back to real life

So the holidays are over and things are slowly going back to the way they were three weeks ago. And it kindda sucks. I really enjoyed the holidays and going back home, and seeing my friends, and seeing my baby (I am calling my nephew my baby), and spending time with loved ones.


Monterrey during the holidays


Me and my baby


Christmas' eve at grandparents' with crazy uncle dressed as Santa

Fun, fun times....

Now, it turns out that Starbucks made it to Monterrey with great success. The coffee shops are always crowded, and David and I were able to drink decent capuccinos (me) and strong coffee (David). However, not everything is the same at the Starbucks in Mexico. This basket was supposed to be filled with toys or books as it supposed to be "epoca de dar": time to give. However, it seems like Messsicans got a little bit confused...


"People, you were supposed to put toys there--no trash!"

ANYWAY, now it's time to get back to work, and to get on a diet because for the love of GOD, I really need to lose weight since I have a whole closet full of things that I cannot wear because I don't fit in them!!! I really don't know how it happened but I gained almost 10 pounds in the last year and, although it doesn't seem like a lot, it is a lot because I am hardly 5' 3" tall and very small boned. So, there is no excuse -- it is only fat.

With this in mind, I found this website called fitday.com. It allows you to keep a food journal and it tallies the calories you eat every single day. It also tells you if you've gotten your required nutrients every day. It is amazing to see how calories add so quickly and how difficult it is too get all the nutrients that you supposedly need. Like now I know that I didn't get any vitamin D today (where do you get vitamin D???) and that my calcium intake is really deficient (do I have to drink milk every single day? Where are the damn vitamins that I bought last year?). Anyway, it is a pretty good little website, and it is free! And the most important thing, at least for me, is that it is a new thing and new things always work for me. At least for a while. So I will take advantage of the novelty (let's see how long I can fool myself) and hopefully I can lose some weight. It has to happen because I really have no money to buy new clothes... However, I do have to say that my real goal is to learn how to eat healthier once and for all. I guess it's time -- I am not getting any younger...

But the real new year resolution, the only one that I have (well, the only one that I am posting here), is to learn something new. This year I have to learn something new. A friend's girlfriend offered to teach me how to knit. Knitting.... hmmm, thanks but no thanks. As domestic as I am becoming now with the Kitchen Aid mixer and all that stuff, knitting is not for me. It has to be something more active... I'm thinking some kind of dancing or maybe a sport? But I am not the sporty kind... Maybe tango. Tango is sexy, and I like sexy things... so maybe by the end of the year, I will know how to dance tango. Who knows... but I will learn something new.

Happy New Year to Zeynep and Mirthala.... my dear friends who are far away.