Sunday, December 27, 2009

Me and the Guapo Vaquero


I was invited to Ciudad Valles in San Luis Potosi for the holidays.  It's been 3 parties in 3 days and tomorrow it will be 4 parties in 4 days.  So we were at this party last night when my friend Amanda said, "Oh, look at what is coming down the road!"

This man showed up at the fiesta in his finest party clothes complete with spurs.  Needless to say, the photo tells the story more than words.  Ride 'em cowboy!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Fried and Refried



When I took this picture, I didn't know if was a no-no to take photos inside the store so I snapped it surreptitiously.  And don't you just love how I used a baby word "no-no" in the same sentence as "surreptitiously"?

It seems like my 2 favorite topics is about food in Mexico and driving or other modes of transportation in Mexico. I need to find more interesting topics. Anyhoo, I went to a small local grocery story in a small town nearby Reynosa.  I had met some friends for lunch and was heading back when I saw the store. I only needed to pick up a few items.  It looked like a fairly new store and everything was so neat and the milk cost about 50 pesos.  Not cheap.  It looked like a miniature HEB (that would be HY VEE to you Iowa folks) and fairly normal.  Then I got to the oil aisle.  Notice I did not say oil section.  This little country store had an entire side of an aisle devoted to cooking oil.  Next time I head to HEB, SMart or Soriana in Reynosa, I am going to check out the store size vs. oil aisle ratio.  Dang!  Is that why I can't lose the weight I've put on this past year?  Am I consuming so much you can put a rig on me and drill for oil?

I've got to stop eating out and hitting the gym more often.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Brrrrrr, It's Cold

I've lived in Iowa most of my life where traffic doesn't stop when we get a little snowfall (6 inches or less = no cancellations).  I lived in Minneapolis for a few years and I can remember driving from Fargo, ND in a snowstorm that dumped 18 inches.  Minneapolis never cancels any events for any amount of snow. Ever. 


Last Friday when the temperature high was somewhere in the 40's and it rained all day, I had 7 students out of 34 show up for classes. Most northerners would call us out with shouts of "Pansies!"  


I can just hear my northern friends and family wondering what kind of pansy I've turned into.  The horror!  Highs only in the 40's?  That would be considered a heat wave in Iowa. Well, dear northerners, let me tell you the difference between Iowa and Mexico. You all have heat inside.  Most Mexican homes do not.  I was freezing most of last week. It was cold and rainy and I've been suffering from a nasty gripa with chills to the bone and a hacking cough. I swear I almost coughed up a lung. Then I discovered the air conditioning unit that was installed in my apartment is also a heating unit.  Totally cool!   I mean totally hot!  I am feeling soooo much better. 

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Thanksgiving in Mexico

20 lb bird from Walmart at .40 per pound = $8.00
2 boxes of stove top stuffing = $1.82
1 can of candied cranberries = .78
1 bag of potatoes = $3.00

Thanksgiving dinner outside on the terrace with good friends and family = pricele$$