Happy 8-month Anniversary!

At Hertz helping a friend to rent a car

8-months.  That is how long Ulises and I have been dating.  It's hard for me to imagine that it has been so long, and yet it feels like much longer.  So much has happened, and yet time has flown by.  We had a very special anniversary.  A friend needed help renting a car here in Mexico, so we took her down to the airport.  Choosing to rent at this Hertz was a HUGE mistake.  I guess maybe the real mistake was taking so long deciding what to do that the first guy left and another took his place.  This second guy was very slow. Every time we would ask a question, he would turn around and look through his papers . . . slowly . . . VERY slowly.  It was excruciating.
Finally we got the car and were able to leave.  As a thank you for helping her out, my friend took us out to dinner for our anniversary.  We went to Maria Chuchena's.  I didn't particularly care for the food, again, but in my experience so far, I prefer the food on the street or from small locations to these expensive restaurants.  Despite the experience at Hertz in the Ciudad Juarez airport, it was a good anniversary!

Dinner out

Eating fresa-style.  That term, fresa,
is used to refer to people who have
a lot of money, and I think it implies
being a little stuck-up.

8-months have come and gone!

Sunday with the Family

Swamp cooler transportation

What would be a strange sight to see?  How about a truck with a giant swamp cooler on top of it?  Ok, maybe that's not so weird to see. . . Or maybe I'm just getting used to seeing strange things.  This morning we actually went with Ulises's family.  After spending the morning with his family, his dad (in the vehicle in front) drove the cooler to Ulises's sister's house for them to put it in their house.  We went along because not everyone could fit in one vehicle.
From there, we went straight to church.  After church, we went back to my house.  There Ulises's worked on painting his car.  He had invited his sister to my house to use my sewing machine to work on a project, but she ended up doing it by hand at my house and then falling asleep.
After dinner, we drove her and her daughter back to their house.  We then decided to go with them to her in-laws.  In Mexico, everyone is one big happy family!

Painting the car interior

Trying to reach something that fell down behind the seat

Cleaning prior to painting

Just messing around

Left to dry

Before

Is this car stolen?!?!?!?  Nope, we just removed
the interior parts to paint them easier.

You can see in this photo why we wanted to repaint
the interior.  The dark grey is the final color and it
was coming off, showing the previous pink coat
and the original light grey in parts.  This particular
piece was already sanded a little.

After, at least partially

Heading out!

Just hanging out

An Eventful Saturday

We saw this horse-drawn cart while we were out and about.

Today was a good day.  We went out into the city, but also spent a little time at my house and running errands.  We went out earlier today and bought some sand paper to work on Ulises's car.  We also went out to get new tires because the ones he had were worn.  These new tires have a 5 year guarantee, so we figured that was worth it.
Later, in the afternoon/evening, a friend wanted to go out, so we took her to El Chamizal.  We ended up going to the museum again.  It was a fun day.

Sanding the doors.

We bought something to hold the sandpaper, which
makes it much easier to do.

Me sanding, too.

Excited for his new tires!!

Ulises and I

Elote at El Chamizal

Inside the museum

Just chillin'

Carne Asada

Out at Las Jarras last night

Today is a friend's birthday.  For her birthday, she wanted to have a Mexican party.  In order to do that, she needed someone to make carne asada (basically grilled meat), and she asked Ulises to do so.  I don't blame her, he is a really good cook.  I know, because I get to enjoy his meals all the time.
Anyway, it was fun.  There was food and conversation, karaoke at the end, and we even brought a little pinata to make it really Mexican.  It was fun, but I am exhausted now.

El Chavo is a Mexican character that is very popular
and well known.  It is a comedy.

Ulises is also El Chavo :)

Grilling the carne asada

LOTS of food

Ulises and I

Bachelorette Party

One of the girls from my church is getting married at the end of this month, so we had her bachelorette party tonight at the church. They had food and games. It was pretty much like the majority of LDS bachelorette parties that I've been to (more like a bridal shower than anything else), but it was fun.

Toilet paper wedding dresses

In this game, several numbers are written
on a sheet of paper and taped to the
bride's body.  Then questions are asked
such as, where do you like to be kissed,
etc.  The bride has to choose a number
and where ever that number is located
is the answer to the question.

Happy Birthday Brother

Today is my brother's birthday.  I've been thinking about him and my mom a lot lately, partly because this year will mark ten years since he passed away and five years since my mom passed away.  With those thoughts, I've come up with a renewed desire to work on a project that my family has wanted to do since the day that my brother passed away: a book of memories.
So, here it is, a call for assistance.  Now, I'm going to do this project with or without your help.  I certainly have plenty of memories of my brother.  But I would really like it to be a well-rounded portrayal of my brother's life, and for that to be possible, I need memories from anyone out there who remembers him.  It doesn't matter how big or small.  You can post the memories as comments here, or feel free to email them or send them in a Facebook message.
I want to have this book completed by the anniversary of my brother's death (Nov 7), so please send me any submissions as soon as possible.  I will take submissions until October, but once I've gotten parts written, if your memory doesn't fit into what I already have, it may not get added at all.  Either way, I would appreciate the thoughts that any of you have.

Only in Mexico and Casa de Adobe

This stop sign is actually bolted in upside
down.  It didn't just fall and no one fixed it . . .

Ulises and I drove around the city today.  While we were out, we saw some odd things.  We also took pictures.  I'm glad that I can get out and actually see the city here instead of just being stuck in my house or to going to El Paso when I want to get out.
We also went to see the Casa de Adobe.  It is the house were the revolutionaries hid out.  It is located right on the border between Mexico, Texas, and New Mexico.  Ulises entered the U.S. for the first time, just stepping across the border. 

Looking out over the city.

This dog was upset that we were getting into my car

Does this look like a road to you?  This is in the middle
of the city.  It's not like we went out of town.

Juarez's The Bible is the truth, read it, mountain

This handicapped parking spot is literally in
street, on both sides . . .

A tire wall

A statue of Zapata

Inside the Adobe House with the historian who works there

Ulises, across the border in the U.S. :)

In front of the Casa de Adobe

On our way from the Casa de Adobe, we stopped to take
this photo.

Monument to the revolutionaries

Back home after a long day . . . and Ulises decided to
mess up my hair.