For the Love of All Things Spicy

I don't know where you are on your "spicy" tolerance, but if every meal I had made my mouth burn and my nose run, I would be in heaven! I remember eating raw peppers in the kitchen as a child and while adults around me, consuming the same exact peppers, reached for relief, I was un-phased. For as long as I remember, what others found to be spicy, I found to be mild. So don't ever ask me if the salsa is spicy or not- you will probably not agree with my answer (I've been disagreed with so much on this issue, that I no longer answer the question).

I think I may have met my match.

Last weekend, Jeremy and I ventured into Hopdoddy, our absolute favorite burger place. They currently have a featured burger - the Ghostland Burgatory. We thought, hey what the heck! You only live once! Let's try it. When the cashier asked us to sign a waiver, we felt a slight hesitation, a lack of confidence, but since we already agreed to purchase it and didn't know what the other was thinking, we went ahead and got it, against our better judgment. (The minutes waiting for it to arrive were torturous, reminded me of waiting in line at Disney World for a ride I really didn't want to ride, but because of my people pleasing side, I had convinced myself to ride it... for instance: here)

So this burger not only has ghost peppers (debated as being the world's hottest pepper) on it PLUS a ghost pepper sauce, but it also is covered with jalapenos, serranos, and habeneros. Um, yeah. We will just say that it was the spiciest thing I have ever put into my mouth. ever.

The difference between my husband's approach and mine perfectly illustrates our contrasting personalities -

My planned, calculated approach was this:
I decide to take a bite of the spicy, a bite of the mild, eat a few fries, repeat. 

Jeremy's go-with-the-flow, relaxed, lack of plan was this:
Devour the whole thing without thinking, just get through it.

I literally look up and see him look at me with a very concerned face, seconds later he's up and walking off, unresponsive. I kept saying, "are you okay? are you okay?" as he walked briskly toward the bathroom. Then I awkwardly waited for him to come back, knowing it would be totally weird if I went to "check" on him in the bathroom. The way he described it was as if his body was on the brink of shock. He was fine after eating the other burger and a vanilla milkshake, which diffused most of the heat.

So we both got through the burger and lived to tell the tale. Would he recommend the burger? No way. Would I? I haven't even decided. For my amigos who love spiciness as much as I do, I've already texted them that they must try it, and that I have to be there for it. I'm guessing most people who read this will be resolved to never try it, but there will be a few who share in my obsession with spicy food and will go for it.

Go for it, my friends, go for it.

Thanks for Letting Us Borrow Your Daughter

Once a week for 2 hours, Jeremy and I watch our friends' daughter who is almost 3 years old. We spend those 2 hours speaking to her in Spanish only, which, as you can imagine, leads to some pretty funny moments. So many of these moments have been building up in my heart that I had to share.

I'm not ready to have kids one bit (okay, maybe a bit, but only a little bit). I've been telling people that the idea of staying home all the time sounds great to me, but not so much the whole taking-care-of-another-human-thing. I'm watching every mother around me and making all kinds of mental notes but just not ready to take that plunge quite yet. Enter Luci Belle. Fun. Crazy. Loving. 2 hours a week of taking care of a child- it's just what I needed.

So maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that we don't want kids yet. This is plausible because when Luci Belle repeats "Espera Un Momento" after me, I melt almost every time. A lot of the times, she doesn't repeat or really respond, but then out of nowhere, she will rattle off a sentence, or respond to our babbling with 'Yes' or 'No' so confidently that we wonder if she's become fluent overnight. Es possible, no?

Since the sweet arrival of summer, we've spent most of our lessons down at the pool. Who wouldn't, right? Let me tell you something, you haven't lived until you've swam with a toddler. I mean, you would think we just arrived at the most beautiful ocean in the world by the smiles and giggles that come out just seeing the pool! It does a great thing for the soul in those moments- such a reminder to live with awe.

The best moment every week is when it's time to leave the pool. LB is always reluctant, but as soon as she gets out, she wants to be wrapped up in her towel and held. As soon as you get her wrapped up and into your arms, she rests her head on your shoulder. every time. It's seriously like clockwork. You know when you arrive at the pool with her, at the end of that adventure, you will get that precious moment (which lasts all the way up 3 flights of stairs, back to our apartment). Her face right then says "I am at peace. I am comfortable. I feel safe." And it helps me feel all those things too. It's times like these that I wonder how I've lived without kids for this long. And don't even get me started on what it's like to see her resting her head on Jeremy's shoulder. 

For now, we're grateful and content with these 2 hours a week. And definitely using this season to prepare, to watch people around us, to soak it in, to put our marriage first and learn how to relate to each other before we add a 3rd, 4th, 5th person to this equation. Perhaps I'm writing this because each week something inside of me grows stronger. I'm trying to process this feeling, this desire for motherhood. Each week I want a little more time.