It seems like a lot of the blogs I read have been sporadic in their postings for the last week or so. I took a bit of a break myself.

But that doesn't mean that nothing has been going on! So I thought this post could be a random one about odds and ends.

Friends - We are really loving Mazatlan for the new friends we have met. Over the last couple of weeks we have had several dinners out with nice people, we've been to a party, celebrated Christmas dinner with neighbors and friends, and have had many random and wonderful interactions that will probably lead to even more friendships.

Spanish - Paul has been taking Spanish classes for several weeks - two classes per week. He is learning a ton and people are commenting on how well he speaks. I really can't believe the frequency of compliments he receives. I start classes in January with the same teacher. It is true that just living here you can't help but have your Spanish improve but the discipline of classes will be just what I need to finally get out of the present tense.

New Year's traditions - Paul and I always like to spend New Years by ourselves...for me it is the best to start the new year with your spouse - to talk about goals and to toast the new year without a lot of craziness. I don't know if we'll do that tomorrow or not...there will without a doubt be a lot going on in Centro if we want to just walk out the door. But I plan on sweeping the dirt out the front door and wearing maybe both red AND yellow underwear just to go along with tradition. We'll probably skip walking the suitcase out and back in because we are happy to stay right here for now! (red underwear is for love and yellow is for money) I was going to buy grapes today so that we could make our twelve wishes but unfortunately they didn't look very good so I passed.

Weather - I would have never believed that I would comment that I was freezing when it was sixty degrees! But "frente frio No. 18" has been a cold one. It has warmed up most days into the low 70's, but once the sun is down the temperature drops into the 50's-60's. Our houses are concrete and brick, and our house doesn't even have windows in a couple of rooms so the breeze whips through. And no, our house doesn't have a heater! I tried to buy an extra blanket over the last couple of days as I went from store to store and there are just no "regular" blankets to be had. They are all puffy sort of bedspread things - why is that? Locals say it has never been this cold here.

Tourists - The beach is a popular place to spend Christmas/New Years holidays, and we have noticed that most of the tourists in town are Mexican. It gives a different feel to all the tourist spots. There are lots of out of state license plates.

House Projects - The courtyard is still ALMOST done. We got caught in the Christmas/New Years slowdown but the only things left to do are little punch list things. We absolutely love the courtyard, and as soon as we feel ready to take pictures will post the last set. The interior painting is done, and wonderful. We were pretty nervous about some of our color choices, but we should have trusted ourselves because they turned out great. I'll post pictures of those soon, too.

House cleaning - Construction projects mean dust and dirt tracked throughout the house. Mainly by the dust drifting throughout our mostly open house but also by the dogs and us as we move through rooms that were a mess. So with the end of these projects came cleaning! I have vacuumed and mopped a couple of times but we really kicked ass today! I vacuumed the whole house and mopped top to bottom. Paul hosed down the courtyard and back yard, swept the garage and mopped the laundry room. Now we can actually walk around without leaving dusty footprints everywhere.

Small victories - We installed a wireless doorbell at the front gate. I know, it only took ten minutes so why did we wait so long? Now we can close our front doors if we want privacy or to cut down on dust coming off the street. We had to keep the doors open so we could hear people call out when the came over. Sheesh.

Happy surprise - I noticed my pants were a little loose and found I had lost 8 pounds in the three months we've been here. We walk a lot more, and I have basically quit snacking, but still I was surprised. And happy!

What's up next - We expect our dining room table and chairs and a bookcase/desk to arrive next week. We're going to get going (that's the royal WE) repairing some exterior concrete problems and repaint the outside. And we hope to get to the tile store to select some tile for a couple of places in the kitchen.

But the most important thing up next is that it will be a new year! Have a great holiday, everyone, and see you in 2008!