the three Fridas

 This is the real Frida Kalho, famous Mexican artist and activtist:

 

This is me dressed as Frida for Halloween:

I thought my idea was so original, until another Frida showed up at the party.  And then an hour later, another Frida.  What had been embarrassing with 2 of us became funny with three of us, so we had to take some pictures in front of the paper mache devil (but no smiling, b/c Frida never smiled for the camera):

Alissa Frida, Jamie Frida, and Laura Frida

Halloween treats

Cute little tombstone cupcakes with my friend's names/initials on them. Everyone enjoyed eating their own death!

Flat Stanley

Stanley and 4 kinds of ceviche

My friend Ben, who is 8 years old, read a book called "Flat Stanley," a story about a little boy who gets smushed flat (by a bulletin board- scary much?) and goes on to have all kinds of adventures.  All of the kids in Ben's class made a Stanley, and sent him to a faraway friend or relative.   Flat Stanley went with me to the conference in Mexico, as well as to the Canal.  Here are some of my favorite moments:

Stanley by the Abe Lincoln statue in Mexico City- Ben's school is in IL 

Stanley at the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal

Stanley napping in the hotel room- we had a lot of adventures!

cool stuff I saw in Mexico

In the airport, ran into these nice men from Papallan, Colombia.  Since I was helping a friend's son with his 'Flat Stanley' project, it seemed the perfect chance for a picture.  

On my Mexico City food tour, we did a gourmet truffle tasting with tequila pairing.  I tried banana and tutti-fruiti, and both were surprisingly good.  After all, the Aztecs were the first to trade with chocolate.

Finally saw it in real life!  After ten years of teaching the Aztec calendar in all of it's glory, I saw it in real life.  Check that one off of the bucket list!

And this is some other Aztec art, but it was big, made out of stone, and carved by hand.  Awesome.

weird stuff I saw in Mexico City

Can you see that huge yellow thing in the center? That's a clove of garlic, a massive and scary clove of garlic.

Apparently, only royalty are allowed to use the Mexico City crosswalks.  

Walking down the street, a friend and I ran into a poor sod in a pharmacist suit- we highfived him, danced with him, took some pictures, and then went on our way.

In the main square of the historic district, Mariachi bands stand in traffic, waiting for business.  There were literally hundreds of them around, some with full bands (con contrabasses) and some lone singers.  But all were in full regalia, just waiting for work at 11:30pm on a Tuesday night.

scuba in Portobelo, part III- the underwater pictures

from left: Mariah, Laura, Ashley, Casey, Austin, Eric

Spiny crab we saw underwater

Mariah, my dive buddy, and I consulting about something underwater