I got a little behind after writing my Mexico City posts! Fortunately, the last few days have been rather quiet and relaxing, so I don’t have a ton to catch up on, really.
Friday, December 29
We have done a lot of lazing around since Friday. I don’t feel we over-exerted ourselves in our Mexico City touring days, but we stayed pretty busy plus lots of driving, etc. By Friday we were happy to just take it easy.
In the morning Ivan’s mom and dad ran to a nearby stand to get bags of fresh hand squeezed juice- orange, carrot and pineapple. We had juice, quesadillas, coffee and tea. Fresh OJ is the BEST.
Ethan and I lounged around on the roof for a while. It was sunny and warm- well, a bit cool at first but then it really heated up. We actually got hot after a while.
I always like to see the volcano (nevado de Toluca). There is a lagoon/crater up there that you can drive part way to and then do an easy hike to, but we’ve never done that. I am hoping we can maybe still squeeze that in this week!
Real hikers with gear can actually climb to the summit, but we don’t have appropriate gear along for that. Apparently there can be issues with altitude sickness as well and it’s quite challenging.
The volcano was “closed” last week due to the cold snap and lots of snow up there. I think it’s back open now, but you can still see the snow that remains.
We spread out a blanket and read. Ethan lasted maybe 20-30 minutes but I stayed out for a couple hours! I actually got sunburned on my nose….
I spent some time reading but also sat and toyed around with some ideas for 2024 goals. More on this later, but I am leaning toward pushing myself to do morning workouts for at least a month when we get home.
Since we got Charlie I have just had ongoing, consistent issues with being able to fit workouts in. I’ve mentioned that here. The reality is… if I do it in the morning, it would solve a lot of my problems. I basically just don’t really “want” to go to the gym in the morning. But I think it may be worth giving it a try! I have been SO frustrated with trying to schedule and fit in my workouts around work, family, dinner, Charlie….. I finally realized that if a friend came to me with this exact same dilemma, I think I would suggest that she try to just prioritize the workout first thing in the morning! Problem solved. So I am going to try to take my own advice. If after a month I hate it, I can reassess.
Ivan went out with his dad to run a few errands. They got home midday and Ivan had picked up this electric fireplace for them as our Christmas gift to them!
It was my idea, actually. I’ve mentioned that the nights are freezing here and none of the homes have central heat. Ivan’s aunt and uncle have one and when we were there the other day I whispered to Ivan, “This is what we should get for your parents!” He agreed and went and bought one.
They were really excited! It doesn’t put off that much heat, but it’s definitely better than nothing. Especially if you sit right near it. Plus it looks cute!
Friday evening the 4 of us went over to Ivan’s high school friend’s house for dinner. We were there from probably 5- 11 pm and it was really nice. This is the guy whose family owns that ranch hotel we went to last time, if you recall from our last Mexico trip. This time we just went to their house here in Toluca. I really get along well with his wife too- she is super sweet. I think they are planning to visit us in the States sometime soon.
Saturday, December 30
Saturday was another pretty chill day!
Ivan’s dad made guacamole and we had home cooked rice and beans with beef ribs for lunch. And a super spicy and delicious salsa his mom made.
In the evening Ivan’s sister and girls stopped by and took us out to a coffee shop. We tried to go to one in downtown Toluca but it was closed. This one actually was about to close too, unfortunately! We were only able to sit for a bit before we had to take our drinks to go. They came to the house and we visited for another hour or so.
Ivan’s dad wasn’t feeling great, so he didn’t go out for coffee, and neither did Asher. They both just had vague symptoms of not feeling well- tired, a little queasy stomach, etc. No major deal, but just not the best.
Sunday, December 31 (so far)
This morning I woke up also not feeling the best! (Though now Ivan’s dad and Asher seemed fine, fortunately.) Ivan felt a little off too. Just a bit weak and tired and low appetite.
I also didn’t sleep well- I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and was having more back pain… couldn’t get comfortable and no matter what I did my back hurt. I finally fell back to sleep by 5:30 or so but I felt groggy and tired all morning.
As a result, I mostly lounged around and tried to nap eventually. Ivan’s mom was busy cooking food for tonight… seemed to be very complicated and taking an enormously long time! (She actually started last night.)
I felt mildly bad not helping, but I have no idea how to make whatever she was cooking anyway. 😅 She seems to love to cook and it’s definitely her “love language”.
While others showered, Ivan and I laid on our bed and started binge watching episodes of Emily in Paris. They are short- like 26 minutes. We watched a few before he left to run to the store with his dad.
I was going to go along but still felt blah. So I got some fresh air on the roof for a bit instead- it was actually HOT!
I read for a bit but then still really wasn’t feeling great- mostly just tired. I ended up going down to my room and took a nap.
By this afternoon I felt largely better. I made a batch of Mexican Wedding Cookies for our New Years Eve gathering tonight.
They taste a little different than when I make them at home. I think the butter is different. But they are still good!
Now I am showered and dressed for New Year’s Eve. It will be a small gathering- just Ivan’s sister’s family, his parents and us. I mentioned before but she is pregnant and due on January 4th. So going to Mexico City or to a big party didn’t sound like the best plan.
I’m fine with this! The Packers play a big game at 7:30, so we are trying to figure out how to stream that somehow tonight too. 😉
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!! I am loving everyone’s year end posts and recaps. Being gone, I haven’t been able to do much of that, but hopefully can when I get home! I feel like all of January is pretty fair game for “new year” posts. 🙂
Thank you for reading my blog this year! It wouldn’t be the same without those of you who comment and interact and make this space so fun and meaningful for me. I hope you’ll stick around in 2024! 🎉🎉
GRATEFUL KAE 
I’ll definitely stick around! I just discovered your blog recently (a few months ago? or maybe over the summer) and I love it.
I hope you’re feeling better and enjoying New Year’s Eve! I’m having a very low-key night and as a matter of fact I have the Packers game on right now!
I also haven’t done any specific “new year” post so I agree- January is fair game.
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Woohoo Packers win! We couldn’t get it on the big screen but Ivan was able to stream it on his phone. So we watched it there. Haha. Better than nothing! Glad you had a relaxing low-key evening! Happy new year!
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Sorry to hear some of you have felt under the weather. I am glad it’s pretty short lived. To continue our series of illnesses, we noticed taco had drainage coming out of his ear which means he had an ear infection. Luckily we can treat it with drops. Thank goodness he still has tubes. He had been waking up at night the last several nights so now we know why. But he’s fine to be out and about.
We are watching the game now and I am thinking of you. I am sure we will lose. We are down 17-3. Our team is a total mess/dumpster fire. At this point Phil just wants them to lose the rest of their games so they get a better draft pick.
Good luck with your goal to workouts in the mornings! You are kind of an early bird so once you get into a routine I bet it will work. I want to try to leave work at 3:30 and do that walk workout at 12% incline that Elisabeth has been doing. I think I can maybe swing that one day each week of work doesn’t get too crazy. I will be WFH for 2 weeks in January while we consolidate from 3 floors to 2. I am really really looking forward to that. It’s so much easier to fit workouts in when I WFH!
I bet Ivan’s mom is happy to do all the meal prep and doesn’t want or need your help. When I am making a meal, I would rather just do things myself. We have an island in our kitchen so I like when people hang out at the bar while I work on the meal but I usually don’t want any help. Today we were at my MIL’s for lunch and she asked Phil to mashed the potatoes and I was like – let me just do that… Phil is not one to do a lot the kitchen. It was an odd task to try to hand off to him… I was like – um, maybe he can cut the turkey breast? He has never used a hand mixer and it’s an easy task so why even hand it off?! Especially to a guy who has never done the job.
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Oh no! Sorry about Will’s ear infection! Jeez!
And yay for us we won! 😉 Still not sure what will happen long term obviously but it’s always more fun to at least still be “in the hunt”, as the NFL commentators say. Hahaha. Next week will be a big one- our rival Bears, who also had a big win yesterday! Looking forward to watching that game at home next Sunday on my couch with my gas fireplace on. 😉
I am an early bird but I have gotten used to having a “slow” morning where I honestly sort of waste some time just having tea, reading a little, updating my time log, plan my day, checking email, etc. None of it is earth shattering OR probably needs to take as much time as I spend. I also am sort of lazy getting him where I hit snooze, lay in bed for 15 minutes looking at my phone, etc. So I think that I may be able to streamline things a bit to still allow “some” time for that, but also fit in a workout even a few days a week early. Sort of like SHU’s routine, I guess. I also am trying to make myself realize that I don’t HAVE to be home every single morning from 6:30-7 to make Ethan breakfast or see him before school. Being there 3 or 4 days a week is probably enough! (Some days I might do cardio which is shorter than gym so I could like run 6-6:30 and still see Ethan off from 6:30-7.) Then if I go to the gym from 6-7 a couple days, I’d really only miss Ethan once, because Wednesdays he has a late start day and doesn’t have to get up until after 7!
That’s so funny about Phil and the mashed potatoes! Maybe she wanted to get him more kitchen experience?? lol!!
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morning workout is worth a try, it helps to have it done for the day before everything else, it lifts the mood, I can’t seem to consistently workout in the afternoon unless it’s gym workout, few times only. I prefer to have the endorphin early to last it for most of the day.
hope you re feeling better and nobody gets sick for the rest of your trip.
I need to try the Mexican cookie that you keep making! seems so good and not hard to make.
happy new year! really happy to follow you along the life journey.
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Exactly.. I know both you and Sarah doing the morning workouts and you guys are both SO consistent. It’s just been hard given the timing when my kids need to leave for school- it’s pretty early and I get hung up on wanting to be home while they get ready. But in reality they don’t “need” my help anymore, so this is kind of made up problem. I mean, I can still go to the gym some days and be home with them on others- it doesn’t have to be all or nothing! I really want to force myself to try it for a good period of time and then decide what I think. I’m hoping it will solve some of my issues if I can get myself used to it! I did used to workout early years ago but got out of the habit during the pandemic. It’s hard to go back now!
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It sounds like a thoroughly enjoyable vacation. Time with family, great food, and casual sightseeing. I’m loving every minute of your posts. Have a very Happy New Years!
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Exactly! It really has been very, very nice! Different from some of our typical trips where all we are doing is sightseeing or exploring, but the downtime and relaxed family time has been great.
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The secret sauce of the morning workout is that as long as you get up the workout will get done. It also helps to free up time at night. The downside is yuuuuckkkkkk getting up early. I started working out in the AM about 9 years ago when I was in grad school because I knew that otherwise I wouldn’t be working out AT ALL for the next two years. One thing that really helped when I was getting started was to make Wednesday a rest day. That way I never had to get up super early for more than 2 days in a row.
I have had to stop myself from licking my laptop screen over the pictures of food. Everything looks soooo good.
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Well, I actually do not mind getting up early! But I have (over the last couple of years) gotten very used to just getting up and having a good amount of “quiet time” first thing in the morning. The idea of doing vigorous exercise or worse, leaving the house to see other people at the gym, right away in the morning has become a challenge! Even though I totally used to workout in the early morning a few years back. I am hopeful that some sort of muscle memory will kick in?!!
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I hate mornings but think maybe I can do gentle stretching (which I want to do) + read my Bible in the morning – before getting the kids going for school. Then after dropoff I’ll do a more intense 30-60 minute workout before getting going with my home/work responsibilities (which are now much lower since I stepped away from my main job – yikes, but also exciting?!!)
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This sounds great! I’m so proud of you getting yourself in gear for regular exercise again! I know it’s not your favorite thing, nor are mornings!, so all of this is very impressive.
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I used to be an afternoon/evening exerciser and then switched to mornings. The transition was hard but now I don’t think about it twice. I think it’s wise to give yourself a whole month before you reassess because you gotta establish a habit when you don’t have to talk yourself into it again every morning 😉 Let us know how it goes.
Oh, and that electric fireplace. What a genius idea for a Christmas gift. Good work!
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I have thought about you and your morning exercise routine! I have done it in the past so I know it’s possible- I think the difference is that before, I never had the routine of getting up and reading, slowly planning my day, reading blogs, etc. So now that I’ve gotten used to doing that (which is SO enjoyable!!), it’s hard to want to give it up. I am going to try still allowing myself a little time for that, but just “less”. I am hoping that will balance it and make it more doable than just hopping out of bed and heading straight to the gym!
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Totally a morning person. If it doesn’t happen then, it doesn’t happen. I’ve been known to do 30 minutes of stairs in a hotel without a gym before a super-early flight. To me, it’s the best way to start my day, and it’s my primary source of “me time”. :> You can do it! And while I was worried about you missing out on Ethan time, it sounds like it would be minimal, so fingers crossed you can make this happen!
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Ok, this is motivating!! I remember that you’re a morning exerciser and the more I read or hear of other people doing it, the more it makes me realize I can too!! Thanks for the encouragement!
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