Hiking, golfing, and eating

I love three day weekends.  I really love Memorial Day weekend the best I think.  The weather is amazing, summer and hot weather is on everyone's mind, the smell of BBQ is in the air, and we honor all the fallen soldiers who have given their lives to this country.  I remember one year we made the trip downtown to Arlington Cemetary on Memorial Day and it was definitely an experience to remember.  It's a bit far and crowded to go every year but maybe when Evan is older we'll make the trip again.

This weekend was all about the outdoors.  I am still feeling really sick and I was feeling pretty sick and miserable all weekend, but I refused to let that keep me inside.

On Saturday Evan and I went on our first real hike.

We had been practicing at the local Nature Center but this time we headed to a State Park and actually walked on a trail.  It was really fun and I am so excited about more fun hikes like that.  Evan was pretty well-behaved and didn't put up too many fights.  He stayed in the Mai Tai for about half of the hike, then walked about a fourth of it, and then I carried him for the other fourth.

Part of the trail was paved and then we took an unpaved trail for a few miles.  My friend was supposed to come with us but she didn't want to catch our sickness (her mom is undergoing cancer treatment and can't have sick visitors), so we went alone.  At first I was hesitant and was going to just forget about the entire thing, but then I put on my big girl pants and decided to just go it alone.

I am glad I did because we had so much fun.  I made Evan wear long pants and long sleeves because I was afraid we'd get ticks.  So far we are tick free.

On Sunday we had our first visitors.  Well, actually, I guess they were our second because my friend Sarah stopped by on Wednesday and stayed for dinner.  However, we had lots of house-cleaning to do and all pitched in to get it done.  I straightened so much stuff, did a ton of laundry, finally put away the ten loads of wash I had sitting in my room (I have a tendency to do the laundry and then never get around to putting it away).  I also made black bean hummus, 7-layer Dip, and cut up cantaloupe and watermelon for appetizers (actually Ivan cut the fruit up), and made Honduran Enchiladas for dinner.  Ivan even made fresh-squeezed lemonade for us to drink.  It was quite the feast.  We had so much fun hanging out and catching up.  Our apartment is super tiny but it all worked out and it didn't feel too squishy.

Yesterday the hubs and I finally went golfing!!  Amazing!!  The same couple that came over for dinner offered to watch Evan the next day while we golfed.  It was great.  I hadn't golfed in over a year and didn't do too badly.  It was just great being outside and spending time with the hubs.  Since it was Memorial Day and the golf course was extra crowded, we ended up playing with two other guys we didn't know and that wasn't too bad.  I hate playing with other people because it makes me self-conscious, but it wasn't too embarrassing.  I had some good shots.  That night we headed to my bus friend's house for dinner.  She wanted the hubs to come look at her yard and see if he could do some yard work for her.  We got dinner in exchange - good deal!  Especially for me because I don't have to do anything.

So, that was our weekend, how was yours? 

I never thought I'd...Thursday

Have you ever done something that you never thought you'd do? Yeah, me too.

Actually, this is something I never thought my husband would do, but I think that still counts.  It's my blog, so I make the rules.

Last night, after dinner and after giving Evan a bath I randomly asked Ivan if he'd help me clean the bathrooms. They were super disgusting because it is so hard to find the time to clean them. Hubs totally shocked me by saying yes! I could have rolled over in happiness. So we got to work. I sprayed them down and cleaned the sinks and toilets and hubs cleaned the shower and bathtub.  Great deal because I hate cleaning the bathtub and shower. And although hubs hates to clean, he is really good at it and scrubs with all his might, so the shower and bathtub are now spotless.  Or at least they were last night.

For the most part, hubs and I have divided the chores. I think I have way more, but at least he does something. Especially now during the summer when it's hot, hubs comes home from work utterly exhausted. Working outside in this heat is tiring so he often comes home and naps.  I am tired after work too - commuting and working my brain all day is tiring too, but in a different way.  So I let Ivan get away with less chores. And let's be honest, Ivan doesn't care quite as much about cleaning the house. His jobs are to take out the trash, take out the recycle, wash the car, and vacuum.  He does these things regularly so I don't have to nag him about it. If the trash is stinky and I want him to take it out, I just tell him it's stinky and he says he'll take it out.

That's why I was shocked he said yes about the bathrooms. Who likes doing the bathrooms?? No one.  But let me tell you, it went way quicker than it does when I do it by myself.

And then he went back to this:

Watching soccer.  The World Cup qualifying matches are on so it seems like every day is another big soccer match.  The picture above was actually from Tuesday. Honduras was playing USA. That's a big day in our house! I rooted for USA and hubs rooted for Honduras. I have no idea who Evan will root for in the future.  USA ended up winning 1-0, but it was still a good game. Yesterday we watched Japan vs. Italia.  We were both rooting for Italia, or course, since I am part Italian.

While the game was on Evan entertained himself with a box.

He was really excited.

He played until dinner. Then it was bath and bedtime.

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What chores do you have around the house? What chore do you hate doing?

Do you watch the World Cup Qualifying matches? What's your favorite soccer/football team?

I never thought I'd...Thursday

Have you ever done something that you never thought you'd do?  Yeah, me too.

I never thought I'd marry a Honduran.  Ever in my life.

Hubs and me in my Honduran house.

When I joined the Peace Corps, I specifically remember telling my PC friends that I couldn't imagine ever marrying a host country national - the cultural differences seemed immense and hard to overcome.  Language barriers, food differences, lifestyle differences, different moral codes.  How could it ever possibly work???

And then in March 2010 - I married a Honduran.  I sometimes still can't believe it myself.

And although my Spanish is pretty decent and we rarely have Spanish-English communication problems - we still have food preference differences and lifestyle differences and many other differences.  And sometimes it seems impossible to overcome these differences while at the same time they seem so small and insignificant.

And in all reality, I think most of our conflicts tend to be the exact same conflicts that all married couples have: who washes the dishes, whose turn is it to change the diaper, husband is golfing too much, wife takes seven hours to grocery shop, and we both pretend to need to use the bathroom when we want a secret minute of our own (i.e. Can you watch Evan while I use the bathroom quick sometimes = I'm going to go read five chapters of my book in the bathroom all by myself).

I'm not sure when I changed my mind about marrying a Honduran.  I don't think I really changed my mind completely.  I think I met Ivan, then felt like I wanted to marry HIM (as opposed to any Honduran).  And it's not like we are similar at all - we come from very different backgrounds and we have had practically opposite life experiences.  When I met him and we started dating, I just had a feeling that he was the one.  I knew shortly after we got together that I was probably going to marry him - eventually...after years of immigration paperwork and bills and expensive visits and interviews with embassies.

And the adjustments have been hard - him moving here, trying to learn English, adjusting to new food and new ways of doing things.  Our first year of marriage was tough and even now it takes a lot of work.  But it's worth it.  I remember when I was still in Honduras and I talked with a Peace Corps employee who had married a host country national 20 some years earlier - and she said that she loved her husband but if she had to do it all over again, she wouldn't marry him - that the cultural differences were so intense and her marriage took so much work, that it almost took the joy out of it.  She said she didn't regret it, but that if she had to make the decision again, she would make a different one.  Her opinion has stayed with me all this time - constantly making me wonder if in 20 years I would think the same thing.

On our honeymoon in Hersey Park.

Luckily, as of now, I would still marry my husband.  Hard work and all.  I think all marriages are hard and require a lot of communication, understanding, flexibility, and forgiveness.  Yes, my husband is obsessed with WWE wrestling, but I can forgive him for that.  :-)  And he hates garlic and most Italian food, but I can forgive him for that too.  :-)

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What is something you never thought you'd do?

What is the hardest thing about being married?

What do you do when you need ten minutes of peace and quiet?