Y al Fin......

The newest bumper sticker my car's sportin'....gotta keep it real.

I made it! 30 posts in April! Thanks to all those who tuned in. 

I'll try to work on bringing in posts on a pretty regular basis...remember, I said try. 

Pictures

My daughter and I have started a lil tradition, one of the few that we have.

See, we visit the mall on some occasions to hit the indoor park. Shopping at the mall is a 'yea right' kinda deal for us, but we like to go and just hang out. Back in Feb of 2010, we were already walking out of the mall when my lil girl ran towards a photo booth. We ended up taking our picture; which ended up being the first of many.

the pic's taken like that for a reason...yes, I kinda know how to work a camera

It's fun to see the transformation in myself and how much my daughter's grown. For 3 bucks, the pics aren't bad at all and making my daughter smile, well, I'd pretty much pay anything for that. 

Haven't Found.....

A couple of months ago, I felt like I was ready. I felt like there was a renewed interest in finding a partner. I felt like the time had arrived to finally open up the opportunity to build a relationship with someone. Pos que creen?

Before I jump to the end of my story and tell you what I found, I figured I’d share a lil about the quest to my ending. I’ve never been the life of the party and meeting potential boyfriends have always been somewhat of a problem. I’m too reserved for my own good, well at least at the beginning I am, but that first impression really scares off a lot of guys. I decided on a different route: eHarmony.

Mmm hmmm. You read that right. I really put a lot of thought into taking that step to actually pay to find myself a match. And right after I clicked on that button that started my subscription, I regretted it. Somehow, deep in my gut, I knew I wasn’t going to be putting that much effort into getting to know the men on there. Every morning, I’d wake up to seven new matches. I’d scroll thru their profiles, reading up on their lives. I can’t say that any of them interested me all that much. I never initiated any type of communication with any of them, and when they did request communication, I’d constantly put it off, thinking I’d get to it later. Well, that supposed later never arrived.

My subscription ended and I didn’t bother to renew. What did I learn? One: I paid that money for nothing. Two: I’m not ready to find a partner. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been dating but to say that I’ve met someone who’s really captured my attention….I can’t say that. It’s not to say that I haven’t met men who are worth it; I’ve actually met some great men, but my heart’s not in it. I can honestly be pretty cold and distant with them…and it’s not to say that I feel bad about that.

So, in conclusion, I am still single and it’s due to it being my choice. I’ve made progress in these last two years but I’ve still got work to do.  But, deep down inside, I feel like everything will fall into place when I finally meet a guy that’s made for me. Yea, yea, sounds kinda sappy but it’s what I believe.

Until then, my adventures in the dating world will only serve as material for either a lesson learned or an interesting post.  Whichever of the two, I’ll be sure to let u know…whether you wanna know or not.

J

Neighborhood Store

Since I can remember, my barrio has had Mama Luz. It has saved us from having to take trips to the local Super S and Circle K for our munchies. But what makes Mama Luz special is that it offers so much more than just Cheetos and cokes.

Before I go on and on, I only included one pic of the store for a reason. I wanted to take pics of the inside but I'm sure the store owners would feel uncomfortable. The neighborhood's kinda changed and I'm sure they're weary of visitors coming in with cameras. Making them uncomfortable is also the last I'd wanna do. The owners have known my family for yeeaaars. They know each and every one of us. I'm not exaggerating when I say that my youngest brother probably walks to the store at least once a day. 

Back in the day I, along with the primos, would walk on over with 27 cents in their pockets to pick up a Continental Cola. It was the only thing that would quench our thirst after a basketball game at the Leyendecker playground. There were plenty of times when I'd walk those cement floors barefoot, marveling at how cold the floor was even in the middle of the swealtering summer heat. 

When were kids, the store's snacks called our names. As adults, it was everything else that we needed that called our attention. There's a wall inside the store that looks like it belongs at Dr. Ike's. If there's ever been a need for nails, screws, electrical fixings, plumbing materials, and other stuff like that, we've managed to find it there. It's also been our emergency pit stop for diapers, wipes, baby food, and I think I even found a deodorant there at some point.

The store's been there for over twenty years. The name comes from one of the owner's mother. I love the place, not only cuz it's close by, but cuz we have a history. Forget that the prices are kinda expensive (le da competition a Super S) but that's forgiven because of the smile and greeting we receive when we walk in.

For those who are on the west side and wanna stop for a soda, visit Mama Luz. But fyi, the cokes aren't 27 cents anymore. 

Rotas

A whole bunch of songs have special significance to me. I heard this particular song back in the summer of 2005. I had just started dating the ex and I was in the valley visiting. We had very different tastes in music but I was willing to give his choices a chance. During that visit, he put in a CD that had this song. For some reason or another, I liked the tune. To be honest, I never really paid much attention to the lyrics. 

When I let him know how much I liked the song, he gave me the CD. I listened to the song over and over and over...on the drive back to Laredo, drive to work, school...all the time. I loved the song because it reminded me of him. And I was so in love back then. Then when the blinders finally fell off, the song carried a whole different meaning. Then that's when I paid attention to the lyrics, and I realized just how close to home they hit. 

When I moved back home and after all the dust had finally settled, I started burning CDs. When making a list of songs, this one was number one. I wondered whether I could hear the song without falling apart; I found out that after a month, I wasn't quite there yet. 

Fast forward to two years later. I hear the song on a weekly basis, and it's always played twice in a row. Perhaps maybe even three times. The affection that was there at the beginning is gone. The hate that was there at the end has faded. The only real feeling that lingers is a certain kind of sadness. A sadness unlike any I've ever felt before...one that carries a sweetness to it.  

When forgiveness is finally embraced, all the pain that existed subsides and the good memories are the only ones that really linger. I guess that's why I continue to hear this song; because in the midst of all that happened, there was something there in the first place. At the base of it all, there actually existed love. 

GENOCIDE!!!!!

The LWA's having a match this coming weekend. Since I've started going to the events, which has been a lil under a year, the matches have gotten better and better. I've followed my brother all over the place: from Mami Chula's to Zapata to the Menudo Bowl to Rio Grande City to the firefighter's union hall...I'm his number one fan. 

Here's a video of his latest match. I'm so darn proud of him. 

All the wrestlers in the LWA are cool and work hard but of course my lil brother's my fav.

He's freakin awesome!

Part-Time Job

I've been thinking of ways making a lil extra cash. I was thinking of something fun and interesting. I thought of making joyeria but I'm not creative. I'd probably end up making the same thing over and over. I thought of perhaps those makeup catalogs that everyone seems to be selling. But, nah, didn't really catch my attention.

Then I thought of this.....

What do ya'll think? I'll be booking demonstrations soon...let me know!

BTW, I'm just kidding.....ya sabras.

I totally suck at selling stuff so I wouldn't be making any money offa that.

I guess it's back to the drawing board. Ideas are more than welcome.

Song of the Week

I swear I'm not crazy....

One day I'll be back to normal. But what's normal anyways?

Ya Mero

My playground gets so pretty during the evening.

Which reminds me, the end to April's constant-blogging-extravaganza is near. I've missed a couple of days, I'm well aware of that, but rest assured that I'll be completing the 30 entries for the month.

Yup, I give ya my word...no changitos included.

Take Two

Decided to give the penguins another chance....

I like the decor, I really do. It's neat...kept me entertained during the wait. I also found that the second choice I made was better than the first.

mmmm....mangos

Hooray for long lunches.

Dancing up a Storm

I don't really listen to the radio. I usually stick to my cds, since I don't like what's played on the radio. Sometimes, though, I'm forced to tune in to La Ley or some Spanish station when visiting my mom.

Recently, on the ride over to our favorite dining spot, Mom was blasting the local Tejano station when all of a sudden, sapo sapito jumped outta the speakers. I started laughing cuz I remember when my brothers and I would go crazy to this song when we were kids. 

I just had to look up the video. 

As always, I dunno if this was the group that first came out with the song or if the song's existed since forever, but I loved the video. 

So now, all of a sudden, mija will bust out singing sapo sapito y otro sapito when working on her coloring book or when playing in the dirt. 

Now I'm just working on her learning the dance moves in the video. 

Be on the lookout for a dancing video soon.......

North Side

I come from the west side. I don't travel to north Laredo all that often unless it's for work. I don't feel like I fit in. But every now and then, I'll go just for the heck of it. Nomas for the drive.

I ran into this awesome bbq pit. My dad has a carne asada every once in a while so he's not a fanatic. He's a practical man and if he can buy his fajita already marinated, it's better for him. But if I had the dough, I'd buy him the pit.

It'd be a beauty to own and display. I imagine the fajita would also taste awesome.

Note to self: there is life north of Hillside.

Random Truth

Having my own apt for the past year has been the first time I've ever lived by myself. I had always lived with my family up until I moved out with the ex. Since the big move, it's been a learning experience for mija and me. Take for instance a recent dilemma in my household.

The shower's drainage had started to slow down a couple of weeks ago. I kinda ignored it, hoping it'd fix itself. How? I dunno but I'm sure it's happened before. Well, it just ended up getting worse. Duh. The soap residue would make the tub all slimy and gross and I had to scrub it on a daily basis. I thought a wire hanger would help clear up the situation. The only thing was that I didn't have a wire hanger. That mommy dearest movie kinda freaked me out. I also kept forgetting to ask my dad whether he had one so I kept dealing with the super slow draining tub.

Until I went to Target, where I ran into the Turbo Snake.

I'd seen the infomercials where the problem would be fixed in a jiffy. I thought, eh what the hell. So when I got back to my apt, I figured I'd tackle the problem head on. Pos, I found that the head of the snake didn't fit in through the drainage hole (absolutely no pun intended). Then I  noticed the screen to the drain had a screw. With my handy, dandy butter knife, I unscrewed the screen and ta-dah! I found there was no need for the snake at all. I just had to take out all the gunk that was easily within reach with my hand. FYI...the gunk was some pretty gross stuff. I could've made a wig with all the hair I pulled out. A really nasty wig, but a wig nonetheless.

It was a proud moment when I let the hot water run and the water drained smoothly. It was one of those 'I am woman, hear me roar' type of deals. When it comes to academics, I'm smart. I can get it done. But when it comes to street smarts, I'm slow...real slow.

But I was able to clear up my shower drain. Me. Thank you, thank you.

Family Pet

Years back, having a pet rock was the in thing. I never had one. My dad preferred to have dogs. Well, months ago, I took my daughter to the lake and she came back with a new pet. 

it doesn't have a name...suggestions?

She never let that thing go, even when I told her to throw it away when we got back to the car. She sat it on her lap all the way home and then plopped it down in the corner of the living room. And there it still sits. 

I've tried throwing it out but she won't let me. I understand, we really can't have pets (well, I don't wanna pay the extra deposit to have a pet), but a rock? 

So there it sits. Visitors who have come by have commented on it. Well, some of them have, others just give me a weird look. Who knows what goes thru their head. But I don't mind it at all. It makes my daughter happy. And don't think that she sits down and plays with it. No. She plays with the toys she has, but for some reason or another, she likes having the rock there. 

I know, there's probably some reason as to why she wants it there but I haven't analyzed it yet. I'll do it soon. Till then, this is mija's pet. It's been the cleanest, quietest, most well-behaved pet ever. 

You should all look into getting one.

Btw, I know I owe you all a post. I'm working on it. 

Clip of the Week

Sorry. I tried. At least it's not a song. 

Btw, there's some pretty strong language. 

In my opinion, he was one of the best comedians ever.