My Mexican Thanksgiving

As I was going through some pictures yesterday, I realized I hadn’t told you about my Thanksgiving!

Back in the US, my family does Thanksgiving just like everyone else’s family… turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy and lots of desserts! When I was in college in Cancun, I never had any fall breaks. Now that I’m working, I only get back home for Christmas. So I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving since 2005, I think. (or seen any fall weather, for that matter!)

This year, my suegros took pity on me and prepared a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. They invited some of their friends, and I invited some of mine. We had a pretty big group (not all are pictured), including an American priest from the church my suegros go to.

There was turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and lots of veggies! Everyone seemed to really enjoy all the American food. I was almost expecting them to break out the tortillas, but they resisted.

Thanksgiving dinner still had some undeniably Mexican touches to it, though… dinner didn’t begin until 10:30 pm, the turkey was heavily seasoned with lime, the dinner was blessed by a Catholic priest, and the priest had to explain the Thanskgiving story several times to our Mexican guests. Close enough!

Me being a dork

Oh mashed potatoes… it’s been too long since we last met!

Lamest. Hurricane. Ever.

We spent yesterday hanging out with Juan and Viri since I got the day off of work for Hurricane Rina, and she sure was taking her time in getting to Cancun. We went to the mall and had lunch at Pescaditos on Yaxchilan Avenue.

God bless you, Pescaditos.

Then we all went home to prepare for the big hurricane. Since Jorge and I had stashed our outdoor stuff inside already, all that was left was to cuddle up and watch the new episode of X Factor. There was tons of lightning and thunder that caused lots of growling from my dogs (apparently Dolly has learned to meow??) and that’s about it. Our power didn’t go out all night, and neither did our Sky dish service.

I woke up this morning to the sun shining and the birds singing… not a single fallen branch in my neighborhood.

The weather was so nice that I got called back into work today. Fabulous.

Image from Cancun’s Best

Day of the Dead Traditions Begin in Cancun

“Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) is one of the biggest holidays in Mexico, falling on November 2. Mixing in with Halloween traditions from its northern neighbor, Mexico’s Day of the Dead traditions offer a surreal combination of vibrant color, sadness, respect, comedy and culture, all in honor of loved ones who have passed away.

Even though many locals accuse the young city of Cancun as devoid of culture, I beg to differ. Even though most of our population comes from all over Mexico and the world, you’ll still find each Mexican family’s own version of a Day of the Dead altar. A few days prior to November 2, Mexican families begin to set up altars in their homes to honor the deceased.

Traditional Day of the Dead altar decor usually includes the following:

• Marigolds
• Calaveritas (small decorative skulls made of sugar)
• Papel picado, colorful sheets of paper with shapes cut out
• Photos of the deceased
• Candles
• Pan de muerto, a traditional loaf of sweet bread used only at this time of year
• Food and drinks that the deceased enjoyed when they were alive

As the cold weather begins to set in (NOOO!), Cancun will start to make their altar purchases over the next week or so. Hopefully I’ll be able to document some of my friend’s family altars. For now, I’ll leave you with some photos from last year’s Day of the Dead in Cancun:

mini-calaveritas at Market 23

“pan de muerto”

Day of the Dead altar in Parque Las Palapas, Cancun

marigolds, a popular flower for adorning altars

A Farewell Letter to Some Loyal Friends

Dear New Balances,

Friday was a sad day for us. We left the gym and were welcomed by a vibrant sunset. With a refreshing high off of our energetic workout, we set out to the main road to briskly walk through sidewalks, gravel, dirt and waist-high plants on our usual walk home. Just as we left the parking lot, tragedy struck. I felt myself step on something large under my left foot. I looked down, and your sole had bended backwards and was hanging loosely off.

Sorry, I can't stand up without the dogs immediately gathering around.

Unsure of what to do, I continued walking, lifting my left foot high in the air with every step, hoping it was dark enough that the people in the passing cars wouldn’t notice me half goose-stepping my way down the road. After a difficult 20-minute walk, we made it home. You helped me with one final adventure as I tried to clean the flooded kitchen with a broken squeegee (note to self: buy functioning floor squeegee), then we walked upstairs and I kicked you off my feet one last time.

Ten years. You’ve seen me through high school gym classes, mission trips to Belize and Acapulco, my move to Mexico, and countless trips to the gym. You’ve had your soles super-glued back on, and still managed to look almost new. Sadly, it seems our time has come to an end.

I bought some new shoes yesterday. They’re lovely, but not quite the same. Maybe in time, I’ll feel the same bond and magic as I did with you.

They're Nikes. I hope you're not offended.

We had a nice run. (pun intended)

Love always,

Laura

 

Not Cool, Suki. Not Cool.

Since we finished the backyard, we’ve been leaving our dogs outside during the day. Things have been going great (meaning that my grass and palm trees are still intact)!

Well yesterday we had our first big rain in awhile. Apparently Suki hasn’t yet learned to stay in a covered area and NOT ROLL AROUND IN THE DIRT when it’s raining, because I came home to this:

Well I'm glad somebody's happy.

If you've ever wondered why all my dog pictures are blurry, it's because they can't stay still when I'm standing.

She's normally about the same color as Dolly, but now she's moving more toward the color of Konan.

*sigh*

My New Orchid

I was excited to walk out the door this morning to see that my new orchid plant finally has its first bloom! I’ve always been a bit of a “black thumb”, so it’s nice to know I didn’t screw this plant up.

We put it in the planter in our front patio because that spot gets some sun during the day.

Would anyone judge me if I said I really want a pair of heels in this print?

The leaves might be my favorite part! We’ve discovered that they open during the day (as you see in the photos) and fold perfectly in half when it gets dark. Very cool.

The leaves are a little lighter than they should be, which has me worried. Maybe if I lift it up a bit with some string so the sun hits it better?

In this shot, you can see that the plant has tons of buds on it... can't wait to see what it looks like in a few days!

We got it from a local plant shop that some guy runs out of his house (gotta love Mexico!). He had several huge versions of this plant in his front yard, and I fell in love!

If anyone can help me identify this plant, I’d really appreciate it! Right now, the only descriptive words I have are “orchid” and “pretty”.

Sweet October-y Memories

So it’s October.

Mexico will be filled with Day of the Dead festivities, marigolds, altars, calaveritas, Catarinas… tons of culture!!

And yet, today I can’t stop thinking about these:

I wanna go home.

My Mexico Video (aka “my first and last ever bikini shoot”)

While I was in Oaxaca on the Mexico Today kick-off event last June, I was asked to do an interview talking about Mexico and my city: Cancun. I was a bit nervous as I sat down in front of the camera, but I found that the words came easily to me. Talking about places I love so much was a breeze! The minutes flew by, and before I knew it, the video crew was telling me “Thanks! I think we got it.”

A few weeks later, I got an e-mail saying that Eye Candy would like to do some shots with me here in Cancun. (They call this extra footage “B Roll”… I feel very professional when I say that.) So in August, I spent a weekend hanging out with them in Party Center and on Isla Mujeres. It was a very difficult day swimming in the Caribbean Sea, eating burgers, riding in golf carts and drinking cocktails from coconuts, but somehow I got through it. 😉

This weekend I finally got to see the end result of my “My Mexico” story on Youtube. *drumroll* TA-DA!!!

**Please forgive the horrible face I’m making on the default image… very unfortunate.**

You can also see me and some of my Mexico Today partners in crime in other My Mexico videos on the “MexicoToday” Youtube page. We talk about Mexican beaches, Mexican markets, ecotourism, ancient ruins, and more.

Disclosure:  I am being compensated for my work in creating and managing content as a Community Manager for the Mexico Today Program.  All stories, opinions and passion for all things Mexico shared here are completely my own.

Sunset on Nichupte Lagoon

I came across this photo in my “archives” and thought I’d share it. It’s from an afternoon Jorge and I spent at Plaza La Isla in Cancun’s Hotel Zone. Saw this couple sitting on the dock on the lagoon and had to take a picture.

 

My Three Day Weekend

So my 3-day weekend for Mexican Independence Day was busy, busy, busy! I’ll do a quick run-through for ya 🙂

Thursday

To celebrate Independence Day, we played it simple this year… tacos and potatoes at a friend’s pool. Just a calm evening sitting around and talking while listening to fireworks in the distance. Ended the night around 5 am, I think.

We really need to hang out with this group of friends more often. They’re friends of Jorge from high school, and we always have a great time with them.

Friday

Also a low-key day. We ordered the plants we want for the backyard, then went to Jorge’s cousin’s 3rd birthday party where we had tortas and raspados. Then we went home and took a long nap!

In the evening, we went to my suegros house for some pasta from Cheester.

Me and Jorge at Sofia's bday party

Saturday

My brother-in-law scored a dozen free passes to Xcaret. Since Jorge’s cousins were in town visiting, we went with them for the day. I’ll do a more detailed post later this week, but here’s a teaser photo for ya…

Sunday

On Sunday morning, we (and by “we”, I mean Jorge) planted some mini palm trees in our up-and-coming backyard, and laid some some dirt. I’ll post the full makeover later this week, so you can check out our little patio, palm trees, fancy grass and orchid (whaaaaat??)!

Here’s a preview shot of Jorge hard at work while I supervised (and by “supervised”, I mean ate cereal, took pictures, played with the dogs and decided where the palm trees should go).

I think we can all agree that Jorge is the best husband ever.

The grass and orchid plant came today, but won’t be installed until tomorrow. Boo.

Immediately afterwards, my suegros came and picked us up to go to the pool. My brother-in-law’s girlfriend’s parents (confusing, I know) own a piece of land out in the middle of the jungle where they’ve built a little private pool and garden, complete with hammock area and bathroom. We spent the rest of the afternoon there. I would have taken pictures, but I was too busy swimming, eating Domino’s pizza and napping in hammocks. Life is so hard sometimes.

Afterwards we did laundry at my suegros house, like we do every Sunday. Meanwhile, I caught up on reality TV online… Project Runway, new season of Survivor (hurray!) and America’s Next Top Model All Stars (go Allison and Laura!). Then Jorge and I went home and watched the first episode of Jersey Shore Italy. (Oh Mike, you scoundrel!)

So that’s it for my 3-day weekend. What did you do this weekend?