Been Gone Too Long

Too long? Dang right too long! The time is now one month since my last post, and probably my post before that was a month earlier.

Instead of blogging, or using Facebook and Twitter, my time has been spent unplugged. My phone has been on silent or turned off for church, for class, for work. Late nights, early mornings, rushing or taking off my shoes to enjoy the feel of warm carpet.

There have been days where I completely forgot to turn on my computer, respond to emails, open my postal mailbox or check voicemails. On those days, I ask Lesli to do certain things. This is not a perfect system but it keeps me more sane than if I tried to handle every single detail of the day. Not long ago I would have tried doing everything myself, but I learned and re-learned the lesson until it sank in: if mom’s not happy, then nobody’s happy.

I have been mostly smiling – except for the times I giggle like a schoolgirl or get buried in textbooks. I write school assignments in my notebook, then draft blog posts in my head. I have WAY TOO MANY goodies in the house from events I have attended, and scribbles everywhere about how to arrange a giveaway. Or several giveaways. So here I am, starting back at the beginning.

Hi. My name is Ofelia. I started college in the fall of 2010, found love this past summer, then said goodbye to my thirties last month. My days are crazy, and my evenings too. Some days I leave my class notes at home and carry a notebook full of empty pages. Some days I carry too many books because my bag “always feels this heavy” and still manage to forget my calculator at home. Sometimes I carry my bookbag on the weekends because I do not want to go find another bag. I misplaced my lip balm last week so now when my lips feel dry I reach for an almost sheer lipstick.

What do you think? Can you forgive me for being gone so long? Will you be cranky when I disappear again for a while – when exams and papers attack all at once? Do you have any news to share?

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The Phases of the Moon

I know, a few weeks have passed since my last blog item. I have a giveaway post – and a box or two of goodies – to share with you. While I get my thoughts and shipping materials together, here is a guest post.

In the past, the moon was my companion on many late nights when I couldn’t think clearly. Now I look up and see the moon smiling at me. My favorite thing is how the phases of the moon are predictable, including a renewal and fresh start. I think this is a great post to share on my birthday!

Read below for what to call the different shapes and phases of the moon. Hint: None of them are “skinny moon”!

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This was written by PsychicSource. Since 1989 this trusted psychic network offers variety of readings from a tarot reading to a past life reading to people in need of life advice, spiritual guidance and various other questions. Their online psychic chat is available 24/7.

Lovers do it, sailors do it, and children do it too. It’s called Moon-gazing. Our attraction to the moon has gripped us since the beginning of time. But the moon does more than just sit pretty in the sky. It’s busy orbiting the earth, and while doing so offering different views for us to enjoy.

As the earth and its moon rotate around the sun, the sunlit portions of the moon display the familiar shapes of the full moon, new moon and the crescent shaped moons.

Throughout its revolution around the earth, the moon goes through eight stages within roughly a 28-day period. The eight stages of the moon are as follows:

New Moon
At all times the sun is illuminating exactly half of the moon. With a new moon, the entire portion that is illuminated is on the backside of the moon, the side we cannot see. At this point the moon is positioned between the earth and the sun.

Full Moon
At the full moon, the moon is positioned between the earth and sun just as it is during the new moon but on the opposite side of the earth. The sunlit part of the moon is facing us while the shadowed portion is hidden from view.

First & Third Quarter Moon
Half moons, both the first quarter moon and third quarter moon, occur when the moon is at a 90-degree angle with the earth and sun. When this happens we see exactly half of the moon illuminated and half in shadow.

Waxing Crescent
The waxing crescent phase is when the moon is less than half illuminated and expanding in illumination giving it a crescent shape. This waxing moon occurs after the new moon.

Waxing Gibbous
The waxing gibbous moon is when the moon is more than half illuminated. It occurs after the first quarter when the sunlit portion is increasing.

Waning Gibbous
After the full moon, the light continually decreases. The waning gibbous phase of shrinking or decreasing in illumination occurs next.

Waning Crescent
The waning crescent moon follows the third quarter phase. During this time the light becomes less visible until it is gone and a new moon appears.

The moon’s orbit about the earth varies approximately 5 degrees from the earth-sun orbital plane. Subsequently, a full moon does not block the sun. However, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon, during a full moon phase, blocks the sun or part of it. A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth casts a shadow on the moon, which can also only happen during the full moon phase.

When is the last time you looked at the moon?

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Sizzling Summer 4 – Wordless Wednesday

With this recent heat wave, newscasters have been telling us to stay cool. Lesli has been spending volunteering with children, which some might say is the least likely way to stay cool.

Last week the group took a trip, to a museum with interactive exhibits. They all ran, jumped, laughed, and forgot about the outside world while enjoying the contradiction of a museum that lets kids touch everything. Lesli sent me this photo, with the subject line:

Guess what I’m doing for the next half hour?

Foot Piano

I think for a while Lesli forgot about the heat, the pressure and the stress of looking after thirty kids that all come with different needs and wants. She went for a walk, and forgot her age.

Find a reason to smile today! Have a wonderful Wordless Wednesday.

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Free drink from McDonald’s

A few weeks ago, McDonald’s of the New York /New Jersey /Connecticut tri-state area issued a coupon for a free drink on Twitter. Today they posted another one.

Print it here, and enjoy! Might I suggest an Asian salad with that?

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Lesli on The View

It’s a tease for our segment on Good Morning America, which Elisabeth says will be shown tomorrow. Lesli told me she enjoyed her time on the panel discussing teens and birth control pills. Just wait until I tell her, now she’s been on The View, so that makes two television appearances this week! Set (or re-set) your DVR’s!

Many many thanks to Ivelisse (who also happened to be a winner in the McDonalds giveaway) for working her remote, and sending me this photo, before I ended up mumbling. I promise, there won’t be this many exclamation marks on the blog for a while…

LesliView

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Sizzling Summer 3 – Wordfilled Wednesday

This week has been filled with blessings, opportunities, and goodness. There have been moments where I wondered “why me, what did I do to deserve so much goodness”? Then there was a moment yesterday, where I was notified of a pending comment and wondered “why me, what did I do to encourage such hate“?

I stood still, looked around and thought, how did this person find my blog? Do they subscribe, or read regularly? Is there a personal grudge involved? My first thought was to ignore or delete the comment. But that would make me feel like a hypocrite. I did, after all, write a post that ended with a question. I encouraged feedback.

Late last night, while still debating what to do about this comment, I sent out a tweet asking for advice, and got several responses. The opinions were split between approve, or delete. My final decision was to post the comment as an image, and edit to remove the name of the person who was criticized.

Sizzling Summer 3

Allow me to quote my college professor.

In this space, you are amongst friends.

Now for my thoughts. Next time I get a comment that makes me feel “icky” it may be ignored or deleted. I feel no guilt or shame for saying that. The beauty of social media is that on my blog, it’s my rules. So here are the rules, for future reference.

1. No profanity will be used in a post, or tolerated in a comment, on this blog.
2. If you disagree with something on this blog, please be respectful when stating your point of view.
3. Please back up your statements with facts or examples.
4. No personal attacks.

If this is unacceptable, there are many unmoderated sites where you can post your opinion, attack the writer or share your views. Please make no mistake, as long as I write and/or edit the posts on this blog, the basic rules will will be the same as in my home.

If you don’t like something or someone, please do one of the following:

• Calmly explain why, using civilized language, or
• Keep it to yourself.

I will now be deleting that pending comment, and updating the blog’s terms of usage.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my Sizzling Summer Wordfilled Wednesday post. Have a wonderful day!

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Parenting, Teens and Sex – Seriously!

I have this thing where saying the words teen and sex in the same sentence gives me agida. So why exactly am I writing a blog post that mentions those things together and in the title no less? We should start at the beginning. Last week I got an e-mail, which said in part: Do you have a teen daughter? We’re trying to help for television show segment and I thought of you. I asked for more information, and found out the segment topic would be “parents, teens and birth control pills”. Not necessarily sex. Still, mention birth control pills to the average person, and the next thought is SEX! I explained the topic, as I understood it, to Lesli. She was willing to sit with other teenagers and a journalist to discuss the topic. I joined the mothers group for a separate session.

When we arrived at the television studio the mothers spent about two hours discussing our feelings on the topic. Among other things, would we allow, or encourage, our teenagers to take birth control pills if recommended for a reason other than contraception? I was relieved to find other mothers who shared my view: my daughter is not a test tube. If Lesli’s doctor suggests that [ insert condition here ] can be resolved by taking a daily dose of synthetic hormones, I would follow that recommendation only after exhausting every other possible treatment.

My logic is as follows: Exhibit A- teenage hormone fluctuations, Exhibit B- studies proving and then disproving possible side effects of birth control pills, Exhibit C- studies suggesting natural, holistic and homeopathic remedies to manage various conditions. Leaving aside the practical logistics – some adult women admit to forgetting their birth control pills – and my conversations with Lesli regarding abstinence (the only 100% reliable way to avoid pregnancy, diseases and that “what have I done” moment), there is my personal experience with medical prescriptions.

I am highly sensitive to several different medications. If Lesli’s doctor ever prescribed any of the medications on my “list”, I would request an alternate or substitute, to spare her the side effects. To me, this is a cornerstone of parenting. I tell Lesli about the road ahead, teach her to look out for warning signs and when necessary, occasionally comfort her. When she moves out for college, or to her own apartment, I will still worry about Lesli’s safety and health. Until then, it will be my duty and privilege as her mami, to guide her as she learns to take responsibility for herself.

Watch ABC’s Good Morning America this week, as Elisabeth Hasselbeck explores parenting, teens and birth control pills. From the program description, the segment will be shown on Thursday, but the show has something good on every day, so I set my DVR to record for the whole week If you want to check out one of Elisabeth’s past segments on parenting, teens and sex, click here and ask yourself, would you let your teen bring a partner to your house for sex?

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Sizzling Summer 2 – Wordless Wednesday

Last week’s photo of a mobile was so cooling and refreshing. Go check it out, again.

Now scroll down to this screen shot from a television news broadcast.

Read carefully, and tell me if you spot the errors. Does the reporter look disappointed?

I know for certain, that this is a sizzling summer. That technician’s brain was fried.

It was definitely one for Wordless Wednesday.

Brain-Fried

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Almost Caprese Salad – Three Ways! Sabroso Saturday

In case you couldn’t tell from the general tone of my food posts, I really like mozzarella cheese. I mean, I really, really like mozzarella cheese. Fresh mozzarella is soft, almost spongy, mild. Smoked mozzarella is firm, dense and rich. Melted mozzarella is springy, tender and chewy in the best way. I could go on but by now the cheese people are drooling!

Earlier this week (Tuesday?) I was at our local market and spotted the display of mozzarella. I looked around quickly for lettuce, tomatoes and a short line. Yes, express checkout! I called Lesli, gave her the goods and went off to run errands. When I got back she had made one salad for herself using fresh tomatoes, and one for me using sun dried tomatoes. My sun dried tomatoes came from a jar, with olive oil. Before I took my first bite, there was a drizzle of fancy oil – a hostess gift from Chela, when she came to visit us in New Jersey a few months ago.

Caprese Three Ways

Wednesday, I went out for prosciutto. Lesli got inspired and made salads again. This time she used prosciutto in mine, and still kept hers the same.

If you want precise measurements, you’re about to be disappointed. You should know by now, in our house whatever looks good ends up on the plate. Recipes are suggestions.

So here’s what Lesli did for her salad – which was almost a traditional Caprese salad. For truly traditional Caprese salad, check out what Pioneer Woman did – it’s an amazingly beautiful salad, with ingredients that are easy to find.

Lesli used

Romaine lettuce (chopped)
Fresh juicy tomatoes (sliced and chopped into half-inch cubes)
Mozzarella cheese (sliced and chopped into quarter-inch cubes)

Rinse and dry lettuce. Top with tomato and mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, red pepper flakes – or if you’re lucky, red-pepper-infused oil.

What else can a girl want? Friends to share it. Or maybe a second plate. I have to properly thank Lesli for making that second salad the next night, with prosciutto! The salty tang and texture of prosciutto make it another favorite of mine. But that’s a story for some other time. Maybe next week?

This post is part of the Sabroso Saturday blog hop originated by MsLatina. Check in at her site for links to recipes from other bloggers across the country, and from all corners of the internet. There’s no telling what everyone will cook!

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No-bake Apple Tartlets – Sabroso Saturday

Let me confess up front, I have not spent much time in the kitchen this week. I survived final exams, got my grades, (summer classes in college move fast), ate cactus and then Friday spent time touching sharks, starfish and stingrays – post coming soon, after I review the video footage.

So I have not cooked at all. Ate lots, laughed loads, but zero cooking. So here we are, Saturday afternoon and I need to post a recipe. I found this recipe online at the Marzetti website. You might know them as the makers of Pfeiffer salad dressing,  or Jack Daniels mustard. In any case, this apple tartlet recipe is just the thing for me right now. Simple ingredients, fast preparation. Much better than (more)  frozen or leftover food.

If the apples at your market don’t look right, or you don’t want to spend all your time chopping and mincing, you can substitute other fruits. Me, personally? I might melt some guava paste, or mix some drained fruit cocktail with dried cranberries – but that’s just me.

This is the original recipe for Apple Tartlets

Marzetti Apple Tartlets

Ingredients
Two 2.1-ounce packages frozen phyllo cups (15 per package), thawed
2 medium-sized Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced into ½-inch pieces
1/4-teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
1/2 cup Marzetti® Old Fashioned Caramel Dip
1/2 cup Crushed shortbread or sugar cookies
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Confectioners’ sugar

Preparation
Arrange phyllo cups on a tray. In a microwave safe container, combine apples, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon butter and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes. The apples should be tender. Drain. Cool 5 minutes. Combine apples with T. Marzetti Old Fashioned Caramel Apple Dip. In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and 1 tablespoon melted butter. To assemble, fill tart shells with apple mixture. Sprinkle top of tarts with crushed cookie topping. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. The tarts are at their best the day they are made.

NOTE: Phyllo cups can be found in the dessert frozen food section of the grocery store.

This post is part of MsLatina’s Sabroso Saturday blog hop. Check in at her site for recipes from other bloggers across the country, and from all corners of the internet. Get your napkins ready, all these recipes are going to make you drool!

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