Daily Living

I'm not a present for your friends to open


Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's many like me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground


Oh I've finally decided where my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

Creencias

A friend's baby was recently suffering from a bout of diarrhea. She was looking to see if there were other ways to deal with the problem more swiftly instead of waiting for the BRAT diet to take effect. I told her my mom had told me that giving a baby jugo de guava would help take care of that problem in a jiffy. She looked at me like I was crazy. Sure, anybody would think that juice would be making the situation worse, but from my experience, it was a cure every single time. My mom learned that from a comadre back in the day. My friend said she'd try it but the tone in her voice carried a truckload of skepticism.

I know, we can't play around with a baby's health, but the doctor wouldn't be able to prescribe anything for diarrhea. The only recommendations would be the immediate start of the BRAT diet and lots of fluids. Jugo de guava cured my daughter of many bouts of diarrhea, and she's doing very well now. 

That got me to thinking, how many creencias does my family have? I jotted down a list of those that I've been in close contact with. How many of these have ever crossed your path?

borrowed this pic from DeLaredo.....depiction of sacando el aire

-Para sacar el aire: Roll up some newspaper into a cone, light up the wide end and stick the point into the ear or put it on the hurt area. I had this done to me all the time when I was a kid. I suffered from chronic ear infections and this remedy was supposed to help me. I remember lying on my parent's bed while my grandma had that cono in my ear waiting for the aire to come out. I ended up needing minor surgery on my ears so I'm not all too sure how much effective this method really was....

-Curar ojo con un huevo: Any headache, fever, aching bones...saca el huevo! I constantly saw this scene at home: one of my brothers lying on the bed, struggling not to laugh, while Mom brushed their body with an egg in her hand and chanted prayers under her breath. She would then break the egg into a glass of water and read the huevo to see if they did have ojo. I don't really know how to explain ojo but it's some powerful stuff. To this day, this is our go-to cure whenever we don't feel well. Dunno if it's a placebo effect but it seems to make everyone feel better..

-Como curar alguien de empache: When I was nine, my poor lil brother had problems going to the restroom (Mom blamed it on him eating his chewing gum) and so he was taken to our great-grandmother so he could be cured. She put some olive oil into her hands, rubbed her hands together to make them a lil warm, and went to work massaging my brother's back. When my lil bro looked like he was comfy, she suddenly started pulling his back skin upward. She did this a couple of times until she heard a pop. I was there, I didn't hear anything but my lil bro's wimpers of pain. Well, apparently it helped cure him of his problem because he was back to normal the following day and he never again ate his gum.

-Te de manzanilla: This is the end all, be all, cure for any stomach issue whether it be due to colic or menstrual cramps...te de manzanilla is whipped out all the time. Of course, it's not meant to be used for babies but tell that to any Mexican grandmother and they'd say you're crazy to believe otherwise.

-Como curar un dolor de pescuezo: You know, those nights when you sleep in a bad position and wake up with a pain in your neck; just grab a used pair of dad's underwear, wrap it around your neck and you'll be better in no time! And I mean your dad's underwear, not my daddy's. Alright, I have never had this tried on me, but if I'm not mistaken, I think one of my brothers had to endure this treatment. I guess my lil brother was desperate enough to allow this to happen. I wonder if he remembers, or if he repressed it like a traumatic experience...

-El Vicks: insect bite, a pain on your back, a cough...Vicks works for everything. Combine that with rubbing alcohol and you have a powerful armory against any ailment.

-Savila para la cara: My brother and I had some issues with acne back when we were teens (some of us still do) but instead of going to a dermatologist, we'd go outside, cut a branch of the savila plant growing on our front lawn and put the goo on our faces. In the morning, we'd wake up with much clearer faces. Now this remedy is well-known to actually work. We just preferred the au natural version instead of the store bought products. And these plants were planted there by Mom in order to ward off bad spirits...

Aside from medicinal beliefs, I've also grown up with some superstitions meant to ward off evil, bring good luck, and just to make my brothers and I think 'what the hell!?'

-Water behind the front door: I've seen this at a variety of homes. It's basically putting a glass of water behind the front door in order to make sure no evil spirits come in. Again, never really seen it work but it makes the residents feel better.

-Elephant statues with dollar bills on their trunks: My mom had a bunch of elephant statues back in the day. She had a shrine for them in a corner of the house I grew up in. Now she just has one on her coffee table; of course with the dollar bill in its trunk. Anything to attract money, huh? One day it just might work for my daughter, she's constantly trying to take that dollar bill from that elephant.

-Stack of coins in the corner of the room: I had never seen this before but I recently saw it at a house I visited. I didn't ask what's the reason for it but I'd imagine it has something to do with money. I'm gonna put one in every corner of my apt..see what that brings me...

-No pregnant woman can heal anyone: I didn't know about this until I was pregnant. I tried to cure the ex of some ailment he was having and apparently, due to my pregnant state, I got him sicker. My ex-mother-in-law told me not to touch her son anymore because I was only going to hurt him more than actually help him. I dunno, she said something about que yo tenia la mano mas pesada or something like that. It benefited me; I was released from wife duties for a while. Kinda makes me regret not taking more care of him while I was pregnant.....

-Trolls for luck: Dear ol' Mom and her superstitions. My mom was an avid bingo goer. Every time she'd go, she'd make sure to carry her army of trolls with her. She'd set them on top of her cards and comb their hair whenever she was going for a specific number. No one could touch their hair but Mom. They might've helped though, Mom always had luck at the bingo.

-Turning San Judas on His head: San Judas is the Saint for desperate causes and my ex-mom-in-law would constantly pray to him. But whenever he wouldn't give her what she asked for, she'd turn him upside down on his head until he helped her out. I think I'd be too scared to ever do anything like that. She seemed to do it all the time...can't really say she was doing well...so I would not recommend doing that.

-No sweeping at night: My mom never swept at night. She said that was because she'd be sweeping her happiness away. I think my grandfather was the one that told her that. Hence the reason why I don't sweep at all; just wanna make sure I don't ever run risk the chance of sweeping whatever happiness I have away....kidding, just kidding.

-No chewing gum at night: Again this came from Mom. She told us not to chew gum at night because we were chewing the bones of the dead. I have no idea whether this was passed on by older family members or she came up with this in order to get us to not chew gum at night but believe me, by 9pm, my brothers and I would make sure to throw our gums away.

-Purses don't go on the floor: Mom always tells me not to put my purse on the floor because then my money won't last. I thought the floor to my car wasn't technically the floor since it's elevated but nope, she gets mad at me whenever I put my bolsa there. Money doesn't seem to last either way....

I must say, it's a pretty interesting list. I wonder how many generations have trickled on this information. I gotta thank my mom cuz I don't think my dad would pass on this info to us. He's more the skeptical type. Still,  I don't recommend trying any of these things. I just thought it'd be fun to share what my family turns to whenever we need a quick fix.

Well, the way the economy's going, I'm sure a whole bunch of people are gonna turn to creencias more often.

But, please, stay away from dad's chones...that's just wrong. 

Por Tu Amor

Hi, folks.

I've run out of blogging topics.  Yes, I didn't think it'd happen, but it did. I have some opinions I could share but I figure it'd be a waste of time. They wouldn't be educated opinions and I'm sure I'd be sticking my foot in my mouth...or rather, putting my foot on the keyboard (?). Should you be concerned? Nah, I'll come up with something soon.

For the time being, I leave you with this song. I heard it recently on a friend's phone and flashbacks of a Christmas Eve years and years ago popped up. It's a real sweet memory. The whole night was spent laughing it up and enjoying the moment. This was the last song we danced.  

Anyways, I'll be in touch soon.

-Furniture In Life


P.S. Does everything really have to make sense?

Birthday Number Four

My lil one turned four this past week. Four. Where does the time really go? Why does it have to fly by so fast? Her birthday made me pull out her baby pictures; it lead me to retell the story of her birth to family members; it reminded me of just how far she and I have come. I know I've spoken a bit about her, and for the most part, I've chosen to keep that part of my life pretty private, but I wanna let you know a bit about her...and our journey together.

She was days old and already stylin' with a faux mohawk...

My pregnancy was wonderful. I didn't spend my time complaining about how big I was getting, about how much my back hurt, about how I already wanted her out. To be honest, I loved being pregnant...feeling her kick and move was amazing. When it came time for her to join the world, there were no complications. I had felt contractions for a couple of days but when it came time for the big event, I didn't scream, cry, curse at her father, nothing like that...the epidural worked wonders. Seeing her for the first time, it was incredible...and I then realized that she was all mine and she was out. That's when the real fun started. 

she was (and still is) absolutely adorable

When she was months old, I couldn't wait for her to make noises and start crawling. When she started babbling and crawling, I couldn't wait for her to walk and talk. When she started walking and talking...I wanted time to go in reverse. It's now that I realize she was a very easy-going baby...and toddler-hood is a whole other ballgame. 

My daughter is awesome, as I'm sure most parents think their children are. She loves to dance, pose for pictures, play outside in the dirt, and her greatest fascination comes from following her grandfather around his yard.  She doesn't play with electronics, she doesn't wear brand name clothing, and she's not the type to expect a toy every time she goes to the store. I can't say she's the most well-behaved all the time, but compared to some of the children I've seen...my daughter is pretty calm.

A side note on single parenthood: A recent ex-bf of mine advised me to work on finding out who I was as a person. In all honestly, I didn't really know I was ever lost. He said I was 'living vicariously through my daughter.' After that comment, he became my ex. The fact of the matter is, my daughter is my main priority and it's hard to 'find myself' and care for her at the same time. Sure, whenever I'm able to steal a second for myself, I take it. But for the most part, my days are filled with whatever she needs or wants to do....that's just my reality. Of course, for someone who doesn't have children or where both parents are actively involved, his theory makes perfect sense. In practice, it wouldn't work for me.

So friendly at the beginning but the night ended tragically for Ms. Kitty

Anyways, my baby girl turned four and is growing up so freakin' fast. I'm glad to say that she has some pretty solid, stable people in her life. I may be weird, and perhaps a tad overprotective, but I don't introduce my daughter to everyone. I'm extremely picky when it comes to who she meets. The few friends that have met her have been in my life for a while and I trust them.

My main goal in life is to raise a happy, healthy, well-adjusted, smart little girl. And for the past two birthdays, I've managed to continually make her happy. It doesn't really take much to satisfy her. As long as she has a piñata to hit, it's a successful party. Her most cherished gifts this year were: some earrings, a teddy bear, a remote control dog, and a Play-Doh set. Remember, simplicity is a family tradition, and I need to start showing her now, even though in school that frame of thinking will probably go out the window. I've been thinking about her Christmas gifts already...I think she'd get a kick outta a Slinky....I need to check out whether they still sell those things...

Happy Birthday, Mija. Even though you might never read this, or one day when you're older and run into this long-forgotten post, know that your mother loves you dearly....and I didn't always look as old as I do now.

I was sure giving those pumpkins some competition....

Ay Friend

I ain't picky with titles. It's simple. Co-worker, colleague, acquaintance, brother, sister, mother, father, daughter, son, girlfriend, boyfriend...etc, etc. What about friend?

Definition of friend as provided by Wikipedia:
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association.

I have a pet peeve. It's minor, I guess they could all be minor, really. I'm not much of a fan of being referred to as 'friend'. We've all heard it, especially living so darn close to the border. For example, Hey, friend, que hiciste este weekend? No, it's not the Spanglish that annoys me, it's the way 'friend' is used.

Why you may ask? Cuz it means you're really not the person's friend. It may mean that for that moment, they forgot what your name really was. 'Friend' would be a perfect substitute for that awkward silence before your name pops up in their head. I hear it all the time at work; and it always comes from people that I totally don't (and probably never will) consider a friend.

I know, I'm nit-picking. It's not really worth bringing up now but I'm just saying. In my personal opinion, referring to someone as 'friend' kinda makes the whole relationship extremely superficial. I'm not gonna deny that I've used the word, but it's only in instances where the other person uses it first; and where I don't hold that person in high regard...or I just want to annoy the crap outta them.

There's something meaningful about using a person's name. It was given to them for a reason, therefore, it's meant to be used. How hard is it?

Anyways, mis amigos, that's all I've got for right now. Have a great rest of the week.

Geography Awareness Week

Recently I found myself at a local South-side high school and ran into some projects on display. Well, actually, I was trying to exit the school and got lost (it's like a freakin' maze) and ended up finding out that Geography Awareness Week is upon us.

I don't remember ever honoring this week while I was in high school, but I guess it's something made up to make students more aware of their own surroundings. I thought it was a pretty cool idea. These are all projects dedicated to exploring Laredo's beauty and the things that makes my hometown unique.

I took pics of the projects I thought were interesting. These were the ones with actual pictures. Some of the displays had pictures that were taken from the Internet and printed out. Come ON! It's Laredo. It takes fifteen minutes to get anywhere, add a couple of more minutes for rush hours, but it's beyond possible to go to the sites and take pics. Leave those Internet pics for far off exotic places...like San Antonio or McAllen.

Anyways, I learned a couple of things (not really) but did manage to chuckle at a couple of them.

I didn't realize Laredo had so many monuments...I know, I know...shame on me

Dunno...maybe it's meant to be spelled like that...

Nicely decorated poster board...

This board focused on where Laredo's water comes from....in need anyone needed to be reminded...

And my personal fav:

There's so much going on here, it's kinda hard to pinpoint just one thing. It's a quirky board and I greatly enjoyed reading all that the student included. I also didn't realize emoticons were now allowed in projects. Even though the project did have printed out pics, and a couple of misspelled words, it didn't take away from the student's absolute love of the his/her city. My absolute favorite part of the whole project: 

The Rio Grande can never tear Laredo from Nuevo Laredo! NEVER! Mexican cultures run through our veins!(:

Amen! 

Two Years

Today marked the two-year anniversary of my grandmother's passing. Time's passed by so darn fast, it feels like just yesterday when I received my father's call.

So much has changed. For the better, for the worst...it is what it is.

I've written about my grandmother over and over before. She's the reason why my family and I are the way we are. We're close, super close. We get together, reminisce about the good ol' days, we sing, we laugh (a lot), we go out to eat at the same restaurants over and over again, we stick close to family, and we understand that friends come and go but family...family will always be the foundation that will help you get through anything in life.

I miss my grandmother dearly. I'd give anything to play her Scrabble again, hear her jokes, or just go and sit with her in her living room and hear her retell what happened on 'Laura'. It's hard visiting her grave site because I still feel the intense need to cry my heart out. I visit her often. When I get out of work early, I'm there. On Sunday mornings, after breakfast with the family, we head over to say hi.

The nice part is, I've dreamt of her. One dream I particularly remember, was right after her funeral, I saw her smiling; she was smiling that warm, loving, reassuring smile signalling me that she was doing just fine. It made me feel a little bit better. And recently, I don't remember the specifics of my dream, but I clearly remember her smiling face. There's no missing my grandmother's smile. She'd brighten your day without even trying.

So it's been two years but the yearning is still the same. The pain isn't as fresh but it's still deeply felt. But underneath it all, my grandmother's lessons, values, and memories strongly live on.

Miss you, Grandma. Love you.

Retama Burger

There was an unscheduled stop today in my very busy agenda. I hadn't been to this lil burger joint in quite a while. I'm talking about years and years. Last time I went there, I think I was still in high school; back when times were less chaotic and more fun.

While figuring out dinner plans, someone threw out the idea of stopping by Retama Burger. I quickly asked whether the place was still open...that's how long it had been. From what I was told, it was still open so I dashed over remembering that the restaurant would close early. Sure enough, I got there at 7:40pm and the place closes at 8pm.

I ordered 12 burgers (2 x $1.30) and it ended coming out to 8 bucks. TWELVE burgers! While I waited for my goods to be done, I took a seat in what looked like my mom's living room. Flashbacks of my family sitting around a table came back. My grandmother loved the place so we were there often. I pictured my dad trying to stop my brothers from fighting while I stared at the pictures on the wall, bored outta my mind cuz I was a know-it-all teen. That's when I realized....I totally missed that place.

When my order was up, the restaurant's owner handed it to me and I let her know how much my family and I had enjoyed the burgers from there. She smiled and explained just how much she loved her lil business. She went on to say that she looked forward everyday to serving her customers but more than that, she loved conversing with them. She said that why she was alive and able, she was going to continue doing what she's been doing since 1982. She also made me aware that once she was gone, Retama Burger would be no more since none of her children were interested in continuing on with the business. I vowed to come back over and over and she smiled, letting me know that she would continue to be there. She wished me well and I went off into the night to go and feed the hungry crowd waiting for me.

It's places like these that make me love Laredo. The big chain restaurants are everywhere and nothing will ever bring them down. Businesses like these, built by people who do it for the love of their craft, are the ones that make an impact on me. It's more than the good food (becuz the food is awesome..and cheap!); it's the fact that my memories are attached to them.

Whenever you have the chance, head on over to Retama Burger and visit the place. I promise you won't regret it.

Halloween

Halloween's over. Boo.


It all happened so darn quick, and I feel like I missed it all. All the Halloween specials...I didn't get to see them. Baking the mandatory Halloween-themed cupcakes and cakes....I didn't get a chance to bake them. Driving around to see Laredo's Halloween decorations.....I didn't do it. I missed it all.

Y porque, you may ask. Cuz I was too busy following around sports. Yup, that's correct, sports. With the Rangers' baseball games and my brother's wrestling matches, I got so caught up in the moment that I didn't even realize how fast-approaching Halloween was and it ended up zooming past me.

I can't help but feel like Sally in the old-time fav, It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (which I didn't get to see this year). I feel like shaking my fist around and throwing a tantrum and yelling "I was robbed!!!!....What a fool I was!!"

But alas, it was a great championship series and there's no replacing my bro's matches. But next year, I'm gonna make an effort to get into the Halloween spirit earlier..and perhaps skip baseball season altogether....but I ain't making promises. 

Here are a couple of pics I took during the spooky night. Enjoy. 

there were spiffy mobsters

feathered dancers 

what would Halloween b without a Spiderman

                                           

there were cute lil toads

mother vampires with their spawn

creative jack o'laterns (my brother carved out this one)

zombies driving cars

another creative pumpkin (this one was mine)

As short-lived as Halloween was, it was great fun. Next year's costumes have already been picked: we're gonna be zombies. Remember, we hafta start getting ready for the 2012 zombie apocalypse....