Friday, September 30, 2011

Once Upon A Time

JoAnna and Sebastian looked at each other and found themselves all alone in the dark there was no one at site. They looked at their mangled car, and there were cars coming and going on the freeway. JoAnna, asks Sebastian, "ok" smart guy", how are we going home?" "No problem, we will get home,"cars everywhere, no taxi, "ok", lets get out of here, let's find an intersection, and walk through the next town ahead of us," "not too far from here". "Come on, let's walk it", Sebastian encouraged her. "ok", "ok", I'm coming, I'm coming" replied JoAnna. They arrived to the town, and started to walk around to check the town out, and everyone was shopping.  It was about 8:00 p.m. and people were going in and out of stores.  Sebastian, turned to this gentleman, and said, "Sir, can you tell me where I can get a taxi?"  The man just walked right by him.  So, Sebastian asked another gentleman, "Sir can you tell me where I can get a taxi?" the man just walked right by him. Sebastian said,"did you see that, this town sure is not friendly, they just walk right by me"," and didn't even acknowledge me", "what's wrong with people nowadays, they are so rude, and so unfriendly", you try and talk to them, and see if you get any response from them, they sure are not listening to me, come on Joanna, you try", "ok", Joanna said, "I will try", " Ma'am can you tell me where I can find a taxi?", the lady walked right past her,"Ma'am, please we need a taxi, just tell us where we can find one, we need to get home, our kids are waiting for us at home".  Again, there was no answer and the lady just kept on walking.  JoAnna tried to get the ladies arm to get the ladies attention, but her hand went right through the ladies arm, and Joanna was shocked, so she tried again, and again, the same thing happen to her.  "Sebastian, Sebastian", "did you see what just happened to me?", No, Sebastian replied, "I am busy trying to get a taxi", "don't distract me right now", "No, Sebastian", "Listen to me".  "Joanna, please, let me get a taxi for us, we need to get home, it's getting late".  "ok, "ok", you see that man by the street corner, go see him, he has a hat on his head", Joanna said, and Sebastian replied, "are you crazy!" "He will slap me around, and we won't get home at that rate", "no way", replied Sebastian. "ok, "ok", then go try to walk that little old lady across the street, she needs help", said Joanna. "ok, I can do that, I am sure she will appreciate my assistance", Sebastian said.  Sebastian goes towards the lady and ask her, "May I help you", the little lady did not respond or even acknowledged Sebastian.  So, Sebastian, just thought to himself, and said, "ok" I will help her anyway".  He reaches out to get the little old ladies arm to guide her across the street, and his hand just goes right through her arm.  The little old ladies ends up walking all alone across the street.  "Sebastian was startled, "No Way," Sebastian said, and Joanna said, "Now, will you listen to me", "we are dead","we are dead!

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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Once Upon A Time

The next morning, James and Tamara had to resort with all the phone calls that were coming in from relatives on both sides of the family. Funeral plans made from a responsible relative, and different offers from all sorts of family members, but only one couple stood up, that made them decide who to choose to stay with. However, they were not going to let anyone know who that was, until after the funeral, and until everything was pretty much calm down and stable. The aunt they choose was an aunt that almost looked like their mother, the mother's sister, why? because she was the one that seemed to be the most stabled in the group, and she offered to live with them, in the same house prior to their parent's death. She was not taking them away from their home, a home, a life that they were adjusted to and happy at one time. Their Aunt Elizabeth, was ready to take the challenge. However, she did have a husband and he too would have to agree upon the circumstances and the changes made by his wife. That would not be hard, why? because they lived in the bad side of town, and always wanted to live in a good neighborhood. So, Aunt Elizabeth would have to rent her home out, and live with James and Tamara, until they turn 21 years of age. The funeral began, and all was said, there was not much to see, because the bodies were cremated, but there were family pictures and portraits of them at the front, and their favorite songs played and a short family movie of the good times, with their two children as years went by. A few people stood up and talked about the couple, and tears were shed among those that knew the couple well. Time seemed forever for James, and he kept looking at the clock. He wanted to go outside and breath some fresh air, it was too much for him. He had already grieved, and wanted to just go outside and breath fresh air, and see nature as it is, peaceful and a certain silence with birds singing in the background.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Once Upon A Time

The two children walked home, and were both talking about what happened to them during the day, and they both were surprised to hear that each other, for some strange reason were sick at an instance, that was some strange consequence. Tamara went in the home first and James followed her in the home. Tamara went straight to the kitchen and found some left over turkey meat and some lettuce, mayo, mustard and a few coca-colas at hand. Tamara decided to make sandwiches for the both of them. They took the sandwiches to the living room, and started watching television. As they were turning and watching the different channels, they stumbled into the news, and they vaguely hurt the highlights, they heard something about a real bad accident that occurred on the freeway, and that all three drivers were dead, although they did not think that it was their Mom or Dad, because they had gone on separate cars when they left the home, and it was three drivers, so of course it did not phase them at all. So, they turned to the next channel to watch an action movie, the movie was full of adventure and lots of action. They appeared to enjoy the movie and their sandwich, and they were more relaxed. Tamara was falling asleep, and James was still looking at the movie and participating along with it, He was really getting into the movie.
It was around 9:00 p.m. when the doorbell rang, and James looked out the window, and he could see that there was a female police officer and a male police officer, and was curious why in the world they were ringing the doorbell, especially around this time of night. He opened the door and waited for the two officers to say something, The police officers looked at him, and they asked him if there was an adult with them in the home, James, said, "My parents will be back soon, I can call them if you want me too". The officers asked if there was anyone else beside himself in the home, and he said, "My Sister", but she's asleep on the couch right now". "May we come in"asked the male officer, and James said, "May I see your ID first", the officers pulled out their ID, and James let them in the home. James was puzzled, and in his mind, he could not understand why the police officers wanted to come in, and what in the hell was going on, why so secretive, and why he couldn't call his parents. The female officer asked James to please wake up his sister, so James called Tamara, and Tamara is half asleep and half awake, she did not even see the officers there, but as she opened her eyes wider, she could see that something was not quite right, especially with police officers in her living room. "OK", she is awake", James, stated. "Now, can I call my parents". Both the officers, looked at each other, and hesitated there for a while, for they knew this was not going to be easy. The female officer said, "We have bad news."James said, "bad news, what do you mean?", Tamara and I have been good, we haven't done anything wrong, we don't understand", "no", it's not about you and Tamara", "then is it about our neighbors, they can get rowdy at times, but they are good neighbors most of the time". "We know they are good people in our neighborhood", James responded. "No", it's not about your neighbors", the male officer answered. "Then, why the mystery, my parents should be walking through that door, pretty soon, you can tell all of us about what's going on", said, James. The female officer looked at both of them and said, "There was this terrible accident on the freeway" "Oh, Yes, we heard about it on the news, something about three drivers, that was real bad, we just vaguely heard part of the news on that," James said. James sit down, we need to talk said the male officer, "OK", go ahead", said James. "We are listening". The female officer, said, In this accident, three people died, I am sorry to be the one to tell you two, but out of the three, your parents were involved", "No, that's impossible", James said, "You are wrong", my parents took separate cars, there is no way, it was them, sorry, but you must be mistaken", Tamara was in shock, and was just listening to James and the officers argue about the bodies and their identity. James cried out, "it can't be true, no you are wrong, you wait they will be coming any minute through those doors, you see" James was in tears and Tamara started to cry too, "this is not happening, this is not real, it's a nightmare, we are having a nightmare", said, Tamara, they both hugged each other and starting crying, "how can this be", it's not possible", Tamara was in self denial. "The officers just stood there for awhile, then as Tamara calmed down for a few minutes, the female officer held Tamara in her arms. The male officer tried to console James, but James wanted to be left alone, and ran to his bedroom and closed the door behind him, it seemed like his world was all over for him. The officers explained to Tamara, that the possibilities are great, that they would now need to find a relative that would take them in for now because both of them were under age. So, they asked Tamara, about her relatives, and she gave them a few details. The female officers, consoled Tamara the best she could, and asked if there was anything else she could do,
and gave her a contact card, where she could be reached. The officers called one of Tamara's relatives who appeared to be an aunt, and aunt agreed to come over and stay with them over night, until they reach other relatives to take care of matters. Tamara went to her room and cried herself to sleep, and James was still in shock and just stared out the window through the dark and lonely street. He did not go to sleep, he was still hoping for his parents to show up at the door, but it was just a quiet as it was throughout the nite, and no site of his parents, he then realized that mom and dad were not coming home.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, there was this family who was a very close family. A middle class family.
The mother was a Real Estate Agent and the father was an Advertising Agent for a large prestigious company. The mother's name was JoAnna and the father's name was Sebastian. They were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl. James was their 14 year old son and Tamara the 13 year old daughter. Both children are very sharp and very popular in school. This family, a very normal, middle class all American family. Every morning mom would have to rush off to work at another deal outside the city limits, and Dad he had to get to the agency on time for all kinds of negotiations, and creative ideas for the advertising agency.
James and Tamara, well, they would also rush to get to their school early to meet up with their friends in school. The school is a very upper middle class school, football, baseball, swimming,cheerleading, fundraisers for various trips and holiday parties; Halloween, Christmas, etc.Tamara, James and their parents followed the same routine every day.

On weekends, the two siblings would meet up with their friends and go to the movies, arcade, pizza place, or just go out bowling or shopping at the mall. Typical family. The parents would stay in and watch a couple of movies and eat popcorn, and call their friends in between television commercials. Typical family. They were all in tune with one another and happy for the time being.

Monday, comes along, and here we go again, Mom and Dad have some coffee, and rush out the house,
Tamara and James, have a piece of toast and orange juice, and out they go running to the school, the school is not far from where they live. The distance is about 15 minutes away from where they live. Their neighborhood is pretty nice, and the people in the neighborhood know Tamara and James and their parents. A normal day for the family.

JoAnna calls Sebastian and suggests that it's time for both of them to go out and have lunch together. Sebastian tells her, JoAnna, just give me 30 minutes more, and I will meet with you for lunch. JoAnna responded, o.k, 30 minutes and not a minute more, with a happy sound on the other end. Sebastian laughs, and tells her, I will be there.

JoAnna meets her client and shows her the house. Gives her a complete tour of the house,
and gives her all the details of the house. The client seems very interested and asks a lot of questions, and she looks like she is very impressed with the house, however, the client tells her that she will get back with her in a few days, she needs to talk it over with her husband, and her husband needs to come and see the house too. JoAnna smiles and tells the client that she will be waiting for her call, and if she does not call, then she will call her back to remind her of the house and follow-up and set an appointment with her and her husband to see the house, the sooner the better, she says, because this house will sell real quickly, it's a great deal and it's a beautiful home. She says good-bye to the client and the client drives away.
Joann awaits for her husband outside the house, and so she feels that she did very well, and has a good feeling about this client. Meanwhile, her husband drives in the driveway, and smiles at her, and says, hey, are you available,for a date? she smiles, and says, "who's this stranger, this lonely stranger with a nice smile, and bright blue eyes". He smiles, and tells her to get in the car with him. Sebastian, tells her about his meeting at work, and how well things are going, and he is very excited about the this one advertising deal. Joanna, tells him that she might have a client pretty soon, and it may be a very successful transaction, but she needs to follow-up and be persistent with the client. As they are talking, and laughing, Sebastian turns on the radio, and their favorite songs comes on. "You Only Just Begun", They are both quiet as they are listening to this beautiful song. Sebastian and Joann seem very much in love with one another, and they seem to be in their own little world.
Meanwhile Tamara is practicing her cheerleading with the rest of the girls and James is practicing football with the guys out by the field. Both are very intense and want to do well, so they practice for long hours. Suddenly, Tamara feels sick and wants to vomit, and James starts feeling dizzy and starts sweating. They don't understand why they feel like that. Tamara tells the girls, "I will be back, I need to sit down and drink some water, don't feel that hot, may be it's the heat". James, just tells his coach, "hey couch, I will be back, I need to go to the restroom", James goes in there and washes his face with cold water and looks at himself in the mirror, stares for awhile, then goes back to practice. Tamara, she just want to call it a day, and waits for James to finish his practice so she can walk home with James.

Sebastian and JoAnna are listening to more music, and this time, it's rock and roll and they are both moving to the rhythm of the music. They are having a good time, the two of them by themselves in the car, just like it was back then in high school when they were teens themselves. All of the sudden a car is coming fast, and is going the wrong way, Sebastian tries to protect JoAnna and JoAanna tries to protect Sebastian, and they both hold each other, the car comes straight at them and kills them instantly. Only the music is playing, and there is a silence, no more laughter, a dead silence. The driver of the other car is also dead. The ambulance arrives, and takes the bodies away. The attendants just shake their heads, "there is no life in these bodies, all died instantly".

Saturday, September 17, 2011

IPHONES AND IPADS

The market is getting so compatible and there are so many gadgets to compare now. Should I get an IPHONE or Should I get and IPAD? That is the question. I love them both, however, I need to take one product at a time, and save my money to buy 1 and then buy the other. I know they are both great products, and I am looking forward to buying them. Like all gadgets nowadays, makes our lives much easier with all the running we all have to do nowadays. Check them out. Well, have a great day and enjoy your weekend. By the way Apple has those gadgets, go check them out.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Gorditas

My personal recipe. It's great. When I was a little girl, my mother would give us an economical meal. There were a total of 11 of us, so she had to think of a way to feed us. She had to be creative. The following recipe is one of my favorites, I still use it with my family, and they love it.

Ingredients:
Flour
Water (preferably warm water)
Baking Powder
Salt
Canola Oil or Vegetable Cooking Oil
Margarine or Butter

Supplies:
Roller Pin
A Clean surface to roll your gorditas
A hot griddle to cook your gorditas


You get 2 cups of flour, the more flour, (the more flour you add, you need to increase your dry ingredients. Maybe 1/2 of teaspoon of both if you use more flour)
Mix 1/4 teaspoon of Baking Powder
Mix 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Mix all dry ingredients well.

Then, gradually add your warm water to it
Keep mixing it.

Then once you mix it well, you then start gradually using little amounts of cooking oil,
This will make your flour more flexible to work with, and it won't stick so much on your hands
or roller pin. Remember use a very clean area to work your dough and make your gorditas.
Once, your dough is smooth and does not stick on your hands or on the roller pin.
You are ready to make your gorditas.


You then add a little bit of flour on the surface you plan to roll down your dough., Spread
the flour in the area, where you plan to work with the dough, not too much flour, that's not good. Make your balls of flour the size of a two baseballs, I had to describe it, much easier that way. Now start with your pin by rolling the dough and working it so it is about 6 inches wide all around, and about 1/2 and inch all around, Once you are done, place it on the griddle,
The griddle should be on medium heat. You place your gordita on the griddle, and right away turn it on it's other side, let it cook very well, toast it or brown it, then turn the other side, cook it well, then take it out. You now have your gordita done. Next, you place it on the plate. You cut the gordita by slicing it in little squares but not all the way, just the top, then you add your favorite topping. We use margarine, and spread it on the gordita, then we add refried beans, or we can add chicken or chili con carne, fresh beans with chili sauce, whatever you like. You eat it with a fork and a knife. It is real good. Try it, see if you like it. Do you have a recipe you want to share, please email me. Thank you.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Head Start

When I was younger, I was unaware that there was a program called, Head Start. If I would have known now what I know today, I would have taken steps to register my children in this program. The program is great and it is exactly what it says it is, a head start for your children before they go to kindergarten. It's a preschool program for ages 3 - 5 years old. Qualified teachers and qualified nurses are there to help and educate the child. They have qualified nutritionist to help and balance a healthy diet. It is a free program for low-income families and it is a free program for the child and parent. Parents also get to participate in the program and help in the classroom. It's a great program, a win win situation. Head Start Preschool is a great program. Check the program in your part of the woods, and find out if you have a Head Start Program. You will be glad you did. The children go to school for 3.5 hours, and they have a morning session and an afternoon session, some have a full time session for parents that work or go to school all day. Find out more in your city, you and your child will benefit from it. Well, take care and May God Bless You. Have a great day, every day.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Health News


I know and you know that eating a healthy balanced diet is very important. We know that, but do we do it, no, we try, but then we go back to our old habits, I know I do, and then I just keep on trying. Exercise, we supposed to do them too, and we try, and we try, and they say you can exercise for 20 minutes a day, and that will keep your weight at a stable level, maintained. You won't lose but you won't gain. I say 1 hour a day can make a difference, just make sure you do the adequate and appropriate exercises for your age and your health, ask your doctor. Anyway, there are a few things to remember to eat. For instance, the following can help all of us one way or the other: Example: Tomatoes, Flaxseed, Kale, Salmon, Cranberry Juice, Greek Yogurt and Walnuts. Check them out. They are very beneficial for your health.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

A funny thing happen to me


It is 10:00 a.m. and I answered the switchboard at work, "Good Morning", May I help you, the response I get is "Good Afternoon", I wish to speak to ... "o.k. whatever you say", I think to myself.

Then, the next call comes in, "Good Morning", may I help you, I would like to get the number to and she gives me the name of a location, so I give that person the phone number, and she does not quite get the number, I give her the number, and she repeats the number incorrectly, I give her the number again, and she still gets it wrong, I give her the number again, then she tells me, "just a moment, let me get a pen and some paper", so I wait for the lady for about two minutes, so she can get a pen and some paper. You know that as an employee, you must have patience by now. Wow! that was not easy for me.