365-23 it's movie night

Can't have movies without popcorn -

365-3 Aromatic memories.....

Do you have moments when sometimes just the smell or aroma of something will trigger a certain memory (i.e. pine=Christmas) or if of food, you can "fill up" just on the smell of it.....Coffee is one of those for me....i love the smell of fresh ground coffee. i ground a bag at a time and the scent of it just fills me up and i've had my coffee 'fix' for the day. What does it for you?

Five Question Friday!

It's 5Q friday~!

1. Do you collect anything?

Oh Yes. I collect postcards from all over the world. It all started a couple of years ago i came across a site called Postcrossing. You just sign up (its free), fill out a profile and you can request up to 5 random names with addresses to send a postcard to. Once these 5 people receive and register the postcard you sent, then you will receive one in return (also random). As you reach highter quantities of sent postcards the number of names/addresses you can request to send will go up. It becomes quite addicting really. Check it out at the link above.


2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking. Because he is so cute and a Texas boy, definitely Matthew McConaughey, then.....Fernando Colunga and Johnny Depp!


3. Do you have any scars? If so, what's the story behind it (them?)? Not a one. i had an overprotective mother.


4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it's gross or weird?

Here in the states that would be Menudo (tripe). best thing in the world when you've stayed out too late having fun.


5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life? No! thank goodness. And i don't want to either!

Well now it's your turn if you like just click on the button below to play. Have a great weekend!

Radiant Fruit 365-4

More and more lately i've been looking for ways to  cut back on spending (as is everyone else these days). One way is to cook more meals at home. This not only costs less than eating out, it helps with my weight goals as i can manage what i put in (salt, sugar, etc.) in my food and manage portion size. We were going to do a healthy potluck at work this week and i was thinking of taking a vegetable or fruit salad. Strawberries were on sale this weekend at the grocery store (buy 1 quart package, get one free) so i decided on the fruit salad. i found a great recipe on the Food Network site by Elie Krueger from Healthy Appetite. With minimal ingredients - strawberries, kiwis, melon and then a honey, lemon juice and mint (i did forget the mint in mine) for dressing. Very easy and very delicious.  

Finding my passion

How does one find their passion when one is interested in so many things?! Focusing on just one thing to be “good” at is difficult when there are now so many more options open to women. The options are also now more available as I’ve moved out of my parents home – away from parent rules and restrictions - yet straight into the husband’s rules and restrictions. Once able to find my voice and the courage to express it in that relationship - there were still the restrictions of money and motherhood. When the children were born they were my passion. Through the years as they’ve grown and developed into adults I’ve slowly been able to explore more of what I like to do.
• Read – Books were my best friends during school years. It may sound corny but through books I could explore anything and everything. From the original “Super Nanny” Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, a series of books about a girl named Ginny from a town up north, learning about my Mexican heritage (Aztec Indians, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Cesar Chavez, etc.) to the discovery of Rosemary Rogers and her passionate love stories. I LOVE to read! My dream job would be to get paid for reading books. Until about 3 years ago I got to read for a living at my current place of employment. It wasn’t books but it was close enough. I loved my job and then they had to go and do this reorg thing. Now my job is nothing at all of what I did then.
• Sewing – This is another fave hobby that I have done off and on every since learning to sew as a child. From early attempts at making Barbie clothes and pillows, a passable tank dress made in home –ec class during high school to most recently a finished quilt (with more in progress)!
• Scrapbooking – I’ve completed several for my children with still several more to go. Where to find the time (and the space) for this. This one also ties in with my interest in photography, genealogy and recording family history.

• Dancing – I’ve loved dancing since discovering the Mexican cumbias (a long time ago in my youth). My parents would take me to dancing clubs (no respectable girl – back then anyway – would go to a club without her parents – so I was told). Anyway I didn’t care as long as I got to dance – and dance I did. We would get there at 8 p.m. (way to early by today’s standards I know) so we could get a table and then would stay till we shut the place down at 2 a.m.! On my list is to do ballroom dancing.
• Traveling – After traveling every year since birth to my parents birth place in Mexico you would think that I would hate traveling. I guess traveling this much you are going to either learn to love it or hate. I LOVE it! I miss traveling with my dad as he always loved to explore new places (my husband does not) and we visited a different city in Mexico each time we went. Once driving all the way to Mexico City to visit an aunt. I try to squeeze in at least a short road trip every year to some place new. Also finding postcrossing helps me travel to exotic places one postcard at a time!

• Cooking – although many people might not thinks this since I do not get to cook a meal every day, I do love cooking. I once even had my own cake business. When it became too stressful (too many cake orders + 40 hour week job + family duties) I had to choose between cakes and job. Cakes were not yet profitable enough to support and the job was more secure so the cakes had to go.
How to pick the most favorite of them all. It’s a work in progress and i'm a work in progress.

Memories.....

I recently learned that the IHOP a couple of blocks from closed its doors for the last time. We went there often for Sunday brunch. We used to go to Denny’s until they closed it down. Denny’s has fond memories for us.

Growing up my family traveled every summer as most families do to visit grandparents and family. My parents had emigrated from Mexico in 1962 as newlyweds looking for better opportunities. They had both left parents and many siblings behind to embark on a new life together and each year made the pilgrimage back to visit and relate tales of life in the country they now called home. On the last stop before crossing the U.S. and Mexican border we always ate “our last meal” at Denny’s. Back in those days, once you crossed over into Mexico there were no casual restaurants to stop in for a quick bite and there were no fast food chains in Laredo, Texas. It was either stopping at a very fancy restaurant or taking our chances with a roadside taco stand and putting us at risk for Montezuma’s revenge.

We’d eat hearty because our next good meal would not be until we arrived at grandma’s house. All week long we’d have our fill of fresh, authentic Mexican food – quesadillas, enchiladas, chiles rellenos, tamales, rice, beans and lots and lots of tortillas.

Once our week long “vacation” was over we’d begin the long drive home and crossing back over into the states, we would stop at Denny’s again – we couldn’t wait to have a familiar meal of a coke, burger and fries! As children, a week felt like forever and by the end of it we longed for the comforts of home. A hot, juicy burger with melted cheese and the crisp crunch of pickles, lettuce and tomatoes tasted heavenly! It was torture waiting for the ketchup as it slowly poured out of the bottle onto the crisp, slightly greasy french fries – it was almost too much to bear. The meal was finished off with an icy cold coke.

This simplest and satisfying of meals was one we eagerly looked forward to and missed more than anything. Not the television shows, friends or toys. Although we would still have another eight hours of travel, a hamburger meal at Denny’s was all it took to make us feel at home again. It was not only a familiar landmark but a comforting ritual on our journey.

Today my family consists of my husband and three children. We continue to travel to México to visit our families and use the same route. The city of Laredo, Texas has grown extensively and now has many, MANY drive-through and quick stop restaurants. There are also many new casual restaurants on the Southern side of the border. That same Denny’s restaurant is still in Laredo in the same spot. Although there are now many options from which to eat a hamburger meal, it has become a family tradition to stop at Denny’s no matter what time of day it might be to make it our “last meal” and to stop there again first thing on our way back home. It just wouldn’t be the same anywhere else. My kids look forward to this just as much as my sisters and I did those many years ago.