Friday, September 30, 2011

GRITS

This is a popular t-shirt, bumper sticker {whatever else} around here..
Girls Raised in the South..
Cute..
But this post is about food.
Grits...
I love em...can't get enough of em.
So tonight Andy and I went out and the menu
had Pimento Cheese grits... HELLO!!
That is a girl's dream,
I never met a pimento cheese I did not like..even the ones that are so bad they are without actual cheese!!
I never met a grit I did not like--even the dried out ones at restaurants..
I am sitting here now enjoying leftovers.
I am convinced...
every {smart} culture has their own version of grits...
for sure.
Hominy
whatever else...
and some corn bread too.
My mama fries it..
Camelia and her family {love it}.
Fried corn bread, I have decided has to be very near and dear
to their hearts as they have corn tortillas every day all day..and it is a
variation on the same theme.
My children love it too, and on Sundays they have their own plate
of mini cornbreads.
Andy's dad likes it...he is not {from here}.
He asked me: "now, does your mother have a mold she makes these from?"
No sir, I said...just a {masa} batter, and a tablespoon...
Good ole corn meal...nothing like it! :)
Happy weekend.

You're {invited}

to the wedding of
SPOT!
Yep, according to my children,
Spot is getting {married}.
He has a girlfriend--she lives three doors down
in the little brown house that always has pretty decorations.
She is a little black furry chihuahua/poodle mix.

Ummm..according to her owner--who I just met yesterday--she
is a very good listener, always comes to the back door when called, and
is about one year old.

To do:
Call and make that appt. to get spot fixed.
:)

The good side of this:
I met my neighbor yesterday AM when I had to go and round Spot up from his galavanting.

Have a great Friday!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

SHOCKED! {updated}

Good morning everyone,

I was just packing my lunch.
I was about to open a little cardboard wrapper of some diced
peaches in a little plastic cup when I saw it...!!!

Product of China

What in the world??? This cannot and does not make sense to me.
It's not b/c I am being some kind of nationalist who will only eat merkin peaches either.
It is b/c of how absolutely {stupid} it is to me that the grocery store
based in freakin
Salsbury NC is importing a fruit that
GROWS RIGHT IN THE STATE UNDERNEATH US!!!
This drives me bonkers.

I will not eat them.
They will go back on the shelf, and I will complain to the
people at the store--the manager, and
the ones in Salsbury.

I guess while I'm at it I could also complain that all their seafood comes from
Thailand or somewhere too...and ummm...
We are surrounded by salty water that is absolutely full of fish...
Yeah, maybe I will!
:)

No peaches for Elena today....

So when I went into Food Lion the girl there, the manager, readily gave me my money back for the Chinese peaches...
I headed back to the packaged fruit aisle to get a replacement and....
wait for it...
wait for it...
try to guess..
THERE WAS NOT A REPLACEMENT.
All the companies that sell the cute little packaged fruit are getting the peaches
from China, oh, and the pears, they are from Thailand.
Man, that pear tree down the road is looking more and more vital every day!
The manager was very nice, but she acted like I had lost my marbles, and then
the cashier, well, she wanted to blame the government.
I said to her, "actually, greedy people, who run these companies love to buy the cheapest fruit, and then they can make the most profits, and since these peaches and pears come from somewhere where the farmers {probably have to follow} zero environmental rules or regulations...well, I bet those were some cheap pears and peaches..."
I also said--I am sure she wanted me to shut the hell up--
that if we all stopped putting up with it...AKA don''t buy the Chinese fruit 
well, the companies would stop putting it out there...


Then the manager said, "well, I don't eat no fruit anyway, I am allergic to all of it..."
Well, there you go, I thought to myself, I thanked her kindly and walked out, with my


BAG OF WHITEHOUSE BRAND APPLESAUCE IN THE LITTLE PLASTIC CUPS...WHICH
IS A PRODUCT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND PACKAGED HERE TOO!!
I guess we will be getting our {sauce} on this Winter..
:)

Monday, September 26, 2011

V-Man

V-man is really into the
sticker chart thing.
He has been on a {helping spree} lately.
:)
I love it!  Yesterday morning he cleaned off the whole dining room table, and today
Nana reported that today, while Eva napped, V-man was cleaning everything up,
"boy, he really deserves some stars"
Well, two is all one can earn in one day.
So there.
But it's all good, I am trying to teach them that
they need to clean up...
I mean really.
That is not a joke.
I don't like sloppy, and sloppy makes me ill.
So we all have to do our part, b/c I am not a maid...
okay...this {sweet little post} is turning into a rant.
Love you bloggy readers!! :)

Thought for the day...

I wonder if all of the NC teachers and assistants who have lost their jobs are now buying up
lottery tickets as fast as they can in hopes of either
1. buying back their jobs, or
2. getting {richer} {quicker} than they could have ever as a teacher or assistant.
oh no!!
I {forgot} that money is going to
1. buy fancy ad campaigns to sell the tickets and
2. run the problem gambling hotline


ha!! Now there's a laugh, or a cry...depending on who you are...

I can't think of a better tax on the poor than
{false hope}

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Update

Well,
despite all of the anxiety,
it all went off without a hitch!
We went to the shower, {fun}.
I got to see two girls who I have not seen
since we graduated from High School!!
Let's see, and then
I took V-man to the birthday party--which was quick and efficient...
one hour (that's the kind I like)
We broke a pinyata the guero way--which is really damn funny once
you see how other people do it... namely Mexicans--who I {think/assume}
invented this.
All of the kiddies sat on the rug and waited their turn.
every adult in the room watched--hoping like hell that
no one got hit in the head with a foam bat--
And I do not make fun in saying this a bit...
I am a guera--btw.;)

So then I ran by the newest boutique on main st.
For Reals...we have two of them!!
no lie..full of shit you cannot afford.
(I need to blog about my recent trip to Belk btw)
So, any way, V-man and I went to get the girls after our
boutique shopping exp.  --He was playing with his buddy...
taking pics with the DSI
so then...
It was off to Sissy's house to disturb her Saturday afternoon peace.
I was sorry, but as she would be quick to point out, not sorry enough
to not show up, without calling in the pouring rain, and send my kids
around to the back glass door, where I knew Collin would see them
and open the door. ;)
Nice visit...
I do owe her one!
I did promise to not do that again for six months...
It is not nice to have the Sat. afternoon super snuggle football watching peace disturbed.
I know this, but I was desperate!

Okay, so so far--I have survived..
now to get these kiddies in bed..

{my} Saturday

EEK!! Y'all!!!
This is the kind of Saturday I really do not like.
Andy is at work--see ya at 9:30 tonight!!
We have
1.Soccer at 9:00--be there at 8:30
2.Soccer pictures at 9:30--for the other kid who {does not want to play}
--taken care of...she isn't playing anymore as of 7:30 this AM--called the coach
3.Allow 20 minutes for V-man to go crazy b/c of all the crap he has to wear on his feet.
4.leave for a bridal shower at 10:00--did I get ready?--do I get ready?--have to go to G-ville
5.Get home and go to a b-day party
wtf?
I mean I just worked all week, and now I get the pleasure of being a circus ring master.
This is where {nana} comes in. ;)...
Let me say THANK GOD FOR NANAS AND GRANDMAS!!!
Nana is cool as a cucumber...oh, just bring them all to my house, or
no biggie, Susan, I will just zip by and pick them up at 8:30...no biggie...
She is not worried about the {rest of the day}--not one bit.
I worried about it all night, and got up at 5:30.
I like free time to be free time.
I want to organize my closets.
But you know, there is also to celebrate my friend's marriage, and
there is also to play sports...right?
Oh and btw..I do know that it is a poor reflection on parents when
their children quit..and I don't even care.
I mean, when there are three children and two full time jobs...
free time should not include tears over not wanting to engage in the {fun}
I mean if you cannot {change your mind} about playing rec. league soccer when you
are freaking six....then when could you ever, no?
--this post is chock full of guilt...so if you are feeling guilty this morning about stuff too,
just send it my way...
Happy {free} day folks!!

Friday, September 23, 2011

By any other name...

In this month's Marie Claire, the name Elena appears three times...in one issue!!
I am pretty much amazed at this.
Elena is not, by any means, a new name.
I really don't see it much, however, living here.
So when I saw three different articles in the same magazine
with my baby's name in them, I was amazed.

Elena's teacher calls her, Eleena.
I mean the teacher's assistant.
I do not correct her, I am just sure to say it the way
I want it said a whole lot of times in any given exchange.
Surely she will catch on.

If only the Marie Claire could talk.
Read itself aloud.
I would take her this issue, and she could
hear it in three different articles,
saying itself.

:)!  I think people here who have the same name spell it
asi:  Alaina.  Which is fine too.
When I was pregnant, though, I just thought that version
did not look right.
Something about the way it looks, written down, I do not like it.
:)

Okay, I have to go and make some rolls--I mean watch them
in the oven.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Mission Completion {almost}



You can see,
This is our new bathroom!!! Yippie!!
See today the plumber came and hooked up the toilet, shower, and spigot at the sink.
This means that the bathroom is, for all intents and purposes --finished!
The knobs are on the cabinet (thank you Andy) this means I can put my stuff in the drawers.
The children are enjoying a bath --V-man was cashed out on the couch.
A couple of cosmetic (paint) issues had to be fixed before we bathe in there.
We still need a 3/4 inch round at the bottom of the wall...(moulding).
Also, the mirror I selected at Low3's was broken around the framed edge..gonna
get a new one.
So, we are almost finished with this wonderful addition to the house.
and I LOVE IT!! It is truly going to be exciting to organize the closets, drawers, and to hang the shower curtain.
Cannot wait! :)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

This is so political {might get erased}

but...here goes, let me get out my soapbox {too}..
The debate over an amendment to the Const. of NC has been raging on f-book.
It is a local debate, with people from my town weighing in.
Very interesting.
I am proud to say that there are people on both sides of this fence.
But really, when any given person is against {something} they
should just not engage in the something.
How simple is that..??
Tis a gift to be simple, no?
If you are against (Ab0rt0!n)--then don't have one.
How easy, no?
If you are against gAy MArrr!age...then don't get gAy Marri#d.
So simple.
Mind your own business..I am sure we all have enough to mind,
without amending government documents...
now, come on!

**in case you are wondering, dear reader, why all the mis-spellings..
I am not interested in long strings of comments with everyone's opinion on them.
So if any of the {hot} words get googled, i am hoping my post does not come up, so
that everyone who h@tes my opinion will find my blog as a hot bed for their
dissent.**

Furthermore, it is outrageous to me that our politicians manage to find the time...with
the sinking economy, and the firing of teachers, and the canceling of Pre-K, to debate this
matter at all...

A cool job

The past two days I have been playing an "I spy" game with my kids at school.
They have to spy the stuff, and then ding a little bell.
I am not sure how many of my bloggy friends have seen official, "I Spy"
stuff, but it is fun to look for all of the teeny tiny objects mixed in together.
I sort of spaced out for a minute, and it dawned on me...
Someone, some lucky person, has the job of arranging all of that
stuff, and then taking pictures!!
How cool would that job be?? !!
It would be fun to round up all of the little bitty stuff (I sort of love little bitty stuff).
I would like to meet a person who has that job, and you know what,
It cannot be a computer, I don't think, b/c the way all of
the "I spy" pictures are, they are objects--not computer generated
stuff....
Lucky dog!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

3000 points!

That's all you need at our house to get a trampoline!!
Sometimes ideas hit me over the head like a ray of freakin sunshine!!
So, here's the deal,
Tonight I asked:
"Whose socks are these?  On the rug, by the dining room table?, Elena! come and pick them up!"
Then I realized, no, they are V-man's socks...
So, Elena jumps up and runs to put them in the dirty clothes basket.
V-man, well, he barely batted an eye, continued to suck his thumb, and rolled
his eyes at me...
So then I said, "OHHHHH, Elena gets 10 pts. for that! She just jumped right up to help! and do the
right thing!!"
V-man instantly started to cry like crazy..anything with points, and him not getting the points...
well, it basically drives him crazy.
So, then it hit me...in all of my tiredness...
That's it!
A trampoline chart!!
There you go.
So for 3000 points they get a trampoline.
That is 1000 points apiece.
Or in any combination.
So, when they do good stuff--yet to be determined--they will
get 10 points.
The {stuff} so far is:
pick up your stuff, and put it where it belongs (or Daddy's boots, socks etc.)
Put yourself in the bed and STAY THERE. ;).

Look for a new chart on the fridge...coming soon.
Then, when they get the Trampoline, they will have earned it.
No, Santa's elves don't make those, and Mama and Daddy have to
pay for it.

{Yippie!}  There's nothing like a sense of accomplishment. ;)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Carvin 07

This folder stares at me every morning lately, when I am looking at the computer screen, in a blur waiting for
my internets to open...
I knew what what in it, but this morning I treated myself to a slideshow...
Check out my Sweet, Sweet, child when she was but a wee lass...two, to be exact.
At this point she was used to her baby brother, she was already, no longer the baby...
But looking back, she still looked like one!






Man!  I miss our house in Graham too!  I loved that house!! :)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Nicknames

I do not even know how to say Nick name in Spanish, but I {have one}!!
This makes me very excited.
It makes me feel welcome!
It makes me feel at home.
One of {the gang}.
Okay, maybe that is a stretch..
BUT
Here is the scoop.
The other day at Yineth's (Jeanette's) seventh birthday party
the people who I have seen at every one of her
birthday parties since she turned four...well,
They called me guera (gwera).  They were not referring to me in the
third person, sino they were saying, "hey gwera!"  This means that 1.  They cannot remember my name
from year to year, so they just picked something about me that would
distinguish me and make me look, and they called me that.
Gwera means "white girl, or white lady"
That is my nickname among Camelia's people.
So this is what Padrina said (I can never remember her name either,
but she is Yineth's god mother, so I call her "madrina")
"You are very skinny White girl"
bah ha ha ha!!
That is a very literal translation....
paired with knowing Madrina, and being in the moment, you
might translate it, ...
"My, My you are getting very skinny, white girl"
Not so different, huh?
So then we had a whole conversation about "skinny" etc.

 I will say, that in all of my experiences among all of the different
Spanish speaking people, they give nick names very much more readily than {we} do.
I guess {we} is the run of mill white people...b/c I think black people give some
nick names too...I mean just off the top of my head, I can recall, Muffin, Nique Nique, Tu
Tu--and I still see them every week! :)

Back to the party...
I heard
Little fat girl--Imagine the stuff this chubster will be saying on the couch--she is going to
be a United statesian after all!!--She will be on the {couch} --
I think "little fat girl" might not be so bad among the Mexicans...
It is all interesting to me.
Here are some other interesting tid bits...

*They do not sing {"Happy Birthday"} or "Feliz Cumpleanyos" --nope
they have a whole nother song...
**The Pinyata song is priceless...
Dale Dale Dale, no tiene sentido, ...some more stuff...
*"cookie" seems to love the drink--no matter what the culture, and his kid will be
in V-man's grade..cookie kept sending his kid over to fetch him beers--very funny!
**Does everyone --every family--have the AUNT the one who knows how it all has to be done?
My family has one...and so does Camelia's--she calls the shots..I held her 8 week old baby (and was thrilled to do so) and she led the festivities...when to sing, when to break pinyata, when to eat cake etc.
Aunt Elena btw...she knows the deal--so don't worry if you are clueless...

So these parties are so growing on me, and btw a {small } party for Camelia--who is expecting again, and
is tired, is 40 people or so...
ughh...
:)
SWEET!
There is more... so, I am not sure why I numbered #1 up there...but
At all of these parties I have noticed how all of the children just run around and around
into the night, and at 8:00 when Jacinto noticed my nervousness he said to me, "Susana, you know, in Mexico when we have a birthday party, the children just run around until they fall out...
it could be 11 o'clock or 2..just depends on the kid.."
I was just about to leave, and I did a bit later...but I thought that was
interesting too.
He knows my gwera hang-ups,
Watching my children with their kids, is always a treat!
Whenever there is a pinyata around children go nuts.
The one who get the stick (and I do mean a stick--a big one, one time it was a metal rod)
just swings and swings.
So, there I am, with that nervous stomachy feeling thinking, "um, someone  is going
to get their head busted open."
and V-man says, "I think we should all get in a line!"
bah ha ha ha --all over again..
No line was ever formed, the kids all knew --little children first, and then the big kids
(who actually break the thing).
At Mexican parties, the Pinyata moves {itself} Se mueve-if you will.
Mean trick to the gwera girl, but more fun to everyone else.
Also, the longer I am here I am realizing all of these connections.
Sanchez, the cook, works with/for Danny (Salt's husband).
He is a wonderful welder, and Danny loves him!
Sanchez's brother, well, he is the baker who made the cake and owns
a wonderful business downtown.
What a small world!
And to think...it is a world away for me, but just a quarter of a mile up the road.
Ay Que Suerte!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

So this is how you make it...

Beer Margaritas,
And Morgan THIS IS FOR YOU!! :)
Get a frozen limeade from the concentrated frozen juices, dump into pitcher,
fill the limeade can with tequila, then dump four beers into the mix.
Sound gross?
It's WONDERFUL!
We are enjoying them now, after five couples came to eat..with all their children.
So there were ten adults, and 11 children...lots of food, and a double recipe of
Beer Margaritas.  The beer
margaritas were served in this:
You can find one on Classic Hostess dot
Com....I just bought one for myself! :)
Go make some soon! :)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Soapbox {again}

This post, well, it might really trip some triggers, but here goes...
Today I was asking my co-worker about seeing the movie, "the help"
She said that she was really eager to see the movie, she had not seen it yet, and she was
just amazed that it was even showing here.
I asked her, "Why?"
--you need to know, dear reader, that she is not {from here}.
Nor is she Southern.
She was assuming that a movie with racial social commentary might not be well
received {in these here parts}.
Well, I took my five minutes to {school her a bit}, and to be honest, after having lived here
a while, I am surprised she needed schooling.
The place where I live, up until now, has been mostly half white and half black people.
The white people here do not go around saying where their ancestors are from either..
We are just white people who have been here (Eastern NC) a long time.
The black people have been here a long time too...
Enough said.
So I said to her, "It is surprising to me that you would think that this movie would be offensive,
or touch a nerve.  This is {our story}."
Now this movie is not the story of everyone.
BUT every old white lady I have talked to remembers that time, the hair
the social strata and the mistreatment of half of the population b/c of the color of their skin.
Yes.  They remember it.
I did have to confirm with my mother that people actually did their hair that way...
Since I left home after high school even until now, I am always amazed by
the assumptions that people who are {not from here} make about racism, about
how Southerners interact and treat one another.
When I have actually asked these people questions..well, I have been schooled on
what {theoretical} means.
Not being racist is theoretical for them...as most of them never even went to school with a
black person--there were no black people at their school in (you pick it)--New Hampshire,
Wisconsin etc.
There were none.
So then, when I can say to them, well, you see...
A black lady really did raise my mother.
I went to school, and grew up with (fill in the blank's) mother, and aunt
and cousins...and I have known them all my life.  My principals, and teachers and the
valedictorian of my graduating class were all black people....
When I can say that relating to people of another race is built into my life and has been
for generations...then I can honestly say, and believe that I am not racist.
I really do care about the education of all these kids, and I have a vested interest in them...
I know their mama! :) (They all love it when I tell them this, no matter what shade of skin they have!)
Meanwhile, some of the most racist remarks I ever hear come from people who have moved to the South
from the North or Mid West, and they realize that --ugh..We all go to the SAME WAlH3ll  HERE!
Yep...there ain't two em...
You are gonna see lot of black people all around--b/c that is how it is!
And how Not Racist do you feel when you actually have to live around, and educate, and shop with
people who are not just like you?
It is not theoretical...so check yourself, and do not assume anything about me..

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Buckshot

Hello again!
I cannot believe I went a week and did not post!
Well, there was that one...{it was terrible}--the one I deleted.
:)
Here are some nice bullets for you this morning.
Nothing in my mind is very cohesive right now.
It is all there.
It is all fine...just not well planned. :)
**yesterday was the first day ever that all of my children went to school! very cool!  Eva is going to the
two year old pre-school class, even though Elena and Victor did not.  Her personality really lends itself to the school at two concept..in my mind, at least--but what do I know?  She came home with a little crown that said, "I survived my first day of school" So funny really, b/c I guess that is what two year olds do.  She just clung to me the day of greeting teachers, which kind of made me second guess my choice to send her (and pay for it!)
*This past weekend Andy and I took the kids to Sonic and to play at Sonic --in g-ville (there is
not a Sonic in Washington), and then we all went bowling!  It was a hoot!  Big Mama won at
bowling too...hmm hmm...Victor was determined to get that ball rolling as hard as he could, so he threw it something like how track people throw the shot put!  CUTE!  Eva in bowling shoes...CUTE!
**We have been adding a bathroom on to the back of our house, and our little gem of a shitter is almost finished! :)  yeah!  That was a crude way to put that, but I could not resist.  We have had one bathroom for three years now, and my Daddy decided to help us remedy this one teensy problem with our otherwise perfect house.
*My mama and I went to see the Help on Monday--same day as bowling--that was a full day!  We loved the movie!  The book was great and they did an excellent job making that movie.  It sure made me cry a lot.
If you have not read this book, read it.  For real.  It is an excellent book.
**Melissa, I love your pretty paint!
*Speaking of paint, I also spent a portion of last weekend painting in the bathroom, and it is still not finished.
So this evening Andy and I will be painting again.
It has been fun to pick stuff out for the bathroom, but it really makes you realize how expensive everything is!
Good lord....So, we have the cheap stuff, and that is fine.

And, I guess that is it!  More later...I have some pictures etc.
Just no time. :)

Spot on!

Spot is our family's chihuahua.  He is what we call, "an evil dictator/stuffed animal come to life".  Sometimes, after he has ...