Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Long Time No Hear!

Hello to our family and friends.  I know...I know!  We've been out of pocket for a good while now.  We've heard several voicemails from you and hear you loud and clear.

Bob & I are doing fabulous and staying pretty busy.  The condo construction is coming along nicely.  They say it will be completed by the end of October if not sooner.  Humm!  Since we live in the same complex that the condo is being built we're able to keep very close tabs and fortunately have had lots of input.

We are officially Residents of Mexico. ( Do not confuse with Citizenship.)  Totally different meaning.  The process for obtaining our residents was a breeze and just took a few hours out of our day to complete.  We headed to the immigration office early one morning gathered the paperwork needed for us to fill out, went next door to a gentlemen who fills out all the paperwork in Spanish and takes our photos which is required; all for $100 pesos.  The funny thing through this whole process was taking the photo.  Apparently the Mexican Government uses photos of ears as we in the States use fingerprints for identification.  We had a difficult time with this because the straight head shot needed our ears to be apparent in the photo.  Well, neither Bob nor I have an issue with our ears sticking out and away from our head so, we had to improvise.  The guy taking our photo put white folded paper behind our ears to make them stick out.  Bob & I were cracking up at each other as we watched the photo session take place.  I can tell you these were the ugliest photos we have ever taken.  Not only did our ears had to stick out but we couldn't have hair on our foreheads so we both had to slick back our hair with water.  Isn't that hilarious?  We just went along with it and move on the next step.  After the photo session we left our paperwork with the gentlemen for him to finish and we made our way to the bank to pay our Residential fee which was only a couple of hundred USD.  Once we paid all we had to do was pick up our completed documents and photos and take them back to the immigration office.  We handed them the packet and they told us to come back within 5-7 working days and our card would be ready.  Really?  That's it?  Unbelievable!  So, why is it important for residency for us?  Well, with this card we are able to ship down our household items from the States duty free,  we no longer have to pay the "tourist tax" that is applied to all airline tickets when purchased, we're able to apply for the Mexican medical insurance, we can stay in this country without having to leave every 6 months and we can have a car with US tags on them.  There are lots of reason to have a residence card if you plan to live here year around.

Let's see what else is going on...I've been helping a friend out in her Spa in return I get free treatments such as  nails, hair, massages and facials.  Not too shabby!  All I have to do is fill in when she needs to be away from the spa for any given reason.  I work with the manicurist and masseuses by letting them know of their appointments, help translate for the Gringo community.  The workers at the spa speak very little English so when a English speaking client comes in and wants something specific; hopefully I can relay that correctly.  So far I'm doing well with that.  We have a lot of men that come in for waxing.  I just hope that I don't screw up and tell the girl working he's there for a bikini wax when he's really there for his back waxed.  That could pose for a serious problem. hehehe!  I've only had to work 2 days so far but Debbie has asked if I would have interest in working more.  She's the owner of Tippy Toes ( www.tippytoes.com ) and would like to have some time off.  I absolutely told her that I would be interested.  I've never worked in a spa before but it's fun.

Here's some really big news.  We've been fostering a little dog for a week.  He was lost and we've been trying to track down his family.  We know he was well cared for and we're sure he is missed.  The vet says his about 2 years old and is a mix of a White Scottish Terrier and possible a Bishon or Poodle.  He is adorable.  He's very well behaved, potty trained and hasn't chewed up a thing.  We do know he belonged to a Mexican family because he knows all his commands in Spanish and he still has his balls.  Now we all know an American would have already neutered this little guy.  We'll give a couple more weeks of trying to find his family.  If his old family isn't found that we plan to keep him and get him neutered.  I wanted to keep him after day 1, Bob took a little longer to get on board with the idea just because of the commitment and that having a dog in a high rise building is quite different from having one in a home with a yard.  You want to see a picture of him?

This is Reese.







He is so stinkin cute!  Those ears just kill me.  He only weighs about 20 lbs and has been a wonderful "condo" dog.  We love having him around.

Well, its time for my yoga class.  We just wanted to touch base with you and let you know we are doing great.  We've been promising to stay in better communication with everyone so, I'll start blogging more often. I just need to work it in; in between naps.

Love to all,
Bonnie & Bob

13 comments:

Cindy Lou said...

Reese is frigging adorable- a crose between dog and bunny! I cant wait to meet him.

Renne said...

Sounds like a great adventure. I wish I could get another puppy but cruising just doesn't seem like a great idea with a dog and all the rules. Follow us on www.svjonne.blogspot.com or I'm blogging about a women's perspective on crusing on www.saliadypassages.blogspot.com. Miss you guys. If we get Mexico we will take you sailing.

Renne said...

oop...it is www.sailadypassages.com

Anonymous said...

So Happy to hear you and Bob are doing well, i would LOVE to see those resident pics:-) and your Reese is very cute:-)
Hello and Love to you All,
Tanya

Anonymous said...

Reese is obviously a local - his ears stick out in photos!

You've got to post your resident card pics guys, please.....

glad to hear you're well...

Jason

Anonymous said...

Nice to hear of an easy experience getting residency rather than the stress loaded impossible process here in Honduras, not to mention costly. Great for you.
What happened to your food magazine writing stint? Now you are into spas? Wow!
Cute, cute dog. On one hand I hope you find the owner as I'm sure they are going crazy - on the other hand, if they have moved and are no where to be found what better home could he ask for in spite of the plan to take away his manhood!
Mike and I are on our way to the States as his Daughter, Debbie, undergoing a bone marrow transplant is not fairing well right now. We hope this is part of the process and she'll get back on track. Won't be gone long however.
Take care and keep in touch.
Yeah Yoga!
Love, Sharon & Mike

Anonymous said...

OMG!! Reese is a dog doll! What a love! Lucky Bob now has 2 cute roommates! And how exciting you guys are buying a new condo! Woo Hoo!! Just let me know when my Princess Room is ready.(hehe)
Have a wonderful week! I miss seeing you guys in H-town!
Hugs and Love,
Deborah

Anonymous said...

YES !!!!!! Must see y'alls cards....how many bedrooms is the condo? Steve and I will need some where to stay when we come stay for a month or so..lmao.....Jan

Anonymous said...

Holy cow is Reese cute! With ears like that, he's got to be part papillon...or bat! Glad to hear everything is well!
Tina

Anonymous said...

Hey guys! Ditto what Cindy Lou said. That dog is absolutely adorable and definitely a cross between a bunny and a dog. How could you not love a face like that? I hope you get to keep him. Floor plans! I'm all about floor plans. Can you post some? I would love to see them. Can't wait to see pics of the new place. Love ya, Kat

Alex Sabillon said...

Hi Bob and Bonnie

I'm glad to hear from you again, I always remember you a lot and is good to know that you are having a good time there, I imagine that you already have many friends there? I hope to see you next year, I still have my travel plan for next year to visit you.

things here have not changed much since you left.

Mercedes and I miss you a lot and miss your good food also hahaha!
I imagine that many people miss you too, You are a very special couple.

Take care and continue enjoying Mexico!

Big hugs

Sincerely Alex

Sweeke said...

Sat., 07/20/2011,
It appears to be a good time to be in maz instead of guanaja. Tropical storm harvey rolled over the bay islands yesterday.
I too would love to come visit but I'm afraid I'll end up neutered and responding to commands in Spanish.
Take care and we'll get in line for that spare room.
Sam

Nancy said...

Hey Bonnie, I know this isanold post but I couldn't get over the similarity between your Reese and our Coco. She was also a Maz street dog. here's a post I did about her, wish the photos were better... They seem the same except for the ears!

http://www.countdowntomexico.com/2011/01/31/crashed-out-coco/

Nice to see you the other evening, take care.