Well in the past 2 days a few things have happened to me or my husband that have left us scratching our heads not knowing what to think. I want to know your opinion to these things.
Situation #1
The first thing is that my husband went to go to work when he notices the car is gone. He calls me to see if I had moved the car or something. After I deny moving the car I go online to see if our car had been towed. The website said that the car had been towed. I check for unpaid tickets and there are none. I call the city and they say that the car is there at the Navy Yard but that they don't know why. Bottom line is that after paying almost $500 in fees to get the car back without knowing why the car was towed, yet there was a ticket in the window saying that the car was in a Bus Stop. The thing is that my husband did NOT park the car in the bus stop. He parked it 2 cars after the bus stop, yet the ticket says that he was parked at the bus stop. What leaves us scratching our heads is How on earth can we fight this? We have no proof that the car was not in the bus stop and it's our word against the cop's... and we already had to pay a lot of money to get our car back...
Situation #2
Today I went to Popeyes for lunch and I see this person next to the line asking people for money. She comes to me and asks me if I could spare a dollar for her to get some food. I reached in my pocket and gave her the dollar. I see that after I give her the dollar she keeps asking people for money. I look at the menu and see that the meals are like $6. I look at her and say. Why don't you ask someone to buy you lunch? She nodded and I told her. When I get to the front of the line, come next to me and I'll order you some food. She said, two pieces of chicken, legs and thigh, mild. Ok. I keep making the line and notice she keeps asking for money.
I think, maybe she doesn't believe me. So after I make the order when its time to pay I think twice before I take my Debit Card out, but then I decide to pay with a $20 bill. Can you believe the nerve of this girl to tell me. Can I keep the change? CAN I KEEP THE CHANGE?!!! Seriously?! I looked her in the eye and said. No, you may not keep the change, and so you know, if you are going around asking for money for food and someone buys you food, you don't keep asking for money. It looks bad. Got it?! She nodded took her food and left. Not only did I spend $1 giving it to her, plus the $6+ of her meal and she expected me to give her the change of the $20? She was young, do something people, get a job, or something...
Situation #3
I am a the mall and pass by Victoria Secret. I think to myself that I could use some new underwear. ok,ok TMI, I know! But it is relevant to the story so bare with me.
I go inside and start looking at the underwear and see ones that I like, so I start looking at the size and the largest I saw was medium. A clerk calls out, What size are you looking for? I say, XL. Oh I'm sorry but we don't have any XL underwear in this section at all, you have to go all the way in the other side in the cotton underwear section. I try to look at the underwear that they have and ask, how about the drawers? She blocked the way between me and the pretty underwear and said, NO, there are no underwear in your size. go to the OTHER side of the store where the COTTON underwear are.
I am SHOCKED! She then says, anyone with sizes larger than Medium have to go to the other side of the store! This lady looked at me as if I had the plague, even gave me a dirty look for trying to see the pretty underwear. So I go to the other side of the store to see what they got and it's all granny panties. Well, there were a few, OK ones, but then another girl approaches me and asks me for my size and I say once again XL. She says, sorry, the only underwear that comes in XL is the High Leg Briefs, and they were hideous! Talk about Granny Panties. I looked at her and said, Sorry these are horrible! She said, why don't you try Large? Nah, they bother me in Large.. and I walked out.
I couldn't believe that at Victoria Secret of the Atlantic Mall in Brooklyn, NY they treated me like a leper because I said I was size XL. The funny thing is that when I got home, I checked my Victoria Secret Panties and they were all size Large, not XL. So I got confused. But I must say I ain't going to go to that Victoria Secret no more, as I felt prejudiced against by what I though was my size. And I looked around and there were more big bootie ladies in the store, I was not alone.
So that's my story for today and I want to know, How do you deal with stuff like this? Has anything similar happen to you before?
Cocoons to Butterflies, is not only about helping our children reach their potential, it is about every one of us. It is about finding a way to make our dream develop into butterflies and fly. It is about finding our true potential, it's about life. Please join me in this journey through the unexpected, the wonderful and the mysterious that leads us to our true potential, our own butterflies.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
HAPPY 36th BIRTHDAY!!!
Today is my 36th Birthday! And I am happy and proud to be 36.
I will celebrate today, have fun, eat out, spend it with my family, and will take the day off from my writing group and from writing right here. Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Me and Happy Birthday to anyone out there with the same birthday as me. Congratulations Aries everywhere! Enjoy!
Here's a bit of Trivia regarding March 30th excerpted from Fun4Birthdays.com
Famous People born on March 30th:
1746 Francisco Goya (artist)
1853 Vincent Van Gogh (artist)
1937 Warren Beatty (actor)
1945 Eric Clapton (musician)
1962 M.C. Hammer (rapper)
1964 Tracy Chapman (singer)
1968 Celine Dion (singer)
1979 Norah Jones (singer)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Household - Chores and Routines
About a week ago, Amy the Expert Organizer came to my home and helped me declutter a section of my living room. And while I must say that it took 3 hours to clear out about 3 sqft of my apt. Amy did more that just help me figure out what to throw, and what to keep and what to do with what I keep, but she also gave me advice on things to do with my kids.
Amy advised me to give my daughters some kind of job, like sharpening all the pencils every Sunday. Each girl has to sharpen all the pencils in the pencil cup on alternating Sundays. We bought a calendar and wrote down the names when each of them have to sharpen the pencils, bought them an electric sharpener and let them have fun.
Another job that the girls have is setting and clearing the table, they also alternate between them, one sets the table, the other clears it out and they switch out the next day.
Since we have incorporated these new strategies we all sit at the table to have dinner, we spend more time together, the girls are helping me out, and I believe things are going very good and I am very happy with the results.
What little things you do at home to keep the order? What chores do you give your kids if you have any?
I want to hear from you.
Also if you live in NYC and would like to contact Amy, please email me and I will send you her info.
Amy advised me to give my daughters some kind of job, like sharpening all the pencils every Sunday. Each girl has to sharpen all the pencils in the pencil cup on alternating Sundays. We bought a calendar and wrote down the names when each of them have to sharpen the pencils, bought them an electric sharpener and let them have fun.
Another job that the girls have is setting and clearing the table, they also alternate between them, one sets the table, the other clears it out and they switch out the next day.
Since we have incorporated these new strategies we all sit at the table to have dinner, we spend more time together, the girls are helping me out, and I believe things are going very good and I am very happy with the results.
What little things you do at home to keep the order? What chores do you give your kids if you have any?
I want to hear from you.
Also if you live in NYC and would like to contact Amy, please email me and I will send you her info.
Health & Beauty - Deprivation
Today is Monday and Monday's for the most part will be about Health & Beauty. I am going to talk today about Deprivation. Many times when we go on diets we tend to deprive ourselves with something and for some this works well, I've heard that if someone is addicted to something, the best thing to do is deprive themselves from it. But for me deprivations just creates the opposite effect. I cannot deprive myself from something or I will binge on it. Right now I have had a King Size Hershey's Almond Chocolate Bar in my purse for over a week. I have not opened it. I rather have the indulgent item in my sight and know that I can have it whenever I want, and I will not over indulge in it. As long as I have what I want and it is my choice whether I eat it or not, I'm fine. The minute I am told I cannot have it, I start to crave it and as soon as I get my hands on it I will devour it and will not stop eating until it is gone.
My other problem with diets is getting bored with the food. Ever since we have stopped eating flour I have an extremely hard time cooking dinner. I mean meat and salad can be varied in so little ways if the only veggies I like are lettuce, tomato, carrots and broccoli. I can't eat rice and beans, or rice and sausage, or rice & chicken...Pasta is to be limited, potatoes are to be limited...and I don't know, all this limitation bothers me. My husband is doing great though, most of his shirts are too big on him now, and it's awesome, but I am over eating like crazy!!! Fortunately I'm still under the same weight range I am always in, so I am not gaining weight, so that's good. However, I made the active choice not to be on a diet, because I know that I will not be able to handle deprivation successfully. But I find that the most difficult time for me is dinner time as I never know what to cook. I get bored with the food. And weekends are horrible, I snack the days away hoping that I don't have to cook. I dread it now. I dread cooking! I don't know what to do. If I weren't such a picky eater and my children weren't so much like me, I guess we would have a better variety of stuff to cook.
Do any of you struggle with this?
How do you put variety in your meals when trying to loose weight?
Please share, I would like to hear from you! :)
My other problem with diets is getting bored with the food. Ever since we have stopped eating flour I have an extremely hard time cooking dinner. I mean meat and salad can be varied in so little ways if the only veggies I like are lettuce, tomato, carrots and broccoli. I can't eat rice and beans, or rice and sausage, or rice & chicken...Pasta is to be limited, potatoes are to be limited...and I don't know, all this limitation bothers me. My husband is doing great though, most of his shirts are too big on him now, and it's awesome, but I am over eating like crazy!!! Fortunately I'm still under the same weight range I am always in, so I am not gaining weight, so that's good. However, I made the active choice not to be on a diet, because I know that I will not be able to handle deprivation successfully. But I find that the most difficult time for me is dinner time as I never know what to cook. I get bored with the food. And weekends are horrible, I snack the days away hoping that I don't have to cook. I dread it now. I dread cooking! I don't know what to do. If I weren't such a picky eater and my children weren't so much like me, I guess we would have a better variety of stuff to cook.
Do any of you struggle with this?
How do you put variety in your meals when trying to loose weight?
Please share, I would like to hear from you! :)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Picture of the Week - Snow in March
Just after we had an awesome 75 degree weather last week's Friday, we were surprised that 4 days later we encountered with Snow.
It wasn't too much but it was enough to be noticed.
Here's a picture of the snow close to my house.
It wasn't too much but it was enough to be noticed.
Here's a picture of the snow close to my house.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Japanese Love Day 7 - Melon Soda and Kindness
So this is my last day dedicated to Japan, and now looking back on it I should have left the best for last, but I mixed it all over the place. Right now I hear Lucky Star in the background and wonder how long will it take for me to understand what they are saying. It is inevitable to learn a few words by being exposed to a different language everyday as I am with my daughter watching Anime every day in Japanese, and that's the same way how I have learned to identify a few Yiddish words by working with Orthodox people.
Well today I am going to talk about Melon Soda. We first discovered it a few months ago when Yucheng came and brought us a bottle. The first thing we liked about ti was the bottle. It comes in a fun glass bottle with a marble stopper at the top. You have to push the marble into the soda, hold for five seconds and enjoy the fizzy goodness of this refreshing drink.
It also comes in a metal bottle, similar to a can but with the shape of a bottle:
It is so refreshing and awesome you can't stop drinking it. We have fallen in love with this drink, and there are several other flavors that we haven't yet tried.So if you ever happen to be in a store that sell these, please give it a try, you won't be sorry!
And the last thing I will say about Japanese people is that they are kind. I've been reading in the news how the Japanese have been able to deal with this horrible event in their lives and they have continued to be generous and helpful and they are always willing to share with others in need. It says a lot about someone who is willing to share the little that they may have.
I hope you have enjoyed our Japanese week here in Cocoons2Butterflies, we will continue tomorrow with our regular schedule. For those of you who don't know yet, we have a schedule that follows this template most days. Sundays is Picture of the Week, Monday is Health/Beauty, Tuesday is Household, Wednesday is a Random Topic, Thursdays is about Parenting, Fridays is Relationships/Marriage and Saturdays are about the SELF.
So I let you go now with another link to a website with information on how to help Japan. This is a list of events in NYC made by Mari Mori.
Tanks for reading! :D
Well today I am going to talk about Melon Soda. We first discovered it a few months ago when Yucheng came and brought us a bottle. The first thing we liked about ti was the bottle. It comes in a fun glass bottle with a marble stopper at the top. You have to push the marble into the soda, hold for five seconds and enjoy the fizzy goodness of this refreshing drink.
And the last thing I will say about Japanese people is that they are kind. I've been reading in the news how the Japanese have been able to deal with this horrible event in their lives and they have continued to be generous and helpful and they are always willing to share with others in need. It says a lot about someone who is willing to share the little that they may have.
I hope you have enjoyed our Japanese week here in Cocoons2Butterflies, we will continue tomorrow with our regular schedule. For those of you who don't know yet, we have a schedule that follows this template most days. Sundays is Picture of the Week, Monday is Health/Beauty, Tuesday is Household, Wednesday is a Random Topic, Thursdays is about Parenting, Fridays is Relationships/Marriage and Saturdays are about the SELF.
So I let you go now with another link to a website with information on how to help Japan. This is a list of events in NYC made by Mari Mori.
Tanks for reading! :D
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Japanese Love Day 6 - Technology
The Japanese are also known for their technology. They are amazing in creating things that no one has thought of, or at least they do it before anyone else can.
One of the things that they have created is Self Heating Clothing. They saw a problem with how to keep warm in winter without having to wear bulky clothes and they came up with this fabric that absorbs the heat generated by the body and traps it so that you stay warm without having to wear bulky or thick clothes.
The fabric is called Heat Tech and it's created with Japan technology. And not only that, the people of UNIQLO are now selling their Dry Lux clothes for women that they claims it's like air conditioned clothes that keep you cool in the summer and Silky Dry clothes for men which claims to keep you dry and it neutralizes odors in clothes. I must say I have never seen anything like that and I can't wait to try these clothes.
But clothes are not the only thing that Japanese excel at in their technology, they have also created Humanoid Robots that look a lot like people and they talk and move like us. They created some for the fashion industry and recently they made some to be able to act as the body of Vocaloids and sing with the software.
Japan is one of the leading nations in the fields of scientific research, technology, machinery and medical research. Some of it's most famous technological companies include the well known Fuji and Sony, Panasonic, Canon, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Sharp, NEC, Epson, Toshiba and Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nintendo, and Subaru.
And then it takes us to cars. Japan is home to six of the world's fifteen largest automobile manufacturers in the world. And Japan's more important technological contributions are found in the fields of electronics, machinery, robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors and metals.
I don't think that any other country excels in so many technological fields so that's' why today's Japanese quality of the day is Technology.
What do you think about the humanoids that they have created? What is the technological invention that you are most grateful for?
Today I am going to reach out to children all over the world and give you a link to an organization that is working along with the Bezos Family Foundation that will donate $200,000 if they receive 100,000 paper origami cranes. The website for Paper Cranes for Japan is working with children and adults all over the world for this cause. They will even send you pre-paid postage labels for boxes of over 50 cranes so you can mail it to them. Check it out and help. Thanks!
One of the things that they have created is Self Heating Clothing. They saw a problem with how to keep warm in winter without having to wear bulky clothes and they came up with this fabric that absorbs the heat generated by the body and traps it so that you stay warm without having to wear bulky or thick clothes.
The fabric is called Heat Tech and it's created with Japan technology. And not only that, the people of UNIQLO are now selling their Dry Lux clothes for women that they claims it's like air conditioned clothes that keep you cool in the summer and Silky Dry clothes for men which claims to keep you dry and it neutralizes odors in clothes. I must say I have never seen anything like that and I can't wait to try these clothes.
But clothes are not the only thing that Japanese excel at in their technology, they have also created Humanoid Robots that look a lot like people and they talk and move like us. They created some for the fashion industry and recently they made some to be able to act as the body of Vocaloids and sing with the software.
Japan is one of the leading nations in the fields of scientific research, technology, machinery and medical research. Some of it's most famous technological companies include the well known Fuji and Sony, Panasonic, Canon, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Sharp, NEC, Epson, Toshiba and Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nintendo, and Subaru.
And then it takes us to cars. Japan is home to six of the world's fifteen largest automobile manufacturers in the world. And Japan's more important technological contributions are found in the fields of electronics, machinery, robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors and metals.
I don't think that any other country excels in so many technological fields so that's' why today's Japanese quality of the day is Technology.
What do you think about the humanoids that they have created? What is the technological invention that you are most grateful for?
Today I am going to reach out to children all over the world and give you a link to an organization that is working along with the Bezos Family Foundation that will donate $200,000 if they receive 100,000 paper origami cranes. The website for Paper Cranes for Japan is working with children and adults all over the world for this cause. They will even send you pre-paid postage labels for boxes of over 50 cranes so you can mail it to them. Check it out and help. Thanks!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Japanese Love Day 5 - Amazing Sense of Humor!
Today I continue with Japan week, as we all know Japan is going through a very difficult time right now and I am dedicating this week to all the things I love about Japan. Because I am a firm believer of the Law of Attraction and how good thoughts when they come with good emotions tend to attract good things. The opposite is also true so I always try my best to eradicate from my mind bad thoughts especially if they come with bad emotions.
I want to send good thoughts and good vibrations to Japan, because I want them to recover from this as soon as possible and I want the best for them so I'm dedicating today to Japan's amazing sense of humor.
If you go and do a search for Japanese Pranks or Japanese Game Shows you will find tons of videos. What is so special of Japanese Pranks and Game Shows is that many times they can be very extreme. Things that you would never imagine someone to be willing to do. They are very unique.
I have a hard time explaining as there are many different kinds but I am going to share with you a few videos so you can see what I mean.
This is a video of some pranks that are made by large crowds of people, it is very funny to see how a single man can be walking down an alley when a HUGE crowd of people come running his way. Most people see the crowd and scream away freaking out! It's Hilarious!
The next video is a compilation of various random pranks. It's very funny how in the beginning they have like a stuffed animal that roars. People come close to it and they scream in fear when they hear the roar. Also there are other ones with a fake Snow avalanche and people think this huge snow ball is going to crush them and it's just a very light weight huge white ball
They also have some hilarious Game Shows. There is even a show called I Survived A Japanese Game Show where they get some Americans to go to Japan and compete in these over the top Game Shows. What I love about Japanese Game Shows is that they are not afraid get out there, do crazy stunts, get dirty and have people laugh at them. You can tell that it is something that will never be seen in American Game Shows that are not kid related. I guess Japanese game shows can be similar to the Children Game shows like Double Dare back in the day, with lots of Physical Challenges.
So tell me what do you like about Japan? I love so many things about Japan and I encourage you to find the amazing of this wonderful country and share it with the world and please donate what you can to help our Japanese brothers because we are all family in this world. You can go to Japan Society to find ways to help.
I want to send good thoughts and good vibrations to Japan, because I want them to recover from this as soon as possible and I want the best for them so I'm dedicating today to Japan's amazing sense of humor.
If you go and do a search for Japanese Pranks or Japanese Game Shows you will find tons of videos. What is so special of Japanese Pranks and Game Shows is that many times they can be very extreme. Things that you would never imagine someone to be willing to do. They are very unique.
I have a hard time explaining as there are many different kinds but I am going to share with you a few videos so you can see what I mean.
This is a video of some pranks that are made by large crowds of people, it is very funny to see how a single man can be walking down an alley when a HUGE crowd of people come running his way. Most people see the crowd and scream away freaking out! It's Hilarious!
The next video is a compilation of various random pranks. It's very funny how in the beginning they have like a stuffed animal that roars. People come close to it and they scream in fear when they hear the roar. Also there are other ones with a fake Snow avalanche and people think this huge snow ball is going to crush them and it's just a very light weight huge white ball
They also have some hilarious Game Shows. There is even a show called I Survived A Japanese Game Show where they get some Americans to go to Japan and compete in these over the top Game Shows. What I love about Japanese Game Shows is that they are not afraid get out there, do crazy stunts, get dirty and have people laugh at them. You can tell that it is something that will never be seen in American Game Shows that are not kid related. I guess Japanese game shows can be similar to the Children Game shows like Double Dare back in the day, with lots of Physical Challenges.
So tell me what do you like about Japan? I love so many things about Japan and I encourage you to find the amazing of this wonderful country and share it with the world and please donate what you can to help our Japanese brothers because we are all family in this world. You can go to Japan Society to find ways to help.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Japanese Love Day 4 - Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli
Following on yesterday's theme on Anime and Manga, I want to talk about an AMAZING man who is Brilliant in his Animated movies. In our household all of us are fans, he is in our own opinion THE BEST Japanese film director and animator of anime feature films.
His filmography is very extensive but we are most familiar with the films he has made with Studio Ghibli
My Neighbor Totoro is about 2 girls who just moved into the country with their professor father and their mother is sick in the hospital. While the girls try to adjust to their new surroundings they befriend a wood Spirit called Totoro. We love how spirited the girls are and how it incorporates nature into the story. The two little girls in the story resemble my own daughters not only in age, but also in personality.
Kiki's Delivery Service is about a 13 year old witch that as tradition dictates she had to go live on his own and try to find her best skill and settle into a new town. She struggles to find herself when she sees that she can help the town by doing deliveries to towns people in her flying broom. Kiki is a very lovable girl, and she has this adorable cat that goes with her everywhere.
Spirited Away is about a little girl that is on her way to move to a new house with her parents when they get detained and end up going into this world of spirits and monsters. Chihiro's parents turn into pigs and it's her job to restore them to their natural forms and save them but first she will have to live and work in this mysterious world before she can return back home.
Ponyo is the latest movie to be released in the USA and I'm sure many of you have seen it or at least heard from it. It is about a little magical goldfish who falls in love with a little boy and she wants to become a human girl to be with him. It is another take on the story of the little mermaid, except these are small 5 y/o children and the movie deals with the environment and the pollution in the ocean and the effects of humans and how their actions sometimes takes away the balance of nature.
Also from Studio Ghibli, yet created by Hiroyuki Morita is the movie The Cat Returns, about a girl who saves a cat and ends up going into the cat world where they try to force her into marrying the Cat Prince.
What I love about all these movies is that they incorporate topics like coming of age, being accepted, the earth, nature, adjusting to difficult situations, being strong, brave, doing good things for others, etc. They all have a "moraleja" or a lesson to learn.
Have you seen any of these movies? Are there any others that you like? Please share with us. And don't forget to donate to Japan. Today's link goes to The Japan Society in NYC, you can donate through them by buying tickets to their concert for Japan on April 9,2011 in NYC
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, 1984 film
- Castle in the Sky, 1986 film
- My Neighbor Totoro, 1988 film
- Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989 film
- Porco Rosso, 1992 film
- Princess Mononoke, 1997 film
- Spirited Away, 2001 film (winner, Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, 2002)
- Howl's Moving Castle, 2004 film (nominee, Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, 2005)
- Ponyo, 2008 film
My Neighbor Totoro is about 2 girls who just moved into the country with their professor father and their mother is sick in the hospital. While the girls try to adjust to their new surroundings they befriend a wood Spirit called Totoro. We love how spirited the girls are and how it incorporates nature into the story. The two little girls in the story resemble my own daughters not only in age, but also in personality.
Kiki's Delivery Service is about a 13 year old witch that as tradition dictates she had to go live on his own and try to find her best skill and settle into a new town. She struggles to find herself when she sees that she can help the town by doing deliveries to towns people in her flying broom. Kiki is a very lovable girl, and she has this adorable cat that goes with her everywhere.
Spirited Away is about a little girl that is on her way to move to a new house with her parents when they get detained and end up going into this world of spirits and monsters. Chihiro's parents turn into pigs and it's her job to restore them to their natural forms and save them but first she will have to live and work in this mysterious world before she can return back home.
Ponyo is the latest movie to be released in the USA and I'm sure many of you have seen it or at least heard from it. It is about a little magical goldfish who falls in love with a little boy and she wants to become a human girl to be with him. It is another take on the story of the little mermaid, except these are small 5 y/o children and the movie deals with the environment and the pollution in the ocean and the effects of humans and how their actions sometimes takes away the balance of nature.
Also from Studio Ghibli, yet created by Hiroyuki Morita is the movie The Cat Returns, about a girl who saves a cat and ends up going into the cat world where they try to force her into marrying the Cat Prince.
What I love about all these movies is that they incorporate topics like coming of age, being accepted, the earth, nature, adjusting to difficult situations, being strong, brave, doing good things for others, etc. They all have a "moraleja" or a lesson to learn.
Have you seen any of these movies? Are there any others that you like? Please share with us. And don't forget to donate to Japan. Today's link goes to The Japan Society in NYC, you can donate through them by buying tickets to their concert for Japan on April 9,2011 in NYC
Japanese Love Day 3 - Anime & Manga
Most of have certainly grown up with Anime, at least I did. In Puerto Rico when I was a little girl we used to watch many animated cartoons from Japan, like Candy Candy, Mazinger Z, Dragon Ball Z among others. Every generation has at least one Anime that they remember growing up with.
Now my children, especially Gaby is growing up with Anime and Manga as well. Manga is the Japanese Comic Books and Anime is the animated cartoon. My cousin/sister Karla is also a big fan of Anime and Manga. She is currently living in Germany as her husband is stationed in the Army there. We were talking the other day and she told me that her daily routine includes reading some stories in Manga.com My husband and I when we were teenagers and dating we would also watch a lot of these Japanese Animations and would go to Japanese activities where animation was the main theme.
Today I would like to share with you my daughter's two favorite Anime cartoon series. Pani Poni Dash and Lucky Star. I must say that my daughter discovered these through Yucheng and she can spend hours on end watching these videos, and she has even learned a little bit of Japanese as a result. She likes to see the videos in Japanese with English subtitles and sometimes they have Romaji and English Subtitles which is great for learning the correct pronunciation of the Japanese words.
Gaby can sing the intro and ending songs of these shows flawlessly, it impresses me so much. She will also get some catch phrases from the show and say them over and over and over...
Pani Poni Dash! is a show about a ten year old teacher of a High School Class. It is very funny and the characters are very cute.
Then Lucky Star is about a group of girls that are friends and enjoy Anime and video games.
Well, here are my daughter's two obsessions at the moment, hope you enjoy them. And Anime and Manga are other reasons why we Love Japan so much, and as promised here's a link to another webpage you can go to if you'd like to contribute to helping Japan get the things they need at this very difficult time.
So what do you love about Japan? Did you grow up watching Anime? What series do you remember? Please share!
Now my children, especially Gaby is growing up with Anime and Manga as well. Manga is the Japanese Comic Books and Anime is the animated cartoon. My cousin/sister Karla is also a big fan of Anime and Manga. She is currently living in Germany as her husband is stationed in the Army there. We were talking the other day and she told me that her daily routine includes reading some stories in Manga.com My husband and I when we were teenagers and dating we would also watch a lot of these Japanese Animations and would go to Japanese activities where animation was the main theme.
Today I would like to share with you my daughter's two favorite Anime cartoon series. Pani Poni Dash and Lucky Star. I must say that my daughter discovered these through Yucheng and she can spend hours on end watching these videos, and she has even learned a little bit of Japanese as a result. She likes to see the videos in Japanese with English subtitles and sometimes they have Romaji and English Subtitles which is great for learning the correct pronunciation of the Japanese words.
Gaby can sing the intro and ending songs of these shows flawlessly, it impresses me so much. She will also get some catch phrases from the show and say them over and over and over...
Pani Poni Dash! is a show about a ten year old teacher of a High School Class. It is very funny and the characters are very cute.
Well, here are my daughter's two obsessions at the moment, hope you enjoy them. And Anime and Manga are other reasons why we Love Japan so much, and as promised here's a link to another webpage you can go to if you'd like to contribute to helping Japan get the things they need at this very difficult time.
So what do you love about Japan? Did you grow up watching Anime? What series do you remember? Please share!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Japanese Love Day 2 - Vocaloids
About 5 months ago, my daughter started hanging out with a neighbor friend, he has become part of the family in a short while and even though he is Chinese, he is in love with many things of Japan. My daughter Gaby has been in love with China and Japan since she was 4 after we took her to see Canal Street in NYC. Ever since she started hanging out with Yucheng her love for Japan has grown exponentially so this week will be all about the things that my kids love about Japan and things that I too have learned to Love.
Today I will dedicate it to Vocaloids. Vocaloid is a computer program that you can use to create music, it is a singing synthesizer application that will create the voice for your song and sing it for you with one of the Vocaloid voices. They also came up with Vocaloid 2 which includes a lot more voices and it became particularly more famous in Japan with the release of Hatsune Miku
Yucheng, Gaby and even Elsie have fallen in love with Hatsune Miku, they make drawings of her, sing her songs, even I have a Hatsune Miku background on my computer and my phone. My 10 y/o is so obsessed by it that I can punish her by not allowing her to listen to any Vocaloid music for a few hours and she freaks out!!
I would like to share with you some samples of what Hatsune Miku is, and how she looks and how she sounds like. If you go to YouTube and type Hatsune Miku you'll find hundreds of Fan Videos and even videos of her LIVE Concert in Tokyo in 2010. You might wonder how is it possible to have a LIVE concert with a fictional character, well the Japanese people are so amazing that they were able to create a way to make a holographic image of Hatsune Miku and have her sing on stage with a live band.
And Hatsune Miku is not the only one to sing in this concert you can also see Rin & Len the twin Vocaloids singing in this video.
My daughter is so in love with this that she has listened to the songs so much that she is able to sing the songs in Japanese flawlessly!
There are a lot of different Vocaloids and in this picture you can see a few of them
We love Vocaloids in our household and we love Japan for creating them. I encourage you to search on youtube for some more sample songs. I will leave you with another one of my favorite songs
Had you heard of the Vocaloids before? What do you think of them? Which one is your favorite?
Well, like I said before, this week is all about Japan, and every day along with including one of the things I love about Japan I am also including a website you can go to if you want to help out to raise money for Japan. Today's website is Etsy Japan Relief, where many artists have created things to sell for which the proceeds will be directly donated toward Japan Relief. Please check it out!
Today I will dedicate it to Vocaloids. Vocaloid is a computer program that you can use to create music, it is a singing synthesizer application that will create the voice for your song and sing it for you with one of the Vocaloid voices. They also came up with Vocaloid 2 which includes a lot more voices and it became particularly more famous in Japan with the release of Hatsune Miku
Yucheng, Gaby and even Elsie have fallen in love with Hatsune Miku, they make drawings of her, sing her songs, even I have a Hatsune Miku background on my computer and my phone. My 10 y/o is so obsessed by it that I can punish her by not allowing her to listen to any Vocaloid music for a few hours and she freaks out!!
I would like to share with you some samples of what Hatsune Miku is, and how she looks and how she sounds like. If you go to YouTube and type Hatsune Miku you'll find hundreds of Fan Videos and even videos of her LIVE Concert in Tokyo in 2010. You might wonder how is it possible to have a LIVE concert with a fictional character, well the Japanese people are so amazing that they were able to create a way to make a holographic image of Hatsune Miku and have her sing on stage with a live band.
And Hatsune Miku is not the only one to sing in this concert you can also see Rin & Len the twin Vocaloids singing in this video.
My daughter is so in love with this that she has listened to the songs so much that she is able to sing the songs in Japanese flawlessly!
There are a lot of different Vocaloids and in this picture you can see a few of them
Had you heard of the Vocaloids before? What do you think of them? Which one is your favorite?
Well, like I said before, this week is all about Japan, and every day along with including one of the things I love about Japan I am also including a website you can go to if you want to help out to raise money for Japan. Today's website is Etsy Japan Relief, where many artists have created things to sell for which the proceeds will be directly donated toward Japan Relief. Please check it out!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Picture of the Week - Japan needs our help
This weeks picture is the first one I have not taken myself. This picture I got it from an article from The NY Daily News about Japanese New Yorkers in a rally in Union Square.
I absolutely love the picture so much that I want to share it with you.
This picture is the beginning of Japanese week. I would like to honor Japanese culture and I will talk about all the things that we love about Japan as well as share with you a few of our favorite videos and songs that come from Japan.
I believe that in the midst of disaster the community of Japan has shown to be one of great big hearts and great sense of community and we should learn from them.
I also believe that when there's a disaster we must speak of the good things for the good things and good thoughts tend to multiply and that's what we should desire to gain.
Many Blessings to our fellow brothers from Japan.
And if you'd like to help I will give you each day different organizations where you can contribute to Japan.
Today's website is from Mercy Corps go to their link and help out. Thanks!
This picture is the beginning of Japanese week. I would like to honor Japanese culture and I will talk about all the things that we love about Japan as well as share with you a few of our favorite videos and songs that come from Japan.
I believe that in the midst of disaster the community of Japan has shown to be one of great big hearts and great sense of community and we should learn from them.
I also believe that when there's a disaster we must speak of the good things for the good things and good thoughts tend to multiply and that's what we should desire to gain.
Many Blessings to our fellow brothers from Japan.
And if you'd like to help I will give you each day different organizations where you can contribute to Japan.
Today's website is from Mercy Corps go to their link and help out. Thanks!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
If you could invent something to help you as a mom what would it be and why?
As I was getting ready to write today's Blog post I came across another one of Social Mom's writing prompts and this one was just begging to be written. I have been thinking about this for so long that it's crazy.
I started having this idea when my little one was born, and my oldest one was 5 years old. I used to carry baby Elsie in her carriage, leaving 5 y/o Gaby wishing she would be carried too. I wanted to find a way to carry them both and that's when I found those Kiddy Boards or Buggy Boards that can be attached to the back of a stroller so that the older sibling can ride along. I found that idea to be amazing! But now I find myself with another dilemma and to date I have not found a device that has been made for this purpose as I would need it.
My dilemma is that now Elsie is 5 years old and many times I have to go run some errands and she says she is
too tired to walk. We live in NYC and I run most errands using public transportation that means buses and subways, but there are also times when I have to walk 7 blocks to the bank and back. At these times I find myself either using a shopping cart to troll along my 5 year old or walk with her by my side crying an whining and begging to be picked up because she is too tired to walk. So this is when I would beg for a device that would serve as an umbrella stroller for 3'8" tall, 50lbs, 5 year olds. Something with wheels and that could serve as a seat and didn't weight too much or took too much space so that it could be easily taken in and out of buses and/or trains, something with a large handle so I don't have to bend over to push so I don't get back pain. I can't even come up with a drawing design of such a thing. Sometimes I think of those foldaway chairs that they make that I see sometimes people carry them along when going to watch a parade. I would just put wheels and a handle on those. LOL
How do you imagine a device like this to look like? How would you make it work? Do you know anything that could serve this purpose?
I started having this idea when my little one was born, and my oldest one was 5 years old. I used to carry baby Elsie in her carriage, leaving 5 y/o Gaby wishing she would be carried too. I wanted to find a way to carry them both and that's when I found those Kiddy Boards or Buggy Boards that can be attached to the back of a stroller so that the older sibling can ride along. I found that idea to be amazing! But now I find myself with another dilemma and to date I have not found a device that has been made for this purpose as I would need it.
My dilemma is that now Elsie is 5 years old and many times I have to go run some errands and she says she is
too tired to walk. We live in NYC and I run most errands using public transportation that means buses and subways, but there are also times when I have to walk 7 blocks to the bank and back. At these times I find myself either using a shopping cart to troll along my 5 year old or walk with her by my side crying an whining and begging to be picked up because she is too tired to walk. So this is when I would beg for a device that would serve as an umbrella stroller for 3'8" tall, 50lbs, 5 year olds. Something with wheels and that could serve as a seat and didn't weight too much or took too much space so that it could be easily taken in and out of buses and/or trains, something with a large handle so I don't have to bend over to push so I don't get back pain. I can't even come up with a drawing design of such a thing. Sometimes I think of those foldaway chairs that they make that I see sometimes people carry them along when going to watch a parade. I would just put wheels and a handle on those. LOLHow do you imagine a device like this to look like? How would you make it work? Do you know anything that could serve this purpose?
Happy St Patricks Day
I would like to say to everyone, Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Today people tend to celebrate Irish Culture by Dressing in green, referencing leprechauns, shamrocks, saying Kiss Me I'm Irish! And all these other things. For me, I don't celebrate it too much, but we always like to wear green on this day, and send some treats for my girls to take to school on this day. Last year we made green frosting cupcakes, and a few years back shamrock shaped cookies, this year we are sending green lollipops to the class.
One of my favorite parent websites Parents Connect has a few cool ideas to celebrate St Paddy's Day like having a St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt and how to make Shamrock Soda which we might try out this year.
How about you? Do you celebrate St Parick's Day? What fun things do you like to do? I want to hear from you.
Today people tend to celebrate Irish Culture by Dressing in green, referencing leprechauns, shamrocks, saying Kiss Me I'm Irish! And all these other things. For me, I don't celebrate it too much, but we always like to wear green on this day, and send some treats for my girls to take to school on this day. Last year we made green frosting cupcakes, and a few years back shamrock shaped cookies, this year we are sending green lollipops to the class.
One of my favorite parent websites Parents Connect has a few cool ideas to celebrate St Paddy's Day like having a St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt and how to make Shamrock Soda which we might try out this year.
How about you? Do you celebrate St Parick's Day? What fun things do you like to do? I want to hear from you.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Daylight Savings Time Jet Lag
Today was the first day in a week that I started to wake up almost at the time I was supposed to be waking up. For the past few days I've been extremely tired and I blame it on the Daylight Savings Time Jet Lag. Here in NYC we have been living an hour less. We can't go to bed at night because we are not sleepy yet, and we cannot wake up early because we are too tired. A few days ago was very hard in particular after going against the clock the other night filing taxes as we just found out it was the last day to file taxes if you own a business. We totally went ballistic. But at 11:45 we finished and we made the deadline. :D So between that and having our bodies not used to the new times it's been quite a feat.
How do you deal with the time changes of Daylight Savings time, or regular Jet Lag for that matter?
Any tips on how to adjust? I would really Love to hear from you.
On another note, please stay tuned for next week is all about Japan. I am going to be honoring Japan and all things Japan next week. What would you like to see?
How do you deal with the time changes of Daylight Savings time, or regular Jet Lag for that matter?
Any tips on how to adjust? I would really Love to hear from you.
On another note, please stay tuned for next week is all about Japan. I am going to be honoring Japan and all things Japan next week. What would you like to see?
Ahhh Tax Season!!
Ahh Tax Season!
The collecting of receipts and calculating the income, the expenses, the record keeping, the stress, the urgency.
Some of us get the bonus of a refund, some others don't.
How do you deal with Tax season? Are you organized all year or run around trying to find all the necessary documents last minute?
The collecting of receipts and calculating the income, the expenses, the record keeping, the stress, the urgency.
Some of us get the bonus of a refund, some others don't.
How do you deal with Tax season? Are you organized all year or run around trying to find all the necessary documents last minute?
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Thing about Resentment
Resentment is a very dangerous thing, it's like a poison that invades your blood and it spreads throughout your body. It can't be ignored, as it stays dormant in your body waiting for the right moment to come back and make you sick.
So what causes resentment? To me, resentment is caused by allowing someone to do something bad to you and not saying anything about it. It's created by swallowing anger, and accepting mistreatment. Sometimes the person that has harmed you did not know or realize that they had harmed you, they may have really never meant to do you harm. Maybe they did. But if you don't say anything, if you don't tell them how you feel, your resentment will continue to grow.
This applies to most people, yet the way to get rid of resentment with your spouse is completely different and that's a whole 'nother story. But if the person you are carrying resentment towards is a friend or co-worker or boss, then I suggest you make your case be heard if you would like to be able to get rid of the churning in your stomach and the negative thoughts that come with it.
At this moment in time I am carrying resentment with my boss. I am hesitant to tell the whole story as you know how Heather Armstrong got fired for saying bad things about her job.
But the thing that bothers me the most is that my boss complains to my husband behind my back that he doesn't like the fact that I am working only part time now and he doesn't like the girl I got to help me. Well he fails to see that he was the one who made the choice or allowed his father to make the choice of hiring an incompetent to be in the office that is right next to my house and behind my daughter's school even though I specifically asked him to let me work in that office since it would allow me to work full time and still be able to pick up my daughters from school. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I have to work in the office that's an hour away simply because it's close to my boss' house and it's more convenient for him. And he's rarely there anyway. He moves around 3 general areas, there is no reason for him to keep me in the other office. Some days I just feel like telling him to F' off and quit. But I want to go about this in a different way. I want to take a course in marketing that's $5000 and after I pay it off then I can move on.
Resentment is not only created by what other people do to you. It is created by our own actions, by allowing ourselves to be treated in a way that is not acceptable to us. It is something of an alarm that tells us that we need to take action and look at our situation and make a change.
Do you ever feel resentful towards someone? What do you do about it?
So what causes resentment? To me, resentment is caused by allowing someone to do something bad to you and not saying anything about it. It's created by swallowing anger, and accepting mistreatment. Sometimes the person that has harmed you did not know or realize that they had harmed you, they may have really never meant to do you harm. Maybe they did. But if you don't say anything, if you don't tell them how you feel, your resentment will continue to grow.
This applies to most people, yet the way to get rid of resentment with your spouse is completely different and that's a whole 'nother story. But if the person you are carrying resentment towards is a friend or co-worker or boss, then I suggest you make your case be heard if you would like to be able to get rid of the churning in your stomach and the negative thoughts that come with it.
At this moment in time I am carrying resentment with my boss. I am hesitant to tell the whole story as you know how Heather Armstrong got fired for saying bad things about her job.
But the thing that bothers me the most is that my boss complains to my husband behind my back that he doesn't like the fact that I am working only part time now and he doesn't like the girl I got to help me. Well he fails to see that he was the one who made the choice or allowed his father to make the choice of hiring an incompetent to be in the office that is right next to my house and behind my daughter's school even though I specifically asked him to let me work in that office since it would allow me to work full time and still be able to pick up my daughters from school. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I have to work in the office that's an hour away simply because it's close to my boss' house and it's more convenient for him. And he's rarely there anyway. He moves around 3 general areas, there is no reason for him to keep me in the other office. Some days I just feel like telling him to F' off and quit. But I want to go about this in a different way. I want to take a course in marketing that's $5000 and after I pay it off then I can move on.
Resentment is not only created by what other people do to you. It is created by our own actions, by allowing ourselves to be treated in a way that is not acceptable to us. It is something of an alarm that tells us that we need to take action and look at our situation and make a change.
Do you ever feel resentful towards someone? What do you do about it?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Why does seeing someone diet makes me more hungry?
When my hubby decided to go on a diet, I was all excited, I figured that we could encourage each other and loose weight together. Even though we are both giving up on rice for dinner, and eating only whole wheat bread with no sugar on it, or whole wheat pasta in small quantities, I find myself snacking more than normal. I am eating more vegetables and less flour products yet I stay hungry after I eat so after I eat, I tend to keep snacking into the night.
Have you ever felt like eating something yet not really knowing what that something was? So you kept on eating different things to see if you could figure it out? You crave something salty but then you end up eating too much salt, so you try to eat something sweet to counteract it, then you feel like you ate too much sweets so you try and eat something else to take away the sweetness and it goes on forever. That's how I feel most days.
Before I started dieting I would eat a heavy lunch and regular sized dinner not too late and it would hold me up till the next day. Lately I've been so rushed at work that don't have time to eat lunch so I end up eating anything in the run and when I get home I'm so starved that at dinner it's like I barely ate at all. Meat and Vegetables seems like a good choice, but when you are not fond of vegetables then there's a problem. And I must say I am not much of a bread eater (unless I'm in Puerto Rico and presented with Pan Sobao then I can't stop myself) I don't miss the rice or the pasta, but there is something I miss, like eating corn tortillas in tacos, or flautas... Hamburgers, and cheese hotdogs, plantains or surullitos. Maybe it's the fried stuff that I crave. Alcapurrias, amojabanas, tostones...
I don't think dieting is for me, I have the things that I like to eat, and I try to eat them in moderation. I must say I am very proud of my husband for sticking to his diet, he is amazing, but for me, I just don't think I'm cut out for it. I'm not giving up on loosing weight though, don't get me wrong. I just will find other ways to do it. We are not all cut with the same scissors and that is perfectly OK. :)
Have you ever felt like eating something yet not really knowing what that something was? So you kept on eating different things to see if you could figure it out? You crave something salty but then you end up eating too much salt, so you try to eat something sweet to counteract it, then you feel like you ate too much sweets so you try and eat something else to take away the sweetness and it goes on forever. That's how I feel most days.
Before I started dieting I would eat a heavy lunch and regular sized dinner not too late and it would hold me up till the next day. Lately I've been so rushed at work that don't have time to eat lunch so I end up eating anything in the run and when I get home I'm so starved that at dinner it's like I barely ate at all. Meat and Vegetables seems like a good choice, but when you are not fond of vegetables then there's a problem. And I must say I am not much of a bread eater (unless I'm in Puerto Rico and presented with Pan Sobao then I can't stop myself) I don't miss the rice or the pasta, but there is something I miss, like eating corn tortillas in tacos, or flautas... Hamburgers, and cheese hotdogs, plantains or surullitos. Maybe it's the fried stuff that I crave. Alcapurrias, amojabanas, tostones...
I don't think dieting is for me, I have the things that I like to eat, and I try to eat them in moderation. I must say I am very proud of my husband for sticking to his diet, he is amazing, but for me, I just don't think I'm cut out for it. I'm not giving up on loosing weight though, don't get me wrong. I just will find other ways to do it. We are not all cut with the same scissors and that is perfectly OK. :)
Picture of The Week - Second Lost Tooth
This week's picture of the week is one I took just a few minutes ago on my phone. After looking at my daughter's tooth that had been literally hanging from a thread almost a week already I decided to tell my adorable 5 year old that the tooth needed to come out. I've been trying to convince her to let me pull it but she would refuse. I put on some baby teething gel on it and pulled it out with a piece of paper towel. The actual tooth pulling didn't hurt, it was just until she looked at her new smile in the mirror that she started screaming. She screamed when she saw blood coming out of her gums, she was afraid the blood would never stop. I told her to put a paper towel in her gap and bite on it for a while, we didn't have gauze or anything. After a few minutes it stopped bleeding and she was her usual cheery self, awaiting the arrival of the tooth fairy tonight.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
How much do you sleep?
How do you find time to sleep? I tend to have a tendency to fall asleep at random situations and I wonder if there's something I can do to prevent this. I know I go to bed way too late, but I find that there's somethings you just have to do. If my husband come home late from work most days then I must work around that so that I have some time with him at the end of the day as I find that to be important. But it is detrimental when I end up falling asleep when I'm trying to spend some time with the hubby. Sometimes I find that it is helpful to take a nap before he comes over so that I am a little bit rested and more energetic, but I have been told that there are foods that can give me more energy. What are those? Are you familiar with that?
I am going to Google it sometime this week and let you guys know what I find.
Are there any tips or tricks that you have to make the best of your time awake, and your sleep time?
What do you find that works best with you? How many hours do you sleep at night? I tend to sleep between 4 to 6 hrs. Well, I'm so sleepy I can't stay awake any longer. Talk to you tomorrow!
I am going to Google it sometime this week and let you guys know what I find.
Are there any tips or tricks that you have to make the best of your time awake, and your sleep time?
What do you find that works best with you? How many hours do you sleep at night? I tend to sleep between 4 to 6 hrs. Well, I'm so sleepy I can't stay awake any longer. Talk to you tomorrow!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Saving The Environment can be a curse
OK, OK, I might be exaggerating a bit here. But haven't you ever felt like you HAVE TO BE Earth Friendly? Do Not Waste, Reuse, Recycle. Then when you look at a bottle of water you see how it can be recycled, when you cook dinner and the food gets burned you see how you have wasted the food, and how there are people in the world that don't have enough to eat. And you feel bad. How about when you buy food, and then your family doesn't eat it all, then you are left with all these leftovers that could serve a purpose, then what? How about the shampoo that you bought but don't like, should you still use it? It doesn't seem right to throw it. Toys your children have outgrown, books, magazines, toilet paper rolls and egg cartons. All these things can be re-used or recycled. What if your house is all cluttered, yet you can't find the time to research a place to take all these things, what if you don't have a car, and you have too much stuff to give away, too much stuff to carry. It makes me feel trapped and self conscious and it makes it hard for me to just close my eyes and throw stuff away.
Don't you ever feel like being earth conscious can be a curse? What is your opinion? I want to know.
Don't you ever feel like being earth conscious can be a curse? What is your opinion? I want to know.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
About the pacifier...
I know I recently blogged about this in a previous post however today I came across an article in MomFinds.com criticizing Suri Cruise's pacifier use. I must say that I do not allow my child who was born a few weeks before Suri Cruise to leave the house with the pacifier, however, who are we to judge? I know that first of all, it's none of our business what another family chooses to do, second of all, I know they are Scientologists and they believe in allowing the child to make their own choices about things, even including when they are ready to give up a pacifier or bottle. I myself have allowed my child to decide for herself when she will give up her pacifier although I am trying to persuade her to give it up sooner than later. I am not a follower of Scientology, but I too remember when my mom "lost" my pacifier at the laundromat when I was almost five, if I'm not mistaken, and I remember missing it, for years! I had the desire to put things in my mouth to resemble the pacifier and I remember being frustrated because I couldn't find anything that matched the sensation.
I understand how it might be easier to wean them from the pacifier when they are small, but sometimes with strong willed children it is not that simple. I know many of you will disagree. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
My daughter's speech has not been compromised, her teeth are not in any way crooked, and she has been dealing good with my no-pacifier day. I believe that little by little she will be able to wean from it, and everything will be OK.
I understand how it might be easier to wean them from the pacifier when they are small, but sometimes with strong willed children it is not that simple. I know many of you will disagree. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
My daughter's speech has not been compromised, her teeth are not in any way crooked, and she has been dealing good with my no-pacifier day. I believe that little by little she will be able to wean from it, and everything will be OK.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tips for moms just starting a Blog
What are your tips for a mom who is starting a blog? -
Like most of you know this blog was born in February 2011 as a daily Blog, I still consider myself a new mom Blogger simply because I am new, but I still have some advice I can give out to moms who are thinking about starting a blog.
What advice would you give to a mom who is thinking about starting a blog? I want to hear your comments here too, I sure need some ideas as well. But on my two cents I recommend any mom thinking about starting her own blog to read the e-book Blogging in Pink: A Woman's Guide I believe reading that book was what finally gave me the tools to start head on Blogging. I had read many other books before but none where so helpful.
Did you ever have doubts that anyone would want to read yours, and if so, how did you overcome that and other limiting thoughts regarding it?
I was terrified that no one would read my Blog, however after I started using Twitter and making some friends there and following other mom Bloggers and having them respond to my tweets made me feel confident that at least one person would read it. I kept a random Blog for over a year under a different name, and 1 person read one of my posts, I was happy for that one person and that one post, but knowing that I was writing and no one was reading was really depressing, it takes away on your inspiration. I suggest getting a Twitter account, and Facebook, and promoting your Blog there, I'm sure someone will read it.
Do you have any easy tips for design, content, increasing followers, etc.?
As for design I use Blogger's Template Designer and it's very versatile and easy to use. About content I got the idea from the book Blogging in Pink to assign a topic for each day of the week, so that helps a great deal at the time to choose what to write, and you can always change your mind if you want to talk about something that happened that day. Also a great source of ideas is Social Moms:Writing Prompts and at the same time joining Social Moms it's a great resource in itself, even to get followers.
How about you? Do you have any tips that you would like to share?
Like most of you know this blog was born in February 2011 as a daily Blog, I still consider myself a new mom Blogger simply because I am new, but I still have some advice I can give out to moms who are thinking about starting a blog.
What advice would you give to a mom who is thinking about starting a blog? I want to hear your comments here too, I sure need some ideas as well. But on my two cents I recommend any mom thinking about starting her own blog to read the e-book Blogging in Pink: A Woman's Guide I believe reading that book was what finally gave me the tools to start head on Blogging. I had read many other books before but none where so helpful.
Did you ever have doubts that anyone would want to read yours, and if so, how did you overcome that and other limiting thoughts regarding it?
I was terrified that no one would read my Blog, however after I started using Twitter and making some friends there and following other mom Bloggers and having them respond to my tweets made me feel confident that at least one person would read it. I kept a random Blog for over a year under a different name, and 1 person read one of my posts, I was happy for that one person and that one post, but knowing that I was writing and no one was reading was really depressing, it takes away on your inspiration. I suggest getting a Twitter account, and Facebook, and promoting your Blog there, I'm sure someone will read it.
Do you have any easy tips for design, content, increasing followers, etc.?
As for design I use Blogger's Template Designer and it's very versatile and easy to use. About content I got the idea from the book Blogging in Pink to assign a topic for each day of the week, so that helps a great deal at the time to choose what to write, and you can always change your mind if you want to talk about something that happened that day. Also a great source of ideas is Social Moms:Writing Prompts and at the same time joining Social Moms it's a great resource in itself, even to get followers.
How about you? Do you have any tips that you would like to share?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Have you started your spring cleaning?
I decided to use once again the writing prompts of Social Moms and answer the question Have you started Spring Cleaning yet? I never grew up with the term spring cleaning as in Puerto Rico the seasons don't have such a drastic impact as in NYC. Here we have to start thinking about changing the seasonal stuff, like the clothes, switched and getting rid of the things we no longer need. This time I decided to take the time to hire a professional organizer that's going to help us clear out clutter and organize ourselves. I must say that I have a tendency to get frustrated and quit once I feel I have spent a lot of time and effort clearing out stuff and it looks like I have barely made a dent. So I feel that having someone by your side helping you out, someone who is good at it, it will make a huge difference. She already came to our house to review the situation and will be returning on March 22nd to start off with my home office area. She gave me as a homework to give away the exercise bike that I do not use, and move the 3 bikes down from the living room into the bike racks outside and to buy them bike covers so I don't feel worried about them getting ruined in the rain.
So I have to buy these covers and some good locks and start off. Once Amy comes back I will continue to let you know of my progress.
So, what about you? Have you started your Spring cleaning yet? Do you have a specific plan, or method? Please share.
So I have to buy these covers and some good locks and start off. Once Amy comes back I will continue to let you know of my progress.
So, what about you? Have you started your Spring cleaning yet? Do you have a specific plan, or method? Please share.
The Price of Beauty
Today my baby girl turned 5 and we had an awesome birthday party. There were a lot of friends and family that came over for the party. We all were looking our best, we had brand new shoes all three of us, Gaby, Elsie and me. We chose the perfect shoes to look our best, but half way through the party we realized that even though our shoes where perfectly suited to make us pretty, they also killed our feet. Even Elsie had to run around barefoot for most of the time. And now several hours after the party is over I must say that I am still walking on my heels so as to take pressure away from the front of my foot, and then it's still very painful to walk, even barefoot. Why must we fall prey to the desire to be pretty at all cost?
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Picture of the Week - The Moon
This week's Picture of the week is the moon taken with my camera. I have never been able to take a picture of the moon that it showed the shadows in it, that's why this picture is so significant
I was really impressed! Enjoy.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
How to write and do something you don't like
As I start getting myself out there more as a writer I have come across some assignments that could do wonders for my career yet they seem so hard to do.
To those who know me personally they can tell that I am a very picky eater, I do not like to cook and I like junk food the most. So having to write about health and healthy meal options it's quite a stretch. I am surrounded with plenty of friends who are into health, who eat nutritious foods and actually eat vegetables because they like them, they tell me about the benefits of a healthy life style, yet my body is so accustomed to junk that when I start eating healthy my body goes through not so good changes that make me go back to my old ways. I have a hard time eating things with fiber as they send me running. And eating vegetables often give me too much gas. I wonder if this is normal as I must confess that the aroma that comes from me seems to be more of death than health.
I have been encouraged to keep trying, to keep incorporating health into my lifestyle, that once I see the benefits of it, I will not go back. My friend Karina from eatpretty.com told me that maybe I could see healthy foods as a medicine at first that can cure my tiredness, then after I see how energetic I become then I won't think twice.
As I struggle with this dilemma, about how to become more healthy so I can write about health and not think it's a drag, and maybe further along my writing and get more credibility, it seems now at this point in my life starting to live a healthy lifestyle can reap more benefits then before. So I ask you, what do you do when you must do something you don't like to do? Do you have any tips for someone who is having a hard time making the switch to a healthy lifestyle?
To those who know me personally they can tell that I am a very picky eater, I do not like to cook and I like junk food the most. So having to write about health and healthy meal options it's quite a stretch. I am surrounded with plenty of friends who are into health, who eat nutritious foods and actually eat vegetables because they like them, they tell me about the benefits of a healthy life style, yet my body is so accustomed to junk that when I start eating healthy my body goes through not so good changes that make me go back to my old ways. I have a hard time eating things with fiber as they send me running. And eating vegetables often give me too much gas. I wonder if this is normal as I must confess that the aroma that comes from me seems to be more of death than health.
I have been encouraged to keep trying, to keep incorporating health into my lifestyle, that once I see the benefits of it, I will not go back. My friend Karina from eatpretty.com told me that maybe I could see healthy foods as a medicine at first that can cure my tiredness, then after I see how energetic I become then I won't think twice.
As I struggle with this dilemma, about how to become more healthy so I can write about health and not think it's a drag, and maybe further along my writing and get more credibility, it seems now at this point in my life starting to live a healthy lifestyle can reap more benefits then before. So I ask you, what do you do when you must do something you don't like to do? Do you have any tips for someone who is having a hard time making the switch to a healthy lifestyle?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The BOBO Dilema
I know this post will be controversial amongst parents and some who are not yet parents but have an opinion on the subject and it's OK. I'm going to bring it out in the open and confess that my soon to be 5 year old daughter still uses a "Bobo" (pacifier)
I know that parents are not supposed to allow their children to use pacifiers beyond the first year. I have read the books, and the blogs and seen the shows on TV about this topic, so it is not ignorance. I can see how as years go by the ability to take it away decreases as the child becomes set in her ways and attached to it even more.
With my first daughter she gave it up at the age of 4 on her own with the help of the dentist. I remember when she went to her check up and the dentist asked her if she used the pacifier, Gaby said yes and the dentist proceeded to tell her how he could tell because her teeth had started to shift and if she didn't give it up her teeth would need braces when she grew up. As soon as we got home Gaby told me she was not going to use her bobo anymore, and she never looked back.
Elsie on the other hand went to her dentist appointment and the dentist said she had perfect teeth! So there goes that idea! I talked about the Bobo Fairy and how she would take the bobo's to babies who needed them, how she was a big girl, and that she needed to give it up so her teeth don't get crooked. Nothing works. At age 3 she said she would give up her bobo by her 4th birthday. At age 4, by her 5th birthday, and as her 5th birthday approaches she just announced that she will give it up around her 6th birthday!
I truly believe my child should give it up on her own and as a mother of an almost 6 year old wearing a pacifier on our last family trip to Florida last summer said to me "I don't worry about it, I have never seen a teenager with a pacifier, they always give it up eventually" She said all her kids gave it up around 6.
The truth is that I am not worried about her ability to give it up eventually, and she's never allowed to use it outside the home and then it's mostly when she's tired and wants to rest, but I do feel the society and my husband's pressure to make her give it up, and since the tricks I used on Gaby don't work with Elsie( like not allowing her to take it out of the bed, or making her fear crooked teeth) then I came up with the idea of No Bobo Day. I chose Wednesday as No Bobo Day because that's the day we go to my Writer's workshop so we get home pretty late and she won't be hanging out in the house for long periods of time missing it.
So the first Bobo Day started a little rough as she woke up cranky and didn't want to give it up I got her to give it to me in time for breakfast and didn't use it the rest of the day. After we got home from my Writer's workshop we sat and did homework, took a bath and went to bed and she didn't even ask for the Bobo at all. Maybe this will work out after all. :)
I know that parents are not supposed to allow their children to use pacifiers beyond the first year. I have read the books, and the blogs and seen the shows on TV about this topic, so it is not ignorance. I can see how as years go by the ability to take it away decreases as the child becomes set in her ways and attached to it even more.
With my first daughter she gave it up at the age of 4 on her own with the help of the dentist. I remember when she went to her check up and the dentist asked her if she used the pacifier, Gaby said yes and the dentist proceeded to tell her how he could tell because her teeth had started to shift and if she didn't give it up her teeth would need braces when she grew up. As soon as we got home Gaby told me she was not going to use her bobo anymore, and she never looked back.
Elsie on the other hand went to her dentist appointment and the dentist said she had perfect teeth! So there goes that idea! I talked about the Bobo Fairy and how she would take the bobo's to babies who needed them, how she was a big girl, and that she needed to give it up so her teeth don't get crooked. Nothing works. At age 3 she said she would give up her bobo by her 4th birthday. At age 4, by her 5th birthday, and as her 5th birthday approaches she just announced that she will give it up around her 6th birthday!
I truly believe my child should give it up on her own and as a mother of an almost 6 year old wearing a pacifier on our last family trip to Florida last summer said to me "I don't worry about it, I have never seen a teenager with a pacifier, they always give it up eventually" She said all her kids gave it up around 6.
The truth is that I am not worried about her ability to give it up eventually, and she's never allowed to use it outside the home and then it's mostly when she's tired and wants to rest, but I do feel the society and my husband's pressure to make her give it up, and since the tricks I used on Gaby don't work with Elsie( like not allowing her to take it out of the bed, or making her fear crooked teeth) then I came up with the idea of No Bobo Day. I chose Wednesday as No Bobo Day because that's the day we go to my Writer's workshop so we get home pretty late and she won't be hanging out in the house for long periods of time missing it.
So the first Bobo Day started a little rough as she woke up cranky and didn't want to give it up I got her to give it to me in time for breakfast and didn't use it the rest of the day. After we got home from my Writer's workshop we sat and did homework, took a bath and went to bed and she didn't even ask for the Bobo at all. Maybe this will work out after all. :)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
How do you find time for your spouse?
Today I was planing on writing about something else. Wednesdays are Random Topic Day, but as I read through my twitter today I came across a tweet by Megan Calhoun @SocialMoms that asked the question: How do you find time for your spouse? It immediately caught my attention. How do you find time for your spouse? - What do you love most about your spouse? Do you guys go out once a month? What was the last thing your partner did to make you smile? I wasn't aware that Social Moms had writing prompts and I decided to give it a try.
My hubby works a lot, he's not only the owner of his own businesses but he also has a full time job separate from that. Most days he comes home late at night and we don't spend that much time together. It is only after 11:30pm that I get the chance to lay down in bed and watch some movie or a show on TV and we spend that time together. The tough part is that I tend to fall asleep really fast especially on days when I haven't had a nap before he gets home. I find it helpful to take a nap before 10pm so that I can stay awake later.
On the weekends sometimes we get the chance to go out as a family, last weekend we went to the Jekyll and Hyde Club restaurant with the kids and a friend that was visiting NY for the first time. I enjoy a lot those times when we have the opportunity to share as a family. As for couple time, I feel that my favorite part is feeling his arm around me when we sleep, having him close and feeling his warmth makes me instantly smile.
I love when he is silly with the girls and plays with them, and how thoughtful and giving he is. I appreciate when he text me to tell me something that happened in his day, or to share a silly picture he made on his phone, or when he surprises us with something new.
My husband and I are very different, we like different things and our ideas of going out and having fun are very different, but we've learned to work around that and I wouldn't trade him for the world.
My hubby works a lot, he's not only the owner of his own businesses but he also has a full time job separate from that. Most days he comes home late at night and we don't spend that much time together. It is only after 11:30pm that I get the chance to lay down in bed and watch some movie or a show on TV and we spend that time together. The tough part is that I tend to fall asleep really fast especially on days when I haven't had a nap before he gets home. I find it helpful to take a nap before 10pm so that I can stay awake later.
On the weekends sometimes we get the chance to go out as a family, last weekend we went to the Jekyll and Hyde Club restaurant with the kids and a friend that was visiting NY for the first time. I enjoy a lot those times when we have the opportunity to share as a family. As for couple time, I feel that my favorite part is feeling his arm around me when we sleep, having him close and feeling his warmth makes me instantly smile.
I love when he is silly with the girls and plays with them, and how thoughtful and giving he is. I appreciate when he text me to tell me something that happened in his day, or to share a silly picture he made on his phone, or when he surprises us with something new.
My husband and I are very different, we like different things and our ideas of going out and having fun are very different, but we've learned to work around that and I wouldn't trade him for the world.
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