Nom, Nom, Nom... Spaghetti!!

So, I recently wrote about my spaghetti and thought I'd share the recipe with you. :) My family requests it whenever it's my turn to cook. I try to make enough for two nights but it usually is just for the night and maybe a lunch or two for the next day. It's a pretty basic recipe with a few added ingredients. (by the way I can't don't know the exact measurements for the spices and such because I eyeball and taste test it)

Spaghetti Meat Sauce Recipe

1-2 lbs of ground beef

2 medium onions

2 medium tomatoes

1 can of tomato sauce (16 oz)

1 can of tomato paste (8 oz)

Vegetable oil
1 cup of water

Oregano 

Basil

Garlic (powder or minced)

Salt

One large pot
wine

Preperation:

Chop the onions and tomatoes. Sautee the onions in the pot with some oil until they are slightly see through. Add the ground beef to the onions and fry for a few minutes. Add a little bit (aka a three shakes of the spice bottle) of the oregano, basil and garlic to the onions to give them some flavor. Give it a good stir and then add the meat. Once it is nearly all cooked add the tomatoes and a cup of water. As soon as the water begins to boil add the tomato sauce and tomato paste to the pot. Stir it some more. Add some more of the spices to enhance the flavor, three more shakes. Add a cup of water and some wine. I put in about 4 large spoonfuls of wine. Let it come to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes and stir every once in a while. While that's cooking make some pasta & enjoy! I hope you like this spaghetti recipe and much as we do :)

self help books...yes? no? which one?

I've been through some ups and downs in life and I'm pretty sure it's just the beginning. In some of the downs I looked to books for comfort and guidance. (They kind of hold a special place in my heart :) ) I'm a kid at heart so naturally the first thing I grab from my bookcase are comic books, Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson and Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. They helped bring out the kid in me that knocked some sense in older me. But when comic books didn't quite help me the way I needed I went to a particular author's books, Max Lucado. (Facing your Giants and Traveling Light) His books are great! They helped me when I was down in the dumps. I admit that there are moments where I slip and fall but I know I can and will get back up stronger. I really love to read motivational quotes and really just about any quote. Something about reading a saying or proverb puts a smile on my face and I feel at ease.

Birthday Fun!!

Mah birthday! I'm the kind of girl who doesn't like to be the center of attention contrary to what many Leo's probably are but that's just me. I'm usually on an airplane for my birthday or at work (like many) but this year I was in neither situation. Yay! So, this year like most we had BBQ, at my grandpa's house, and some chocolate cake with cookies n' cream icing. Absolutely delicious!
These past couple of years I've been getting myself a little treat or two for my birthday just because. The one thing that I really really wanted but not necessarily needed was a purse/backpack from Mulberry. One day I will buy that bag and it will be a great day! I got myself my two first blue ray DVDs- Summer Wars and the first season of Fairy Tail. I also got some candles from the Bath and Body Works summer sale, half price on the candles is a winner deal. My brothers got me a purse and shirt of my choosing from the Le Tote online shopping event. My grandmother sent me a big bag of my favorite chocolate candies from my country. My mom and sister gave me some great earrings, owls and skulls.  My sister also got me a ring with skulls around it. They know me so well ^_^
I couldn't have asked for anything better on my birthday than to spend time with them. The presents were just a bonus. I'm so blessed to have the wonderful, crazy, qwerky family that I have. It was a great birthday!

Advice from a stranger or a close friend/relative...

Advice huh? Well, I prefer to get advice from someone close to me but I know from experience that getting advice from a stranger can be a good thing. For starters they won't be biased on their advice or try to console you as much if you didn't like the advice they gave you. I got some good advice from people I just met at work but the best ones were from family and friends. Didn't make up my mind on this one, did I?... Two sides of advice and I'll take 'em both into consideration. (picture from here)

Three things I'm at expert at...

                                                                    (personal photo from Miami) 

"The expert at anything was once a beginner." -Helen Hayes

So, its been a while...my bad. I had some serious writers block and time got the best of me. This month I'm hoping to get into the swing of blogging by participating in the NaBloPoMo! The theme for the month of August is Know and yesterday's prompt was what three things we're an expert at.
I thought about it for a little bit and came up with this:

Spaghetti!- It was the first meal I prepared for my family at the age of twelve. I remember that day very clearly because I had a mixture of emotions, nervous and excited. What if there isn't enough salt or oregano? I can't believe I'm cooking a meal for all of us! It turned out pretty good. Throughout the years I learned to make it better. I know that it is good because it's one of the meals my siblings ask for the most whenever I cook.

Pj's- I've become rather good at sewing pajama pants and shorts for my family. I try to sew some other clothes, half the time it works and the other half it turns out a little wonky.

Sister- I am the oldest kid in my family. I have two brothers and a little sister & I think I have mastered the art of being the elder sister. Annoying, caring, nerdy, encourager(is that a even a word?), defender, teammate, confidant, and sarcastic leader. I am so blessed to have three awesome, nerdy, goofy, sarcastic siblings!

(prompts from NaBloPoMo)

Woah! :)

Thinking back through all the times I was surprised or almost surprised I found that there are a lot of little things that surprised me. The best surprise was the day my parents told me that I could take skating lessons over the summer (at least that's how I remember it) I was so super, uber excited that I could skate on ice like Michelle Kwan, an olympic figure skater and I admired her. It was scary at first but after a while I got used to the ice and falling on my bum whilst learning new techniques. 

I recently went back to the ice with my little sister and it was exhilarating! I felt so free, without a care in the world and that no matter what happened on the ice it was between the two of us. 

Thank you mom and dad for giving me that chance to "fly" on the ice :) 

A spark of Joy

I just joined in the NaBloPoMo December daily blogging...umm challenge? (First time daily blogging, eek! Wish me luck!)  Well, here goes...Something that always puts a smile on my face is lighting up a log in the fireplace and I am so happy we have one in our home. :) I don't know what it is about the fireplace that puts me at ease the extra bit of heat might have something to do with it, specially after a long day or just cold weather. Combine that warm fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, some freshly baked cheesy bread (honestly, anything will do), and Christmas music softly playing in the background; it's just awesome! With all the the stress that this time of the year puts on us it's nice to sit back for a few minutes and enjoy something as small as standing by the fireplace to warm up before that e-mail you have to answer, getting recipes together for Christmas Day, or even looking for that special gift for someone dear. Finding joy in the little things can melt the stresses of the day away and sometimes give us clarity to take on the next day with another list of tasks to cross off the list. I hope that many of you get a chance to enjoy a fireplace this holiday season and if you don't have one you can play a loop video of a firewood burning in a fireplace with holiday music. I like to call that moment I have in front of our fireplace my Spark of Joy!