RAWR -That's "I Love You" In Dinasour

It has been a crazy week and few days or so. First of all, no car. My CV joint broke after my balljoint popped out of place so I am without the freedom a vehicle can give. The good thing is that I am using the always reliable Mexican mode of transportation -my two feet.

So I got to spend a day with Jaden to get my J-Fix before he took off to Albuquerque with his parents for the weekend. I tell you, that kid gets smarter and funnier and cuter and sillier every day that passes. We went to Applebee's for dinner and while we sat there and ate, every once in a while, Jaden would throw his arms up into the air and with a big smile start wiggling around...much like a rockstar two hand wave -or a running for president type of wave thingy. It would have been funny if I had gotten him on video but I didn't have my camera with me.

He now knows a new song, which I will record him doing as soon as I am able to.

Alright, aside from my Jaden obsession, other good stuff has happened. Rain and thunderstorms with amazing lightning shows but that's not the best part -

My little brother's in town!!!! He's the one I got the title for this blog from -it's the screen saver on his phone. Anyway, that kid is still short (only three inches taller than me) but I swear to all that's hot and dusty he's gotten buffer since the last time I saw him. His shoulders and arms are massive...at least to me, since I have a hard time seeing him as something other than the scrawny kid he used to be when I took off for college.

I'll put up pictures of his time here so that you can enjoy my days with me. Oh, Krysia and Stephen, Ray is looking forward to seeing Jaden. Dinner with you sometime this week so Ray can see him in his environment?

Anything else new? OH! I now have a Nano iPod thanks to my little brother. He just handed it over to me last night and now I've got about 200 of my fav songs uploaded into it, which is cool for when I have to travel from place to place on my Mexican mode of transportation.

Well, everybody - RAWR!

Missing Jaden

Due to the fact that I am missing my little buddy "J" I am going to upload videos I've had in my camera for the last few weeks.

In this video, it shows Jaden mastering the skill of climbing the couch. He likes to give himself peptalks while he does it.

This is Jaden showing me how funny he finds sneezing. It is the most hilarious thing to see!!! You have to make sure and do the "A-Choo!" for him to laugh and then sneeze as well. Kind of like he's copying you but in a cutely adorable way.

This is Jaden and Stephen spending some Daddy-Son time. He's the most adorable thing to ever exist. Honestly, he is.

Here's some more Daddy and Jaden fun that I think is absolutely adorable.

Well, I got my Jaden fix with these videos. I look forward to seeing and playing with him again.

Corvettes and Flamin' Hot LAYS

So lately I've been so craving Flamin' Hot Lays chips and have been eating them practically all the TIME!

Also, since I grew up wanting a Corvette yet never knowing what one actually looked like one until my sophomore year of college when I saw exactly what I wanted -a blue, Corvette convertible.

Ever since I told a particular guy that I've always lusted after a Corvette (whether a convertible or not), I've been seeing them constantly everywhere -Austin, Tulsa, Waco and now El Paso -the one place I thought I was safe from them since they were never around when I grew up here.

So right now I'm watching CW until the finals for Dancing with the Stars starts. I am so hoping Gilles and Chelsey win.

Well, other than all that jazz nothing is going on with my life. I've been spending all my evenings at Stephen and Krysia's while they're in Minnesota (your grass and plants are still alive and the laurel tree thingy is starting to flower) which is fun because I can watch TV without fighting over the multiple remotes with my step-dad.

I also had a 20 oz Dr. Pepper today...after four months of not having any. It was absolutely amazing.

Well, I gotta get to reading some more fanfic and hopefully get to working on my story.

Coming of Age

I got to attend a quicenera this past Sunday and realized that it would be fun to look up the history behind this Mexican celebration that emphasizes the coming of age of a young girl.

There are different aspects to a quincenera -the main event can be divided in two...the church ceremony and the reception.

The purpose of the church ceremony is for the fifteen year old to affirm her faith. The reception is very much the equivalent of a wedding.

Alright, according to what I found in Wikipedia, the quinceanos -which in America is known as a Mexican tradition -ceremony came from the French culture during the 1800s. In Mexico, the time period is referred to as the Porfiriato (this is comparable to the Victorian era in Anglo-speaking countries). Mexico's president, Porfirio Diaz was the one that brought the French celebration of a young girl's fifteenth birthday to the Mexican culture due to his admiration of the French culture.

The different aspects of the reception involve several things. The first one is the changing of the shoes. The meaning behind the changing of the shoes (which is usually done by the father of the quincenera) is to symbolize the transformation from a girl to a young woman.

El Cambio de las Zapatillas

After the changing of the shoes, comes the gifting of the doll. This is when the quincenera gives a doll to a little girl of her choosing (usually a younger sister or younger cousin) which is meant to show the letting go of her girlhood to become a young lady who will no longer think or act as a child.

El Regalo de la Muneca

The next thing that happens is the dance with father and godparents, which is usually opened by the chambelan (the escort) and quincenera and then you have the father cut in, followed by the godparents. Sometimes, it is done the other way around. The father goes first, then the escort cuts in, then the godparents. In this case, the godparent was first followed by her other godparents. Here's a video.

The last dance is the Vals (the Waltz) which is dance by the quincenera court. It is a beautiful dance that is done the same way no matter which quinceanos party you go to. I've seen it many, many times. Here's a video, which I think is beautiful...especially the song that is usually picked for this dance.

After this, everyone gets to dance. Which they all did...to music Krysian referred to as Cumbia Hip-Hop. I danced with Pastor and after that, I just watched everyone else dance...at least, I think they were dancing. I'll add some Jaden pictures and videos on another post.

Oh yeah. Still don't have a job. Yuck.