A conversation with a photographer

I had a very interesting conversation with a really nice lady I met while patiently waiting for a bird to come fly by a feeding station at Estero Grande Birding Center. She mentioned that she was from a national magazine and was there trying to get a good shot of a Teal cinnamon duck. She had a camera and tripod suited for professional photography! She started showing me pictures she had taken earlier that morning.. I instantly fell in love with the clarity of her photos. Our conversation went like this..

" I love how clear your pictures look maybe I should convince my husband to buy me a camera like yours"... She quickly looks away from her camera and tells me ..."Honey do you know how much this camera and all these lenses cost?...

Me.. "Not sure" her.. "Well lets just say a price of a new car honey" I nearly passed out!!

HOLY SMOKES!!!   Me.. "A new car really?"

Her.."Oh yes dear a new car probably around in the same range of a Toyota corolla"

Me.." Uhh-I think I'll stick to my old faithful Cool pix Nikon

 I just need more photography practice"

  Her..."keep practicing honey"

There is no way I am spending that kind of money on a camera. (but then again she is a professional photographer, and I am not) I'll spend it on my home not on a camera.. What about you?.. Do you have an expensive camera that costs as much as a brand new Toyota?

Lobster bisque

Because I like my food delicious, and fast I take many short-cuts in my kitchen

Many!!

And its really not that uncommon that sometimes it's

semi homemade..

Now don't laugh!

I never claimed to be

Martha Stewart

yet

some in my family call me

Martha Sanchez

Okay, so I cheat!... but then again who doesn't?

I use about 3 of these soup-man boxes

I add  1/2  pound of
fresh
lobster...
or
crab meat.
whatever
is
cheaper..

Can you see where I am going with this?
This is where my 
magic begins.

I pull out my ramekins and pour my bisque
roll out my dough
wrap it around
my ramekin

bake at *350 for 20 min 

So incredibly delicious, and good for those Fridays during lent
when we 
Catholics can't have 
meat..

Pillow update.

I am happy to report that I have found "the pillow" I want to thank all of you bloggers for your wonderful suggestions. I went ahead and returned the pricey pillow and ordered this one. A water based pillow by Mediflow.

The pillow has a pouch you fill with water. You can adjust your choice of support by the amount of water you put in it. At first I listened to my husband and filled it to the limit, and guess what?.. It was too firm. I should of known better than to listen to him.. The next morning I took some water out, and got rid of the air bubbles and waited for night to come..

 I can honestly say that my neck pain is disappearing, I don't wake up like 15 times a night, and sometimes it sort of reminds me of my mothers 1980s water bed.
( only when I move and hear the water)

The only thing I am worried about is a weird accident where in the middle of the night this pillow bursts. That would seriously only happen to me..

So far so good!

The Liebster award

Kristy over at http://www.thankfulme.net/ awarded me the Liebster award.  WooHoo!!!!! Thank you so much Kristi!
                  
 At first, I thought this had something to do with Lobsters, turns out it doesn't, ( had to re-look at spelling ) but that wouldn't  be a bad idea since we are in midst of lenten season, and seafood is so darn expensive now would it?

 After doing a little research on the Liebster Award, it seems like a sort of  “Pay It Forward” kind of award.

Okay, so here are the rules....

Here are the rules for accepting the Liebster award:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, and then
create 11 new questions for the chosen bloggers.
3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.
4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.
5. No tag backs.

I hope I am doing this right...

Okay, here we go....

Here are the random FACTS about me...

1. I have never ever eaten a Big Mac in my life. Not even a taste..Why?.. Well It just never has appealed to me simple as that.
2. I have been in the Oval office once during the Clinton administration and the Press room. A post I will do one day..
3. I hate Mayonnaise. Once my mom ordered me a Whopper with mayo and I refused to eat it!! she took it off with a butter knife,but I still knew it was there. Needless to say I did not eat dinner that day.
4. I speak Spanglish! What that means is I go from Spanish to English or English to Spanish without even a thought, and combine the two. Drives my husband crazy!!
5. Spanish was my first language.
6. I just recently learned how to ride a bike. I'm really getting good at riding, but stopping is a whole other story! Its never too late to learn!!
7. I can't really tell time with a watch that has lots of graphics on it.
8. I hardly ever turn left. I will turn right and go until there is no traffic and come back.There has to be a green arrow for me to turn left.
9. I am not very sentimental, I can part with things very easily especially if it creates clutter.
10. I don't know how to turn on our living room TV..  And that is because we have like 4 remotes. Each one serves a purpose, and I get really frustrated by that, so  I just don't turn it on .. my bedroom Tv  has one remote. ON and OFF.. love it!!
11. Sometimes I sneak in snacks into a movie theater in a big purse. The prices of soft drinks are ridiculous!!

Now, for the questions Kristi posed on me

Which would you rather have, 20 chickens or 1 goat? 
I think I would rather have 20 chickens.. If my family found out I had a goat they would want to kill it and have a fiesta (party) goat meat with blood is supposed to be really good. Don't worry I have never eaten a cabrito and don't plan too. 


Would you rather travel back in time or forward in time?
Oh that is easy I would love to go back in time!! I love the teenage time those were some fun times!!  80s were the best!!!

  If you had unlimited resources, where would you like to vacation, and what would you do?
 Good one! I think for me, It would be Greece after watching Mama Mia I don't know how many times Greece is where I'd go!

 Would you rather sleep in or stay up late?
I would rather sleep!!  I have not been getting sleep as I should, so sleep wins! 

 Which major would you choose if you were to attend college now?
  At this moment right this moment it would be Law School .. I guess I have been 
  watching way too much of the Jodi Arias trial..  

 If you could visit (or live in) any make-believe land from literature, which would you choose?
The wonderful world of Oz of course!!

It's nearly dinnertime, and you forgot to plan.  What do you have for dinner?
Lubys is 5 min away. Thank heavens!!

What makes you laugh?
My husband hands down.  No one I know is as funny as he is!! He can walk into any room and all of a sudden there is laughter.

 What is one character trait you admire?
 I would say my honesty..I love being honest with people!

 What are the biggest influences in your life?
 Oh my gosh...I hope you meant Who?.. and that would be God!!

 Do you still live in your hometown?  If not, how far away do you live?
  Yes and No... I live here in the Rio Grande Valley, so that is a yes, but live  
  different city of the valley than my hometown. I live in Weslaco which is a 20 min
   drive to my hometown of Mission in the valley...hope I didn't confuse you...

And now, without further ado, I pass along the awards to the following awesome worth reading blogs!!! 

Maria at  http://susiquetzalli.blogspot.com

Tete of http://tete-beyondthegardengate.blogspot.com/

 Ann, Heather, and Shiela at http://friendshiplifeandstyle.blogspot.com/

 Sylvia at http://mydaytolive.blogspot.com/

Dewena at http://awindow-lookacrosstheway.blogspot.com/

Kathy from http://kathystripthroughlife.blogspot.com/

Poppy from http://poppyview.blogspot.com/

Maddie at http://tingeofwhimsy.blogspot.com/ 

Gina at http://puravidanow.blogspot.com/ 

Marisa at http://mangiamangianotalk.blogspot.com/ 

Jan at http://thecomfortofasafeplace.blogspot.com/ 

And now for the fun part my questions to the nominees

1. How did you come up with your blog name?
2. Are you a realist or an idealist?
3. What is your biggest pet peeve?
4. Are you a saver or a spender?
5. Are you a touchy feely person?
6. What would you do with your life if nobody was watching, judging or commenting?
7. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
8. Are you superstitions? don't walk under a latter, black cat crossing you path, a rabbits foot will bring you luck etc..
9. Do you take morning or night showers?
10. You get an unexpected check from your insurance company for $1000 dollars what do you do with it?
11. What was the last perfume you bought? 

And there you have it. Congratulations to all and hope to get to read all your replys If you wish not to accept the award that is fine by me.. Thanks and have a blessed day!!





 
 

Bottle Brush Tree.

This is my neighbors tree

across the 

street from me.

This is the

prettiest tree on our street.

 

These blooming beauties put on a dramatic, non -stop

eye - catching 

show

for me every 

spring 

 

Their red showy spikes are at least 5 inches long

shaped like a bottle brush

Isn't this just gorgeous?

I love

this tree!

I noticed, as I was taking pictures

that honeybees

LOVE

the red clusters

so

I backed off a little... more like

got scared.

My neighbor reassured me 

the bees were

harmless.

One day I am going to plant this tree in

my back yard along with the

 avocado, lemon, grapefruit,

and 

what else have I mentioned?

Jodi Arias Trial.

Right now I am so captivated by this trial!... Everything has come to a screeching halt! Yes, I am a sucker for these types of trials that air on TV during the day.

I have both TV s on, and recording..And, in case it goes into commercial CNN live on my computer is ready to take over. This case has so many twists and turns.

These towels are wondering when they are going to be put up. They have been sitting there for at least an hour... It's going to have to wait until jury gets dismissed for lunch.

 I just don't believe anything she has to say. Everything she says sounds so rehearsed. Cross examination begins today, and I heard the prosecutor Juan Martinez is brilliant when he cross examines!! Nancy Grace  calls him a pit bull in court.. We shall see.. a nail biter for sure...

Thank you for all your pillow suggestions .. I will do a follow up post...

Pillow talk..

Finding the perfect comfy, soft, but not too soft pillow has been quite a task! I have been looking ever since my flat pancake pillow started giving me headaches ( it has been a whole year now).. I have been all over you name it... from fine department stores to places like Ross.. I have even gone on the inter net researching and reading reviews. And not one pillow I have purchased has been THE ONE! I have been through quite a few pillows let me tell you...

A couple of weeks ago, I walked into Bed Bath and Beyond thinking I was going to buy a touch-less stainless steel trash can, and instead I walk out with this pillow. It's a Cloud pillow from Tempur-pedic and quite pricey at $129.00. I bought thinking It would change my life forever... Well, it hasn't! I am now waking up with a sore neck!! I guess when you go from pancake flat to just a little height you feel your head so elevated you almost feel your head in the clouds. (maybe that is why they named it Cloud pillow)

I feel awful about returning it, so I am just going to have to sleep with it! Someone on the review said that after multiple uses it wears and becomes a little flatter. I can't wait!! Meanwhile does anyone have a bowling ball I can borrow to flatten it? What type of pillow do you sleep with or recommend?

Lent begins..

Almighty and Everlasting God, You have given the human race Jesus Christ our Savior as a model of humility. He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man And giving His life on the Cross. Help us to bear witness to You By following His example of suffering And make us worthy to share in His Resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen.

Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. We skip Sundays when we count the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. Lent begins on 13 February 2013 and ends on 30 March 2013, which is the day before Easter.

Catholic Online

This year instead of fasting I will be spending more time with The Blessed Sacrament. Wishing everyone a blessed and happy Lenten season!

Love~

Love to me is more than butterflies in 

your stomach

and pretty boxed chocolates

on

Valentines day

Love is patient and kind!

Love is

Trusting

that person unconditionally 

with all your heart and soul..

Love is accepting those little

Flaws

our partners have...

Its laughing and sometimes crying together through the good times and the bad.... It means compromising and understanding each others needs...

even when you don't want to...

Love is truly a gift from God, and I couldn't 

feel more 

blessed

to really know its meaning...

A day in Nuevo Progresso

Nuevo Progresso Mexico is about 15 miles from my home in Weslaco, so when one needs antibotics, liqour, a root canal, or homemade tortillas its just as simple as crossing the border. I went along with a cousin, so that she could buy her medications and had so much fun.

After you buy your medications you can relax take a seat and enjoy a taco.

Dentist anyone?.... They're a dime a dozen!

There is always something to buy in the streets..

Where else can you buy antibiotics, margaritas, and get a pedicure all in the same place?

Look at this Gigantic basket.... I stood next to it and it came pretty close to my waist.

El maíz es muy delicioso! 

               And you can't leave Mexico without buying these fresh tortillas.
They were so, so good.
cant wait to return.
                          

                               

Table runner is here...

After going shopping all day on Saturday, I come home and find a big package sitting on the dining table.. I knew exactly who that was from!

JUDY!

from http://20northora.blogspot.com/

In celebration of her 100th post she had a sweet give away

and guess who won?

That would be 

ME!

After arranging my bowl of apples on my new table runner, I had a thought...

This is way to pretty for just a bowl of apples to be sitting on top of it, so I get in my car 

and head for the supermarket in search for some pretty flowers

and 

I find these pretty

Carnations.

I got so excited that I broke some flowers off.

Love the tassel!

This table runner got me

Thinking...

Why don't I have more

Table runners?

I a see a future project coming!!

my head is spinning out of 

control with all these

crazy ideas..

Fabrics

Tassels

Wait, that would require sewing...

Me?

Oh, Judy

look what you started...

I did not sleep all night!

And as a BONUS she gave away this sweet vintage silver ladle.. I looked all around my kitchen for a perfect home, and then I found it!... On my mossy pot twig swag  that sits on my bakers rack...I think it blends in very well!

Thank you, so much Judy!

Conchitas con carne

This here is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. This to me, is home. The smell reminds me of my both my grandmothers homes. I remember this dish simmering in the pot while my grandmother chit chattered away on the phone with her sister, and my grandfather watched The Young and the Restless in his La-zy boy recliner. I remember it clearly, It was 11.45 AM and I could see the mail-man through the screen door. I would run to get the mail, and I remember smelling this dish all the way to the mailbox.. Those were the day's...

1lb ground sirloin

2 cups uncooked shells

4 oz tomato sauce

1/4 small onion chopped

1/4 bell pepper sliced

4-5 cups water

1 beef bullion cube

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper.
Brown beef over medium heat in Dutch oven drain add shells and stir it around a bit let them fry a little with the beef add all remaining seasoning with onions and bell pepper then add tomato sauce and stir , (make sure you break up the bullion cube up and stir it around as it dissolves with the heat) cover with water and simmer for 5 min then cover and simmer for about 10 min until shells are tender and serve. I simmered it for 15 min on low heat.

Oh, and don't forget to warm up those delicious corn tortillas on your comal. This dish goes perfect with corn tortillas...