And my grandma is 90. Enough reason to celebrate.

We’re Cajun, so what that means is a lot of liquor and spicy foods, as well as music and dancing. I cannot wait.

What are you doing for Labor Day?

PS Max starts school the day after we come back. This year ’round school takes some getting used to!

Despite not eating red meat from the age of 16 to 28 or so, I am now a steak monster. My husband says he doesn’t even know who I am anymore. Last year at Type A Mom Con, I met Gary Whetstone from Chef’s Requested. I liked Gary right away, not just because he worked for a company that produces steaks but also because he was there, paying attention to what bloggers were saying.

Fast forward a year. My family has eaten a ton of Chef’s Requested 100 calorie steaks and bacon wrapped filets. So it was a natural fit for the company to sponsor me to attend Type A Mom again this year. Talk about steak? Yes, please!

So thank you to Gary and Chef’s Requested for helping me get to Asheville for this amazing conference. And if you’ll be at the conference, leave a comment, and find me so I can give you some steak freebies (not actual steak. I don’t carry them in my pocket. Often).

I guess I imagined they’d always be so untamed. But they, like me, are moms. Moms who talk about diapers and school. Moms who make lunch (although their rebellion is now in the form of organic almond butter, as is mine).

We all ended up in the same place, from different paths.

I just think it’s funny. And my friends, who consider me to be the most unique and brave person in our group (or so I perceive) would be surprised to know that at one time, I was the timid one, the one afraid of new experiences.

Rock on, mamas.

So I think I've mentioned my iPhone at least a few times here. I love it. And when I'm bored or traveling I like to find new apps. Max has a whole page of games just for him.

I'm just now getting into sites like Foursquare, so when IZEA announced its app, WeReward for iPhone, I wanted to check it out. Essentially you check in like you do on other geolocation sites, but you get paid (a few cents) for checking in, taking a photo of a business, or doing other tasks the site specifies. (they also have WeReward for Android and BlackBerry is coming soon).

So I figure, if I'm walking by Walgreens, why not make $.05 for taking a photo?

I've used this app for a few months, since it came out. It's fun. At first I used it a lot, but sometimes I'm just so overwhelmed with the number of check-in sites on my phone (which is 4. a lot.), and I don't bother to see what I can earn points for.

I do like the feature where you can get points for posing with a product or business sign. I had a Jones Soda bottle and cheesed with it. I think that earned me $1.

If you're looking to get rich, this ain't the app. But if you're interested in making a few cents for doing something you'd do anyway (checking in), then visit WeReward.com to get started.

The other day, two were in our house! I think they chased one another in and then didn’t know how to get out. I felt so bad–you could see them panicking as they tried to poke the ceiling with their beaks. One was so exhausted, he clawed a resting place on the wall about 8 feet up.

Finally, one found the feeder we placed in the door. The other I helped out on the end of a broom. They’re happy outside once again.

They’re just fascinating birds to me. So delicate and graceful. Here are some interesting facts I found:

• Hummingbirds’ wings beat 60-80 times a second!
• A hummingbird can’t smell
• A hummingbird’s heart rate can be up to 1,260 beats per minute

Here’s a cool video slowed down to show the hummingbird drinking. It’s long and slow. You can fast forward. I did. Still, it’s neat!

I feel like this is a lame post. Is it a lame post?

You smell like some kind of bad breakfast. You smell like bad French Toast.

We don’t change our socks in Mexico.

Mama, how come you don’t fart?

The single best thing about traveling is finding food we can’t find at home. The worst thing is that we usually can’t bring it back with us or find it at home. Ahh, Mexico. First, we can take it home, for the most part, and second, we can find a lot of it at (believe it or not) the dollar stores and probably the Wal-Mart stores closer to the border.

Yogurt

We eat yogurt at home. There’s a good selection at your average American store, or so we thought. Much of it has corn syrup, so we avoid those brands. Little did we know.  Here in Mexico, there is an entire refrigerated row of every possible flavor of yogurt. In cups, in  drinkable cartons, for kids, for grown ups. With cereal, with straws, with fruit, with honey. Some even with balloon animals tied to them to lure in the little ones. Every single time we go to the store we bring home more yogurt. Good thing we can take them with us.

Cheese

I brought cheese with us, not expecting to find any interesting queso south of the border. After all, who’s heard of Mexican cows? The cheese is varied, so I pick up something different each time. I found one Oaxacan type that’s like string cheese. I like it. Then Manchego, which we know at home to be harder, is a favorite of the hub. Queso de Castillano I didn’t care for. It’s hard and salty, and I’m not sure what to do with it.

Pasteles

Let me preface this by saying that my husband is not one to pick up a cookie or cake just because. But we’ve been to the grocery store every day since we arrived in Rosarito, and it is he who leads us over to the pasteleria in the store. Chain grocery stores, by the way, have decent baked goods here. Not always the case at home.

The setup is different here, so I had to take a moment to observe. You get a metal tray and tongs and then collect all the items you want. Biscoches with hot pink icing, empanadas de crema, muffins with a sprinkling of chocolate chips, cookies the size of Max’s head, donas (donuts) made of dough similar to pretzel dough, topped with delectable icing. Take your loot to the woman at the counter and she’ll mark on the bag how many items at what price you have. Take home and ingest. (Do not step on scale).

We haven’t yet been to a standalone pasteleria but we plan to.

Tortillas for Breakfast?

We bought a large, piping hot pack of corn tortillas on our first day. I think for an average (read: large) Mexican family, this would have lasted one day. They’re best fresh. We’re still chewing on them. We’ve eaten them with our eggs and chorizo for breakfast each day, as well as at other meals. Flour tortillas aren’t as popular here.

Apple

I mentioned apple in another post. I have an affinity for all (real) apple flavored things, which I only find in other countries (dear brands: if you’re reading this, PLEASE bring apple-y items to the US!). We discovered apple Jell-o. Delicious topped with apple yogurt. I’m a big fan of Mexican apple sodas, like Lift.

What’s Missing

I assumed we’d find amazing fresh salsa here. Not so. They only sell really hot bottled stuff, better suited for a condiment for your meat than to go on chips. It’s curious, with so many Mexican restaurants in the US (close by) that serve it, it doesn’t appear to be a part of the food landscape in Rosarito. Maybe we just haven’t found the salseria. Hub said they probably don’t sell it because everyone makes it themselves.

Eating our way across the city has been fun, and something we’ll definitely do again!

What is it about the beach? I turn into a child, running away from waves with my son, collecting shells with no idea what I’ll do with them.

We’re on a week’s vacation in Rosarito, Mexico, a sleepy, dirty little border town just 30 minutes from our home in San Diego. We found an amazing deal on a 2 bedroom condo ($350 for a week; if you’re interested I’m happy to give you the owner’s contact info). The condo is wonderful; the neighborhood, well, it’s authentic.

Dirt, bumpy roads, stray dogs who watch your approach from the top of abandoned buildings.  People washing their Sunday laundry in a bucket.  Trash.

Despite my initial surprise at the neighborhood (4 stars it ain’t), I love it. Every day we walk to the beach, where we build sandcastles, fly our kite, and stretch out under the Mexican sun. The beach is virtually empty, the weather being a bit cool for the average beach bum (about 70 degrees this week). I don’t miss the crowds.

Although I’ve promised myself I will learn to surf now that I’m in San Diego, I am constantly surprised how freaking cold the water is in the Pacific. Having lived in Florida for years (and never swimming in the water), it is beyond me how anyone would get in this frigid water to surf or swim.

Here, in Mexico, I dip my toes in the ocean, willing myself to brave the waters. Yesterday I did hop on the boogie board and rode a wave in. Exhilarating, but cold. Very cold.

And Max? He’s thriving in his new role as beach bum. Where he used to be timid with the ocean, he now runs up to the waves and splashes like any other kid. He loves making sand castles (what kid doesn’t?). Papa has been helping him, lending his engineering skills and experience growing up as a kid near the beaches of Gulfport. It’s a family affair.

How will we go back to dry land after this?

Between my husband and I, I am known as the one who falls apart when we travel. Especially in another country. Since it’s been about 10 years since we’ve traveled much (save our wonderful Montreal trip earlier this year), I was eager to prove my ability in Mexico. Since I’m the one who speaks Spanish among us, all the more way to prove myself.

I’ve done well, actually. For the most part, I’ve communicated for the family. But I’ve discovered I suck at listening. The hub is much better at understanding Spanish (though doesn’t know well enough how to speak it) than I am, and sometimes he has to tell me what someone said, which I hate. I feel helpless when I don’t understand.

It’s just so different here. Just 30 minutes from wi-fi, sanitary regulations and traffic laws is a whole other world. Some for the better, and some for the, well, I don’t like to judge, but let’s say “less better.”

For instance. Here in Mexico, just like every single other country we’ve visited, they don’t make consumers consume high fructose corn syrup like in the US. Candy, cookies and soft drinks have sugar, like they should. Given the hub is allergic to HFCS, we were thrilled to find azucar as the ingredient, and stocked up on apple flavored soda and candy.

Speaking of apple (I swear I have a post dedicated to food planned, but here I am, talking about it here), they have great apple flavored sodas and yogurts. Mmm.

Road rules? Not so much. If you’re going slow (as I do when going down a dirt road filled with holes big enough to bury a small child in), people pass you. Stop signs are a suggestion.

At shopping centers, there are what we have dubbed “parking maestros.” Just men who guide you with their hands when you’re leaving your parking spot. Seems pointless to us but I’m sure they’ve prevented billions of accidents.

There are taco stands, coconut stands, candy stands, beer stands, any kind of stand you can imagine. And anywhere. On a country road leading nowhere. In our neighborhood. Nestled among stores selling tile and pottery. And they’re all good (back to the food again).

It’s been a lesson in differences for all of us. We’re so judgmental, coming from our safe American lives. It’s good for us to get out of our element, to learn something about how other folks live. Viva Mexico.

I’ve been taking a lot of photos, but not really paying attention to my skills (i.e. not trying to get better). I got a useful email from Samsung (though I use a Nikon D3000; I’ll take good camera advice from anyone) that I thought I’d share on how to take better beach photos:

• The bright sun reflecting off of the sand and water can fool your camera’s light metering system into thinking your subject is too bright, which will unfortunately result in an underexposed image.  In order to ensure that your photos are properly exposed when shooting at the beach, take a look at your digital camera to see if it offers a beach scene mode.
  • This specific scene mode will automatically program your digital camera to take the best photo possible in the bright and reflective environment. When set to the beach scene mode, your camera will know that it’s taking a photo in a bright environment and will properly expose the scene, or more importantly, your subject.
• It may seem a bit silly, but taking beach photos is also an opportunity to make use of your camera’s flash. While you may not think about using a flash on a bright, sunny day, it’s actually one of the easiest things you can do to help make your photos pop, especially if you’re taking photos of your children! Very sunny conditions can often cause unwanted shadows to appear on your subjects’ faces. By simply turning on and using your camera’s flash, you can make sure that shadows won’t be an issue and that you’re able capture that perfect smile for everyone to see.

What do you like to take photos of in the summer?