Fabulous Surprises

These flowers were delivered to my office yesterday. When they arrived they were a complete surprise and yet I knew instantly who they were from. Francesca, our controller, heard me mention I love fresh flowers and the note said, "For all you do." And what added that special touch was she was off yesterday. Thus all the more of a surprise. The rubber ducky was also a surprise as I had given it as a gift to a former employee only to find it in the trash. She had been by to clean up her office and had no idea I would be in there putting email on the computer. I like the ducky and it reminds me of my 49th birthday cruise! I'll give it a good home.

I like doing surprises. Like giving things to people for no reason. Recently, Curtis has surprised me not once, but twice. Upon a return from Vancouver he gave me a set of 4 old fashion and 4 tall cocktail glasses that are a deep purple glass with white applied at the bottom that looks like snow. Thus, three of my favorite things = snow, the color purple plus glass as art! The other item was an amazing throw blanket he gave me yesterday that he got and it is from Korea I believe. It is cream colored on one side and purple on the other. It will come in handy this winter to be sure. Needless to say, I laughed as he gave this blanket to me on one of the hottest days of the year.

While in Houston I decided to surprise the ladies in the office with lunch on my final day. While the company had paid for lunch on Monday, I paid for Tuesday's and we all ate together. It was fun and the food came from a place called Teotihuacán Mexican Restaurant. Here, from it's website is a bit about Teotihuacán history:

Teotihuacán (Pronounced Te-o-tee-wa-can) was one of the most important religious sites in pre-Hispanic México and one of the greatest city of the Mesoamerican classic period. The name Teotihuacán was given by the Nahuatl-speaking Aztec centuries after the fall of the city.The term has been glossed as ‘birthplace of the gods,’ reflecting Nahua creation myths that took place in Teotihuacán. The metropolis covered 9 sq. mi., and is located about 25 miles north of modern-day Mexico City. The reconstructed Pyramid of the Sun stands at the center of the ruined city, rising more than 230 ft. above “La Calzada de los muertos” (The Avenue of the dead), which runs in front of it. At the end of the avenue is the smaller Pyramid of the Moon.

The Mexican Cuisine roots come from an Indian and Spanish mixture, the most evident sample of it are the “antojitos”. The Spaniards, who brought the beef, pork and chicken meat, the cream of milk and the cheese, liked very much the Mexican original food such as tortillas, beans, peppers, tomatoes, green tomatoes and aromatic herbs such as “epazote”, coriander (cilantro), and the “hoja santa”. The Mexican kitchen is very versatile. There are recipes and ingredients to excite all taste.Remember, just because you’ve had a “taco” or “enchilada” doesn’t mean you’ve experienced Mexican Food. It only means you’ve scratched the surface of this country’s traditional culinary delights.

I tried Chile Con Queso and it was not my cup of tea, but the rest were lovin' it. Had it with chips and it is best served warm. Many of the mixed platters are named after the owner's children and their offspring. I went with La Silvia which consisted of one cheese enchilada, one beef taco al carbón and one crispy chicken taco topped with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. In full disclosure I think the 2nd item was the best of the three and there was also refried beans and rice. It was enough that I did not eat the rest of the day. The rest of the group had a variety of things from a Mexi-salad to nachos. A couple tried other mixed platters but I have slept since we dined and cannot remember all the details. It was fun and yet it only confirmed that Mexican is not my favorite especially when I had it twice in one week! Olé!