Culinary Part Two

This to your right is what happens after one has become a mommy and can't find the lid to her vanilla bottle.

Just wanted to share how I roll...maybe get it off my chest.

It really DOES have a nice seal though.

THIS to the right is what happens when one loans out a cake pan, doesn't get it back and has their husband volunteer them to bake a birthday cake. He volunteered me in Spanish -one foot away- and I didn't even know they were talking about me.

Where's that damn Spanish book again??

Back home I'd think nothing of baking something and giving it to the recipient in the pan it was made in. I know it would come back to me within a week, but here in Mexico things get a little... tricky. They don't steal mind you, but unless you ASK for it, sometimes multiple times, they're not going to bother to give it

back to you.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm breaking some sort of culture-rule

by asking for my stuff back (???) but pans are expensive!

I guess I really should start buying those one-time use pans, maybe keep a stock of them in the house. That'll do.

This is the Sonnnggg that Ne-ver Eennds ...

Do you know that feeling you get when you hear a new song

and realize you've just GOT to have it? You get it and listen

to it a second, thrid, and 25th time and feel something akin

to spiritual about it? You've got to love that feeling!

Do you know though, the weirdness of it when 200 times later

or two weeks or months when one day you pop in the song, it starts

to play and all of a sudden it's two-dementional? All of

a sudden and who knows why the spiritualness or shine

and luster are gone and it's just a nice song.

That happend to me this morning and within seconds it popped

into my mind that other things in life are like that. A favorite

game, book, club, show ect. I was immediately thankful that

my husband hasn't worn out HIS song yet! (Or started to grate like

the LONG version of "American Pie" cuz damn, that's the day our

marrige would die!) What a goofy thought I guess, but from there

it led to Mexico and the experience of living here itself.

And you know? Even though we've been beat into the ground

financially over and over, ground in and spat upon,

and life is scary here sometimes and I'm so far away from

loved ones - I'm still living in 3D.

(p.s. no I am not smoking weed)

I've always thrived when it comes to challenges and maybe

God knew what he was doing sending me here! Life is ONE HUGE

challenge every day here! It's taken me YEARS just to

make something so basic and neccesary as friends. Learning

Spanish is a continuing challenge (verbs can go to hell!)

Just try learning a new culture and how to navigate through the day

without being an unasuming asshole! I've learned (ok, am learning)

to cook an entirely new cuzine, how to dress, act...

you get the point.

Add to this whole mix having my first two babies in the span

of two years and this whole thing is insane. But I still

play the song that is life here everyday and everyday I'm

surprised to say I still love it. So often it's bittersweet

but hell, that's just a part of it.

One little song played this morning, it's newness worn off and here

I am thankful as ever for my life! How cool is that?

A Culinary Moment

The neighbor just brought over this bowl of food. We exchange platters of food here and there but I wonder if she was as baffled by the plate of brownies as I am by ....this.

Chino said it's dehydrated shrimp, re-hydrated in some sort of chile sauce.

The egg. The egg is kind of scary...I have a feeling it may very well be pickled. Call me a pansy but I've never tried a pickled egg.

When I went home to Michigan for Christmas I actually opened my parents fridge and in the back there was a jar of pickled eggs. Honest to god I saw it, shut the door and stood there thinking "Dear lord are my parents THAT hillbilly???" "Do I have to start calling my Dad 'Boss Hog' "?

I looked at my Mom and said "OH MY GAWD are those PICKLED EGGS in your fridge!??" Just in case she didn't know they were in there -pickled stow-aways or something - I opened the fridge and pointed at them. She looked kinda sheepish and told me that not only were they bonafide but they were home made! EEEEK!! My Dad swore up and down that they were fabulous. Maybe I was freaking out because I was home and was feeling like a kid again, or it was prego horomones. It's not like they were pickled pigs feet or something like that. Or maybe I was just being an asshole...pickled things that aren't pickles apparently bring out the anti-pickling-racist in me.

Back to the neighbors dish (side-track much??) Wonder if this is some sort of holiday dish? Saturday tradition? Freak-out-the-gringa attempt? IS SHE A BRUJA???

Do I have to try it? ...... I guess so, maybe it'll make up karma wise for laughing at my Ma and Dad.

Here goes - *tasting*

Oooo! What ever salsa that is is pretty nice! I'd like to know the chiles she used. ...... The shrimp are REALLLYY shrimpy (eeesh) and ........ suuuper chewy. ..... The egg? ......... LOL I'm not that dedicated a blogger yall, I'll save that for my husband. Sorry. But damn. Over all...... well let's just say she's an awful nice lady for sharing and leave it at that.

*gag*

*****update******

My husband came home and ate the whole bowl. The egg it turns out was NOT pickled! Just....a boiled egg floating in sauce with shrimp. . . . I asked if this is some sort of holiday thing or weekend thing and he said "No, dey're jus trying to eet." Whatever, I'm going with it being some sort of special thing....why ELSE would you put a boiled egg in it??? Or maybe I'm just egg-racist after all.

43 and Below!

I googled Celsius to Fahrenheit today and it's at around 43 degrees Fahrenheit that the schools here in Mexico are shut down for the cold.

I know that'll make my Northern friends and family poo their pants but remember we have no heaters here!

Today at school there was only one out of around 600 kids there. I'm having a grand time making lesson plans without interruption, hanging out and talking to teachers, reading and what not. Some of the other teachers are miserable and just want to go home but I'm happy as a clam!

This afternoon we actually had ice and icicles on the trees and the faculty were wandering outside to stare at it and have their picture taken next to it. I thought it was adorable and I appreciate the childlike giddiness they have about it. The ice IS pretty and I imagine if I'd never seen it before I'd be pretty darn amazed as well

Here in the Casa we're happily holed up and have our space heaters running full blast to take off the chill. When it seems too cold I just bake up something yummy and the oven helps heat up the house to a more comfy level. Not much to complain about there!

The pics are from my trip back home to Michigan around New Year. Daisy was happy as a clam being spoiled ALL to hell by my Mom. The blue sled is what we used to take her out one nice day when it wasn't too cold. She loved being pulled around so much that my Mom washed it up and brought it in the house to pull her around on.

My Mom sat it on a dog bed and swooshed the baby back and forth the house for seriously like an HOUR at a time. It got to the point where she would throw a baby fit if my Mom would stop before she was finished and the above pic is where she stayed in so long that she fell asleep. I just about peed my pants taking that picture.

I loved being home for the first time with the baby. It was crazy nice to be there, to have my parents meet my baby and for her to fall in love with them. Having her spoiled rotten to the core was of course a plus for her. ;)

She played peek-a-boo for the first time at my parents and started standing up solo there for the first time. It was funny though, when we came home it was WEEKS before she would do any of that again. ??? My Mom taught her her 3rd word while we were there so that was pretty special. :) I look forward to working at the school in the future because it'll guarantee real vacation time like I wouldn't find in any other job. I won't go another 2 years without going home!! HOORAAYY for teaching!!