Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 10


This has been a truly Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge and today it has come to an end. For the final challenge, it has been requested to post New Year's Eve Memories/ Pictures.

I don't have much pictures, but last year we spent it with my cousin-in-law and the family chillin.



I really need to take more pictures at these events!

What are your New Year's Eve Memories?

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 9



We are almost done with the Challenge, only one more day to go. And today's Challenge Question is:
What are your 2012 Goals / Resolutions

For 2012 I have some common  resolutions:
to loose some weight (don't we all)
Keep my house clean, exercise more etc.

but I also have some uncommon goals:
I want to be able to slow down, and take the time to enjoy life, just take the day and smell the flowers and enjoy my daughter's smiles and melt in their hugs and kisses.
I want to start some Holiday Traditions, not only for Christmas but for all Holidays, and do it in advance.
I want to be more active in my Blog, there are a few Changes that will come forward in Cocoons2Butterflies next year, a new structure.
Write more, go out more, relax more, be more Happy!

So what are your resolutions/goals for 2012?

Monday, December 26, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 8





How did you guys spend the Holiday? Did you guys get the things you wanted?

Well today's topic is supposed to be Christmas Wishlist, however, since I'm doing this at the wrong time, and the schedule is all off, then it doesn't make much sense to do it now.


However, what I wanted for Christmas was to be able to spend it with my family, my husband who I had not seen in a few months as he has been traveling, and our girls. Just being together as a family again is the best gift of all.

What was your Christmas Wish List? Did you get what you wanted?

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 7


Today is Christmas and I am enjoying it with my family here in Florida, yesterday was my darling daughter's birthday and I am so proud of her and she is growing so beautiful!
Today's Challenge Question is: How do you Celebrate the holidays? Hanuka, Kwanza or Christmas?



In our home we celebrate Christmas, we grew up catholic so we do the Nativity Scene and all. When I was little I would use my strawberry shortcake dolls and make the nativity scene with them. It was so cute.

What Holiday do you celebrate at home?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 6


Today we are having a Christmas Dessert/ Treat Recipe:
And what I many times do for the Holidays is Cheesecake.


I have a recipe that I use and it comes out really good, it is easy and Simple:


Ingredients:
Keebler Ready Crust Graham Cracker (or any flavor of your preference)
8oz package of Cream Cheese
2 eggs
1/2 a cup of Sugar
1 tsp of Wheat Flour ( I use pancake Flour mix)
2/3 cup of Evaporated Milk


Procedure:
I put in the blender the Softened Cream Cheese along with the eggs, flour, sugar and milk and blend until the mixture is smooth. Then pour into the pie crust and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 min.


and voila! 



This is not a picture of my cheesecake but it is similar.


What is your favorite Holiday recipe?

Friday, December 23, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 5


Here once again with another question for you: What is your ideal Holiday Dress?
For me, when I think about Christmas I think about RED! :)
Something like this outfit:

and for New Years I think about the same thing, sometimes I wear Black or Blue, and some other's red.

I don't usually go out in New Years, since in NYC is too cold, I just stay home and dress casually, but if I were to go out, I would like something like this:
I really like doing this Challenge because it has really made me think about the things that I currently do. I mean I am not one to usually care about these kinds of things like what to wear for the holidays but thinking about it makes me want to do it, and care what I do, and care how I dress, and do something about it.

What is your ideal Holiday/ New Year's Eve Dress? Please Share.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 4





Today it's Day # 4 of the Challenge: What are your Favorite Holiday movies/TV specials?

When I was little I always enjoyed watching Frosty The Snowman, I also like Olive the other Reindeer with Drew Barrymore. Other Christmas movies that I like are Eloise Christmas, and Home Alone, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and recently I loved Barbie: A Perfect Christmas and the movie about The Elf in the Shelf.





They are all kid's movies but I feel like Christmas is a time to spend it with the kids and feel like a kid again.


What are your favorite movies/TV shows for Christmas?

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 3



Today we have Day {THREE} - Holiday decorations/decor

How Do you decorate your house for Christmas? This year we are not going to be spending it in NY so we did not decorate but we usually put up little snowflakes all over the walls, paper cutouts of Snow Flakes and Some Christmas Posters and Drawings my kids make. And doing this challenge has opened up my eyes to realize that I do not do much for Christmas. Halloween, that's a whole different story. But besides the tree and some stockings I don't do much. I guess that I have not taken the time to enjoy life without rushing, because I tend to rush through the days and not stop and enjoy the view. So Holidays come and go and I end up doing nothing. But I am going to make that one of my Holiday Resolutions this year. To make time to enjoy the days without rushing through them.


How do you decorate for Christmas?

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 2

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge


Today's Challenge is: Favorite Holiday Tradition New or Old

Well, we don't actually have any traditions per se. But every year we decorate our Christmas tree with decorations that my Step Dad gave me throughout the years. He has passed away now but I keep all his decorations and use them year after year. We also have a Christmas Eve Dinner and sing Happy Birthday to my oldest daughter who this year turns 11!! This year we started a new tradition with the Elf in the Shelf, my daughter's especially the little one is enjoying it very much. We also Celebrate Three Kings Day and last year we made a Party and gave away toys to all the kids who visited my husband's store that day. We made it a great event and we want to be able to do that in the future again.



What are your Holiday Traditions?

Monday, December 19, 2011

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge: Day 1


I'm joining Brunch with Amber and A Complete Waste of Makeup for their Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge. However I'm going to be bending the rules a little bit. I have started this Holiday Challenge quite late, but since I will be on Vacation for a few weeks I decided to make these posts now.

So without further Ado, here comes Challenge # 1


What is your favorite gift received EVER.

Well I think this is a tough one. First of all because my first daughter Gaby was born on Christmas Eve, so there's nothing that can top that as a Christmas Gift.

But if we are going to talk about gifts that where actually purchased, I must say that the best gift EVER was a Chevy Aveo that my darling husband and step dad got for me. It was my first brand new car. I was so excited that I wanted to get a tattoo of the Chevy Symbol on my leg. But since then we had to trade it in for a bigger model since our family expanded.

But the Best Christmas Present that was purchased and I still own is two things:

My Amazon Kindle,

 and My Canon Power Shot SX210 IS.


I use them constantly, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!!

What's your favorite Christmas gift ever?

Sunday, December 18, 2011

MyMemories Suite Free Software Giveaway!


Hi! As promised I want to make a My Memories Suite Free Software Giveaway! You all saw how nice the pictures came for the gift I made my mom for her birthday. I must say she loved it and she shared it with her friends.

I never before got into scrap booking because I wasn't really into having to cut all those pieces of paper and have all the pictures etc. I am a fan of digital photography so this digital scrapbooking software is such a great way to show off your favorite pictures and it is so simple.


You can use their templates like I did for my mom's birthday or you can make your own, like I did here with the purple ribbon and bow.

There are so many features, you can even export the album pages into jpg or png files and even make calendars to share with your family and friends.


Here's another example of the project I did with My Memories Suite!









As you can see this is a great software and I want you to win it for free.  To enter the contest you just have to go to: www.mymemories.com and comment with the name of your favorite digital paper pack or layout. For additional Entries you must follow My Memories Blog mymemoriesblog.com and comment here when you did it. Then Like MyMemories on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter. Please make a comment every time you do one of these things in order to get an additional entry per action done. You must also Like Cocoons2Butterflies on Facebook and Follow Mantybat on Twitter.  The winner will receive a FREE MyMemories Suite V3 The winner will be selected at random on Dec 20th, right before the Holidays so you can use it right away to make some unique gifts for your family and friends, so what are you waiting for?!

But that is not all!  I have a gift for you that you can claim Right Now! No need to wait for the Giveaway. You can Use this code right now to get a $10 off the Best Digital Scrapbooking Software. Just enter code STMMMS85137 at check out. Please copy and Paste the code to avoid any typos. Just go to:

Good Luck to all of you! And Happy Scrapbooking!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

What makes you laugh?

When I am in need of some cheer me up I like to check up websites with funny pictures or images, like the FailBlog or BuzzLOL.

I like looking at pictures of FAILS, and silly Photo Shop Fails like the ones about people who try to make themselves look more buff or more voluptuous but they fail to notice how the surroundings are also distorted or they photoshop only one arm by mistake.


And silly people who think they look cool with a duckface. Have you ever seen it? I'm sure you have. I have always thought that girls look so silly with this pose and so many people tend to do it, and on purpose!


And the recently popular Funny AutoCorrect these are so outrageous sometimes that it makes me wonder if their are even real. But still they can be pretty funny!

How about you? What do you do to cheer yourself up when you need a boost?

Friday, December 16, 2011

Happy Birthday MAMA!!!! TE AMO !! I LOVE YOU!!!

 Today is my mom's birthday! And I want to honor her with some pictures I created with My Memories Suite Software. Tomorrow I will be doing a Giveaway Contest to give people a chance to win the Software. But back to my mom...

Happy Birthday mi mamita querida! Quiero que sepas que te amo y estoy muy agradecida! I want you to know that I Love you and I am very grateful to you!

Mami & Papi Gave birth to you and you gave birth to me.


Thank you for being there for me at my wedding, and then for being there when I gave birth to my two little darlings.

 Thank you for always looking out for me, for giving me good values, and for protecting me from harm and providing a safe and loving environment for me to grow in.

 And this could not be complete without a picture of your other two Loves, Karla and Mia who are also part of your heart like we are.
For that and for all of the things you have ever done for me, I want to honor you, today and always! Que Dios te bendiga y te cuide siempre y te de mucha salud y una larga vida. Con mucho amor por siempre!

-Laurita

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Christmas is Near! What does it mean to you?



Oh Christmas! Many people love Christmas! Some others don't. What does it mean to you?
Recently I have incorporated a Question of the Day on my Facebook Page and today's question is:
What does Christmas mean to you?

To me, Christmas is a time to be with family, to give, give, give and to cherish moments with our loved ones. Christmas also means that my big baby Girl Gaby has another birthday coming up.


This year she will be 11 years old! Time flies so fast! I can remember as it was just yesterday when I was riding in a Taxi to the Hospital and later that night having in my arms a perfect baby girl. The hospital gave her this cute adorable brown teddy bear as a gift to all the babies born on Christmas Eve and on Christmas.

Here being held by Grandpa (RIP)

Teddy Bear gift

This year I also wanted to give, give, give, and I donated two Shoe boxes with gifts for the girls at F.L.A.G. and also made a lot of Donations to the Salvation Army and sent money to my Sponsored Girl Maeca from Children's International and made a donation for an association that provides Holiday meals to families in need.

I truly believe that when we give, we get blessings in return. I do not hesitate when it means helping out someone in real need.

Do you have any stories to share about things you do for Christmas? Please Share.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Is your credit good enough?


Many of us are thinking right now about our finances, especially around the Holidays. Because at this time we tend to spend, spend, spend! And now when the economy is not doing so good we tend to worry sometimes about what is in store for us.
So what do you do? Do you know what your credit score is? Have you ever even seen your credit report? And why does it matter? Many people sometimes tend to live paycheck to paycheck and they tend to ignore credit cards or loans, they do not know how much this affects them. They pay what they can on what they consider the most essential of bills (food, utilities, etc) and think that by not paying the credit cards then they can just ignore it and in 7 years it will go away. Well, that may be so, but 7 years is 7 years.
I work for a Real Estate Management company and have been dealing with people’s applications for over 6 years. I learned how to read credit scores, and credit reports. So what does a landlord look for when reading a credit report? Well, first of all we look at the credit score. Anything above 600 it’s decent, but credit score alone does not mean you have a good credit. There are many things that come into play. We look into the ratio of number of accounts, how many collections, and Public Records.  If a person has several accounts in good standing and a few collections and they are medical or student loans, then most landlords will let those slide by, but if the collections are under the credit cards or in any loan, then these we see as a negative points in your application and we might request a guarantor or extra rent security in order to approve your application.
So what should you do if you are struggling financially and don’t want to ruin your credit? Make a Budget, see how much money are you bringing in and how much do you have in bills in a month. If the income is lower than the bills call some companies and request a payment plan. Many credit card companies and utility companies prefer to give you a payment plan rather than have you default in your payments. Another thing that is good practice, is that if you owe credit cards try to pay more than the minimum, even if it’s only $10 more than the minimum you are still better off because many times the minimum payment goes mostly toward interest, and you are not paying off your debt so with time your account is probably going to grow, by paying a little bit more (paying double is even better) you pay something towards the actual balance of your payment and your balance will get lower each month.
You can go online and check your free credit score online and  see how you can take steps to improve your credit and stay financially stable.

Monday, December 12, 2011

What do you share and what do you keep to yourself?


Lately I have been thinking about the restructure of my Blog. I want to make it be more educational.The reason for that being that I am in a constant state of learning. I am day in day out reading and learning about a few topics in specific. One of the topics I am constantly learning about is Education, mainly how to raise kids in a way to build up their true potential and how to deal with the different setbacks that sometimes occur normally throughout life. I also love to learn about marriages and how to make marriages better, and how to be a better person and recently I am absorbing all things social media. Because I am constantly learning about these topics I would like to be able to share with you the things that I learn while I learn them, but I want to be able to write with my own voice, and describe the reason why I was inclined to learn about the subject in particular. Yet I am left thinking that there are times when the reason behind the learning of a particular topic is highly personal and I might say, What does it matter if I share a private topic with the online world? No one really knows me in real life, but then I think of all the people I really DO know in real life that will read it and then it makes me re-evaluate writing about it in the first place.
I know that many of you who Blog may have encountered yourselves with a dilemma like this. What do you do when you have a sensitive and personal topic in mind and would like to know what other people think about it, but don't want other people who you really know in real life to read it?
Hove you ever been in a situation when you decided to share and it backfired?
Please share! :)

Ratings and Recommendations by outbrain