Blogger vs. Blogger – Juan of Words vs. Latinaish

Remember the comic strip Spy vs. Spy?  Well this is the Blogger version of it, and who better to help me inaugurate this very fun and virtual challenge than the one and only Latinaish.  I couldn’t have asked for a better or fiercer competitor than Tracy, because aside from being mi hermana del alma and a great friend, she’s one hell of a luchadora… and can “smack talk” like you wouldn’t believe.  Seriously!

So, in this corner, carrying the Mexican flag and wearing his favorite pair of chanclas, drinking a bottle of pure Valentina… un servidor, ready to rumble.  And in that corner, La Gringa Bien Latina, Tracy herself, accompanied by her husband, children, and her coach, La Suegra, who’s waving the Salvadoran flag in the air, pumping up her nuera for the battle royale!  The rules were simple.  Take pictures of the same 10 items, post them on the same date, link to each other’s blogs, and let the people make their choice over whose blog entry they like best.

Here’s my humble submission:

Los pelioneros

1. Silliest Photo with Your Family: Think Family of Ninjas gone bad, LOL!  We had way too much fun trying to take a presentable picture for this category.  Several of the images really looked like we were hurting each other.

Quesadilla Grande de Taqueria el Alteño

2. Favorite Local Dish: There are so many good places to eat around here, but hands down, my favorite dish is, of course, Mexican, and from one of the most authentic Taquerías I’ve ever been to.  The number four (quesadilla grande), which is how I always order it at Taquería Alteño every time we go.  For a while they even took my order without me even saying anything.

El Trono

3. Favorite Outdoor Spot for Brainstorming: Cada rey tiene su trono, and well, this one is mine!  Whether it’s from Writer’s Block, stress, or just life in general, when I need to sit down for a minute and just relax, regroup my thoughts, or clear my mind, nothing works better than this little lawn chair outside of my house.  It’s on the porch and also gives me a great view of all of the neighbors, jajaja… ¡chismoso!

Mi camita

4. Favorite Nook of your House: My side of the bed.  It’s comfortable, relaxing, soft, cushiony, and “my side!”  We’ve had that argument on more than one occasion!  “It’s my side of the bed!  Go to bed on your side.”  The main reason why I don’t ever want to switch sides is the alarm next to my bed.  I’m not a morning person and without that alarm would sleep till noon.

Downtown Houston

5. Favorite Family Spot: We’re always in Downtown.  Usually in the car, driving somewhere else, or just driving through to avoid the traffic on the freeways.  Still, every time we’re in Downtown, especially at night, we always seem to be having a good time.  I also work in this area and most of the big events that take place here take place in Downtown… so that’s another reason we’re always there.

The Washburn Tunnel in Galena Park

6. Best Kept Secret in your Area: Maybe it’s that I’m not a native Houstonian, but until a couple of years ago I didn’t even know we had an actual tunnel in the area.  We do, and it’s The Washburn Tunnel in Galena Park, just outside of Houston.  The first time we drove through the 3,791 foot underwater tunnel I was ecstatic, like we had just discovered the best thing since sliced bread!

Gato de Oro (Faux)

7. Most Random Item in your House: In all honesty, I don’t know the story behind this faux gold cat at all.  One day I just showed up at home and it was sitting on the bookshelf next to the TV, looking in my direction and kind of freaking me out, so I try to keep it faced away from me.  Me imagino que fue una compra de mi esposa. Otherwise it just showed up on its own, which is even scarier!

Mi Valentina Sauce!

8. If the sky were falling, what would be the first item you’d grab, after people: This one was just too easy.  My Valentina sauce, of course!  Wherever we’d end up we’re going to need to spice up whatever it is that we’re eating… Right?

Le' Edgar

9. Favorite piece of Art Work in your Home: No competition.  My wife, Anjelica took this picture of Edgar several years ago in her mother’s front yard, and since then it’s been my favorite piece of art in the house.  My suegra yelled at her for having uprooted the savila (aloe) in the picture from her yard, and so, we then had the image enlarged and framed.

Chanclas para los chancletazos

10. Favorite Pair of Shoes: Had we done this competition a few weeks earlier my real favorite shoes would have been in the picture.  They were chanclas too, only the kind that covered more of my feet and could be secured around my foot with a back strap.  The only problem, they were literally falling apart and despite Anjelica telling me to get rid of them, I refused.  One day I just could not find them anymore… I knew what had happened, so I immediately went to the store and bought more chanclas!  These are extra comfortable and cushiony as you can see by how worn they are already.

So that’s it folks!  My complete and full entry for Blogger vs. Blogger – Juan of Words vs. Latinaish.  Make sure and stop by Tracy’s Latinaish to check out her response to these images, and let me know what you think… if there were a prize who would you give it to?

Acknowledgements:
A special thanks to Tracy Lopez of Latinaish for accepting my invitation to participate in this first Blogger vs. Blogger challenge.  Also, a huge thanks to my wife, Anjelica for being the creative force behind this competition, and for taking all the wonderful pictures for me.  We had a lot of fun putting this together.

26 thoughts on “Blogger vs. Blogger – Juan of Words vs. Latinaish

  1. Okay, hermano – Estoy freaking out un poco. Did you look at my fotos yet? … We chose some really similar things for many of the categories!

    Now the whole hermanos del alma thing has been confirmed. LOL.

    Love all the photos – you definitely beat me on the silliest family photo jajaja… I took sillier ones than the one I posted but was too chicken to post them.

    The photo of your bed is very artistic. (Nice job, Anjelica!) – Downtown Houston is also a pretty shot.

    Hey – your Valentina sauce is the regular kind. I get the black label/spicier one! Jajaja, – I beat you on that!

    1. Even freakier… we were both leaving comments on each other’s blogs at the same time, making a lot of the same observations… uuyy, habra que interrogar a nuestros padres to see if there is in fact any fluke relation, jaja!

      I liked her work on the bed picture tambien, also thought it was very artistic, 🙂

      That Valentina sauce you mention, no la he visto… will need to look more closely next time. Hmmm, a new project to undertake!

  2. LOVED IT!!!!! La foto de Edgard es una belleza! Ya voy pa’ donde Traixy y regreso con mi veredicto!

  3. My best friend and I regularly send each other E-mails at the same time – so I’m not surprised by the commenting at the same time. LOL. Creo que some of us are just on the same wavelength or something.

    As for the extra spicy Valentina – I can’t believe you haven’t seen that. Check Wally World next to the regular Valentina. If you can’t find it, I can send a bottle. LOL.

  4. Si, uds tienen muchas “similarities”. No serás un Brother from Another Mother? jajajaja.
    Too hard to decide! EMPATE!!!!!!

  5. Here are my votes for Round:
    1-Juan – Cool beat out sweet here 🙂
    2-Tracy- Juan almost got me with my weakness (chips/salsa) but then I read “chorizo”
    3-Tracy- It’s hard to find a good hammock
    4-Ugh, SO hard…tie? But if I HAD to choose, Juan, I like the pic.
    5-Juan-TEXAS baby
    6-tough one but Tracy’s is snazzier
    7-So hard (no pun intended)! But, cute wins here…kitty, Juan
    8-Tracy- It’s my choice too
    9-Juan- great pic with a fun story
    10- Really? Chanclas? Both of you…Tie…

  6. Both blogs are great, I enjoyed it! Call me biased, but Juanofwords wins for me!!! Hope ya’ll do stuff like this more often.

  7. LOL, Irma picked Juan! No fair – you invited your sister, and you have more siblings than me 😉

    This was fun, Juan. Thanks for picking me as your first victim/competitor.

    Abrazos!

    1. Tracy, hey it’s not my fault I’ve got more siblings, jajaja! In any event, she came of her own free will… te lo aseguro. This is way too much fun 🙂 The Valentina sauce I’m looking into y si no la tienen te va tocar enviarme una desde alla, jaja! I still think the commenting at the same time is weird, pero then again it may just be me…

      Claudia, gracias por el empate y por el comentario sobre la foto de Edgar 🙂 Ya ves, que alomejor si somos brother from another mother y sister from another mister, jaja!

      Gracias, Frida! Glad you liked our mutual craziness 🙂 And yeah, that key chain is just too cool!

      Byrdie, you were fair and wise in your decisions, ja! Team Texas all the way!! De acuerdo contigo.

      Irma, WOO-HOO!! Thanks 🙂

  8. I ♥♥♥ PIC #1! How cute, silly and adorable! 😀
    Great pics, BTW. If I had to give a prize, y’all would have to share b/c I can’t decide between the two of you.

  9. I loved both of your photo selections! It’s hilarious you both chose chanclas and a ‘tunnel’ for best kept secret. It’s hard to choose, but if I have to, I’m going to have to go with Señora López on this one. As a former DC resident (making me totally biased), some of those photos gave me some real nostalgia! The Nat’l Mall is also one of my favorite places. Plus, I’m a sentimental chica and photo albums are the first things i’d be throwing out the window in case of a fire. 🙂 Finally, on a day like today, i’d like nothing better than to cozy up with a good book on that gringo tipper!
    I really enjoyed the ‘fight!’ You’re both awesome contenders! This was fun!

    1. Gina, thanks for having my back! “mexicanos unidos al grito de guerra…” LOL! j/k – not that serious, but thank you for the vote of confidence.

      Melanie, alright, I’ll let that one slide, but next time your vote is mine 🙂 No, seriously, Tracy did a great job with all of her pictures tambien.

      Thanks, Trina! that seems to be the overwhelming majority!

  10. Wow! What a neat idea! I loved your pictures. My favorite is the pic of your son with the aloe plant! I too must sleep on the side where the alarm is or I would oversleep everyday! On my way to Latinaish’s blog…..
    This is fun!

  11. Too funny! I like your descriptions in setting up the story/scenario. I started running when you mentioned Tracy’s suegra waving the Salvadoran flag and giving her a pep talk, then I caught myself.

    She was prepping her for taking on the ninja family.

    Valentina! We have 1 bottle left in our fridge w/ about 1/2 inch of content left. We got the big gigante size bottles 2 for something. great price though. I love the photo of Edgar as well. Nice photo!

    This was fun to see and read!

  12. BTW, totally forgot to mention, your intro paragraph was slightly inaccurate. Suegra would have been cheering you on. LOL 😉

    @ Gina – Wait, you’re scared of the cat but not my keychain?! lol 😉

    …I actually have a little gold cat… mine isn’t splattered with neon orange paint though, last time I checked.

    1. Tracy, gotta say… I agree with your comment about Suegra, and actually thought that when preparing the intro, but then thought it’d be a low blow… but since you brought it up, yeah, let’s switch Suegra over to my side, and her Salvadoran flag for a Mexican one, jajaja!

      Tara,
      So you would sleep until noon as well without an alarm… te digo, the magic of technology! So glad you enjoyed this concept 🙂

      Joe,
      Thanks for the comment, and don’t worry, Suegra won’t hurt you… she’s actually switched side in support of me now! Have you seen the Valentina sauce Tracy is talking about?? I’m going to have to look it up at the store next time we run out, which should not be very long from now 🙂

  13. Juan, what a great post and an awesome idea! I love seeing both the differences and similarities in your posts and this is such an interesting idea…exploring the daily habits of those outside of your own reality. What a great idea for expanding our knowledge about each other! I love it!

    1. Thanks, Chantilly! And as I mentioned before, stayed tune for the Second Official Blogger vs. Blogger competition coming up very soon… It’s going to be bigger and better, and a lot of fun, like this first one. So glad that everyone has been so receptive to this idea!!

  14. This was so hard. I don’t know if I could take sides when mi hermana y hermano are going to head to head, so I will give individual awards! lol I too, was amazed at the similarity of the photos. Are you sure someone didn’t peek before posting their blog? Hmmm… 🙂 Ok, here it goes: Juan, you win the awards for silliest family photo (I loved the alternate too),fave local dish, most random item & fave nook. I love that you choose to rescue your Valentina, but I would’ve chosen my photos too. And that mysterious cat sculpture looks suspiciously like something Tracy’s suegra would have snuck into your house (if she lived w/ you!). All in all, I loved this idea. It really entertained & inspired me. Great job, you are both winners!

  15. Juan/Tracy, you are awesome! Interesting that the best kept secrets in your area tunnels and chancletas are you fav shoes LOL!

    1. Juan; 2. tied; 3. Tracy; 4. Juan; 5.Tracy; 6. Tracy; 7.Tracy; 8. Tracy. 9. Juan; 10. Tied.

    1. Victory, thanks for not choosing sides, LOL! This is the little idea that could, and it really has been the perfect match up 🙂 A ver si you are ready for the Second Official Blogger vs. Blogger competition!

      Reina, yeah the similarities were a little eery. I knew we had similar interests, but no idea they were that close. jajaja! Guess, now we know and thanks for the meticulous results 🙂

  16. Juan, love your fotografias! I’m going to go out and look for a bottle of Victoria (I’ve never had it). Hey, aren’t you worried those books are going to fall from that top shelf while you’re asleep?! Love this. Un abrazo to you and your family.

  17. omg rofl…. i enjoyed both yours and tracy’s pictures… soi machista so i only pick women in competitiones lol but then again u do have Valentina… y pues soi al 100% por la valentina lol… i loved ur pics… ur family pic was so cute!

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