Churros y Chocolate and a grateful heart - except when it comes to Powerball.

Thank you, Shaggy – for your 2000 groundbreaking (s)hit “It Wasn’t Me”, because that’s the first thing that popped in my mind after Wednesday night’s heartbreaking Powerball announcement.  Did anyone else cry? Throw themselves on the ground in complete disbelief that my dream of someday riding off into the sunset on a genetically engineered unicorn named “MINE BITCHES” will never come true? No, I guess everybody was crying for their own selves.

 

This is how I feel about the winners

Nate, who after calmly stepping over my prone figure and remarking “Get over yourself and let it go,” proceeded to do burpees, essentially throwing a fistful of salt all over my already wounded and fat-encased heart. Go do your burpees somewhere else, man! I’m jet-lagged and jealous of someone in Chino Hills. Chino Hills!

Speaking of jetlag….whoa. We decided to do a big trip for Nate’s 40^th birthday and visited southern Spain and Morocco over the winter break. Spain did me in, but I would gladly do Spain over and over again because being done in by Spain was worth it.   

 

I want to be back in you!

Interestingly enough, I lost about three pounds due to a shitload of walking and not quite getting a handle on the whole siesta thing. We were pretty much squirrels on crack, going every which way but to sleep. Correction: my husband is a squirrel on crack and I just follow the nut.

My favorite nut

We usually ate only one meal a day with a few snacks in between – I know, this is new for me – but we were so focused on seeing everything, food wasn’t the first priority…unless!!! Churros y chocolate! We always stopped for this.  A botched attempt at making churros y chocolate last night has left me and my whole damn house smelling of vegetable oil, so that’s it for churros y chocolate.
 



I love you

I’d have to say the highlight of our trip was Morocco, mainly because I got to eat a lot of food, ride camels over the great sand dunes of Erg Chigaga, and experience the kindness and generosity of a culture I didn’t know much about.

 

 

 

 

 

Being in the heart of the desert under a sky full of stars on New Year’s Eve was surreal and eye opening. Eye opening, not only in that I underestimated just how terrible I am at Geography, but that under certain conditions (bladder and intestinal implosion), I am able to relieve myself into almost anything.  After the ferry ride from Europe to Africa, a 10 hour overnight train to Marrakesh, and a 10 hour butt-puckering road trip through the high and winding Atlas Mountains then rocky and sandy desert – the fear of using a toilet other than my own was nothing but a distant memory. As Kelly Clarkson once said, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”  I can shit anywhere now. 

 

I am so relieved

 

Anyway, we’re back and I’ve started working on a few of my New Year’s resolutions: cooking more at home and learning French. I made a Moroccan stew in the crockpot the other day and was surprised as hell that it tasted similar to what we had overseas.

 Chicken tagine made without the tagine. I need a tagine.

 

 

 

 And French! First week’s lesson down and I am practicing every chance I get on Duolingo and with the pen pals I made in Morocco, who I fear are growing tired of my limited ability at conversation (Bonjour! Comment ca va? Froid. Papillon est rouge et noir! A plus tard!).

 

As far as my teacher goes, I managed to put her on edge a few times, but I think it’s the start of a beautiful relationship:

Teacher: Do you know why this is this way?

Me: Oh, I know! Because the vowel is ov…

Teacher: NO! Please, you must just listen. Do you know why this is like that?

Me:  Ah! Because there is an acc…

Teacher: No! It is important that you listen. JUST LISTEN. So important. Only listen.

Me: But you keep asking why?

Teacher: No! Listen! Listen!

Me:

Happy 2016! May we all be blessed.

Christine + Nate + Ligaya 

Love, Light, and Ligaya - CS