Al fin.... relaxing Christmas day.

I just want to say that we had so much fun on Christmas Eve party-dinner last night. All of our work from previous weeks worthed it.

Thanks to the Host, here with her new toy.

We represented a "pastorela", where every guest had to play a role, here you have the Angel and the Angel's helper.
The Little Demon said: it supposes we don't like each other, Butterfly.


After our funny pastorela, we had Christmas lights ( I don't know how to call them in english and I'm too lazy to investigate right now). Anyways, the children had the chance to hit the traditional piñata of the season and sing "posadas".

Christmas morning, my girls wearing the night-gowns I made for them.

Finally a little nice breakfast and that is it... I finished my Christmas work!

Bufandas para el frio.

Teachers in my girl's classes are going to have home-made scarves as a Holiday gift, this year.
For this one I used two cotton fabrics for one side and flannel with strawberries pattern for the "inside" as a snuggle cozy feeling.

The multi-age class is called Love-cats, so I decided that our male teacher, can use this pattern of cats with a brown fabric as well in one side, and a flannel with doggies for the inside. I'm not expecting him to use it on his Christmas dinner, but maybe at school, where this kind of patterns are well accepted for a cool teacher.
I think it looks good though, even for a trip to the mountains.

On this scarf, I put together 3 different cotton fabrics for the look side, and flannel with little squirrels for the warm side.
I choose green fabric because her student at my home says, her favorite color is green.
I'm happy I finished these projects in less time expected (uffff).
Please, let me know your comments, some people in my house think different that I do, concerning to combination of fabrics.

Guess the song

Mexican Alejandro Fernández, sings something you might recognize.



Of course this is not Mexico, but a city in Europe.

What a week!!! It is Christmas time...

Usually by this time of the year I'm busy preparing our annual trip to Mexico, to visit family at three different locations in the country (we do the same in summer now, but with much more time, less people at the airport, less luggage, etc.)
I have to say, however, that I'm still soooooooooo busy, I can't believe how many things to do. At least we have our decorations.


Pepe complained in this picture, because it was more about the tree than him, well, actually that was my purpose, because I don't know when the chance would come again to have a Christmas Tree and Pepe dressed up.

Another thing we had at our home, was the visit of friends. "Los Arredondos, -little pollos- came and helped Aitana and Bidane to make cookies.

Decorating the cookies wasn't the most fun, eating them (27 cookies) had a great ranking.


Nutcracker at the Spreckels Theater , the girls had fun.


It was a nice combination, we went to watch the performance of a good friend, with the great company of a little cute and mama.

Mecano, Un Año Más

We make our balance of the good and the bad...
Un Año más (One more year) from Mecano, a Spaniard "trio", that was a hit during the 80's, when Rock sung in Spanish was very popular among the young "spanish-speakers" of that time. I could say "chicos fresas", but is a very difficult term to translate, maybe the Mexicans around can help me, hopefully they do not come with insults, thinking they are not "fresas" (you know who I mean).

2008 is almost over and our road had its difficulties, I'm just thankful I'm almost there.

Paz y Amor U2

You know I LOVE U2, my favorite Band, and for this Season of Peace and Love, I can't leave them out. Or better to say, after my opening with "Band Aid", I want to share with you Christmas music along this month, -for me- is a necessity turn the first page with U2, later I'll post Christmas carols and "villancicos".

It is official... Its Christmas Time!!!!!,

Con esta canción de los 80's abro mi temporada Navideña, es hora de dar, vamos a dar.

Close to December the first the Holiday season starts. Since I'm not anything but a Mexican Westerner, I'm touched by Christmas. Here two version of one of my favorites songs for the season, Do They Know is Christmas Time?


This song is so powerful, its meaning priceless, Give, give, give (but not exactly those wrapped things) it's Christmas Time!.

Clooney, Clooney, Clooney.

Campaigning for Clooney.
Vote Clooney as the most sexy, talented, prince charm, stylish, funny guy (from the list). To reinforce what I say, please take a look to the video below, from the Movie, O Brother Where Are Thou. That movie is pure fun.

O.k I'm tagged

Para que digas, tu la traes a otros bloggeros:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. {or less if I already tagged pretty much every blog you know!}
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Lo raro:

1. All the way from middle school people tell me, "you are weird".
2. Because I was unusually tall for a Mexican girl, my feet were bigger too, so in 8th grade my grandma went to a shoe maker and ordered shoes for me, they turned to be the most horrible thing ever, but even though I wore them at school. Imagine the result.
3. While cheering up my High School football (no soccer) team, I was punched by a flying lime on the eye.
4. I was snorkeling in a wet suit, when I realized I had stomach issues...I made it to the shore though, Ha.
5. I didn't drive until we moved to live in San Diego, 7 years ago.
6. I think I have phobias towards mice and frogs.
7. My boyfriend with long hair, had a motorcycle and we rode a lot....Weird... He was Pepe.
Plus: my 4th grader corrects my spelling and edition.

Tu la traes Pepe

Cubierta de cristales

Taking a look to "El Pais", a newspaper from Spain, I found out this: actress Paz Vega, is having a hard time getting make up for her next front page (she is covered by crystals), it is the first time she will appear nude after her baby. The baby is SEVEN MONTHS OLD!!!!!!!!!!
If you are a mother, and probably you are. I know exactly your thoughts...Or maybe not, because the first thing I said was: This is an insult... my younger girl is 6 years old... you complete the rest of the sentence here....

La nueva oficina y Pepe el carpintero.

For us, Pepe and I having a "double desk" is just perfect. Now we can have both computers running at the same time, we can write on notes (instead of struggling over our laps) and even have one girl with us while we "work", or both kids can have a space here with one of us at the same time.

I have to give credit to Pepe, because he made the desk all from scratch, with one long book shelf as a bonus. "Gracias mi amor".

En sus marcas...listos....fuera....

SDCCS or San Diego Cooperative Charter School Second JOG-A-THON.


It was a hot day today! but the kids had great spirits to run.

Aitana and Bidane cheering after finishing their laps.

Friends.... Everybody had fun!

Viva los amigos.

It is been a week already since German departed, we feel deeply sorry for that. But in the middle of all of this, we had the support of nice "new" friends, as well as friends of long ago. Friends we haven't heard from in years, but very dear to our hearts.
My friend Magno just wrote that "we are family". He's right, indeed.
I know, I can count on you my friends, the new ones and those that have been there for longer time.

Buen Viaje.

Germán murió antes de ayer buceando en la Media Luna. Esta noticia ha sido terrible y por cada hora que pasa mas dura y cruda.

Siempre fue un buscador de rutas, un viajero. Espero que este último camino lo lleve a un buen lugar. Pienso que sí, porque su espiritu se inclinó por ayudar y estar al pendiente de los demás.

Algún amigo escribió tras recibir la noticia, algo así como: gracias por hacermelo saber, pero me has aplastado el corazón. Muchos sentimos lo mismo.

Sigue tu ruta Germán, hasta ahí donde se encutran todos los caminos. Mis pensamientos a tu familia.

Environmental disasters.

In less than two weeks we had the wild fires, 500,000 evacuees. In Tabasco, Mexico, the worst flooding ever, so far, probably around 1,000,000 evacuees.


What is it? Global Warming, Corruption, People living in threatened areas or just back luck?


Unusual hail in Bogota, Colombia.

Help Tabasco.

Altar a los luchadores, Dia de Muertos.

Amy posted really nice pictures about their Halloween celebration; in one of them, we can see a first grade mom in a "Mexican wrestler costume". That happen to be Blue Demon. I couldn't help it, my memory started to work, remembering my childhood.

Tomorrow November second, is "Dia de los Santos Difuntos" or Day of the Dead.

In short, this is a tradition where people remember family members and friends that are dead, in many places they arrange something called "altar". In los altares, you put pictures, favorite food, water, marginold flowers, bread and candles, because it is supposed the Dead come to visit. Among the Dead are the mythic Mexican wrestlers or "Los ídolos de la lucha profesional".

Maybe the readers do not need to know this, but for us, Mexicans out there, the Wrestling heroes, or "luchadores" are something attached to our Mexican identity. Many of us, boys and girls during the 60s and 70s grew up watching "los luchadores" on the movies or wrestling on t.v. Every body knows who is the "Blue Demon and El Santo, el enmascarado de plata" (The Saint, Silver mask). Those are the Mexican Super-heroes. People feel the same to them as for the very favorite football or baseball team, the core of the popular culture.

Both are dead now, Both deserve a tribute. There are legends around their names, their identities, since they were very good kept in secret. Who was better than the other, who was more athletic, who was more honest with his fans, who got the coolest mask. Both of them have sons wrestling as Juniors these days.

Want to hear Los luchadores song, click.
Want to see El Santo 60s movie, his real voice was covered for a more masculine one. click
Bonus

Grimm festival at school.

5th graders made a really wonderful job with their festivities for Halloween, every body knows they had a short period of time to prepare everything, due to the fires, but they went through very fine.The SDCCS community was very excited when we got the new facility, now we can enjoy it and the kids put their creativity to work. 5th grades had plays based on the Grimm Brother tales. (my pictures from stage came really bad though).

Everybody enjoyed themselves, take a look:

Es nuestro aniversario.

Felicidades Pepito, mañana cumples 13 años de ser tan, pero tan féliz... cierto, no? Entonces podias cargarme, ahora los huesos ya no aguantan... por no decir que el peso no ayuda.October 30th, 13 years ago, Pepe and I got married. So many things have happened since that day, we stayed, we moved, we moved again, we had two girls, and from those nice Saturdays we had lunch in our neighborhood street market, in Mexico City, to these Saturdays of the girl's dance classes, we have been together. -Por ello, gracias-.

I wish we were here in Punta Mita, for a nice celebration. We are definitely beach people.

Unsuspected, el permiso ya llegó!

Maybe the readers know, that we arrived to this country just with a working permit (visa) for Pepe. I came along with him, attached to his papers as a "dependant", not even allowed to sell my art-crafts to anybody.

We left Mexico 10 years ago, as you know we moved to Canada, so Pepe could get his master degree, the visa was for a student and I was a pregnant woman. Remembering the day we departed from Mexico city, I was standing by the airline counter in the airport, we had to fill some papers where I had to write down my occupation, -I felt something heavy over me-, my occupation had to be "homemaker" (ama de casa) or some business related to the house, because my profession as Oceanologist or Environmental land-use planner was OVER.

Just yesterday I was reading a book U2 by U2 (the band), and Bono said something like this: after a long time on tour, he came back home and had to call a friend to help him to get a routine, since he did not have one, he felt lost. I know Bono and I ... nothing related. But I think I was experiencing the same in Canada (for years here too), lost and depressed for something I didn't have any more, my working life.

Years passed, we have almost 8 years here, and finally my working permit came on the mail. I wasn't expecting it, now what Am I going to do with it? I'm in kind of a shock, people wait long time (like me) to get it, some do not have it ever. I guess I need to re-think my life -again-.

I'm lucky.

The whole world knows San Diego is on fire (these pictures are from El Pais, newspaper from Spain). Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from their houses, forced to move to hotels, shelters or Qualcom stadium, but we are still here, in our old National City place. I feel lucky about it.

Lucky too, because friends have offered their places to stay in case of we need, thank you all!

Scenes of fire I just have seen them on t.v, even though the Harris fire (south east) is not so far from where we live, every thing seems calm, except for the smoke cloud and little ashes. Isn't that being lucky?


We have electricity, internet, phone service, running water.

Our place is something not very far from the Sweet Water reservoir, where helicopters fill their tanks to fight flames in the southeast part of the County. Now is kind of a relief the winds calmed down a little and they can work.

This is my birthday.

You know... I kind of wanted to be under a rock for my birthday, let it pass just like another day. But no, it is not a normal, usual day! it is FIRE in San Diego County.
In 2003 the Cedar Fire started a day after my BD, today the fires were more accurate (le atinaron, pues).
So everybody: If I wanted not to remember my 40th anniversary, I was wrong, I'll remember it as long as my memory runs well.
I'm glad though, one of my friends come to my house seeking shelter after being evacuated, I'm thankful I could help somebody when needed, all of that on my 40ty Birthday.
P.S If you see the picture on the left of the blog, is the place where I rather be today.

Volunteers Rule!!!!!!!! yeah.

Big work yesterday in our SDCCS Garden Project.
Every thing done for volunteers that want a better school, healthy children and happy faces.
THANK YOU!
LOOK AT THE SCHOOL GARDEN BLOG.

Cuatro Décadas.

So, this is how it looks a 40th birthday cake... Interesting.
NO, today is not my birthday, but as the date comes and my back still hurts, I keep thinking I want to be under a rock.
Why didn't I plan to make any celebration? Because planning a party for my-self is not exactly a fun thing to do -for me-, I stress a lot, and the hostess skills are not my strong side, that is why I don't work on Hooters. Ha!!!!!
My friends have planned parties for me in the past, but some have turned confusing. So relying on my friends is like a bad-luck-thing now. I remember one, for my 23 my fellow students in the Geology department decided to surprise me. I think it was a nice surprise-party. Every body told me about the drinks, the nice cake, the great companion, some professors joined the gathering, every body was there, except ME.
Yes. I didn't showed up for my very first and only surprise party my friends have made for me, it was such a secret that I never figured it up. Bummer!!!!! The good thing is that they kept going on their party.

Traveling is my favorite thing. I was thinking go over the pond and landing in Spain, but my Piggy bank isn't enough...I had a chance by using Pepe's air-mileage, and going "solo", because those were just sufficient for one round ticket, but frankly I would like to be along with my girls or Pepe in my trip to Spain. I spend lots of time alone here (when Pepe travels), what it is the use to be alone over there too?.

In conclusion, I'm just glad I have the opportunity to be 40, and ask I can be on this earth for a longer time.

OUCH, QUE DOLOR!!!!!!!!!!!

Why bad things happens to good people? (me, in this case). I hope I do qualify as a good one. Why this had to occur exactly days before my 40th birthday?, in which I rather be under a rock,-by the way-. But is a real sign of age. And why hours before the big digging day for our school garden?
I was helping Miss Kate (Bidane's teacher) with the "Me projects" of the children, when suddenly my old back pain returned!
The first time this happened to me, was like 8 years ago in Mexico City airport, coming back from Canada, a sharp pain on my right side of my lower back, I could understood it, stroller, little girl, suitcase, trying to get every thing at the same time on those little shuttles that carry you to the plane. Than another in the shower with Bidane, while I was drying her. -Pepe had to put my socks for days!- You guessed right for the third one.
Pain killer, or else!

A very long project.

I finished this summer project at last, before I start my Fall one, the Halloween costumes. And talking about those costumes, Aitana wants to be a Hogwart's student, so I need to make a robe and Bidane suits more for an Ice Princess, but the point is that, while I researched for a robe pattern, I found very incredible, creative blogs of people sewing, that just made me feel envy and shame with my-self. People make such wonderful things in an afternoon and these ponchos had to wait months to be done.

Bidane invita

Bidane started a project with lots of enthusiasm, she designed invitations, wrote nicely on them, labeled envelopes and thought happily about the people she is addressing them, for trick or treat on Halloween night on Benjamin's street, is what the invitation says!
We need to ask, if any of you are going to be around the neighborhood, because we would love to join you, see?... now I invite ourselves on your streets.
My little girl would be very happy to see you and think her plan worked!

No puede ser....

No puedo creerlo!!!!!!!!! Este Madrazo, PRIista de profesión, contendiente a la presidencia de la república Mexicana, (no cualquiera, eh?) tuvo que ir a hacer trampa a la maratón de Berlín, hacer chanchullo y llegar a la meta con un "buen" tiempo, incluso ganar en su categoría. Pero ya que los alemanes no son como sus priistas compiches, ellos si se dieron cuenta de su desverguenza. -Que pena con la familia- por tal acción. Quizo ganar a "forciori" el muy... fresco.
Ya en serio, si es que la seriedad cabe, Roberto Madrazo, es figura pública de México, ex-gobernador de Tabasco, ex-presidente del PRI, y candidato en el 2006 a la presidencia, hombre mayor de 50,¿Que estaba pensando al hacer trampa?...
Y algo más, todos en México (sabemos) que es un tramposo, pero hasta que fue a hacerla a un país extranjero, nos avergonzamos y exigimos disculpas.

Something about two friends.

It is Saturday again and I haven't post anything since a week or so. Time hasn't been my friend these days, but I don't want to let pass the moment to say thank you to Amy and Annie for all the hard work and effort they are putting over the Garden Project at our school.
I don't have to say, they both are such a hard-working women, but they really have put unconditional love on this, they deserve all my admiration and support: Go girls!