Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday was "Cinco de Mayo" which in reality is more of an American holiday than a Mexican one. At least that is what I remember. As a kid I never heard of crazy celebrations on May 5th...overhere it's a big deal. For the youth I decided to do a cultural night. I had the girls bring treats from other countries to share. Only 3 of the 13 complied with my demands, 1 brought crepes with a raspberry spread that looked divine, I say looked because I didnt get to eat any. And the second girl brought a small container with pozole (hominy soup with shredded chicken). The third brought a bag of tortilla chips w/ a jar of salsa and a can of frito lay's bean dip....mmmmm, authentic mexican! The salsa and the bean dip were gone, snap! like that. I had the girls make corn tortillas from Maseca. I had them make their own dough. They got to use a tortilla press and cook the dough into a tortilla. The end result was not pretty but it was delicious. They wrapped their tortillas with tomatillo salsa and monterrey jack cheese. We had fun. I think, though, the best part of the evening was sneaking into the gym to see the other youth's Cinco de Mayo show. They had traditional dances performed. The dresses were so beautiful. My heart was dancing with joy when they did the 'Jarabe Tapatio'. All my girls were very interested. And even the yappers were paying attention at the display of mexican culture. So that was my Cinco de Mayo. Hope you all had a fun one. By the way, Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico's independence day. It commemorates the day the French were ran out of Puebla by the people there. It is significant because it was the ever so inspiring 'underdog' triumph!

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May came this year on a rainy Saturday.  I took the children out for a picnic under the rain. Lucky for us the rain came down while we were on the road. No rain for our outing.

1st stop, the store for some goodies. This egg crate bench is in the shopping center. If these were real, I am sure these 2eggs would make an omelet big enough to feed a football team.

After the feast of chicken nuggets, gold fish crackers, strawberry sunny delight and vanilla wafers, we hit the

 playground...wheeee!

Are you a big boy?

Cute words from Franklin.

Mama: "Franklin, are you a big boy or a baby?"

Franklin: " I'm a Fanken"

Hoarding

Last night I decided to watch tv after I put the kids in bed. I was flipping thru the guide and saw a show titled: "Hoarders-Buried Alive" I started watching and I was so intrigued I watched 2 episodes back to back. One good thing about the show is that it instantly motivated me to pick up after my little piggies. I can see how people would be addicted to 'stuff ' as to fill a void in their lives.  Very very intriguing. It was also interesting to see how someone could be so super attached to something as simple as an old piece of newspaper from 3 years ago. I have also known of people who are so super duper organized they freak out if the closet is not perfectly color coordinated. I guess if given a choice between these two disorders I would choose the latter. Anyway. Just thought that show was interesting and educational.
**note*** I was going to post a picture of a hoarder's place (from the internet) but felt wrong about it. Just watch the show. It's pretty jaw-dropping to see. However, they are just people with holes in their souls. Who am I to judge? Nobody. That's who I am.

I am well aware that I love peppers. I eat them with everything, practically everything. I bought a good 2 pounds last time at the market. This particular batch was fire-engine, run-to-the-fountains-HOT! For lunch yesterday I grabbed a couple to bring to work for lunch. When I went home last night one of the 2 probably jumped out of my bag, as if that would spare it's little hot life. This morning, I found a lonesome serrano pepper at the foot of my front-office door. I think it is a sign that I need to bring it down a notch or 2 when it comes to my consumption of peppers. But boy, do I love them!

Franklin has a gift. He is musical. Just like his Grandparents and Greatgrandparents. He loves to sing and dance.

Thank Heavens for Libraries

I haven't had very much luck with posting videos here. I am going to attempt. I went to our local public library, which is tiny and lovely. I love that it is small and that pretty much a third of the whole building is dedicated to the children. Last Monday, I found a little treasure there. I learned that you can rent a 'flip' camera. So this is what I am using to post videos of the angels singing and hunting Easter eggs.

Last Sunday evening we had a 'fireside' for the youth in the which we discussed education. Education eventually turned into knowledge. We saw a super old video from YouTube titled: The Power of Ten. It took a look at our surroundings by going away from us 10times out each time. It's hard to describe, I will try to put the video in here if possible. It went away as far as we know it...it all looked like darkness. a total complete emptiness. Then, back to earth it went into the the human body to the smallest particle that makes up what we are. I have been thinking a lot about that this whole week and with that little bit of knowledge I am very much at peace with myself. In the mornings when I drag myself out of bed to go walking (6am), stars still in the sky, I think to myself "Self, can you see you are part of something great?" the response of course is yes! Anyway, this is more for me and my crazy thoughts. For sure it is a re-affirment of my beliefs. A couple of weeks back, when I had to speak in front of all those ladies about me being courageous, another lady spoke about obtaining education. She said something that stands true to me now: "the more I learn the more I know less". There is so much out there to get discovered.
The End.

Spring finally arrived on Saturday. To celebrate I planted 12 new little flower plants in front of my house. My nice neighbor tore out 3 big bushes to re-do her landscape. she gave us the unwanted bushes and we transplanted them in our lawn. It's so nice the change a new plant can make in a house. I think I inherited a little bit of my mom when it comes to loving gardening. As soon as I can....I will plant my beloved jalapeno and cilantro and basil. I think I was not meant to plant tomatoes. every year I try and the plants dwindle. If anything comes, it's a mini (1) smaller than a jalapeno. Maybe I'll try the tupsy-durby (?) It's the tomato plant that hangs and the tomato plant shoots downward. It's $9.99. Should I, should I not?