Have you been naughty this year...ask Señor Frosty

Señor Frosty
Originally uploaded by deernose.

Have you ever been traveling during christmas holidays and had to transport gifts? I certainly have. And there is always one gift that I am especially glad to get rid of. I don't like Chrismas much anymore, mostly because I think it's been commercialized to death. Parents think they have to give their children the world every single year and people without much money feel pressure to give, give, give. Its incredible how much debt people get themselves into during the holidays, not to mention how much food they eat, weight they gain, resolutions they make and resolutions they break---year after year.

Anyhow, I decided this past year that I was NOT buying anyone gifts besides my close family (which has expanded so much by the way since my father remarried and my mom has a new petite ami. The thing was that I was visiting relatives I haven't seen in 5 years and I had to make a good impression to fix the horrible one I made last time. So I'm going crazy trying to find gifts for about 20 people on a budget of -$20 because I just dropped a load of money on buying a plane ticket to Australia, paying rent, buying food and being unemployed (but STILL needing to spend money on luxuries like food and shelter!). So the day before I'm supposed to head out to Mexico with Bill, I decide, "What the hell. I'll get gifts." So I drag myself to Kmart and grab every christmas decorative item that is on sale that people will accept as a gift. This is where Mr. Frosty comes in.

This stupid snowman gave me sooo much trouble starting in the parking lot of Kmart in Somerville because it didn't want to fit in the bag, it continued to pester me on the #66 bus because it was sticking into my side (the bus was packed and I need to support myself on SOMETHING). I wrap my gifts and discover that this oddly shaped thing doesn't fit inside wrapping paper so it has to go in a bulky gift bag, which failed to fit into my carry-on bag. It kept tyring to make an escape whilst Bill and I rode the metro to the airport. At each an every security check-point I had to rescue it from tissue paper at the depths of its gift bag and kindly show it to the security guards. I even left in on the x-ray machine a few times. When we finally get to our last layover in Houston we were delayed an hour or two. We had run out of food to eat and other diversions so we proceeded to take pictures of Mr. Frosty to as punishment for being naughty and annoying.

(Once in Mexico, we gladly gave him to his rightful owner-my uncle and aunt David and Guille.)

Cheers, Frosty.

How many Kilos of sugar cane can YOU fit in your hatchback?

hitting a christmas piñata
Originally uploaded by dirtyflamingo.

Bill and the christmas piñata
Originally uploaded by dirtyflamingo.

On one of the days we were in Mexico, it was my aunt's birthday, so my stepmom decided to throw her a surprise birthday party. We went to the market to buy stuff for the party. We bought fruit for the piñata, candy, bread and a hideous looking Spongebob Squarepants piñata and a more "traditional" looking piñata. The people in these markets are vicious! You can't walk by anyone's stand without them demanding that you try free samples and pushing you to tell them how many kilos of sugar cane you'd like to take home with you in the back of your compact hatchback. Apparently during christmas, they fill their piñatas with fruit that no one eats instead of candy. That way when someone does finally break the piñata open you are knocked unconscience (or however you spell that) by a lemon and a sugar cane chunk flying at your head at 45 kilometers per hour. One of my uncles really likes tequila. My grandmother made this "punch" that was actually quite good. She made it by adding every fruit you could possibly imagine, plus some you couldn't imagine and cooked it in this giant calderon (gaint pot) until the fruit became very soft. She added sugar and there you have it. Scalding hot, christmas ponche. Yum. My uncle had his with tequila.

Bill and the Pyramid

Bill and the Pyramid
Originally uploaded by deernose.

Raise your hand if you know that Mexico has pyramids? I dragged Bill against his will to Mexico city for a week to meet more of my family- my stepmom's relatives. We stayed with my uncle and his wife and they turned out to be very cool people. We were supposed to stay with another uncle of mine and his wife, but at the last minute we stayed with David and Guille because of space issues. I'm glad I got to know David and his wife because I found out that I can't STAND my other uncle Armando. He is one of the most obnoxious people I've met in my life and he tells bad jokes and laughs with this tongue rediculously hanging out of his mouth. Anyhow...Mexico is a crazy crazy place. I have a few blog worthy stories...

Going to see pyramids was fabulous but so much work. These things look huge and they are difficult to climb if you're in good shape like I am. The steps are steep but once you get to the top you have a breathtaking view of what was once the great Aztec empire...We also lost my grandparents there. Afterwards we had dinner at a restaurant that was inside of a cave and I found a piece of glass in my cactus and cheese salad and it almost broke my tooth. I had a choice betweeen spitting out chewed food into a cloth napkin in front of a table of 13 or swallowing the mixture and risking cut internal organs. Guess which one I chose?