Titere con Bonete

The One Question that Would Change the World?

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 17:16:00 +0000

I was reading a blog post from Spo-Reflections that he does called "Word of Mine Wednesdays W's" and I was reminded of a group text chat on my phone that my cousin Lucy started, it's called The Fri-Yay Question and she gives us a topic each Friday.

A couple of weeks ago she handed the reins over to our cousin Mary Helen to come up with the question and she gave us one that I still have not answered but I've been pondering since. The question was, "If you could know the absolute truth about one thing in the universe, what would you ask?"

My first thought was who really shot Kennedy, but then I thought; what difference does it make at this point in time right? So I read what some of the others in the chat were saying to see if I could get an idea.

Here's what some of them came up with:

Lucy - I have always wanted to know if I will see my 2 dogs Bear and Ginger - do dogs go to Heaven?

Lisa - I think I would like to know as my one truth, is there really a Heaven and Hell?

Tom - Are Extraterrestrials real? He said yes.

Lucy - Are ghosts real?

Lucy - (Cousin Lucy was on fire!) - Do dogs understand us?

Norrie - Do tacos really make you fat? (I admit I'm invested in this question!)

Connie - I would like to know how the Moai Statues on Easter Island came about?

Lydia - How was the Miracle Staircase in Santa Fe, New Mexico built?

Eliza - Is the Eucharist truly the body & blood of Jesus Christ?

Tito - Is Michael Jackson really still alive? (I didn't know there was a doubt about that)

So there you go, all great questions, but if you only had one chance wouldn't you want to ask something that would change the world with it's answer? That's why I'm finding it so difficult to come up with my question. I do have some thoughts though.

1. Where is JonBenet Ramsey? And in reality - all missing children?

2. What is the cure for Cancer?

3. Is there life on other planets and which planet should we stay away from because of the life forms there?

4. Is reincarnation real and do we all continuously come back as someone else?

5. Will the Dallas Cowboys ever win a Super Bowl again? This one may not change the world but it would make me happy or sad to know.

Anyway, what question would you ask if you only had the one?

Chicken Pozole - It's What's for Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 03:39:00 +0000

It's been a minute or maybe a year since I've posted anything. I believe my last post was a year ago when my mom passed away. It's been a tough year, lots of changes have taken place and I should have been blogging about them, but the year has been a blur. I miss my mom so much but life has to go on, bills have to get paid and foods needs to be prepared and eaten!

Last weekend I had lunch at The Old River Grill, and I ordered their soup and half sandwich. I had the tuna sandwich and their soup was Chicken Pozole and I had never had that. I'm so glad I did! Not because it was fabulous, it was an okay cup of soup, but I'd never heard of Chicken Pozole and I knew I could do better than theirs...and tonight I did!

I did some research online to see what all goes in to Chicken Pozole and I found a recipe from allrecipes.com which I'll link HERE. I also watched a video from Chef John that I had posted several years ago on my blog and you can watch that video HERE.

So I merged the two and came up with this big ol' bowl of deliciousness! Chicken Pozole topped with angel hair coleslaw mix, raw onion and diced jalapeno. So I'm going to share the recipe only because I like having all my recipes in a central location so that someday when I'm not here anymore my kids will have access to my recipes.

Easy Chicken Pozole

Ingredients:

4 Tbl vegetable oil

2 to 3 cups cooked & shredded boneless, skinless chicken breast. (My perfected method of baking chicken breasts is seasoning them on both sides with Lawrys Garlic Salt, Onion Powder and Pepper, sometimes some smoked paprika, tent them in foil and bake at 350 degrees for exactly 1 hour...perfection!)

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves garlic (I used my garlic press to mince/smash it)

2 32-ounce boxes of low sodium chicken broth (I like Swansons, but generic is fine)

4 cups of water

3 tablespoons of chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano (I put it in the palm of my hand and rub both hands together smashing it into a powder)

3 15.5 ounce cans of Bush's White Hominy - drained and rinsed (you can use any kind of Hominy but I am a fan of Bush's)

So I did it different from the allrecipes recipe because I baked my chicken early in the day, then shredded it and put all the drippings in the foil tent into the chicken and put it in the fridge so I didn't do Step one of their recipe, I started with Step 2, but changed that also.

I put the oil in my soup pot and added the chopped/diced onion and sprinkled a little salt on it and sautéed it until it was translucent, then added my garlic, the chili powder, salt and oregano and bloomed it by sautéing it, then added the broth, the water and the chicken and brought it to a boil. I then added the hominy and cooked it about 15 minutes more and that was it, easy peasy!

I served it into a bowl, added the angel hair coleslaw mix, raw onions, diced jalapeños and a sprinkling of dried cilantro since I didn't have fresh, I forgot to add a squirt of lemon, but you can add that it. It's soooooooo good. Perfect for a cold night at the end of a long day at work.

And that's it, I hope to post more from now on, but can't make any promises. Let me know if you try the recipe!

Heaven has gained an Angel - Our Mom Has Passed

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:32:00 +0000

On Saturday evening February 15th, between 7:40 and 8:10 pm our mom passed away. We were lucky that she went as she wanted to go, without pain, in peace and quiet with her family surrounding her.

In my previous post I write about mom wanting us all to gather together on Thursday, February 13th because she was ready to go, well she was and I believe she wanted to give us a heads up so we could all get to her bedside and say our goodbye.

On Friday morning she was no longer responsive to us; she would move around and call for her sisters and reach her arms to Heaven as if someone was there waiting to take her and she was ready to go. The hospice nurse came by and said that mom was "transitioning" which meant that mom was entering the final stages of dying. She advised us to continued using the morphine, combined with an Ativan pill and mom drifted off peacefully to sleep and she remained that way throughout the day. The nurse told us moving forward we just needed to make sure mom was comfortable and safe, if she awoke and wanted food or water, we could give it to her in small doses.

On Saturday I had errands I needed to run and groceries I needed to buy. My sister had spent the night so she stayed with mom. When I got home mom was still sleeping and my brothers were there. We started watching a movie and towards the end of the movie I saw mom take 8 big breaths and then settle back down. I went over to her and told her she was ok and that we were all there and to get some rest. I believe it was in that moment when she took those breaths that she died, but we didn't know it.

We finished watching the movie and my baby brother was going to spend the night to stay with mom and I told him I wanted to show him how to give her the morphine. We prepared it and I showed him how to administer it and then told him he needed to place one pill under her tongue, he asked me to show him how. As I attempted to do so by touching mom's chin, I noticed she was cool to the touch, so I touched her cheek and her arms and hands and they also were cool. I looked at her chest and it was not moving and I told my brother, "Jaime, she's gone, she's not here anymore," and then he touched her, we looked at each other and laughed that mom had left on her own terms without fuss or muss and we instantly called our other brother and sister to come back to the house, which they did immediately.

We called hospice and they advised us they would send someone as soon as possible and they would contact the funeral home.

We stayed with mom and with each other until they came for her. It was a sad but happy time for us. We knew mom was no longer suffering and we were happy she had not had any true pain, just some discomfort. We spoke of what a party there was at that moment in Heaven and remembered all the people that had gone before her and that were there to receive her with open arms.

Our mother is gone, but she will never be forgotten.

The Process of Dying - It's Not One Size Fits All

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:58:00 +0000

The process of dying is strange. I’ve been doing a lot of research and reading the experiences of others who have been through it with their loved ones. I’ve also been following a YouTube channel for a Hospice Nurse who shares her years of knowledge and pretty much what I’ve gleaned is that it’s different for everyone. Sure, there’s some similarities, but it’s not a one size fits all process.

Last night around 4:30 pm mom let me know that she wanted me to call everyone together because she’s ready to go. It was a tough call to make because I don’t believe that people in Hospice can just make that decision and make death happen, but what do I know. I’d rather err on the side of making sure that if mom has the power to choose when to die that I not disappoint my siblings and their families by not advising them to be present.

Everyone showed up, we said a Rosary with mom and she lay there peacefully while we tried hard to be serious and contemplative and show what we have been taught is the proper respect during the dying process. But we are her children and before you know it, we would be laughing at some shared memory. We sat there until she awoke and said she was hungry and wanted some Cream of Wheat and then later she wanted some yogurt. We didn’t dare ask her “What happened to you dying mom?” we were just happy it hadn’t happened. Everyone went home and she spent a relatively quiet night until about 2pm when she awoke and wanted us to move her from her bed to her recliner.

Our first mistake was listening to her! My daughter and I got her moved to her recliner by ourselves, although it was a struggle and mom was too weak and out of it to be helpful. We kept trying to readjust her in her chair but no matter what we did she was uncomfortable. Finally, we realized that she was never going to be happy in the chair and it would be best to move her back to her hospital bed and there was our second mistake, thinking we could do that by ourselves. Needless to say, we are lucky she didn’t end up on the floor with both my daughter and myself on top of her, she was just dead weight…no pun intended.

I had to call my son to come and help us, between the three of us we got her to the bed and my son had to physically lift her out of the chair by himself and place her in the bed. Thank goodness he had the strength to do that, but I realized that I had not only placed mom in danger; but I’d also placed myself, my son, and my daughter in danger of injury. I decided then and there that we would no longer try to move her by ourselves.

Mom slept peacefully the rest of the night. I checked on her a few times when I heard her calling for her sisters, she was sound asleep, just dreaming or hallucinating, unsure which but it’s nice to know that she looks forward to seeing her sisters again soon.

It's Been Two Months - Update on my Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 20:10:00 +0000

Today marks two months since we brought mom home from the hospital under Hospice care.

I wish I could tell you that she’s back to her old self, getting up on her own and making her coffee, sitting in her chair saying her rosary and then getting up to move to the couch to work on her beading and watch Howie Mandel on Deal or No Deal, then making her lunch and doing some laundry. I really wish I could tell you that the doctors were wrong and she’s beating lung cancer and old age…I really wish I could tell you that.

These past two months have been challenging for me, my sister, our brothers, and mom’s grandkids. Witnessing the decline of someone you love is perhaps the hardest thing you will ever be witness to. While we all feel deeply honored to carry this woman’s blood in our veins, to have been raised and loved by her, we are so much more honored to accompany her on this road to her end of life.

It has not been all rainbows and butterflies; it’s been hard. Mom has always been very stubborn and independent, reluctant to ask for or accept help. Now that she truly needs our help, it’s even more difficult for her to accept it. It has been beautiful though to watch her loved ones care for her, to jump at her slightest movement in case she needs them or needs something from them. It’s been especially poignant to watch how her grandkids care for her with such tenderness and love, if she were to ask for a star from the sky, they would bring her a whole galaxy if they could.

So, we have her with us yet another day, we all hope for yet another day. Mom though is ready, she’s told us she’s ready, she wants to go, she’s tired. She speaks often with her sisters that have gone before her, she calls out for our dad in her sleep. It is heartbreaking.

Books Read in 2024 - I met my goal!

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:10:00 +0000

Every year since I believe 2015 I have been setting a goal for myself on how many books I could read throughout the year. You can go HERE to read a wrap-up of the previous years. For this year I am just going to post the summary that Goodreads.com provides.

That's all I really have for now. I hope to write more about how my mom is doing later this week.

The Bravest Woman I've ever known - my Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 15:35:00 +0000

This is a post long over-due, but one of the hardest for me to write about. But like all the people that took the Polar Bear plunge yesterday I'm just going to jump right in.

On December 12, 2024 we had to call an ambulance for our mom who was struggling to breath due to fluid in her lungs. They did a Thoracentesis and removed several liters of fluid from her lungs. After the procedures mom was able to breath much better, but this was just the beginning of the story.

Mom and I

On the 14th, after spending the night in the hospital with mom and freezing my butt off, I went home to get some rest. I had barely gotten home when my sister in law, Connie called to say that the minute I left, the doctor showed up (story of my life, everyone I need shows up after I leave!)

Connie said our mom wanted her four children to go to the hospital immediately as she had something she wanted to discuss with us. We all gathered at the hospital where mom told us that the doctor had confirmed a prior diagnosis of lung cancer and he had given her three choices, one being surgery to remove part of the lung - very dangerous given her age and heart condition and other health issues; two they could place a stint in her lungs to continue to drain the fluid but the cancer was still there and would have to be addressed, plus the chances of infection were high. The third choice was to do nothing, to have Hospice step in, to go home and to make her as comfortable as possible and hopefully she would die peacefully at home surrounded by her family.

Mom had already made her decision on her own to go home under hospice care, she just wanted the four of us there so she could tell us in person and she wanted us to be in agreement with her. We all were in agreement.

She came home on 12/14/2024 and we have been celebrating every day that she's been given. She made it through her birthday on the 19th, she made it through Christmas Eve and Day, she made it through the New Year. I can see her deteriorating daily but in small stages, nothing I can pin point. She's on oxygen 24/7 but she can still walk with help to the bathroom and handle her business. Hospice has a nursing aide that is a sweetheart and she comes twice a week to shower mom and make her laugh. They also have a nurse that comes in twice a week to monitor her progress, refill any medications.

Because mom lives with me, I see her on the daily and I'm the one along with my son and daughter that help her at night with anything that she may need, but I have a whole team of siblings and nieces that are stepping in whenever and wherever they are needed...but even with all that …this is hard. We went through the same thing with our dad, but he was in a convalescent hospital, this is very different. I pray that mom passes quietly in her sleep at home, it's what she has always wanted. If you are someone who prays, please pray for her and for us, if you want to put kind and positive thoughts into the world for us, that would also be greatly appreciated.

I will write more another time, I want to write about her and let you know who she is and what she has done for us, she's an amazing, stubborn, smart, talented, beautiful woman, and I am so lucky to have had her to be my mom for 66 years now...and counting.

My Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:35:00 +0000

My 66th birthday will be this Saturday. Hard to imagine 66!

Last night I went out to dinner with my sister Lisa, my cousin Mary Helen and my sister in law Connie. I wanted them to try a new place I had gone to with my co-workers called Mas Bella Restaurant.

We went on Mariachi Wednesday, they have several themed nights there as you can see from the little mini menu below.

We sat in the bar so we could talk, when you sit in the restaurant where the mariachi is you can't hear yourself think between the patrons talking and the music, but we could hear it playing in the background. Here's a little snippet I took. The sound quality is not great.

We had a great time and the food was great. I had the Chicken Taquitos and they were very good and quite filling, they were off the appetizer menu. Mary Helen and Connie both had the Tacos de Papa which are three crispy, potato filled tacos topped with lettuce, sour cream and pico de gallo, just in case you've never heard of them.

Lisa had her old standby, Enchilada, Taco, Rice and Beans which looked really good, I'll have to try them next time.

My sister in law Connie had brought me a birthday gift, beautiful emerald and teal stemless Rachel Zoe wine glasses with my favorite flying creature, the butterfly. I love them and can't wait to try them!

As we were in the parking lot hugging and saying goodbye one of the Mariachis was just getting into his car and he saw the Happy Birthday bag that I was carrying and he said, "How come you didn't tell us it was your birthday? We would have sang you Mananitas!" So my sister Lisa piped up and said "It's not to late, sing them to her here!" So he did and it was so special and he had such a beautiful voice. A perfect end to a perfect evening.

Here are the lyrics in spanish to Las Mananitas.

Roughly translated...

How beautiful it is the morning

when I come to greet you.

We all come with joy and pleasure to congratulate you.

The Day you were born all the flowers were born,

and at the baptism font the nightingales sang.

Dawn is coming, and the light of day has dawned on us.

Get up, look at the light of day.

Grateful this morning for friends and family and for the blessing to have lived another year.

Arizona Trip - Part Three

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 18:26:00 +0000

Day three was a Saturday and the plan for the day was to head to our cousin Norrie's home in Arizona City which as you can see by the map below was a little more than 1 hour away from Copa's home in Phoenix. You can see where cousin Stella lives in the top left corner in Surprise. They are very lucky to all live so close to each other.

Lucy was again our designated driver and it was so nice getting to spend so much time with her. Once we girl cousins grew up and started getting married and having kids we stopped having time to really get together, seeing each other only at wedding, funerals and family reunions. Now as we've gotten older, our kids are off on their own, we have all grown so close and I'm so happy that has happened. Below is a picture of my mom's parents and her siblings, minus Uncle Tino who was missing from this picture and Aunt Eliza who had passed away several years earlier.

L-R: My mom Tomasa, sisters Casimira, Leonor, Herminia, Maria, brother Jesus (brother Tino was missing), sisters Elena, Nicolasa and their mother and father celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary, Tomasa and Eustino.

Back to the plan for the day. Norrie had offered to take us to the Tucson Museum of Art and after the museum we were coming back to her home to have dinner with more cousins.

The Tucson Museum of Art was amazing! Aside from seeing all my beautiful family members, this was my favorite thing to have done in Arizona. What made it even more special is that Norrie had not told us that our Aunt Ninfa was coming with us. Aunt Ninfa is the widow of our Uncle Jesus. In the photo above he is the tall man with the black hair in the middle.

At the Museum: L-R Me, Aunt Ninfa, my sister Lisa, our cousins Norrie and Lucy

Aunt Ninfa is an amazing, loving, generous, funny, beautiful woman and big part of many of my childhood memories. She was the first person to ever make me a grilled cheese sandwich and served it with dill pickles...I still eat it that way to this very day. I was so happy that we were going to share this day with her.

Tia Ninfa surrounded by amazing artwork. She is a very devout Catholic and any image of the Virgen Mary is special to her.

We no sooner got there and started walking around when we got in trouble! There are no signs anywhere that you CANNOT TOUCH THE ARTWORK! I won't name names, but a few of us (not me) touched the artwork. Security quickly came and asked us not to. Some of us forgot and continued to do so...that's when a security guard had to start following us. Once she saw that we had learned our lesson she quit following us. At the time I was mortified, I'm a rule follower, but now I can laugh about it.

Aunt Ninfa was very interested in these. I wish I had taken a picture of the sign that said what these are and who the artist was but they appeared to be very old and I'm assuming they are beaded leg coverings for Kachina Dancers. They looked as though they are made from some type of animal hide and beading, they were amazing.

There was a lot of Arizona type art and I will do a separate post with photos of the artwork that I took; in this post I mainly want to post photos of Tia Ninfa and the cousins enjoying the museum.

Tia Ninfa standing in front of another religious piece of artwork. She really loved this one.

Me and Tia Ninfa. I love this lady so much! I really need to remember to take my purse off when I take photos!

My sister Lisa with our Aunt Ninfa. Both so photogenic, loving the look on Tia Ninfa's face in this one.

Lisa taking a picture of me while I took a picture of her. The artwork is canes that have been painted and bent. My favorite thing about this photo is Cousins Lucy and Norrie and Aunt Ninfa behind the wall laughing at us crazy California girls!

Cousin Lucy and my sister Lisa posing in front of photo of Lucille Ball cooking. This was a special piece of artwork for Lucy because of the name and for Lisa because she adored Lucille Ball and the I Love Lucy Show.

Photo of me taken by Lisa in front of the canes. You can see the canes much better in her photo.

Photo taken by Lisa, L-R: Cousin Norrie, Aunt Ninfa, Me and Cousin Lucy

Is she beautiful or what! Tia Ninfa on the ride home, tired but happy!

After we had seen all that we wanted to see at the museum, Norrie took us to a little cafe next door to the museum called Cafe a La Cart. She had planned for us to have lunch there before heading back to her house. What a great idea! We loved it, so cute!

We all decided to have the Chilled Artisan Tomato Soup and Salad. Aunt Ninfa said she just wanted a bowl of soup so I told Lisa who was placing our order, that Aunt Ninfa could have my soup and I just wanted the salad. Lisa didn't feel that was enough food, so she order the Chilaquiles for the table.

Chilaquiles

When Aunt Ninfa saw the Chilaquiles she said "I want that!" So we told her she had ordered the soup and tried to put the soup in front of her and she said "No, I want that!" We all thought that was hilarious and she could have the world if we could give it to her, so we let her have the Chilaquiles and I have never seen anyone enjoy food as much as she did. It was a joy to watch her eat, she cleaned her plate!

We had a wonderful drive home, it was so nice for me to have someone else drive. Once we got to Norrie's house we helped her get things ready. I was put in charge of making the Sangria! I had never made a Sangria but I found a simple recipe online and I made the best darn Sangria ever, in my humble opinion!

Sangria - wine with fruit. The cookies pictured were purchase at the little Cafe in Tucson and we had leftovers so we cut them in quarters so everyone could enjoy them.

I wish I had taken pictures of the food that Norrie and our cousin Michael had made for us. I know there was Mexican rice and beans and three different types of Enchiladas. The typical red enchilada, a green enchilada with chicken and what they called an Enchilada Sonorense which is a stacked enchilada with layers of meat and cheese, it was delicious with home made tortillas. Michael and Norrie make quite the team!

Enchilada Sonorense - https://www.maricruzavalos.com/flat-enchiladas-sonorenses/

A few people came and went before we remembered to take a photos. But I'm glad we got this one. L-R: My sister Lisa, Lucy, Me, Cousin Tito holding a bottle, Norrie, Cousin Michael in the yellow shirt, Cousin Tino the Honorable because he's a Judge and seated is Norrie's husband Lacho and her grandbaby who was just amazed by my beauty and only had eyes for me!

We finally headed back to Copa's house, Copa and her daughter Daniella were at the dinner, but they had left prior to the picture. We were tired but happy and so full of delicious food. It was bittersweet to say good-bye to the ones that stayed behind in Arizona City and Eloy. We love you guys!

The next day Lucy, our every faithful and beautiful driver took us back to the airport where we caught our flight and Lisa didn't even need alcohol for the flight home. I'm so grateful we were able to make this trip! Thank you Arizona Family!

Arizona Trip - Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 14:35:00 +0000

Day Two in Arizona

Lisa and I are both very early risers, we were awake by 6am but just stayed in bed until we started hearing noises and we knew our cousin was up and about. After coffee she told us the plan for our day.

Our cousin Lydia aka Copa is going through Chemotherapy currently and it really drains her and she needs help to do several of the daily things that the rest of us take for granted. She needed to go back to her daughters house so we had the morning off. Copa let us have use of her car so we drove around Phoenix and hit a couple of stores and then realized we couldn't fit anything in our tiny carry-on so there was no use buying anything or shopping any further. But it was a fun morning and we knew that around 2pm we were meeting back up with Copa and Lucy and heading to Surprise, Arizona where our cousin, Stella lives with her daughter Jessica and granddaughter Roni.

Stella is the daughter of my mom's sister Elena. She moved several years ago from San Diego to Surprise and we had not had a chance to see her new home yet, so we were excited to go there. Lucy was once again our chauffeur and she did a great job. We did have one moment that a guy ran a red light and she had to slam on the brakes...and I thought California drivers were bad!!! We headed out around 4pm just barely missing rush hour as it was a Friday, but we still hit quite a bit of traffic.

Stella's new home is so pretty! I loved her kitchen and I wish I had taken pictures but I was too busy looking at everything. She had planned a simple meal because of course it's very hot to be cooking extravagantly. So we had pizza and salad and margaritas, life doesn't get better than that right? She had some yummy desserts, but I'm trying to cut out sugar and don't even remember what all she had. OH! She also made her super delicious Salsa which we had with Chips. I have never had a better Salsa. I need to remember to ask her for the recipe.

Afterwards we sat around reminiscing about our childhoods and waiting for it to get cooler outside so we could take a nice picture of us all together. It was fun to catch up and to share stories we remembered of our childhood. Stella is older than the rest of us so she has much better memories, plus she is the family historian and keeper of the records. She loves genealogy and is constantly on ancestry.com finding out more information about our family history.

Back row left to right, Me, Cousin Stella and Lisa. Front row Lucy and Copa.

We could have talked all night, but we new we had the trip back to Phoenix, which was about 45 minutes to an hour away. The traffic was much better on the way home. We had a great time on our second day and Lucy, Lisa, Copa and I continued sharing stories until it was time to hit the hay and see what adventures awaited us the next day!

My Arizona Trip and whatever else comes to mind. (part one)

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 14:34:00 +0000

When last I left you guys, I gave you a brief update letting you know my sister Lisa and I were flying off that morning to visit our Arizona family. We were leaving the cool, blissful weather of 105 in Bakersfield CA for the blistering desert that is Phoenix AZ which was 109 when we landed! Many have asked us, "Why would you travel to someplace hotter?" Well...when it's over 100, it's all the same thing...uncomfortable! So one place is as good as another and we were off on an adventure!

Before and After, With makeup before and without after! You can tell we had a great time!

We got to the airport and Lisa who is a worrier by nature anyway was super nervous. She was just talking and talking and jumping from one topic to another and not making much sense. Thank goodness for airport bars, we each had a beer with some chips to settle our nerves. Strictly for medicinal purposes!

Just one beer for the road, or should I say the sky?

Can't let Lisa drink alone, can I?

The boarding and take off went off without a hitch and soon we were in the air. Lisa took the window seat and I had a great description of what she was seeing. We landed at Phoenix and the landing was a little rough, I think we were right over the tires and Lisa yelled out "Oh shit!" We had a family with 2 girls and 1 boy sitting next to us and their eyes got as round as saucers.

We had a hard time navigating the Phoenix Airport...that place is huge. But we finally figured out how to get out of there and our cousin Lucy was there to pick us up and take us to her niece Daniella's house where they hosted a dinner for us. On the driver there, Lucy almost killed us once when she accidentally turned into a one-way street, but she corrected herself at the last minute. I'm only putting that in here because I want to make sure that we all remember so we can kid each other when we're all in the same nursing home! In the photo is Lisa, Lucy and me in red...a few days later. Lucy is the daughter of my moms sister Herminia. Lucy has two sisters, Lydia aka Copa and Herminia aka Minnie.

After dinner we were taken to Lydia aka Copa's house. She had generously invited us to stay in her home in a beautiful guest room where we had everything we could need, even non-slip socks! We were greeted by this sweet boy named Rocky. I fell in love with him the last time we were in Copa's house and I think he remembered me. Just look at those big caramel colored eyes! Who's a good boy?

Rocky

That's the end of our first day in Phoenix, Lisa's first flight. It was time to rest and prepare for the next couple of days.

What have I been up to?

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 20:34:00 +0000

Just thought I would pop on real quick and do an update.

First of all, I did not purchase the car. Turns out I am in need of a new roof. I was pretty sad about the car, I really loved it, but priorities right? I can always buy a car another day, but if my roof flies away, what am I going to do then.

Second, I have been so busy the past few months since I posted about the car. I started a post to fill everyone in but it's still sitting in my pending file.

Today, in a few hours actually, I am flying to Arizona for a fun trip to visit with my Arizona cousins. As they say, there's no one crazier than the cousins on your momma's side of the family.

It will be my sister Lisa's first time flying, so I'm hoping she loves to fly as much as I do.

Hope to blog again soon.

Thinking of making a HUGE purchase! Can't sleep!

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 00:34:00 +0000

Do you remember all the big purchases you've made in your life? I certainly do! My first car, my first home, each of my children because face it, you have to pay for them and they don't come cheap!

But I was young and ignorant when I made those purchases, The best time for making huge decisions when it comes to money is when you are young and ignorant because you have the rest of your life to fix mistakes. Making a big purchase now at the ripe old age of 65 is way more scary! Making it when also considering retirement in a few years just adds fuel the fire.

On March 18 of 2020 I was sent home from my job for the rest of my life! I didn't know it was for the rest of my life, well actually the rest of my work career...but it was and is. Due to Covid I've been a remote worker. When things got a bit back to normal we were offered the opportunity to continue working from home or go back to an office. Considering the fact that I had been commuting back and forth 25 miles one way each day for my job since 1979, I was way more than ready to never commute again...plus I no longer had a car.

My daughter got into a car accident shortly thereafter and while she was not hurt, her car was a mess, so I offered her my car for the money she got selling her car. I didn't know at the time that I was never going back to an office, but I figured when the time came I would just buy a new car, it was time anyway.

Well it's going to be 3-years since I was sent home forever and I still don't have a car. Since my mom lives with my, I've just been using her car, but I don't really go anywhere and when I do I take my mom so it's ok to use her car, or I go with my daughter and we use her car, or I go with my sister and we use her car...so I have not really needed my own car, although I've missed not having one to call my own.

But I'm thinking now that it would be a good idea to buy a car now so that I will have it paid off by the time I retire. It's really a scary decision and it's been keeping me up at night. I know I can afford it and I'll be able to make the payments and the increase in insurance, but it's a big investment, a big responsibility but it's also so pretty!!!

I know this will probably be the last car I ever own and I've always just bought the least expensive car with the best gas mileage since I had to commute so much. This time around, I want something pretty, something safe that will last me a long time.

But I'm still having trouble sleeping. Do you guys think it's a good time to buy a car?

Weekly Wrap Up - Week of February 25

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:04:00 +0000

Well, it's been a bit since I did a weekly wrap up, my last one was the week of February 11th when I told you all that I had gotten sick on the way back from my family reunion.

Today is probably the first day that I feel totally like myself again. Not shaky, not coughing, not having that cloudy, fog-like feeling in my brain. Allergies are no joke!

My sister Lisa got it and she's still struggling. Mom woke up Saturday morning declaring "I'm sick." She was a mess all weekend, could barely stop coughing. She has all the right medications, breathing treatments, inhalers, etc., but they don't really seem to be working. I see a trip to Urgent Care in her future today. She's still sleeping so maybe a miracle happened overnight.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still here, still kicking and will be back to posting weekly wrap-ups and hopefully more interesting content soon.

Hope the allergies in your area are mild. California has been having steady rain and snow packs in the mountains for a couple of years now, so we are probably out of the drought, but it makes it a nightmare for those that suffer allergies.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to post something more positive soon! Take care!

Weekly Wrap Up - Week of February 11th

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 15:37:00 +0000

I mentioned in my last post that I would be a bit late posting this because I was heading to a family reunion on Feb 16th and not returning until Feb 19th. I was right as today is Wednesday already. But I'm not late posting because of the reunion, but because on the way back from the reunion I got sick!

Sunset in Arizona - nothing more beautiful!

I am pretty sure it is just allergies. I tested negative for Covid and I haven't had a fever or anything. We had planned to drive back on Feb 19th, President's Day but the weather forecast was for a big storm heading in over the Tehachapi's late Sunday into Monday...just when we would be on the road.

If you remember, back in August 2023, Lisa and I had taken a trip to Arizona and on the way back home we became trapped in Mojave because of Hurricane Hillary that struck California and brought down the Tehachapi mountain closing the road while we were just a mere 2 hours away from home! You can read and see pictures about that HERE.

Some elders catching up. I be these ladies have known each other for more than 70 years! My own mom is the one in the bright red shirt on the right.

So we decided the best thing would be to leave on Sunday to beat the storm and have all day Monday off to rest and recuperate!

Mom and her Clan, Mom and Roselyn first row, me Baby J and Lisa second row, Lisa's son Sean holding his son Sean, Sean's wife Rocio in the last row.

Sunday morning we checked out of the beautiful Blue Water Resort & Casino in Parker Arizona and we headed to the goodbye breakfast in the park, then we headed to pickup mom as she was staying with her niece Mary Lou.

We headed out and I was feeling just fine, but before we even got to Needles, California I could feel my throat hurting and scratchiness in my ears, which I was sure was an allergy. Lisa happened to have Allegra with her since she always has allergies, so I took one and it did help.

More of our elders. My mom on the far right is the last living member of the her family. She is now the matriarch of our family, in the middle is her Niece Mary Lou, daughter of mom's sister Eliza and then our beautiful, sweet Tia Ninfa, she was the wife of our now deceased Uncle Jesus who was mom's oldest brother.

I didn't think I was going to make it, but I'm a soldier! I've always said that about myself and I pride myself on my strength and determination! I got us home safe and sound and then I collapsed! I was exhausted when I got home, barely made it to my bed.

Just say CHEESE! Lisa and I in our shirts that Lisa created. We had a t-shirt contest, we didn't win but I thought ours were the prettiest any way. See the group photo of the whole family below and you will see that we really stood out!

Luckily as I said earlier, I had Monday off for President's Day...thank you Mr. Presidents! I was able to sleep the whole day and that was good because I woke up feeling worse, my whole right ear filled with fluid and I couldn't hear out of it.

Today is Wednesday and my ear is feeling better, still a bit of fluid. I put in a whole day of work yesterday and though I was a bit groggy and not at 100%, I am a soldier and I was at work! Today I have quite a bit of cough as well, but I can feel that I am on the mend. Last night Lisa called me and she's got the "allergies" now. She sounded awful!

Mom standing out as always! We were just starting the games out with a Tug of War game between the kids and everyone wanted mom to play. She's always ready to comply and everyone love watching her, everyone was out there with their cell phones filming her. Sister Lisa with her back to us is a lot like mom, always the center of attention. I'm more like my dad, just stand in the background and laugh at them!

Drone shot - Group photo. See that little cluster in red? That's mom and her kids, a few grandkids and her three great grandkids. Our brother Fred was missing as well as my kids and one of Lisa's sons and one of Jaime's daughters. We are small but mighty!

Well, that's all I have for now as it's 7:28 am and I need to log-in for work at 7:30am. We had a great time and I am so proud to be a member of this family. A family filled with love and compassion, unity and pride!

I'll leave you with these last photos that say it all!

Weekly Wrap Up - Week of February 4th

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 01:16:00 +0000

***Full Disclosure - I started writing this on Monday, February 12th***

I woke up this morning thinking about the weekly wrap up and what all I had done during the week of February 4th. Honestly, I should just do a "weekend wrap up" because all I do during the week is work and if I do anything vaguely interesting, I don't remember anyway!

Monday thru Friday I just worked.

Saturday Lisa and I had to do some shopping. We needed to start prepping for a family reunion in Arizona this upcoming weekend. We will leave Friday morning and return Monday.

We each are donating a basket to the reunion committee for a raffle to raise money for the next reunion. The last reunion we had was March of 2020. The weekend before everything shut down due to Covid!

Lisa is also going to a conference in March and she needed to provide two baskets for a raffle at her conferences and she still had to put together a basket for the reunion and she had nothing! I just needed to buy a basket and the cellophane wrap for the basket once it was put together, so we went together. We went to the stores we needed to go to and got what we needed to get. We had a wonderful relaxing lunch at Casa Munoz and each had a Strawberry Margarita.

Because it's such a long trip and we are taking our mom we had planned to drive up the week before with mom and leave her there with one of her nieces so that she could relax and visit and come the weekend of the reunion she would not be as tired as if she had driven up with us.

The way it was planned we were supposed to drive up there on Saturday the 10th, but we found out just a few days before that mom got the date wrong and we were supposed to meet our cousin and his mom halfway on Sunday, Feb 11th. On SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! What the heck??? I was devastated. I love football and I was so excited for the commercials and for watching two great teams, the Kansas City Chiefs (who I was rooting for) and the San Francisco 49ers go head to head, I knew it was going to be a great game and now I would have to miss is!!

Plus, on Super Bowl Sunday, I always love to make a huge spread of goodies to eat and now I wouldn't have time to cook or anything good to eat because I would be on the road!

Sunday morning, we headed out around 9am to meet up with our cousin Michael and his mom Mary Lou in Ludlow.

As you can see it's about a 3-hour trip. We got to Tehachapi and we had to make a pitstop at a Love's Truckstop. I love Love's, they are so clean and nice and big.

We got as far as Barstow and mom was ready to eat. She didn't want a sit down meal, she just wanted something fast because it was already 11:45 and we were meeting Michael and Mary Lou at 1pm.

We stopped at the famous Barstow Station where I had Panda and mom and Lisa had Wetzel's Pretzels, here is a YouTube video about this great place. Mom wants to stop and explore more on the way home.

We had just sat down to enjoy our lunch when cousin Michael calls to advise us that we all forgot that California is an hour behind Arizona time!!! They were already there and we still had about 35 to 40 minutes to get where they were, depending on traffic.

But what traffic? Everyone in the world with any sense was at home getting prepared to watch the big game...the road was empty. I guess that was good as we got to them in about 35 minutes. We delivered mom to them and then Lisa and I started to the road back home.

Since we figured, we were going to miss the Super Bowl anyway, or at least most of it, we decided to stop in Barstow and do some shopping at a Marshalls store they have there. It's a tradition to always stop there.

I bought a pretty blouse and an Easter Decoration for my home, it's a Jolie Fleur collectible from their Spring collection and she's just so cute!

It was between this one and one other one. I wish I had bought the other one too, but I am going back through the area this coming weekend for the reunion, so maybe I will stop by and see if they still have it.

From there we decided we needed an ice cream cone. We asked the cashier if there was a good place to get ice cream in Barstow and she looked at us like we were aliens and said "Oh, I don't eat ice cream." Ummm...trust me, she looked like she ate a lot of ice cream!

But we have google maps and we found a Foster's Freeze and we each got a large vanilla cone and an order of their crispy, crunchy french fries. We got back on the road and I was home by 6pm and the game was still on, it was the last quarter and from what I understand the game was boring up until the last quarter, the last few minutes and the overtime anyway...so I really didn't miss much except for the commercials and the half time show.

And gosh darn it...my daughter decided that it would not do for me not to have special food for Super Bowl. She made me some Jalapeno Poppers, which I love. They were so good, perfectly made!

She also made this fabulous salad that she found on the Food Network made by Molly Yeh. It's her Crispy Chickpea Salad, you can find the recipe HERE.

Salad is not necessarily my go-to for a Super Bowl, but it really hit the spot. It was a very pretty salad.

So all's well that ends well. Mom is in Arizona, visiting and enjoying herself. Lisa and I made it back safely. I got to watch the end of the Super Bowl and I had a fabulous feast. It was a great weekend.

I will probably be late posting again for the week of February 12th because we aren't heading back from Arizona until Monday, February 19th and I'm sure I will be too exhausted from the Reunion and the long car trip to sit at my computer, but I'll share some fun photos when I get a chance.

My Pizza Memories - National Pizza Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:45:00 +0000

Growing up on the ranches my dad worked for all over Arizona and California, we grew up being country kids. We could look out the window and just see row crop, hay, cotton fields for miles and miles. It was normal for us.

We only saw small towns or cities when we visited relatives or the parents took us along when they went to shop for groceries. Mom bought staples, ingredients, things she could make meals out of because there was no McDonalds down the street. We ate what she served and we never complained.

One thing that mom used to make for us was homemade pizza. We never ate pizza from a restaurant, we really didn’t even know what pizza was, but we loved mom’s version, it was the best because she added dill pickles! I can still remember the taste of her pizza.

I guess now it would be called a hamburger pizza because she layered the top of the homemade pizza dough (from a box of Jiffy “just add water” mix) with tomato sauce, cheese, ground hamburger meat that she browned on the stove and pickles, that was it and it was amazing. Of course, we had never had real pizza, so this was all we knew. It makes me wonder now; how did mom know about pizza? I’ll have to ask her.

I’m glad that we learned to appreciate the little things in life, we didn’t have everything handed to us before the age of 7 like the children of today. I didn’t go to Disneyland until I was a teenager, we didn’t have phones and even if we did, we were too busy playing outside, riding our bikes on the ranch, playing with the other ranch kids.

I don’t think I had a real pizza until I met my husband. We used to go to

Shakey’s Pizza all the time and real pizza was quite a treat. My fav reason to go there to get pizza was so I could have their mojos…Yum! They were fabulous. In the early 1980’s I worked for a dentist and across the street was a Shakey’s Pizza. The other girls and I would go there at least twice a week and gorge ourselves on pizza, mojos, and chicken…the good old days when I didn’t have to count every carb!

Today is National Pizza Day and it reminded me of my mom’s pizza with pickles. What is your favorite pizza or pizza memory? What is your favorite pizza? Mine is the Hawaiian with pineapple, Canadian Bacon, and lots and lots of onion! Happy Pizza Day!

Weekly Wrap Up - Week of January 28th

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 19:18:00 +0000

Monday - It was mayhem, coming back from our annual meeting after being off Friday when all our offices were closed for our annual company meeting. Even though we gave our clients plenty of notice and we left our "out of office" notices on email and left updated messages on voice mail, they just didn't get it. I had so many voice mails saying I need to talk to you right now, please call me back ASAP. Let's hope Tuesday is better.

Tuesday - nothing really exciting happened,
we've been having really heavy rain and a lot of wind. I hope my rain gutters hang in there. Thank goodness I got all my trees trimmed in November so no branches will be dropping through my roof and my fence is only a few years old so I don't have to worry about the wind. It can huff and puff but it won't blow my house down!

Chorizo enjoying the rain and fresh air!

Wednesday - Lisa and I went to Walmart after work and we captured this gorgeous sunset!

Thursday - All the rain and excitement is over at least until the weekend when they are predicting super big storms...we'll see how that turns out!

Friday was a fun day. I still worked all day but I had dinner plans with my two local coworkers and two of our top producers were coming in from Fresno to take us out to dinner as a thank you for all we did for them in 2023. We met up at a fairly new restaurant for Bakersfield, El Puesto Cocina & Lounge. I had not been to this one, so I was excited to go and I really liked it! I'll just share some pictures now and caption what's going on.

The Group beginning with the blond lady bottom left, Amy, next to her Angelica, bottom right, Gabby, middle is Anusone and then me. Amy and Anusone are two of the top producers and I am so proud to be on their team, they are real go-getters and both do so much charitable work in their communities. I don't know where they get the energy.

Amy - top producer and Angelica, my co-worker, friend and recently promoted to Transportation Manager!

Me, Anusone and Gabby. Anusone is also a top producer and entrepreneur. Gabby recently was promoted to Account Manager, so proud of her and how far she has come as well!

This is us on the way out, don't you love the decor? They actually served food in those pots and dishes, which you'll see the pictures of the food I'll share.

I started out with my usual, a Jalapeno Margarita. I try to always have one so I can see if I can find the perfect one. This one was ok, not as spicy as I would have liked.

These were their nachos. They were so good and see how they are served on the pottery plates. I thought I had taken more pictures of the food but I didn't, this was the only one!

We only had appetizers, but we ordered every appetizer on the menu so we could try everything. I wish they had a website or that I had taken pictures of the appetizer menu but I was having so much fun that I forgot all about it. It was such a nice end to the work week!

Saturday - Had a nice breakfast with my son at Dennys and then we went to the AT&T store to upgrade our phones. Mine was still the iPhone7, and now I have the iPhone14. My son upgraded to the iPhone12Pro. It's so nice to have new phones. I don't normally upgrade because I take really good care of my phone and I don't like to learn a new one, but they make it so easy now the learning curve is not as bad.

Sunday - I'm going through football withdrawals. Thank goodness the Pro-Bowl is today. The wind and rain started while I was sleeping, it woke me up but I fell back asleep.

Let me tell you it is howling out there as I finish up this post. I don't plan to go anywhere today. I hope the weather is good where you all are at and if it's not I hope you are safe. Take care all!

Today's weather, it's seems like 100 mph winds, but this says it's just 24 mph.

Weekly Wrap Up - Week of January 22nd

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:05:00 +0000

Monday – Woke up to the soothing sound of rain, great way to start the day since we are still in a bit of a drought. Had a McDonalds French Toast K-cup this morning. I love flavored coffees! For dinner I made the best zucchini I had ever made in my life, let’s hope I can remember how to make it again, also served pan-fried pork chops next to it. Wish I had taken a picture!

Tuesday & Wednesday- again I did not keep notes and I cannot remember anything for both these days.

Thursday - This day started out normal, working my butt off because our annual State of the Company meeting was going to be held on Friday in Fresno which is about two hours away. I forgot to mention that due to the rain on Monday we had horrible Tule Fog. I wrote about what Tule Fog is on a 2009 blog post which you can read HERE.

It was so foggy on Thursday morning that our coworker/driver Angelica suggested at around 8am that we drive up after work so that we could avoid the fog. Gabby and I agreed it would be a good idea. So, where I thought I had a whole day to get caught up now I also had to get myself prepared for an overnight stay in Fresno! What to wear? Do I need to do laundry, but wait...answer the phone, clients are calling!! Needless to say, it was a very, very busy day.

Angelica messaged us that one of the other ladies that was coming in from out of town wanted to meet up with us for dinner when we got to Fresno. We agreed to meet and picked a restaurant. But unfortunately, our plans were waylaid as Gabby had a problem client at the last minute and instead of arriving at the meet-up place at 5:30 she got there at 6:30, so we didn't hit the road until 6:30 and we knew it was going to be too late to meet-up for dinner so we cancelled and then decided to stop in Tulare for dinner at Cool Hand Luke's Steakhouse.

Traffic was decent considering it was Friday at rush hour. We got to the restaurant which was very nice. Angelica and I were both watching carbs so we each ordered the Steakhouse Cobb Salad, which was amazingly good! Check out this picture!

Gabby had the Chicken Fried Steak, which I did not get a picture of. Unfortunately, since we were travelling, we all opted not to get a glass of wine or a cocktail...darn it!

Then back on the road again and we reached the hotel at 9:25 pm and we each had our own room which was very nice. The room had a nice little kitchen, a living room and a very nice bedroom and bath. I was exhausted so after a shower I watched a little YouTube and went straight to sleep!

We had agreed to meet downstairs in the lobby for the free breakfast and it was a very nice breakfast. I had Chorizo and Eggs and one pancake and coffee. Then we headed to the meeting place which was being held in the banquet room of the Ruth's Chris Steak House.

It was so fun to see everyone we work with and to meet all the new people that had started working there in the past year since the last meeting. Nice to put a voice with a face.

Management had a table all set up with coffee and juices and snacks of all kinds. The meeting itself was fun, at times boring but they broke it up with team-building games which were fun and they handed out prizes, then it was time for lunch and since the only time that I remember to take photos is when there is food in front of me, here is the best steak I have ever had in my WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE! A beautiful, luscious, juicy Filet Mignon and some shrimp that were ok.

I swear this steak melted in my mouth and it was a nice size steak. They also served mashed potatoes and cheesy spinach which were ok also. I guess they figure when they serve the best steak in the world, you don't need sides!

After that lunch we talked about what to expect in 2024, people gave speeches, including my co-worker Angelica who had recently been promoted to Transportation Department Manager, so proud of this young lady...she's a go-getter!

They give 4 major awards, Account Service Manager of the Year, Producer of the Year, Employee of the Year and Shark of the Year. None of us were lucky enough to win this year but we were proud of the ones that did. After the meeting we headed home with our Starbucks coffee in hand. We had a great time though!

Saturday, we had to go get groceries. Mom was feeling up to going with me, so that pretty much took up our Saturday.

Sunday of course if my "free" day and after figuring out how to use my new FoodSaver FM 2000 Vacuum Sealer I sealed up 8 pounds of hamburger meat and two huge packages of boneless chicken breast. I love this machine, it was so easy to use. I'm hoping it keeps those ice crystals from forming.

Then it was time to watch the football playoffs!! I'm a huge football fan and my team is the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys didn't make it to the playoffs so the pressure was off, I could just enjoy the games.

First off, the Kansas City Chiefs with quarterback Patrick Mahomes played the Baltimore Ravens with quarterback Lamar Jackson. I like both teams and although I think Lamar is an amazing quarterback, I've always been partial to Mahomes. The Kansas City Chiefs won 17 to 10 final score. Great game!

Following that was the Detroit Lions with quarterback Jared Goff played the San Francisco 49ers with quarterback Brock Purdy. I'm not particularly partial to either of these teams, so again there was no pressure, I just watched for the sheer fun of it. It also was a good game and the 49ers won.

Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49er's in Super Bowl LVIII on February 11th! I'm rooting for the Chiefs and putting together my Super Bowl menu!

What about you? How was your week/weekend? Are you a football fan? What's your team? Are you watching the Super Bowl? Do you watch for the game, the commercials or the food?

Weekly Wrap Up - Week of January 15th

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 03:28:00 +0000

Every week I tell myself to jot down little notes on highlights of my daily life for my weekly wrap up...and every week I do not do this! Someday I need to do a blog post about procrastination.

Monday - This was Martin Luther King Jr day, so I had the day off. Just got caught up on household chores and did some crocheting.

Tuesday - All I remember is this was a super busy day at work. I know that our customers don't understand that we were off 3 days so we already come into the work week one day late, but I wish they could be a bit more patient. My biggest pet peeve are the ones that send me an email, a text and then still call right after to see if I received the email and text!

Wednesday - I took mom to Walmart in the evening. The Walmart we go to during the week is about eight miles away. We used to enjoy going to Kmart there until it closed. We would make an evening of it by having dinner first, but now it seems that all the restaurants we used to love have really bad food and even worse service, and they are so expensive it's not worth it to go and be treated badly just to eat horrible food. Most of the time we just grab a burger at Jack in the Box.

Thursday - Just a typical day of just working, nothing exciting.

Friday - I was never so happy to see a Friday, I was exhausted from trying to get caught up at work. I also knew that I had a nice weekend planned. My sister Lisa had planned a get together with our good friend Lupe. We had not seen her for quite a while, so I was really looking forward to the weekend.

Saturday - Woke up to a drizzling rain outside, I wasn't sure my mom was going to be up to heading out to go shopping which is her favorite thing on Saturday...but she was ready. We headed out around 11 am and first stop was her favorite fabric store. I wish I had thought to take photos of the inside of this store, but here are some photos from their website. It's an amazing place!

I believe these are polyester. Look at all those bolts of fabric!

Check out those prices $2.99 a yard and $3.99 a yard! And that huge box of zippers!

It's just amazing to walk threw a row like this and touch all the fabric.

As you can see; just rows and rows of delicious fabric; cottons, flannel, felt, satin, silk, polyester. Fabric for curtains, upholstery, quilting, dresses, wedding dresses, bridesmaids' dresses...anything you can think of. The prices are ridiculously inexpensive compared to fabric at JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby. They also offer buttons, zippers, thread and beads. The only downside is trying to slide a big roll of fabric from the bottom, they are so heavy. But they have lots of people roaming around offering help.

Then we had lunch at Lorene's Coffee Shop. I don't really care for this place, but I may have to rethink it because I ordered the burger and fries on the senior menu and check this out! It was as delicious as it looks and the fries were perfection. Mom had the chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and garlic bread. I will definitely go there again whenever I want a good burger.

But we weren't done yet. We went to another favorite store and again I did not get any pictures. Mi Hacienda Rustic Furniture store has the most amazing hand-crafted items by Mexican artisans.

http://www.mihacienda.net/

Mom and I are putting together a basket to be raffled at our family reunion in February 2024. We want it to be unique so that it will raise a lot of money. There was one special piece that we wanted to buy and we were lucky they had one in the color we wanted. I can't show it until after the raffle because it's top secret.

Here are some photos of the items available. It is like visiting a museum, you could spend hours in there.

The little cats are so sweet. I love all the bright vivid colors.

I would love to have those teal vases, I'll have to check out the price next time I am there. Love the bowl with the green pears, that would be so pretty in my kitchen.

These two little guys would look lovely in a pretty garden and I adore the turquoise owl!

Now this is pure happiness right here. Can you imagine serving a frosty Margarita on the patio in the summer in one of these?

They also have custom leather saddles and purses.

After that mom was about done. She gets tired really quickly. I made a quick stop at a grocery store to pickup up some strawberries and cream cheese for a special dessert I was going to make as I was going to a dinner at my sisters house with our friend Lupe. Lupe was spending the night, I was supposed to also, but my bed was only two blocks away and sounded much more comfy to me!

Lisa had wanted to try a recipe she found on Facebook. It was a recipe for making Beef Stew, or was we call it in Hispanic households Caldo de Res. This was all she had for the recipe. She wanted to try it because we had never heard of putting apple juice and/or apple cider vinegar in stew before.

This is how it turned out. It was actually very good. I really think the Apple Juice and Apple Cider Vinegar made a big different.

You are supposed to put it in a slow cooker I guess, doesn't really say, but even after 5 hours of cooking it was not done in the slow cooker. I was still practically raw, so she transferred it to her soup pot and it was done in 45 minutes. She also added cabbage because she loves cabbage.

For dessert we had the cheesecake stuffed strawberries that I made. Actually...these were made by Lupe because she wanted to learn how to make them so she could recreate them for her grandchildren. Recipe HERE if you would like to make them, they are low carb as I use Splenda instead of sugar.

We had a great playing the game Trouble, it's fun to play a game you used to play as a kid as an adult. Game took forever though. Remember playing this? What was your favorite board game as a child?

Then we played Pon Uno, Pon Dos. I had never played this before, but we had fun. Pon Uno means put one, Pon Dos means put two, Toma todo means take it all. So you pull out all your change and you spin a top kinda like a dreidel and if you get Pon Dos, then you get to choose two of whatever coin you want. Say you put two quarters in the pot, then everyone puts in two quarters. When someone spins and gets Toma todo that means take it all, so they get to take everything in the pot. Cool little game, I enjoyed it.

Then we sat around drinking wine and catching up. It had been a long time since the three of us were together. We used to go camping a lot, but Covid changed all that. Do you find that your friendships changed after Covid?

Sunday morning I got up and went back over to Lisa's house because I was supposed to be spending the night there. We had coffee and sat and chatted...why is it we never run out of things to talk about? Then I made us Chilaquiles. I didn't get a picture but mine are very similar in look to these.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican breakfast dish consisting of corn tortillas cut into strips and lightly fried, then you add scrambled egg. I did it differently this time, I fried the egg, then added crushed tortilla chops and shredded cheese and salsa. I've never had anything I didn't love if it had tortilla chips in it!

Then I went home totally prepared to watch a great football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills and promptly fell asleep. I woke up about halfway through the fourth quarter so I did get to watch a very exciting end of the game and I was very happy to see the Chiefs win, even though the Dallas Cowboys are my team.

That's it for my weekly wrap up, I feel like I've written a book! For those of you that read every word and made it to the end...thank you!

My Magic Dry Erase Board

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 00:07:00 +0000

We have a magic dry erase board in our house. It’s magnetically attached to our refrigerator. To look at it in the picture below you would say, “Hmm, what’s so magical about that?” What is magical about it is that when we write grocery items on it that we need, they magically appear. I kid you not!

The other day we ran out of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate packets. These are the only ones that my family likes. I once made the mistake in 2018 of buying Nestles Hot Chocolate packets and they are still sitting there to this day, but they love the Swiss Miss!

I had also run out of the Sugar-free Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Packets and these are so good! I like to have one when I want to sit down and be cozy and read my book so they last me a while.

I wrote each one on the board. I am a visual person, if you tell me you need something the minute I turn around it’s out of my head. However, if you write it down, I will remember it till the day I die and beyond!

So, I write things down that I want to remember to get at the grocery store and on my way out of the house I snap a picture on my phone, it’s so easy!

The other day, my sister Lisa took our mom to a doctor’s appointment. Somehow when Lisa was here, she noticed that I had Swiss Miss regular and sugar-free written on the magical board. Mom also noticed and remembered. After the doctor’s appointment, they stopped at the grocery store, so look what I now have!

Isn’t that crazy? We are set for the rest of the winter months. Since this board is magical I thought I would ask for something a little less ordinary…let’s hope the magical dry erase board comes through with this one!

I'll let you know how it goes!

Do You Truly Listen or Listen Only For Your Turn to Talk?

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 01:07:00 +0000

I follow a blog called Spo-Reflections and most recently read a post “Resist the urge to hurry” and while leaving a comment I felt the urge to write a post about his second New Years resolution – Pause before speaking.

My comment to him was as follows:

“I cut people off because I THINK I have a gist of what they are trying to say. It’s wrong of me to do that because insightful as I think I am, I’m not always right and I should listen. In recent years I have noticed that there are many people in my life that don’t tend to listen because they are so busy creating a response in their head. Everyone wants to be listened to, whether we do know what they are going to say or not…so I like your second one, I’m going to keep that one in mind in 2024.”

Most people, myself included listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. As I listen to clients, co-workers, family, and friends, in my mind I am putting together what I am going to reply. I’m not truly listening; I’m waiting for my turn to talk…and sometimes it’s frustrating to wait.

Ralph Waldo Emerson himself said ‘There is a difference between truly listening and waiting for your turn to talk. I think a lot of us are just waiting for our turn to talk.

What is truly listening? I think truly listening means putting aside our own thoughts and feelings about what we are hearing. We shouldn’t hear just to plan what to say, how to argue a point or get someone to understand our point of view.

When I was a youngster in school, I truly listened to my teachers and elders because I was young and ignorant. I didn’t know anything yet, I had not lived life or read books or studied theories, so I listened to those that had and soaked up what they had to say like a little sponge. Doing that made me the person I am today, someone that is so full of herself and so sure of her knowledge that I don’t listen, truly listen.

What do you think, do you listen, truly listen or are you just waiting for your turn to talk?

Please visit Urspo at Spo-Reflections, he is a very gifted writer and he’s funny and creative and I enjoy reading his posts.

Waiting for Alzheimers - It Runs in the Family

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 20:48:00 +0000

I know, it's a strange title, but stick with me.

My earliest memories of my maternal grandmother were of visiting her house and at the end of the visit we would find things missing that we had brought with us, toys, keys, purses. My aunts who were her caretakers always knew where they were, they were in her petaquilla a Spanish word for an old-fashioned steamer trunk. I thought my grandmother was just putting things away for safe keeping. No, this was just a symptom, keep reading.

My grandmother was a smart lady and a believer in tough love! I remember once, when I was a little girl, I had a fingernail that I had smashed in a door; it was almost ready to fall off, just hanging there, but I would not let anyone touch it. My grandmother asked to see it and I right away put my hand behind my back, she kept asking and promised she only wanted to look at it, she would not touch it. My mom warned me to be respectful, so I tentatively reached my hand out to my grandmother and she yanked that little fingernail off before I had a chance to blink or register pain! Everyone laughed at the look of astonishment on my face and off I went to rejoin my cousins and play.

My Maternal Grandmother Tomasa, my mother is her namesake

Several years later we visited my grandmother who lived with her two daughters that were her caretakers. I remember arriving and seeing her in her wheelchair, her gnarled fingers clutching the arm rails. My mom hugged her as did my dad and siblings but I was fearful, my mom insisted. This was not the grandmother that I remembered, she had never been a very affectionate grandmother, being rather stern and serious as you can tell from the picture above; but now she wasn't even really there, she was muttering strange things and looking down, she never looked up, even when her daughter, my mother, her baby, the youngest in the family, walked in.

My mother was getting upset that I would not greet my grandmother so I forced myself to go up to my grandmother and reached out my arms to her. I led head first, not wanting really to put my body at risk of getting too close to her, in case I had to take off running. Big mistake...she grabbed my ponytail and started moving her arm left then right, then left again and my little legs struggled to keep up with her arm and I began hitting her, her legs, arms, I wasn't really aiming, just trying to save myself. I was screaming and crying and terrified!

My aunts grabbed her arm and held it steady while they pried her death grip off my ponytail, finger by finger until I fell at her feet, crying and sobbing and my mom reached down, pulled me up, swatted me on my butt and told me to never hit my grandmother again.

I didn't know it then, but I know it now, my grandmother had Alzheimer's Disease and it was pretty advanced by this time. She got gradually worse and eventually died from it.

She died from it and she also lost a son and three daughters from it. My mom has told us for years that she was going to get Alzheimer's it runs in her family. We kept reassuring her that she would not and she would get angry with us. I think to her it was a badge of honor. Her people died of Alzheimer's and dammit, she would too.

Mom in red was about 5 years ago, the older picture is when she met my dad around 1956'ish

Mom just turned 87 this December. She still walks and talks and does her own laundry and cooks her own food. She loves shopping and watching YouTube videos about beading and jewelry making. She makes beautiful bracelets and earrings and rosaries. She sews blankets, quilts, bags, hats, dresses, almost anything you can think of, she can sew it. She still keeps track of her four kids and keeps us in line and that's not an easy task!

She has a mind like a steel trap, she doesn't forget anything. I'm so happy that Alzheimer's didn't get her, even if it is the disease of her people, the chain had to be broken along the way. I'm hoping all four of her children, their children and their children's' children will never get that awful disease.

What Would You Do?

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 01:13:00 +0000

I’m reading a book that has me thinking! What would I do, if someday I became a quadriplegic? A quadriplegic is someone that has had spinal damage that has left them paralyzed from the neck down. That would mean that you can’t walk, run, sit, or stand without help. You would need someone to feed you, cloth you, bathe you, clean you up after you urinate and/or have a bowel movement. Nothing would work, except for your brain.

In the book by Jojo Moyes titled Me Before You, 35-year-old Will Traynor was a partner in a prestigious law firm in London. He was hit by a motorcycle early one rainy morning as he was crossing the street and awoke as a quadriplegic.

Can you even imagine that? One moment you’re young and strong and have the world by the tail and the next moment you need help to do the smallest of things, like blow your nose.

In the story, Will agrees to wait six months; at his parents request before he goes to a place called Dignitas, which come to find out is actually a real place. Dignitas is a non-profit organization that offers access to assisted dying in Switzerland. His parents want him to take the six months to think about everything he would lose and would miss if he were to commit suicide. But for Will, he’s already lost everything, he already misses everything. He doesn’t want to live trapped in his body which will gradually weaken and he’s in constant pain.

In walks Louisa Clark aka Lou aka Clark who becomes his caretaker for the six months. She doesn’t know she’s just on suicide watch although she notices that he’s got scars along his arms which look very much to her like a suicide attempt, she finds out it was. Will was left in his wheelchair very close to a window that had a nail sticking out of it and by the ability to move his wheelchair back and forth he was able to cut his arms open and almost dies, he is found just in time.

Will has had to move in with his parents, he has his own private rooms and a physiotherapist named Nathan that comes in daily to exercise him and take care of the bodily functions that Will has. Louisa is hired to relieve Nathan and eventually she finds out that she has been hired to watch him to make sure he does not hurt himself again. She later finds out about the six-month waiting period before his parents will take him to Dignitas so he can end his life. It is at this time that she makes it her mission in life to change Wills mind and show him that he still has a reason to live. I won’t tell you any more about the story in hopes that you decide you want to read it. It’s a book worth reading, I could not put it down.

It made me wonder what I would do? Would I have the courage to go to a place like Dignitas and leave everything I know even though now it’s so different? How could I leave my mom, my kids, my siblings and all my friends, extended family, and people I love. How could I expect them to stand by and watch, knowing what my decision is. Would I ask them to be there for my last moments? Would I want to be alone instead?

What would be the other option, to live trapped in my body and make myself a burden to others. I know there are many people out there in the world that are quadriplegic and are living happy, productive lives, would I be one of them? It just makes one stop and wonder.

I think it takes a certain person to live as a quadriplegic and in the same way it take a certain kind of person do commit assisted suicide, either way it takes a very strong, determined individual to do either choice and I hope I never have to make that choice. My worse nightmare is to be a burden to someone else.

Weekly Wrap Up - Week of January 8th

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 19:26:00 +0000

So, this week was typical, not much going on except work. That’s the one constant in my life….work. I really do enjoy my job but I do have a handful of clients that are really demanding and not at all gracious or grateful for what I do for them, but anyway…

Monday – I was physically out of sorts, not feeling well, but I’ve started eating better and I knew I just needed time for my tummy to sort itself out. I chopped up a bunch of Romaine lettuce and had thawed out some ground turkey for salad for dinner and lunch during the week. The minute the turkey started to cook it smelled horrible, I guess I didn’t freeze it in time. Turkey is very, very delicate and can go bad quite quickly! I was bummed as I had looked forward to a salad all day.

Tuesday – Work as usual and I had an appointment at 4pm for a thyroid ultrasound/sonogram…not sure I get them mixed up. I had thyroid cancer in 2008, you can read about it HERE, so annually they do these exams to make sure it’s still all gone, it should be since they removed both my thyroid glands and it’s been 15 years but I guess you can’t be too cautious. I stopped at the grocery store and picked up some fresh ground turkey, called my sister on the way home and she was planning to make tacos, I told her to come have turkey taco salad with me and I would go the next day to have tacos with her, she agreed and we had a nice dinner with mom as well.

Wednesday – Work was busy as usual and mom had an appointment with her primary care doctor and my sister Lisa took her so I didn’t get any tacos that night! But I had a turkey taco salad, so I was still a happy camper.

Thursday – Was planning on taking mom to Walmart and The Dollar Store but had a long day at work and I was exhausted and mom was too. I had a turkey taco salad again …I’m telling you I can have this 24/7 and it never gets old!

Friday - Was a tough day of work because we have a 3-day weekend coming up as Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day and we won't have to work that day. I woke up out of sorts again, super grumpy for no reason at all. I emailed my sister and told her I needed a sister night was she available and she said yes and asked if I want to go out to dinner or stay in at her house with wine and yummies? Wine and Yummies please! Here's pictures of what my sister considers yummies, Kabobs with Steak, Chicken, Sausage, peppers, red onions and zucchini! They were delicious.

Kabobs straight out of the Oven, she also made some in her Air Fryer, we preferred oven.

Kabob on fine china ...hahaha!

Kabob off of the skewer and on a plate, Yumminess overload!

First a shot of our favorite tequila, Agavero. I needed this after the week I had!

So that was our Friday, even though it was a tough day it ended with sister time, good food, good wine and a lot of conversation and jazz music.

Saturday is usually mom's day. I do whatever she wants to do. Almost all the time what she wants to do is go shopping. So we did just that. First stop was Goodwill, mom loves a thrift store. They were remodeling our favorite store so there was not much of a selection, mom bought nothing which was out of the norm for her, I found and bought this bag.

Pardon the bad lighting, but it's the only place in my bedroom that I had a hook available to hang this. Beautiful hand beaded bag in mom's favorite colors. It had a super long strap.

Close up of beadwork, it's just stunning!

You can see how many beads of varying sizes and styles were used.

View of the other side of the bag.

Even though I loved the bag, I saw my mom's eyes light up when I showed it to her, so I bought it and as we stepped outside of the store I gave it to her as a gift, she could not believe it!

Our next stop was a Ross Store. I bought a dress and I had always wanted a stackable mug set and this one was perfect! It's Valentine's Day theme, but I have the Corelle set of dishware with pink hearts that match perfectly so I can use them year round.

Aren't they adorable?

The cups match my plates perfectly.

So after Ross we went to The Dollar Tree because I was hoping to find some Valentine's Day Decorations for my living room. I'll post pictures of the finished decor in another post. Somehow I've lost some of my decorations so my decor was pretty skimpy. I did find quite a few things, but my favorite was this little pink bear. To make her "valentiney" I crocheted a little red heart and sewed her hands to it so she looks like she's holding it.

After that we had burgers and fries at Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers. That's not on my approved food eating list, but I'm not going to limit my life, when it's being out enjoying the day with mom I'll eat where she wants to eat and enjoy myself!

Then we went home, happy, tired and full of burgers. Saturday night was when I crocheted the heart for my bear above and enjoyed my new mugs with some sugar-free hot chocolate and whipped cream.

Sunday started out great. My sister Lisa and her granddaughter Roselyn came over for coffee and then Lisa's son Isaac came to surprise his mom and ended up at my house with a big box of donuts...of which you will be happy to hear I did not partake.

I did some chores and started learning how to crochet roses while I watched football. I am so devastated that my Dallas Cowboys lost against the Green Bay Packers. They fought their way back to a respectable score...but too little too late.

As I write this it is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day and I have the day off. Probably Dr. King's most popular quote is his "I have a dream..."

But my favorite quote of his is "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Everyone have a good week. Mine will be a 4-day work week so although it will be hard, it will be short.