Thursday, December 27, 2012

Happy 2013!!


Merry Christmas!!!  I hope you all had a great Holiday and that you are impatiently waiting for 2013 like I am!!  *giggle*

I just know that a lot of great things are going to happen in 2013!  Oh, and I have some projects to share with you that I worked on during the holidays.  So stay tuned and HAPPY 2013!!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

My Basset Hound, Timi

I haven't published in a little while.  I guess life happened, and I got caught up in it.  But, out of all the things that have happened, the biggest and saddest is the passing of my baby, my Basset Hound, Timi.

My 14 year-old Basset Hound, Timi
1998-2012
Timi and I had been together for 14 years this Thanksgiving.  She was 14 years and 1 month old... and I am just heartbroken.  She has been with me through so much!  We have moved, we have had bad breakups, illnesses... she'd let me dress her up for Halloween and Christmas.  We slept together in the same bed until my husband came along 6 years ago... She was our Celestine, as it was because of her that we met and fell in love.  (I think he fell in love with her first...)

Timi would lick my tears when I was sad and howl when I sang.  I would sing to her "You are my Sunshine" almost every day as I caressed her fur, and every morning I would say "Good morning, morning!" to her and she would stretch her front paws, wag her tail and lick my face like saying "Good morning to you too!".

She was my kitchen assistant too.  She would lick the floor clean when I was cooking and something would fall to the floor.  She loved baby carrots and we bought it by the big bags at Costco, just for her.  She knew when I was peeling potatoes, and would sit at my feet waiting for a piece of potato to fall.  Most times, I would just give it to her.

My Basset was allergic to the Christmas tree, to cats and pork.  She would sit, stay, roll over, give you her right paw (or the left one, if asked) and lay down.  And she would do all of them one right after the other for a baby carrot.  Her favorite person, other than me, of course, was my little brother Julian.  They were born 4 days apart... he doesn't know life without her, and he's heartbroken as well.

Timi would bring you her toy, the ball or her doll, and knew which one was which.  She would eat peanuts in their shell and amazingly  she would eat the peanut and leave the shell.  Oh, and she could eat a lollipop!  But never the stick.  If you gave her a wrapped candy, somehow she'd unwrap it and eat the candy and leave the wrapper.  "Cookie!" was her favorite word!  She learned that word the first day I brought her home.  Along with her name.  Cookie was anything that was a treat:  baby carrots, biscuits, a Cameo cookie...

She was smart.  The smartest dog I've ever had.  She loved her Papa, too.  "Where's Papa, Timi?" and she would run to him if he was home, or run to the door if he wasn't, thinking that he was about to walk in.  When he first moved in with us, they had to fight for their side of the bed.  You see, she had been sleeping with me on the bed for 8 years prior to him... so, it took a while for her to let him on HER side of the bed.  It was funny.  Very funny.  Eventually she relented, but then she would sleep next to him in the bed, as if saying, "we can share..."

I have so many great memories of my Timi.  She was the best gift life has given me.  And I am grateful I got to share all of the things I did with her by my side.  Always counting on that loud welcome every day from work, that cold nose in the middle of the night, or a lick to lick away my tears.  This time however, my tears are for her.  I just miss my dog.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Save some mulah and help me save too!



I buy all of my Timi's meds and hygiene stuff from 1-800-PET-MEDS.  I just found out that they have a rewards program as well... (I guess that's the new hype, huh?)  Which is just fine for me as I really need those discounts, especially for Timi's arthritis medication, Rimadyl, which can cost over $60 a month!

If you click on this link and order, Timi will be ever so greatful! Here's the link:  http://petmeds.extole.com/a/clk/xgbhJ.  Oh, and always shipping is free on orders over $39.99.  And yes, they do ship to Puerto Rico!


Monday, October 1, 2012

Feliz Cumpleaños Mami!


Feliz Cumpleaños Mami! Hoy y siempre un infinito mar de bendiciones.  
Que todo el Universo se entere de lo importante que eres y del gran amor que te tenemos.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

From T-shirt to Dress

Ohhh, I will do this!!!  I love to upcycle things! And this just got my creative juices flowing! I can’t wait to try it.  Poor hubby… I guess we’ll have to buy HIM some new shirts soon!




Monday, September 3, 2012

Saturday, September 1, 2012

My Birthday!



Today is my Birthday! Every birthday is special.  Four years ago I celebrated an uncertain birthday, a birthday filled with fear and sadness... a birthday with a tumor in a kidney and a scheduled surgery.  A tough birthday.

Today, I am happier, healthier and more alive than ever.  Yes, I do celebrate my birthday.  Every day, for the rest of my life, it will be my birthday.





Friday, August 24, 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Keep going

No matter what.  Just do it.  It'll be better tomorrow.  I promise.



Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Kia Faulty Brake Switch




Today was a very hot and stressful day.  My 1 yr. old Kia Sportage Limited did not start!  Just imagine, noon in the parking lot of a busy mall, with a temp of almost 100F degrees... HOT!

Inmediately I called an expert: my husband.  His recomendation?  Call Road asisstance.  LOL... So I did.

When the road asistance guy came in, he inmediately knew what was wrong with my SUV:  the brake switch.  He fumbled around with something under the steering wheel, right on top of the brake area, and voila! The truck started!

Being the way I am, I inmediately Googled "kia sportage 2011 faulty brake switch", and dozens of hits came back.  As it turns out, it is a known issue with Kia and Hyundai cars.  Go figure!  Thank God it is covered under the warranty.  Hopefully when I go to my service appointment on Thursday, I will get my truck back the same day.

Do you have the same issue?  Are you a Kia owner?  Share your experience with me.  Oh, and here's a link to the Kia Forum where I got the info from.  Good luck!



***UPDATE***

I found out that there's a way for you to not get stranded and actually start your Kia... Yes! You can actuallly bypass the break switch and start your car!  Here's what you do:

1. With your Kia OFF,  push the start button once and the yellow light on the switch should light up.
2. Then push and hold the button for 15 seconds till the car starts.

And off you go! Make sure to take it to get serviced though.  You should always take care of anything that has to do with the breaks immediately.  So, now you know!


Sunday, July 15, 2012

Laughter

This is why I am always laughing!

Never Give Up


My motto! I will never ever give up.  No matter how many curve balls life throws at me.  I am a warrior.  I am a survivor!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Life is a play


"Life is like a theater play that does not allow you to rehearse.  So, sing, laugh, dance, cry and live as intense as you can... before the curtain is drawn and the play ends without applause." ~ Charlie Chaplin

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

Do not leave your dog in the car

I still can't believe people will leave their dog in their cars while doing errands. Leave your pets at home if you have to get out of your car at any point.  A cracked window is NOT sufficient to cool your car or your pet.  I hate when this happens!


Thursday, June 28, 2012

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Guardian

Listening to my Pandora, a song came up which touched me in a way that I haven't felt for a long, long time.  I want to share it with you, as I think we all need someone to watch over us.  And we should be grateful for them.

Alanis Morissette - "Guardian"


Enjoy!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Vegan baking cheat sheet

I've been reconsidering going back to being a vegan.  The challenge is to cook and bake vegan with a non-vegan husband.  Believe me, it's hard!  But not impossible.

Thanks to PETA and this awesome baking cheat sheet, I might just start sooner than I anticipated!

The best part is that most of the substitutes I already have!  So, it's not like I'll have to spend a lot of money to begin baking vegan... and my husband won't even notice.  *wink*

Here's PETA's baking cheat sheet for you:


Gotta love the "Made with lots of {heart} by PETA"!

Hot!


Found this on eBay and it thought it was atone to the moment.  Boy, am I hot!  *fanning myself*

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Feliz Dia Papa


I want to say, Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, but especially to my dad:  May God bless you today and always, and I wish you health, peace and strenght.  I love you!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Wich one will I be?

15 days after my LAVH/BSOO, I am still not feeling the menopause side effects.  I wonder, when I do, which one of these funny dwarfs will I be?


Saturday, June 9, 2012

Homemade Frozen Strawberry Lemonade


Homemade Frozen Strawberry Lemonade



It has been unusually hot in my little corner.  Temperatures in the upper 90s (°F) with heat index of 107°!!  So, I decided to step outside to my garden and see if Mother Nature had gifted us with lemons.  Yes! Fresh lemons for lemonade!

Want the recipe? Here you go!

Before you begin… Give your lemons a roll.  If they seem hard, roll them on a cutting board or kitchen counter while pressing down.  This will soften your lemons and make them easier to juice.  You can also place your lemons in a bowl filled with hot tap water before rolling.   

Ingredients (makes 8 servings aproximately):

10 oz. of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup (8 oz.) of water
1 cup (8 oz.) of sugar
4-5 cups of cold water
5 strawberries (per serving)
Ice
Magic Bullet or blender (if you want the frozen version)

Procedure:

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves.  Do not stir!  (You can get away with stirring it once, but if you don't want it to caramelize, do not stir.)  Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and place in the refrigerator to cool completely.  I placed it in the freezer.  

While the sugar water is heating, squeeze the juice of your lemons over a measuring cup.  You’ll need 10 ounces of lemon juice.  Depending on the size of your lemons, you might need to squeeze the juice from 10 to 15 lemons.   Hint: Get the kids to help.  My 6 year old niece begs to squeeze the lemons.

Grab a pitcher and combine the lemon juice, cooled sugar water and 4 cups of cold water.  While stirring, taste your lemonade for tartness.  If it’s too tart, add 1 more cup of water in ½ a cup increments, until you find the perfect taste.  Voila! You have just made lemonade!

Now grab your Magic Bullet (or blender) and place some ice and 5 strawberries in a tall mug.  I filled my mug about ¾ full of ice before adding the lemonade.  Add your lemonade, and strawberries, and using the cross blade, blend until the ice has been completely crushed and the strawberries have been completely combined.  Serve in a pretty glass and enjoy!

You can also freeze the lemon juice in an ice cube tray and use it instead of ice for a refreshing twist to water, soda, or even to add to your lemonade glass to keep it from watering down.  

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, here’s a picture of my beautiful lemon tree!



Enjoy your lemonade.  Enjoy the Summer.  And thanks for visiting my little corner!



Thursday, June 7, 2012

Happy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day!!!



Happy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, Everyone!!!




Need an excuse to eat Chocolate Ice Cream?  Well, you got it!!!  Today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day!!!

So, grab some chocolate ice cream and top it with chocolate chips, hot fudge, sprinkles, almonds, or anything else that you’d like.  I know I will!

photo: www.cdkitchen.com