmas dinner and of course Ana's 15th birthday!! I took her to get her nails done and she was sooooo excited.
On December 14th, I embarked from the bus station at 8:30, heading to Mexico City and my ultimate destination of Nashville, Tennessee for my cousin's wedding. When we (my friend Eddie was flying out of Mexico City the same day so we took the bus together and thank God because I would not have been able to handle the tub of china, the dog and my 2 suitcases alone!) finally made it Mexico City and I stood at the check in counter for at least a half an hour, got Nina checked and handed off all my baggage, it was time for lunch and then off I went. Just a side note, it's usually so annoying going through customs in the states- taking off your shoes, your jacket, pulling out all liquids, removing your computer from the bag and it's case, and not to mention my boxes of (insulin pump) pods, syringes, insulin bottles, etc. that usually get a double check over- however, in Mexico you are not required to take your shoes off. I was almost offended like, "I need to take my shoes off or you're not doing a thorough check! I could have a bomb in my shoe!" Once I explained that the bump/machine on my stomach was an insulin pump, was thoroughly patted and waved down, I was sent on my way. And of course in Mexican time, our plane left about an hour late, which made us late arriving in Houston, where I stood in line and got my passport stamped and stood in line and got my bags (and loaded them onto 2 carts) and stood in line with my 2 carts and got my dog checked (and my dog food taken away) and because the whole customs process took so long, I thought I had missed my flight so I stood in line to get my ticket changed only to be told that my flight was delayed and I would make it..."just stand over here and wait (some more) for a TSA rep to check in your dog". Who at this point was so depressed and lethargic that they thought I had gone against the rules and sedated her. Poor thing! So, she gets checked and I run to the train, wait for it, ride it and run to my gate and of course, I missed the flight by a few minutes. It's okay...I wasn't bothered my 2 hours wait time before the next flight, I treated myself to a new neck pillow and a little Starbucks and all was good. When I FINALLY made it to Nashville, it was too late and I couldn't even get my first "wish for when on US soil" of going to Sonic because it was closed. I was however, happily greeted by my parents and second parents, David and Marianne Meriwether. It was good to be home...well, sort of.
We spent the next week or so in Nashville celebrating the beautiful wedding of my cousin Katie and new cousin, Stephen Alderman. So fun! What a beautiful wedding at Loveless...and of course good food too. Here's mom and Katie at the rehearsal dinner. For explanation, Katie and Stephen both ride and work with horses so Mom, of course, had a perfect themed outfit that she was so excited about!
The happy couple and the fun photo booth favors!
We were able to spend lots of time with our old friends, the Meriwethers, while we stayed at their house and even got to see our old and favorite neighbors, the Campbells. Lee Campbell was my best childhood friend, I mean the kid being two years younger than me, was the only one who could teach me to ride a bike without training wheels. I hadn't seen them since we moved to Arkansas nearly 12 years ago, so it was fun to reunite! Here's the Macs and the Campbells reunited once again...
Here's me with my other best friend from childhood, Laura Meriwether, and her fiance Brandon, eating at one of my favorite restaurants, Maggiano's.
I always love "going home" to Nashville and spending time with family and friends...and of course eating at our old stomping grounds. We also spent a day in Chattanooga to visit Meme, Bob, Bryan, Suzanne, Bobby and our "Aunt Clara". What fun! And I got to see Meme open all her china which she was ecstatic about. (She collects a certain pattern that is somewhat hard to find, when I found 45 pieces in Mexico, I just had to get it. Crazy, I know but to see her happiness over all those dishes was worth it all.)
So true.
Eating with Meme at one of our favorite bakeries in Nash, The Puffy Muffin.
Oh, Loveless...
After this fun filled, crazy-busy week, we took it on home with dog in tow and I finally made it home-home to Arkansas! I'll save my Arkansas adventures for another post, I think this one's long enough.
And by the way....
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR
from the McIntyres
