Saturday, October 30, 2010

Sunday Favorites - Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Today I'm sharing a Favorite Post from a past Halloween. This is a post from October of 2008. Since tomorrow is Halloween I thought this would be a perfect post to share for Chari's from Happy to Design Sunday Favorites. Hope you all enjoy it and hopefully you won't be toooooo scared! BOO!



Favorite Post
from
October 30, 2008

Tomorrow we have a potluck at work. I'm taking my camera and I'll be posting pictures. I made broccoli salad and I have pics and the recipe coming up sometime this weekend. Watch out for the Llorona and enjoy her story.



This is a story that the old ones have been telling to children for hundreds of years. It is a sad tale, but it lives strong in the memories of the people, and there are many who swear that it is true.
Long years ago in a humble little village there lived a fine looking girl named Maria Some say she was the most beautiful girl in the world! And because she was so beautiful, Maria thought she was better than everyone else.
As Maria grew older, her beauty increased And her pride in her beauty grew too When she was a young woman, she would not even look at the young men from her village. They weren't good enough for her! "When I marry," Maria would say, "I will marry the most handsome man in the world."
And then one day, into Maria's village rode a man who seemed to be just the one she had been talking about. He was a dashing young ranchero, the son of a wealthy rancher from the southern plains. He could ride like a Comanche! In fact, if he owned a horse, and it grew tame, he would give it away and go rope a wild horse from the plains. He thought it wasn't manly to ride a horse if it wasn't half wild.
He was handsome! And he could play the guitar and sing beautifully. Maria made up her mind-that was, the man for her! She knew just the tricks to win his attention.
If the ranchero spoke when they met on the pathway, she would turn her head away. When he came to her house in the evening to play his guitar and serenade her, she wouldn't even come to the window. She refused all his costly gifts. The young man fell for her tricks. "That haughty girl, Maria, Maria! " he said to himself. "I know I can win her heart. I swear I'll marry that girl."
And so everything turned out as Maria planned. Before long, she and the ranchero became engaged and soon they were married. At first, things were fine. They had two children and they seemed to be a happy family together. But after a few years, the ranchero went back to the wild life of the prairies. He would leave town and be gone for months at a time. And when he returned home, it was only to visit his children. He seemed to care nothing for the beautiful Maria. He even talked of setting Maria aside and marrying a woman of his own wealthy class.
As proud as Maria was, of course she became very angry with the ranchero. She also began to feel anger toward her children, because he paid attention to them, but just ignored her.
One evening, as Maria was strolling with her two children on the shady pathway near the river, the ranchero came by in a carriage. An elegant lady sat on the seat beside him. He stopped and spoke to his children, but he didn't even look at Maria. He whipped the horses on up the street.
When she saw that, a terrible rage filled Maria, and it all turned against her children. And although it is sad to tell, the story says that in her anger Maria seized her two children and threw them into the river! But as they disappeared down the stream, she realized what she had done! She ran down the bank of the river, reaching out her arms to them. But they were long gone.
The next morning, a traveler brought word to the villagers that a beautiful woman lay dead on the bank of the river. That is where they found Maria, and they laid her to rest where she had fallen.
But the first night Maria was in the grave, the villagers heard the sound of crying down by the river. It was not the wind, it was La Llorona crying. "Where are my children?" And they saw a woman walking up and down the bank of the river, dressed in a long white robe, the way they had dressed Maria for burial. On many a dark night they saw her walk the river bank and cry for her children. And so they no longer spoke of her as Maria. They called her La Llorona, the weeping woman. And by that name she is known to this day. Children are warned not to go out in the dark, for, La Llorona might snatch them and never return them.



Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Iwanna Wednesday - Staying Warm in Style

Today was pretty cold....finally! I thought Fall would never get here! I got to wear a new recycled hand-me-down from my daughter Burnt Orange Hoodie Cardigan and I felt so cozy all day. That's what Iwanna today on this Iwanna Wednesday, to shop for some lovely things to keep me warm.

The other day I saw Kourtney Kardashian wearing a faux fur throw. Ok, well when I say that I saw her I don't mean like right here where I live, I meant in my alternate world, on Facebook :-) 


It's a Leyendecker faux fur and I love it! It's perfect to keep warm in Style. Iwanna one!


I've always loved scarves and shawls, wraps or pashmina's. When I worked at the funeral home I had and wore tons of scarves because I dressed in suits and it was a more dignified atmosphere for dressing. Plus I wore a lot of black and it was always nice to throw on a colorful scarf just to get that pop of color.

I wish I'd a had this scarf when I was there. In fact Iwanna this one now. The great thing about shawls, wraps, pashminas are that you can just wear black slacks with a black shirt or sweater and throw a wrap over it and Voila! Instant fashion! I'm a big fan of Butterflies, don't you love this one.



And how are these for color? Wow! I'm not thrilled about the Hot Pink one, but I love, love, love the Green and my sister would look great in the Turquoise and my daughter looks gorgeous in Purple...so sorry Mom, I think you would be stuck with the Hot Pink. (She hates Pink of any shade!)




Just in case you aren't thrilled with those bright, beautiful colors but you like the style of the Pashmina, how about these? Now these are gorgeous, beautiful, bold Fall colors right? Iwanna one in each color please. Wouldn't you feel so warm and cozy and almost like you're at home all snuggled on your couch in one of these? The great thing about any of these and the ones above are that you can wear them to work, to go shopping, out to dinner, almost any place.



But since what Iwanna really is a faux fur like Kourtneys I kept shopping and found these.

First, the one I call Dreadlocks. This one seems very casual which is what I like. You can wear it with Jeans for Casual Friday or to run errands on the weekend, but don't the little tassels look like dreadlocks? I bet this one is softer than a babies butt! I love the color as well!


I think this one is so adorable. It's called an Eternity Wrap and what I like best about this one is that it just kinda sits there. You don't have to worry about it falling off or getting in your way, it just sits there around your shoulders. Like a warm hug... Do you love it or what?


Honestly it was really impossible to find anything like the faux fur wrap Kourtney is wearing in the photo above...but because Iwanna one I have come to the conclusion that if I buy a faux fur throw; like for a couch or your bed, and I show the photo above to my mom, my wonderful, talented, Queen of the Sewing Machine Mom...she would be able to make one for me that would make Kourtney see GREEN!

So how do you feel about wraps and shawls, pashmina's and scarves? Which of the above is your favorite? Or are you more a Hoodie girl? Happy Iwanna Wednesday and may all your Iwanna wishes come true!

"Come said the wind to
the leaves one day,
Come o're the meadows
and we will play.
Put on your dresses
scarlet and gold,
For summer is gone
and the days grow cold."
-  A Children's Song of the 1880's



Sunday, October 24, 2010

Mosaic Monday - Beautiful Hand Crafted Jewelry

I've been pretty lucky in the giveaway department of late. Recently I won a giveaway hosted by Della of Della Grace's Life.

Della is very talented at so many things I don't know if I have enough room to list them all. She's a delightful blogger, I love reading her blog! She can be insightful...yet random. She takes awesome photos; many of which I would swear were taken by a professional. The cool thing about her photos is that she takes them herself using a timer on her camera. How she knows exactly when to pose, smile, jump, throw things is beyond me! She's currently attending junior college, she raises Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, she an Allstar 4-H'r. What drew me to her blog is that most of the outfits she puts together she uses pieces she purchased at thrift stores! And on top of all that (as if that wasn't enough) she cooks, sews and makes jewelry.

I got tired just typing all that and she does that all day, every day. Again, a very talented young lady.

Back in September she hosted a giveaway of three separate jewelry pieces that she made herself with her own two talented hands! She called one the Windows Necklace and you can see a picture of that by clicking here. She called the next one the Red Letter Necklace, again click here to see that one. And last but not least, the Audrey Set which came with a pair of matching earrings.

I lusted after the Audrey Set since I love Audrey Hepburn & I loved the colors of this necklace...and lo and behold! I won!



I'm posting the photos of the Audrey Set which Della posted on her blog because her photos are much better and show the true detail and coloring better than my photos. (Oh...and by the way, the red cloth you see in my mosaic above is from a different giveaway I won recently! I know...I told you I've been lucky in the giveaway department of late, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket huh?)




Can't you just see Audrey Hepburn wearing this set? Wouldn't it have looked beautiful on her in this photo?


I've already worn the necklace and earrings about 6 times and I love them. They go with so many things, especially since I tend to wear a lot of black, white, grey and pink to work. Sometimes I wear the necklace with the clasp to the back and sometimes with it to the front because the clasp itself is so pretty.

Thanks Della for making this thing of beauty and for being generous enough to give it away! Everyone else, go visit Della, tell her I sent you and admire her blog, it also is a thing of beauty as is Della herself!

Also, I'm linking up to Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.


Please stop by there, say hi to Mary and visit some of the other Mosaic'ers.


Saturday, October 23, 2010

Sunday Favorites - My First Cloche Party

It's been a few weeks since I've participated in Chari's meme Sunday Favorites. Chari has a beautiful blog she calls Happy to Design and her designs make me happy! Today I made up my mind that I was going to participate this week come hell or high water...so far neither has come, so here I am!

Sunday Favorites is where bloggers can share a "blast from the past"! Ok, well maybe what I'm going to share isn't exactly a BLAST, but it is one of my favorites posts from the past and it's about my daughter April and she's had a rough week so I want to share this with her again and tell her that I love her and I'm so proud of her and that one year from now this past week will be but a fleeting memory!

Be sure to click here to go see what everyone else is sharing!



Favorite Post
from
September 10, 2009


Hi and welcome to my first ever Cloche attempt!

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life is hosting a cloche party, so I'm trying my hand at creating one. No easy task as it takes a creative mind and yours truly isn't exactly creative...most of the time. But here goes and I hope you like it!

Some of you may be asking, "What is a Cloche"? Cloche is french for bell. It's formed of a piece of glass shaped like a dome and it's purpose is to protect garden plants from cold weather and frost.

I didn't have a formal cloche or bell jar or apothecary jar, so what I did was take my hurricane lamp and turn it upside down, which makes a bell shape...hence a cloche!

I thought long and hard about what I would put under my cloche. I wanted something fall like, even though it's still in the high 90's outside. So I decided that I would do a little display for my daughter April.

A few months ago she took a job about 4 hours away and I've only seen her once since then. She's coming home this Saturday just for the day and so I figured I would go ahead and use some of her most loved things.

So here it is...my Cloche. April is collecting tea cups. This is the first one that she has found. She has four others because she's claiming the four that belonged to my former mother-in-law, April's grandmother...lol. Right now all five are in my possession. Also pictured are April's Russian Nesting Dolls which I gave her as a gift this year for her birthday...on Aprils Fools Day and yes, that is her actual birthday. I added the tray, flowers and candle just to give the display some fall colors.

I'm going to display it on my kitchen table, but I might move it on the weekend to my coffee table so I can see it while I do my "couch potato" thing. :-)

Here's a closeup of the cup and saucer. I love this picture, the way the light is reflected in the glass and mirror on the tray.

Here's a closeup of the Russian Nesting dolls...I felt they had great fall colors. The little orange candle in the background just is a nice fall color and also smells great! The little brown tray is from Goodwill and I've been debating painting it. It has a mirrored bottom and I keep it on my kitchen counter.

And the silk flowers were given to me by my sister. The rest of them are displayed in the barrel planter on my patio. I do great with silk, not so much with real flowers. I believe these would be mums?


So...what did you think of my first every cloche? I had a fun time creating it and now I hope you all head over the Marty's, A Stroll Thru Life and see what everyone else created!




Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book

The other day I was visiting Anny from the blog Random Anny.com. She had a post that day entitled "Hungry: from Starving to Plus Size". The title of the post caught my eye. Anny was reviewing a book she had recently read entitled, "Hungry: A Young Models Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves".

She explains that the book is about a young model who tells her tale of going from a starving model to a plus size model. Anny was originally going to give the book away giveaway style by having us leave a comment...you know, the normal way one wins a giveaway. I of course went to leave my comment and noticed that the person who commented right before me was Della of Della Grace's Life; another blog that I read faithfully.

Della mentioned that she also would love to read the book. In my comment I mentioned that if I won the book I would forward it to Della once I was finished with it as I had recently won a jewelry giveaway Della had hosted so I had her address (more about Della's giveaway and what I won later).

That's when Anny came up with this great idea! She sent me this email:

Hi Alicia,

I like your idea for passing Hungry along so much that I decided to
cancel the contest and mail it to you. Hopefully you will be able to
review it on your site and pass it along to Della when you're done
too. If you'll forward me your address I'll get it out tomorrow after
work.

Thanks for reading,
Anny

So I sent her my address and today I went to Anny's blog and noticed that she had written a follow-up post called, Hungry: The Sisterhood of the Travelling Book! What a cute title and such a great idea!

Anny posted a picture of the inside cover of the book and she had written on the cover that she received the book from Angela from Pretty in Orange at Pretty in orange.com, then she wrote in her name, Anny from Random Anny.com.

Once I finish the book, I will write in Alicia of Titere con Bonete and send it off to Della of Della Grace's Life who will read it, enter her info and send it to Mandi of Tidbits from the Tremaynes and from there...who knows where the book will end up!

I think it sounds like a great idea and we'll all be part of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Book! Great Idea Anny! I can't wait to receive the package in the mail. I'll do a review once I'm done. What a great way to recycle and share books we've enjoyed!



Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Iwanna Wednesday - The Chilean Miners Rescue

Last night I sat down to finish up my Iwanna Wednesday post when my mom told me to watch Channel 46. I normally don't watch TV when I'm writing a blog post, but you gotta do what your mom tells you to do right?

Channel 46 turned out to be CNN and what she wanted me to see was that the rescue capsule that was going to be used to rescue the Chilean Miners had just begun it's descent into the depths of the Earth to attempt rescue of the first minor that had been trapped for 69 days. I was hooked!

I watched the rescue of the first 4 miners before I finally had to get some sleep. First thing in the morning I turned on my television and continued to watch rescue's while I prepared to go to work. I watched right up to the last minute before I headed off to work.

Off and on throughout the day I logged on to CNN which was running a live feed. Thank you to CNN for doing that and allowing everyone to share in the joy and miracle of the rescue's.

I was so amazed all day that I was able to watch LIVE what was happening not only in Chile, but 1/2 a mile under the earth as well! To watch the capsule entering the area where the miners were waiting. To see them run to jump into the capsule. To watch the faces on their family members and loved ones waiting and then finally catching a glimpse of their miner. It was truly awesome, literally...I was in awe!


Today for Iwanna Wednesday I find that there is nothing Iwanna, 
my heart is full!


Mission Accomplished Chile!

Monday, October 11, 2010

My Daughter, My Hero

The other day my refrigerator died! It happened on a Sunday morning. We had had a power outage the night before for a couple of hours and I guess something happened to it when the power came back on.

So after a good long cry and a couple hundred "Why Me's!", my mom and I went to our local K-Mart which has a Sears Appliance Center in it. We found one that wouldn't break the bank! It was a Kenmore and I've always loved the Kenmore brand. The Salesperson told us that if we came back between 4pm - 10pm they would take an additional 10% off, so we decided to come back later that same day with my dad's truck so we wouldn't have to pay the $70 delivery fee.

When it was time to go get it, my daughter April came with me instead of my mom. When we got there it was apparent that this salesperson had told everyone in town because there were at least a thousand six people there ahead of us, so we had to wait.

While we were waiting we saw the doors to the back of the store open up and a woman with about 3 or 4 kids came out and then behind her another woman with a small boy about 6 or 7 years old. This woman was swinging what appeared to be a red ribbon at the little boy. At first I thought it was a red ribbon and that the woman was playing with the child; but as I watched further I realized the woman held a red leather belt and she was beating the little boy on the back, buttocks and bare legs (he was wearing shorts).

The woman had already hit him about 4 or 5 times by the time I realized what was happening. I was stunned! I'd never seen anyone beat a child like this in public. I could tell the other people there were equally stunned and I'm ashamed to say we all just stood there. Then I heard this voice yelling out, "Hey...STOP THAT, you can't do that, that's child abuse...STOP IT." It was my daughter April. She alone reacted and said something to this woman.

That's when things got scary and ugly. The women turned her anger and vengeance on my April!! She started yelling all kinds of foul things at April, telling her to mind her own (blank) business and that she would hit her child any time she wanted to and what the hell was April gonna do about it. April just told her to stop it, that she couldn't just beat the poor child that way. That further enraged the woman and she came up close enough to hit April if she wanted to. She screamed "What are you gonna do about it, huh bitch?" The woman kept inching closer to April and yelling things at her. April defended herself and the little boy verbally without being ugly and vulgar as the woman was being.

Finally I think we all realized that this truly was happening. I reached up and touched April's shoulder and told her to stop. Two men and the store manager came out from the back of the store and tried to steer the woman away from my daughter. Another woman also got involved and started telling the woman the same things that my daughter had been saying and she dialed 911. The woman realizing the police were being called yelled out to my daughter that she would be waiting outside for her and allowed herself to be steered towards the front of the store.

Once the woman was gone my daughter burst into angry tears. (I know they were angry tears because I do the same thing; get so mad it makes me cry.) By this time the other people that had been standing around came up to April to praise her for what she did and to see if she was ok. She was, but the tears wouldn't stop. She just kept saying "If that's how she hits him in public what do you think she's going to do to him when she gets him home and there's no one to protect him."

Even though the woman had threatened her and might possibly be waiting for her outside, all April could think of is what the boy might still have in store for him in the future and who was going to protect him then. The sales person that was helping us told us the woman had been hitting the boy exactly like that in front of the two security personnel and the manager. Apparently the boy had been caught shoplifting and they had to call his mother which is why she was so angry. It's understandable for a mother to be angry, but it didn't warrant beating the boy with a leather belt and she was swinging hard! What struck me as odd is that the boy didn't even flinch or cry out. It was obvious he was scared to death of her and used to being beaten like that.

About 15 minutes later, a deputy responded to the 911 call. He went to the back room with the security personnel and the manager first, then came out to talk to my daughter and the woman who had called him. He explained to them that in California it is not against the law to discipline your child in public. April and the other woman vehemently told the officer that this was not discipline, this was child abuse. The officer explained that the store had told him everything was on film on the security cameras and that he was going to go by the woman's house and check on the boy. If there was evidence of bruising or torn skin on the boy then he would take the next step in protecting the child and the other children by calling child protective services.

He took down the name and phone number of my daughter and the other woman and asked them if they would testify if the woman was arrested, both said they would. He then let my daughter know that the woman had left and not to worry that she was outside waiting for my daughter. He then left to go check on the boy. My daughter and the other woman exchanged phone numbers and we continued to wait to buy our refrigerator.

On the way home, I told my daughter that while I was proud of her for defending the boy I had feared for her safety and told her in a situation like that it is best to not say anything; to call the police and let them handle it. April proceeded to tell me that she would never just not say anything whenever a child or an animal needs protection. She then told me that she had done that before when she was in a bathroom stall and the woman in the next stall started beating her child. April said she banged on the stall wall and told the woman to knock it off and the woman did. She also told  me that when she sees an abandoned animal she stops and picks them up and takes them to the animal shelter. She said that in just the past week she had seen a man dragging his dog across the street by his leash and she had stopped, rolled down her window and told the man to stop doing that to the poor dog and the man sheepishly did.

Well by now I'm terrified. We all hear the terrible things that happened to people when they try to defend others or when you stand up for yourself if someone cuts in front of you in line. It's a scary world and there are lots of crazies out there. I explained this to April but she said, "Mom, if something happens to me because I was trying to protect someone who is innocent and unable to protect themselves, like a child or an animal then it will have be that way because I will always defend those that need my protection."

Am I happy to know this? No. Am I proud as can be that she's my daughter? YES! And that's why my daughter is my hero.





Thursday, October 7, 2010

Book Report - Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go by Shaq's mom

Back in August I won a giveaway that I had entered on one of my favorite blogs, From The Inside...Out. What I won was an autographed book written by basket ball legend Shaquille O'Neal's mom, Lucille O'Neal called "Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go". It's taken me a bit of time to read it because life's been so hectic recently (more about that later).



First let me say that I love autobiographies. I love reading about people's lives and getting some insight into what they've done, why they've done it and how it shaped their lives. This book was no different. Along the way in raising children I think mother's also raise themselves. They grow in wisdom, knowledge and compassion. Shaq's mom Lucille is no different.

In the book Lucille tells the story of her childhood, about her height and not fitting in and how that made her feel. Her childhood was less than rosy, but maybe that's what made her such a good mother. We all vow to not make the same mistakes our mothers made and Lucille followed through on that by supporting her children and encouraging them.

My favorite part of the book is towards the end where Lucille goes back to school, makes friends, starts dating and speaking in public; in essence, living her own life now. All in all a very good book that I would recommend.

Thanks Kathryn for having friends in high places and for hosting the giveaway of this special book!


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Iwanna Wednesday - Iwanna Wish a Special Someone a Happy Birthday

Iwanna Wednesday today falls on a very special day. Fifty years ago today I was blessed with a baby sister. So today Iwanna dedicate Iwanna Wednesday to Eliza aka Lisa...my sister.


Today she turns 50! 
Happy Birthday little sister.


There is no better friend than a sister.  
And there is no better sister than you.  





A perfect sister I am not; but thankful for the one I've got.











I love you little Sister,
Happy Birthday!