Where Has the Time Gone? April Already? My Explanation in Photos...

I realized it has been a month since I have last blogged and I am embarrassed. I know that hardly anyone reads this darn blog, but when one of your friends texts you and tells you that you need to blog, you start feeling a little guilty, because I must provide some good laughs of pity for somebody. 

So let me explain exactly what caused this hot mess to happen, and why I have put it off so long to come up with a new post.... ( get ready for a LONG long post)

I started to feel a little bit sick, sleeping when I should have been studying, and feeling awful. I just thought it was a cold...

Turns out... I had the flu. Dang it! Why didn't I get that free shot they were giving away on campus?? I also had to run to some dear friends so that they could play mommy and doctor to me...In the meantime, I spread my disease to their daughter....this little cutie... Poor gal.

I skipped class and decided to go visit my parents so that my real mommy could take care of me... she was dog sitting for my older sister, so I spent a lot of time in bed, watching tv, with Leila dog staring at me...

On the bright side, Easter candy is was the bomb.

Eventually I had to go back to school/home even if I wasn't feeling the best. But the weather was nice for a day or two, and then....

It got ugly!! What kind of Pre-Spring Break weather is that??! Yuck.

Some of my friends got married, which of course is always cute, and I love getting mail.

I just had to make some of grandmas brownies during spring break. Who wouldn't??

Then I decided I would spend my entire spring break baking every single day, concocting new recipes and getting chubby. Ok, so it probably did not at all affect my health, but I made these awesome snicker cookies... not to be confused with snickerdoodles. These babies were sooooo good I made them twice. My husband LOVED them. Go figure.

Also on spring break, I got to spend lots of time with Justen, which was much needed. We went on some pretty fun dates. My favorite was going to see OZ, which by the way was really good, and I despise hate sitting through movies because I get so antsy.  Also our taco bell date was pretty stinkin cool. HAH! Did you know I have only been to Taco Bell like 5 times in my whole life.? This time I decided to compare the Doritos tacos. BOY were they delicious. Personally, I like the blue, but would totally order one of each if I go again.

Also, my oldest sister is getting married in just about a month, and we all went to one of her Bridal Showers. She got lots of goodies from Crate & Barrell, so her kitchen will be decked out! This is a picture of Me, my older sister Elizabeth and my youngest sister Abby.

HOLD THE PHONE. We finally bought a car!! Yeeeehaw! Seriously, it felt like it took forever to try and find one that we liked/could afford/ was in the state of Kentucky. Talk about a challenge, but everything came together and now we are the very very proud owners of a Ford Fusion. This makes 2 cars for the 2 of us, and Justen is clearly quite happy to have his own car finally. 

Easter time means sweet baby chicks at the Rural King (yes that is a version of Tractor Supply) and I love to go see them and listen to them all chirp and talk like crazy babies do.

Justen and I dyed Easter eggs, which he had not done since he was like 6 years old. What the heck is wrong with him? Am I the only 21 year old who has done this every year since birth?

We had a lot of fun though, and made a few teeny tiny messes. haha....

Recently, I have been dying to make some spring things for my closet. So I went perusing at Joann's Fabric the other day, and cannot wait to show you how it comes out!

One of the really cool perks to my job is that I get to go run around town and collect donations at a bunch of different businesses for my school. I actually came across the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile in Louisville, and could not resist stopping to get a picture and a weenie whistle. Yes, I had to sing the O.M. song to get the whistle and I knew every word. The weather was wonderful this past weekend wasn't it??

So as you can see, the flu + Spring Break + work + 21 hours of class = neglected blog and crazy busy lady. I am just thankful that I only have 4 more weeks of class until sweet sweet Summer! Yahooooooo

-Sara Jacqueline

A (Fake) Snow Day

This past weekend, Justen and I went all out and headed up to Perfect North Slopes to try out snowboarding before it got too warm. First of all the weather is crazy here, so I figured we better go now, because it would be my luck that every weekend after this one it would be 65 degrees. No kidding, it is sunshine and shorts one day, and parkas and blizzards the next here in Kentucky. 

Also, I have never been snowboarding or skiing in my twenty year or so long life, so Justen was pressuring me to try it out. My parents were always the type to take us to the beach, or on a boat. They are definitely not cold winter sports people. This is not at all like surfing in Mexico, or tubing down the Kentucky river. I was not prepared for the pain hangover.

The easy part was tubing. The lines were fairly long, however we were there on a Saturday, so I would not suggest that unless you have a lot of talking to do..hah. It was actually really fun, but we could just as easily go sledding in Morehead with enough snow (which we happened to do last weekend). Very fun, and super fast, but next time we will bring like 10 other people to go down the hill with, cause it really is for little kids mostly, or large groups. 

As you can tell this is how I felt about tubing only 3 times in 2 hours (long wait time)....

...And this is how Justen felt... Poor guy, he really likes a little bit more adventure, so lets talk about the snowboarding.

Let me just tell you that if you have never been before, then the easy hill is not so easy. I think that fake snow is 18 times more slippery than real snow. Seriously, I was sitting down at some points and going just as fast as a sled ride. Ridiculous. 

I have to admit, I fell a lot A LOT.... And it hurt even more. During one voyage down the hill, I fell a total of 11 times. However, the next time I only fell 8 times. HAH. Yes, I was keeping track to see if I was improving. I know Justen was having a blast laughing his butt off at me busting mine. Snowboarding is a lot of hard work, and no amount of watching the winter olympics prepared me for this. People who are as tall as me are not meant to balance on a popsicle stick and go down hill at a super fast speed.

Not to mention....

Did you know they don't strap you in on those lift things? What?!! What if I was a baby child eight year old and decided to slip and slide off that thing? It was like 40 feet down...right? These are my teacher thoughts. Good thing I had somebody to hold me down.

Even though I was in pain a lot of the time, and for a whole day afterwards, it was a lot of fun, and I would consider going again. Maybe to a different place, and maybe with a pillow stuffed booty. Everyone who I have talked to since told me skiing is easier, so I have a feeling my sister Abby tricked me...hmmm..

-Sara Jacqueline

Wacky Wednesday

A few highlights from this week and last week's vacation...


Juan Jose just joined my class last week, and is super adorable. He will only sit next to me and repeats everything I say like a parrot..pretty cute for only being three years old.

Fernanda joined my class two weeks ago, and the one thing she does know how to say all on her own is "Con I peas go to duh bafroom?" She is four years old, a diva, and frequently steals my food.

One of my super smart kiddos Elisa made me oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, which is a big deal because you cannot buy chocolate chips in the grocery stores, you have to go far far away to find them...YUM. She is so sweet. Also, Christian brought me a candy bar..Are these kids trying to make me fat?

Bonnie posted some magnificent photos of me..Thanks Bon Bon. I guess I deserve this. But on the plus side, look how tan I am!!

So Mexico has kind of taken a toll on my little shoes and I have officially broken two pairs of sandals. On this day of our vacation, The strap came completely off, making them unwalkable, so I ditched them in the trash and looked like a hobo for the rest of the day. I was barefoot at dinner....in the taxi....walking through the bus station,..... through the streets....and all the way back to our hotel. Awkward.

Happy Hump Day!!!






-Sara Jacqueline

It's the End of the Beginning of the End

Tonight was our last night of semana santa, or our spring break vacation and it is all so bittersweet. On one hand we are excited to get back to Tehuacán so that time will fly and we can go home to America, but on the other hand we really LOVE the beach and all the fun we have been having together. I only have three more weeks with these girls and I will be so sad to leave them. We are all waiting to get on an overnight bus in a few hours, to make our 10 hour trek back to our Mexican home.

Today we took an all day snorkel trip, and beach hopped all over Huatulco. We got to see over 7 beaches, and visited two by boat. We were grateful it only cost us each twenty bucks. What a deal! I loved snorkeling, however the fish and coral cannot compare to the many other places I have been, but still it was worth the experience. Mostly it was funny to hear Jen scream about the fish, and watch Bonnie try to swim without touching the coral with her flippers. I have to admit, we are very entertaining to strangers....and sometimes eachother.

It wouldn't be a day without Bonnie doing something ridiculous. Today she showed us her hidden talent and unscrewed two bottle caps with her eyes at the same time. What a trip.

Last night on the beach, so we decided to take a celebration photo and then have some gelato. Sad day, but the sooner we go back to teach, the sooner we get to go to America. *Disclaimer* I really wish I was home for Easter, even though I love Mexico.

This has been the best spring break I have had yet, we had an awesome adventure together and met a ton of people and have a zillion stories to tell. Happy Semana Santa!! Vamos a regresar!

-Sara Jacqueline

If Bicycle=Bicicleta then Tricycle=Tricicleta ....?

After Puerto Escondido, we started heading back in the direction of home and stopped in Puerto Angel for an afternoon and a night. We decided it was WAY too tiny for us, spent a little time on the beach and then had rooftop dinner at our hotel.

It was a cute little town, but there was absolutely nothing to do there, so we decided we didn't want to spend that last days of our vacation just being bored. We are spoiled and we know it.

The next morning we got on an early bus to Huatulco, which is the next major city over, where a lot of cruise ships port for a day. It's more of a touristy town, and we found plenty to do here. Plus, the water was super blue!!!

Bonnie and I decided we wanted to take a tractor ride on the beach!

Well actually it is more like a tricycle, or in Spanish I guess that would be a tricicleta?

Either way, it was a lot of fun, and totally hilarious!!!

Little Bonnie was so tuckered out from pedaling that she fell fast asleep. GOTCHA BON BON!!!!!

After a long long day at the beach, we walked over to dinner in town at this cute little place. I had Sopa Azteca, which is usually VERY different and not like this at all, so do not be fooled. It was pretty good...but certainly not as good as other things that I have had, so I was a bit disappointed.

But for the first time in Mexico, we got to eat salsa and chips brought to us by our waiter. This does not happen in Mexico like you think it should, because that is American...do not be fooled.

I am so so glad we decided to come to Huatulco for a few days before heading home, it really is a nice little city, and there is tons to do and tons of people which we love. It is so touristy in fact that the people here look at us shocked when we speak in Spanish to them..kind of fun. We are headed out for an all day 7 beach snorkel trip!

-Sara Jacqueline

Kisses, El Cafecito and Some Killer Tan Lines.

Today was all sorts of wild for many many reasons.

First of all, we spent the entire day on the beach, first here, and then we hopped over a few beaches to Playa Zicatella. We all look like overdone toast right now. Killer Tans.

For dinner, for the third night in a row, we went to our FAVORITE place, El Cafecito. So many people had told us about it before we came here, so we were excited to try it the first time, but we had no idea we would like it THIS much. Hands down, it is the best food I have had in Mexico, and it tops many American places that I love as well. Lets be honest, we will probably go tomorrow for lunch before we head out to another town down the road.

Lastly, Kisses.

So my friend Bonnie had this surf instructor, who apparently she fell in love with because of his Italian/Mexican eyes. After the surf lesson the other day, we ran into him continuously all over town, and we kept talking about him, hoping he would show up so Bonnie could talk with him.

Well after a few times of seeing him, and dreaming about him, her wish came true again, and we ran into him tonight after dinner. She basically confessed her love for him, told him she needed to marry a pro surfer, move to Mexico and own an ice cream cart. He seemed to agree, and somehow, without any of the rest of us noticing between conversation...He kissed her!!!!!

Bonnie has now completed her goal of kissing a Mexican. We are so proud.

From Bonnie to Angelo: Te Amo.

-Sara Jacqueline