Mexican Christmas

This year for Christmas instead of fighting the elements and being stranded at the airport for 12 hours, Nat and I had an easy three-hour drive from Austin to Dallas.  Well, actually, we drove from Austin to Houston then to Dallas – skipping only El Paso and San Antonio when it comes to major cities in Texas.  Nat got invited to a holiday mixer at a law firm in Houston so we decided that in order to cut some driving time out.  We drove directly from Houston to Dallas instead of back to Austin.  Usually Nat and I like to trade off the burden of driving but just last week, Nat was almost denied entrance into a bar due to his expired driver’s license.  He was as shocked as I was to find out that for the last five months, he has been driving and carrying on illegally.  So that major drive from Austin to Houston to Dallas- all me.  It might not sound like much, but unless you have been or lived in Texas you probably don’t realize how big of a state Texas really is!  While Nat attended the holiday party, I wandered around downtown and hit up two of my favorite places, Macy’s and Starbucks.  I really like the downtown because their main shuttle runs over water and everything looks beautiful being reflected off the water.

Houston Night View

Christmas was so much fun this year.  Nat was a little overwhelmed with the chatter in Spanish that went back and forth but he held up well and after a few days really got into it.  I learned how to make Mexican “gorditas” with my new tortilla making machine and salsa using my new food processor.  We must have eaten at least ½ a jalapeno with ever meal.  

Tia Del and me making "gorditas!"

We swam in the 78 degree weather and even tanned a little.  Later in the week it actually got cold, but it didn’t even matter since my aunt heated the pool to an amazing 99 degrees!  No joke, the pool was warmer than the hot tub most of the week.  My mom doesn’t get into anything under 90 degrees, so my aunt made sure to provide.  We took family pictures in the pool and everyone started drinking at 9AM!  Oh my family.  One of my cousins seemed to always have a Corona in his hand.  It was definitely a rowdy time.

Family time in the pool!

I got so many amazing gifts this year, but for sure the best part was having all of my family under one roof, curled up on inflatable mattresses, couches, carpets and foam mattresses.  I am happy that Nat was able to meet all my cousins, aunts and uncles that I grew up with in Mexico, too.  The best part, it turns out that Nat’s family is gathering in San Diego a few days after Christmas, so we decided to hope onto another plane and see them for a few days, then fly straight to Las Vegas for New Years.  Nat matches my spontaneous travel-minded lifestyle so I am grateful to have him as a travel buddy.  I need to sign off, since our plane is descending now!  Hello, California!