Our humble Mexican casa

Well, for the most part Annie and I got our house decorated and all cozy. We can now officially start to like it. Starrtttttinnngggg now... Of course everyone is going to read this at different times so we are going to start liking it a lot I guess. Now it has taken some time to get to where we feel like its a house and not a compilation of rooms stuck together (apparently Mexican architects and contractors had rather peculiar ideas of how a house should be built, ie a toilet, shower, and sink can fit into a bathroom so that you can shave, go to the bathroom, and shower without really have to take a step). Homes have different personalities when undecorated. Ours was like an old billy goat that rammed its head into everything and stared at you with its unholy eyes making you feel like it was a full moon and you needed to bar your windows or the day of the dead spirits would rise and make your refried beans burn (sometimes I think run on sentences should be considered proper literature). Now, our house is more like a cute puppy that you want to cuddle even though you had to clean up its messes. Anywho... here's some pictures of our house and our antiquated private community. (Oh yeah, though we went for this house instead of the new pretty shiny homes is that its ideal for our work. We both walk to work because both of our workplaces are on the exact same street as our house. I love that it takes me 3 minutes to walk to work, which means if I have to be there at 8 I get up at 7:45. Annie has to iron her hair or something so she takes a little more time, jeje)



Here's our entrance foyer and dining area...



Here's our living room and patio (our house is basically u-shape around a central garden/patio that all the doors and windows open too)




Here's some of the kitchen, which has zero counter space and storage so we decided to do the stainless steel shelving etc...


And lastly here's our little private community (coto in spanish)... One house I call the Church Lady's house for obvious reasons... now just a note, mariachis are great at a party unless you're not at the party and live next door. THEY HAD A TUBA! Saturday I listened to the tuba for three hours. I started to miss the usual cow bell so prominent in Mexican 'banda' music.



LOL, I just noticed there is a shopping cart in front of church lady's house, were moving out next week!

Guachimontones

You are now trying to pronounce that word aren't you? (Gwa-chi-moan-tone-es) Practice it because that's what we're going to name one of our children. I think its catchy, both feminine and masculine at the same time. Okay maybe not cause what middle name goes with it. We'll just stick with the recent celebrity trend and name our children something like Yarn Amoxacillin. Apparently, you say any random word enough times it sounds pretty and like a name. Anywho, back to Guachimontones. So just outside of GDL there are some ruins that were discovered in the 1970's. They are the only known round pyramids in the whole world. Some of the discovered facts: they have no idea what the name of the people who lived there was, they had the largest sports field ever discovered (it's the game where you have to play with your hips, which just made me wonder if I'm somehow descended from ancient Americans because I would be an all-stare player in this soccer hip like game; my hips would have to be insured and then a movie would be made call Bend it Like Chad's Hips), all male skeletons discovered had fractured hips (being evolved my genetics have perfected my hips where they are indestructible), the people lived in the area for some 2000 years, they lived a very social and peaceful life style from the paintings on the pottery, and atop the round pyramids they performed the flying ritual. So you ask, what's the flying ritual? Flying of course. If you've ever been to Mexico City they reenact this right outside the main archeology museum, of which I had a video but have somehow misplaced, but I have pictures. So... to the point of this whole post (besides my hips): here are pictures from Annie and I's visit to Guachimontones and pictures of voladores (ie fliers in Mexico City)

Here's a website:

Pictures:





A section of the sign in book asked, how did you find out about the place, and in the space right above ours was written 'Frank', cause we all know who Frank is... I of course put 'gringo gossip'...

Here are the voladores/fliers:

Catch up...

So I'm going to do this reverse basically because I have these pictures ready. For those of you who don't know, it ended up that I had to drive down first by myself and a few weeks later Annie's parents (I know they're my parents now too but when I type 'our parents' it makes me feel like were married siblings from some remote mountain camp and that our names should be Ezekiel and Esther) drove her down. Well I will eventually blog about their fun filled Mexican driving tour of getting to Guadalajara but obviously they made it. So for the few days they were here we were able to take them around and show them a few sites. So here's a bunch o' pictures:
These are of our carriage ride (Cinderella horse carriage a la Mexican style, ie it had plush purple velvet interior and silver rims on the wheels (OK maybe not the rims but I think it would be neat))



These next ones are pictures of use walking around the historic down town area:





Here are some random pictures that are always necessary in any setting, that being: birds for sale in cages (made mom giggle), a catholic cathedral called El Expiatorio (The Atonement), a retired faux flute playing dancing Aztec warrior in Levi jeans, and the most important a peeing Mexican (he was in a taxi, got out, took a pee, then ran back while we waited and watched, oh and took a picture):




The last set is of us at some random work of art benches and the winner of all is DAD!

El 16 de Septiembre- Part4

So I finally get to the whole point of these independence blogs. As traditions go its pretty neat what they do for their independence. So there was this guy who finally had enough one day and went up to the church bell tower in San Miguel de Allende and said a very specific shout. After ringing the bell he declared liberty and gathered a militia. From that town they gathered more and more troops until they reached a governmental seat (Guanajuato, great place, they have mummies) and took it over. Eventually they got to Mexico City . They showed up too and said 'We're in control now' and whoever was there basically said, 'Bueno'. Along their march to Mexico City a few members of the militia brought a trumpet, a cow bell, a violin, a bass, and a guitar and the first ever Mariachi was formed. Apparently, when they got to Mexico they rushed into the governmental palace and just started playing right in the middle of the afternoon meal. After fifteen minutes they said (in Spanish of course), 'We Surrender' and left a tip. Mexico was changed forever. Okay the whole mariachi part was my own invention but they're not really sure where it comes from so it could be true. Also if you've ever seen what mariachis wear and how tight their pants are you would understand why one breakfast is called huevos rancheros. Anywho... every independence day Mexicans everywhere recreate the famous shout or 'grito'. This is where Viva Mexico comes from, that parts true. So here are two videos of the stake singing the National Anthem and then our Stake President leading the 'Grito'.

El 16 de Septimebre- Part3

SO... the music started and like all LDS curses no one got up and danced. Of course many where busying putting tacos al pastor in their mouths (it something you have to focus on) but still. So the Stake President and his wife start dancing all by themselves and still no one got up. I looked at Annie and made my special mischievous face. No words were said. She said a flat out, "NO". I persisted (aka dragged her out) and we started to dance. Hollywood has it all wrong. They always show the man as the reluctant unwilling dance partner. Anywho, we did ourselves proud and gave the Mexicans some laughing material as we started to shake our hips and hop around. Now when I say hips, I mean it. Latins take classes from birth on how to move those things. I have to be careful with my hips, they're weapons. I once played 'Alice the Camel had so many Humps' (you don't know the song!?!) and dislocated my friends' hips. Seriously if I need to nail a nail in the wall I could probably use my hip bones. They should make a ninja movie about them (In my mind I just wandered off but I'm back). Well here's some pictures of us and yes a video... Oh and the sister in the pink blouse, she was one of our favorites. She danced the whole time. So for all you relief society women over 60, there is no excuse!

El 16 de Septiembre- Part2

Who needs the casserole dish with the brown rice and chicken, jello stuff, pre-made bag salad with ranch dressing, sam's rolls, and the other assortment of food wares at church functions when you got TACOS AL PASTOR. My blog on tacos was prophetic. So for the stake independence party they rented a company to cook us some tacos. They were good too, deliciosas. Now for those of you who have wandered a border town or perchance visited Mexico you might have seen a taco shop that probably displayed a large chunk of meat vertically rotating in front of some odd fire producing cooking contraption. Now when I first saw it I was a scrawny 15 year old on some priesthood weekend trip to San Diego where we went to Tijuana for a day. I got a fake gold ring carved in my name, a black leather fanny pouch, and a knock-off Hard Rock t-shirt. Its required you buy those objects at sometime in your life, its part of the plan of salvation. Its also required you go to the beach, get sunburned, and travel home with crotch-rot from too much sand in your swim trunks for 6 hours sitting next to another unhappy deacon. Sacrifice I tell you! Anyway when I saw it (we're back to the meat thingy, keep up)I instantly thought if I looked long enough I could feel the bacteria mutating in my stomach causing diarrhea. Its the Mexican version of The Ring. You look at the meat for too long and your cell phone will ring where a chola preciosa with skinny drawn on eyebrows will tell you that you will be on the toilet in seven minutes. Anyway, I over came the visual and have learned to love Tacos al Pastor. In the realm of tacos they stand apart and are scrumptious in my belly. Here's some pictures along with a video. (watch the guy and the pineapple above, he never missed.)

El 16 de Septiembre- Part1

So here's you're mexican history lesson for the day. The 15-16th of September is Mexico's independence day. Now if you're scratching your head saying, 'I done know Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) is their independence' your a little right just off the mark. Actually Cinco de Mayo isn't celebrated in Mexico, actually most mexicans are even more clueless about the holiday then we are in the states. So, besides a day to stuff your face with guacamole and get sunburned it celebrates mexicos independence from France. Are you snoring yet? So when Napoleon was playing Risk (a game the Merrill boys have never won against me) in Europe he sent his brother to Mexico and they ruled Mexico for five years. SO... Cinco de Mayo is when they kicked him and his wife out. NOW! The part I don't get is that they never talk about how exactly they took over Mexico. They never mention battles or wars, they simply showed up and took over. Mexicans always joke about how the US stole half of their territory, well can you blame us? France sent two people, they went to the immigration office (getting 15 copies of all their documents), and then went to the government buildings and said, oh we're now in control... AND they agreed! They then had one big dinner party for the next 5 years. Heck I'm going down there next week and taking over! Follow Drudge Report because you're gonna see 'Senor Chad & Miss Annie (pronounced mee-s) take over Mexico in the coming weeks. It will be followed by the report 'Chad enacts penalty of death for bad driving'. I think our reign will be less than five years... Anyway here we are at our Stake party getting dressed up for our photo shoot.