Starved Rock Park, somewhere in Illinois. The latest in creepy people on the road, tick warnings, great food, hiking trails and time well spent with your lover. If you have one. And if you like him/her.

Go to Flickr because the photo gallery in WordPress scares me; it’s so the-opposite-of-intuitive.

Batch 2 of our December pictures.
I’m too lazy for my blog.

Click to go to Flickr for the real thing, I’ll keep posting fo sho.

The first batch of our most ridiculous Mexican memories!

Take 1: All fun

Take 2: No fun

Ratatoing!

The metal boxes that looked like Owen Wilson!

We saw this on New Year’s Eve, but we figured partying + buying art + having plastic surgery the same day and in the same place would be a bad idea.

I broke our Christmas tree’s base while I was moving it after we finished decorating it, so we did what you do in these situations: you steal cement blocks from your neighbor to fix things a bit. Then you hide them with presents!

For some posing reason this scenario reminded me of this American moment so much.

Coca-Cola around the world: “Tome conciencia” (“Be aware of things”)

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Sorry I haven’t been writing but I’m feeling 3005C blue (coated) and I’m not in the mood.
I’ve been, however, taking a lot of pictures and going places (brainy places), like museums and brainy streets, so I’ll post something image-y later :)

This last December Jason and I went to bruise-y Mexico for 4 weeks, here’s pretty much what happened:

Week 1:
Hanged out at home (Monterrey, 25º40′ N  100º18′ W). Ate a lot. Set the Christmas tree. Saw grandma after 3 years apart. Saw old friends. Planned a trip to Real de Catorce (23º42′ N  100º59′ W; about 3 hours south of Monterrey). Went to Real de Catorce. Got bitten by a horse. Yelled at some tour guide. Sang good old Mexican rock songs from the 90s at a Real de Catorce bar. Came back from Real de Catorce. Loved it.

Week 2:
Had bad weather for one day. Spent Christmas with the family. Played Wii with the sister. Saw my dad playing Wii. Vandalized the streets with my little cousins. Went to the dentist. Planned our New Years trip to San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato (20º55′ N  100º45′ W; about 7 hours south of Monterrey).

Week 3:
Went to San Miguel de Allende. Had a sore throat for that whole week. Then got sick to my stomach the second day. Then Jason got sick the fourth day. (Then I started eating ice cream and it all went away). Walked and walked and walked. Bought art and presents. Took 1,000 pictures in one day. Went to Guanajuato and Dolores Hidalgo because we were feeling patriotic. Spent New Years with the family. Played with fireworks (no injuries here, can you believe it?!). Went back a day early because Jason wasn’t feeling well :(

Week 4:
Back to Monterrey, back to eating. Visited a lot of family. Ate lots of Rosca de Reyes/ -Gâteau des rois for extra fanciness- for the first time in Mexico in 3 years. Bought books and magazines that added too much weight in our luggage (again). Hanged out with the cool kids… then got a black eye as a goodbye present.

When we came back to Chicago I immediately missed running outside in 80ºF everyday, eating at home, hanging out with my sister all the time, and driving without feeling like a felon. Also, I hate snow.

Curious pictures coming soon!

This was the trip.

I’m back in snowy Chicago with fantastic Mexican memories: I had a sore throat for a week, I got sick to my stomach for another week, I got bitten by a horse (possible!), and I got my first black eye. Totally unrelated.
…Totally unrelated to my inability to stay safe for more than one week. Ayyy!

The good news is that I also came back with a nice tan so, take that, Mr. Ed!!

Finally! After 2 years, we’re on our way back this Saturday.
New van, new family members, new hair color and all!

Last time Jason and I were there, we ate and drove way too much and slept too little. We also made friends from Texas and ate flan at a place I once dreamed of. That was also the infamous place where Jason licked a block of ice from a gas station. Oh and where I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time. (What an unnecessary use of fishnets, I must say).

Expect pictures full of grandeur, splendor and absurd exaggeration. See you later!

I’m too full to go get my San Miguel pictures out of my hard drive, so I stole this one from Wikipedia. Avoid the hate.

And who do they bite? Mainly, me.

There are so many ways to tell the story (funny, lastimeras…) but I’m way too appalled, outraged, consternada, espantada, maltrecha, blessée and de mauvaise humeur to explore them.

I’ll only say it how it happened: I went with the flow in Real de Catorce, rode a horse, and then watched him bite my leg. Actually, he was playing/cagando el palo with another horse; plus we were dealing with animals and things happen.
Still, who gets bitten by a horse?! Hahah

They say every human at some point believes that the negative things that happen are unique to them, and then says something delirious like “these things only happen to me”.
So, seriously?!

I’m going away this weekend to another small town, wish me luck!! :P

“Yes, sir!”

“Oh hell no, sir”

This weekend was another anniversary of mine, and because I love celebrating everything (like a good Mexican), I tricked Jason into doing something. Which is why we ended up in rainy Milwaukee with a broken umbrella.

We left on Sunday noon and I got to drive for a long time, which is one of my forbidden pleasures these days (everyday traffic doesn’t count); we found out that Milwaukee is a lot like Texas. We passed a place that was called “Bong State Recreational Area”. We found gas as cheap as $2.59 per gallon. I bought a little Moby Dick candle for me and a cobra for my dad. And we considered buying a $900 poster from the Mexican Olympics of ‘86.

So yesterday was all fun and games, but it was windy like hell, so Milwaukee broke my umbrella.

Pos aunque no tenga un Gran Marquis, sí que es bien carita.

Me encontré al Pipiripau en el bendito Mercado Juárez uno de esos días de divaguencias en Monterrey. Me tomé una foto con él y hasta me dijo que no la perdiera porque valía mucho jijiji

PD. Perdonen la facha, pero estábamos como a 43ºC

Rah rah rah!

Finally. 25 days, 4 flights and 966 pictures of pure fun!

There are a lot of things to see. Take your time and steal nothing.

Click for the Flickr set
Mexico Sep/08