My cousin Vicky asked us all to come by for a potluck this past Sunday. I realized it was Cinco De Mayo so thought we would be festive and have a Mexican potluck. Kudos to my cousin who always comes through with the delicious food and leaves us all in a serious food coma. Unlimited tacos, coronas, margaritas and dessert, oh my!

It’s funny how when you have a baby how much more you cherish time with your loved ones. I was so happy to be able to spend such a beautiful day with my little family but also share it with my girlfriends and their little ones too.

Gorditas are like stuffed corn pitas. I’m not sure I perfected the cooking method—mine were a bit hard to slice open—but they tasted good. [note for next time: homemade tortillas are much simpler.] The filling was leftover spicy grilled filet tossed with doctored-up store-bought salsa (no judging) and seasoning.

Every gordita needs a side dish. Flay has a recipe for a Mexican quinoa “relish.” Frozen corn—ears or Trader Joe’s roasted—would have been better to use in place of fresh. It’s not time for good, local corn. Kernels are small and not fully developed. The end result was still good and this simple salad was used for many lunches last week.

While I didn’t make margaritas from scratch, thanks to my son, his girlfriend and Williams-Sonoma, I did doctor up the Mango-Passion Fruit mix with some basil simple syrup leftover from the Derby. Tossed in some additional basil leaves and a few raspberries and sucked down a cocktail much too quickly…

Gordita:

{gluten free}

What you need:

• 1 3/4 c masa mixed with 1 1/4 warm water, divided
• 1/3 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 1 tsp baking power
• Freshly ground sea salt

What you do:

• Heat well-seasoned or nonstick griddle or heavy skillet over med heat.
• Knead the masa with 1 c water to make it pliable, adding additional water if necessary to achieve a soft-cookie-dough consistency.
• Add flour, baking powder and about 1/2 tsp salt.
• Knead to incorporate.
• Divide the dough into 10 portions and roll into balls.
• Cover with plastic to keep from drying out.
• Line working surface with plastic wrap.
• Place one masa ball on wrap and cover with another piece of plastic wrap.
• Using rolling pin, gently press out a ball of dough between the sheets of plastic to about 4 inches in diameter about 1/4″ thick.
• With fingers, press in edges to form a tighter edge.
• Peel off the top sheet of plastic, flip the gordita onto hand and then flip onto griddle.
• Cook for about 1 1/2 min, then flip and bake for another 1 1/2 min creating a lightly-browned and crusty gordita.
• Transfer to a plate.
• Repeat with remaining masa balls.

Filling:

What you need:

• 1 c thinly sliced grilled steak, cooked rare to med rare
• 1/2 c salsa
• Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste.
• 1/3 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 c chopped cilantro
• 1 shallot, finely chopped

What you do:

• In food processor pulse first three ingredients until well mixed.
• Mix remaining ingredients in sm bowl and set aside for assembly.

Assembly:

• Warm beef mixture.
• Add cheese, onion and cilantro to beef mixture.
• In a deep heavy medium skillet, heat 1/2 oil over medium to medium-high until the oil is hot enough to make the edge of a gordita sizzle sharply.
• Fry gorditas, turning after they’re crisped, about 15 seconds.
• When they puff, remove and drain on paper towel.
• Repeat with remaining gorditas.
• Using sm knife, cut slit in edge of each gordita, about halfway around, creating a pocket.
• Fill each with about 1/4 c beef mixture.
• Serve with sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Grilled Corn, Black Bean and Quinoa Relish:

{gluten free}

Slightly adapted from Bobby Flay

What you need:

• 1/2 c quinoa
• 1 tbs butter
• 3 lg spring onions, thinly sliced and washed thoroughly
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 6 ears grilled corn, kernels removed
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 c Devo Olive Oil Chipotle EVOO (sub with extra-virgin olive oil and add some heat, if desired)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 4 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

What you do:

• Bring 1 c water to a boil in a small pot over medium heat.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add quinoa.
• Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat and let sit covered.
• Fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.
• Heat butter in sauté pan.
• Add spring onion and cook until caramelized, about 5-7 min.
• Remove from stove.
• Stir the corn, beans, evoo and lime juice in a bowl.
• Add quinoa and spring onions.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Keep the relish at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
• Add cilantro and serve.

At 5pm last Saturday, things were looking promising. Everyone was on time for once, the Coronitas were flowing, taco remnants were flying, chips were being tossed into mouths from across the room. Then… 9pm came. I looked around, and suddenly, one brother was asleep on the couch, one brother was playing on my laptop (hopefully not porn, because gross), and the other brother was sitting in a stupor at the dining room table as his wife rambled on and on and ONNNN about something, most likely about the latest clearance items she found at Walgreens. I took this all in, and then entered a dream-like trance, in which everyone was frozen in time, except for me, and I was running around in a sombrero, shaking maracas in their faces (and no, that’s not a euphemism for my boobs, because gross) and yelling at them in rapid Spanish (because I like to be ethnic holiday appropriate during my dream sequences), asking what the hell happened to them. This is not the family I know! You’re TIRED?!?! There is no tired in Cinco de Mayo! Upon exiting my weird Telemundo dream-like trance, I found everyone packing to go home. By 10pm, I was vacuuming, pulling taco meat out of a sink drain, slightly intoxicated, and disappointed.

This getting old thing’s a real pain in the ass.

I did, however, manage to have some fun with my nieces and nephew. I told them to give me sexy, and this is what I got:

Yeah… Maybe we’ve still got it.

Two little princesses!

Thursday was my last day at my internship at CYFS (Children, Youth and Family Services)…and my week was one full of goodbyes

We work at three different neighborhoods…so I had to say bye to all of the kiddies there, and then goodbye to all 3 of my bosses! This graduating thing really is becoming a little sad and really REAL.

Anywho, this internship has been the best experience ever!!!! Seriously! I really felt like I was helping to make a difference with the kiddies and they were always so much fun to be around. And they were super loving and snuggly

They also drew really great portraits of me lol. See below for the amazingness

“You are nice. Frum Sabrina”

But, back to why I loved this internship so much…

My internship bosses are the best women in the world. It’s so apparent that they love their jobs and truly care about the people who they are helping. I hope I can be as great and inspirational as them one day.

I loved being around the families and learned so much. I learned about some of their struggles and learned how I (and everyone else) can effectively help them out. No, they don’t need or want every hand out, but it was great to see how much they appreciated what we were able to offer!

This experience really did warm my heart and make me even more passionate about helping people overcome their hardships!

Just so you can get an idea of the cuties we work with….I took some last day pictures! *insert crying happy face here*

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Thank you so much to Hilary, Tracey, Beth and Erin! It’s been a great year!

Bye bye my last little shred of undergraduate career….thank you for being oh so life-changing!

Feeling bittersweet,

Johnel

P.S. If anyone in Cville is interested in interning with them, let me know! I can definitely put in a good word for you! You won’t regret it

I’m a bit late posting this; Work/life/etc. has been hectic. Last weekend I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with some friends.

Historically, May 5^th commemorated the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. Over time, the day morphed into an observance of Mexican heritage and pride. In other words, Cinco de Mayo is a great excuse to feast on tacos, margaritas, and chips y salsa. (As if one ever needs an excuse…)

With a bit inspiration from Smitten Kitchen, I decided to try my hand at capturing the tangy flavors of a traditional margarita in cookie form. The result: A savory, then sweet shortbread-like treat that proved just as addictively delicious as the liquid muse.

Strawberry Margarita Cookies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, Makes about 50 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons tequila
• Grated zest of 3 limes
• Grate zest of one orange
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C freeze dried strawberries

Coating

• Approximately 1/2 cup clear sanding or other coarse sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Zest of 1 lime

Directions

1. Beat the butter at medium speed until smooth.
2. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat again; the mixture should be smooth.
3. Beat in 1 of the egg yolks. Add the salt, tequila, strawberries, lime and orange zests.
4. Reduce mixer speed to low. Slowly add the flour, beating until it disappears. Do not overbeat.
5. Turn the dough out onto a counter. Gather it into a ball and divide in half. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
6. Form each piece of dough into a 1-1/4 inch log.
7. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F.
9. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.
10. Make the coating: Wisk 1 egg yolk in a small bowl and set aside. Mix the sanding sugar, salt and zest from 1 lime well. Spread ½ of the mixture out on a piece of wax paper.
11. Unwrap one log and brush lightly with the egg yolk. Roll in the sugar/salt coating, press lightly to make sure the mixture sticks. Slice each log into ¼ inch thick cookies and place on baking sheet. Leave about ½ inch between the cookies.
12. Bake for 13-14 minutes, or until they are set–but not browned.
13. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks.
14. Repeat with the 2nd log.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The cookies should keep for about 5 days.

“Paint me like one of your French girls.” 

Week 4

I woke up this morning thinking about how to start this post. Last week I had that delightful little anecdote about bleach huffing, and I felt this week needed something equally attention grabbing; I just didn’t know what that might be. Until the universe saw fit to put ants in my cheerios. I don’t, as a general rule, eat ants with my cheerios. Perhaps I could use the protein boost, but I usually leave them out. So imagine my surprise when I poured out my breakfast and, upon pre-eating inspection (which is something I tend to do with all my meals; don’t ask why), discovered a veritable family reunion of the little guys all up in my toasted oat rings. The second thing that came to mind was: well at least now I have something to write about. The first was a slightly less coherent thought, more along the lines of fuuuuck?. Amusing story complete.

I still don’t have a job. This means that, for the fourth consecutive week, I have spent the majority of my days in pajamas on my couch. Sure, I’ve had several more interviews and done some volunteering but, predominantly, I’ve been waiting for responses from potential employers the best way I know how: wandering pants-less around the apartment, reading aloud to myself and waiting impatiently for my next meal. There has, however, been a slight breakthrough in that I have landed a babysitting gig for this coming week. The family’s current nanny is on vacation and I’m going to watch their baby as a sort of trial run, so they can determine whether or not I’m capable of maintaining the livelihood of someone other than myself. So I’ve got that going for me. Yay.

Now let me tell you about something moderately more diverting. We went day drinking on Sunday for Cinco de Mayo. And we got day drunk. But, of course, this is only to be expected. While I’m not actually Mexican, most people take one look at my blond hair, relatively tall stature and chronic inability to grow a luxurious mustache and just assume. So I felt a sense of duty to honor my false heritage by consuming an exorbitant amount of tequila, mimosas and whatever else I could put in a glass and chug. It was a matter of national pride, after all. And I didn’t even have to do all this alone. Erica brought us along to a local bar and introduced us to a number of friends and neighbors, spanning the Drunken Spectrum from “I’ve got to drive home after this” to “I’ve lost all feeling in my face”. They were magnificent and made for excellent company as we embarked upon our latest step on the path toward premature cirrhosis.

In other, more sober news, my parents are in town. They drove down yesterday to spend Mother’s Day weekend with two of their three children (because fuck Leah anyway) and, most excitingly, they brought my cat! Let me tell you a little bit about Edgar I’m-a-fat-lard McGann. Or maybe I just did. Anyway, he’s a fat lard. If left alone with food, he would, quite literally, eat himself to death. I know this because he’s tried. Several times. The upshot of this is that he can’t be left home with the other cats when my parents travel. Usually he goes to “camp” at Petsmart, but my mom got tired of paying for his vacations. Not-so-long story made not-so-short: he’s spending the weekend with me in Charleston and we’re both super pumped about it (I know he is because he only shits on the kitchen floor when he’s trying to say “I love you.”).

Enough about my cat though; I’ve got at least another decade before cats take over my life, so let me share with you all my last piece of news for the week. Allie Brosh is not dead! In fact, she’s so not dead that she wrote a new blog post and reaffirmed her status as the celebrity I most want to meet (I don’t care if she’s not really a celebrity; my list, my rules). I’ve asked Evan to bring her to visit for my birthday, but she might be busy. I’ll just have to settle for rereading her latest piece until she comes out with the next. It’s right here, for your enjoyment: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/. Be warned that I might judge you if I find out you didn’t read it.

P.S. here’s a link to this other blog that I really couldn’t care less about, but I worry for my safety should I continue not to publicize it: http://nicoleleighclarke.blogspot.com/. I suppose it’s mildly entertaining.

• Ingredients for Cupcakes:
  
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup orange juice (Tropicana will do, no need for anything fancy)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
• 1 cup almond milk (or soy)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons tequila (you can play with the measurement of this, I also used Cuervo Gold because it’s cheap)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grenadine
• 16 drops yellow food coloring
• 4 drops red food coloring
• 1 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together orange juice, orange zest, almond milk, oil, tequila, vanilla, grenadine, food coloring (both yellow and red), and sugar.
4. Using the stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment, slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined (this should NOT be lumpy. make sure there are NO traces of flour left behind).
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

This is what they should look like if you use the number of drops I specified for the food coloring

• Ingredients for the Frosting:
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons almond milk (or soy)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons tequila (again, you may play with this to get the desired taste that you want)
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grenadine
• 10 drops yellow food coloring
• 6 drops red food coloring

1. Using the stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment, cream butter for 1-2 minutes.
2. Slowly add the confectioners sugar, until mixture is smooth and fluffy (5-10 minutes, depending on the speed you prefer).
3. Add almond milk, tequila, zest, grenadine, and food coloring (both yellow and red) and mix until just combined.  Feel free to add more milk and/or sugar if needed to obtain the proper consistency.
4. Once you reach the consistency you like, mix at a high speed until light and fluffy.
5. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the now cool cupcakes.

BAM!

These came out super tasty and were a big hit at the PotLuck.  You will slightly taste the tequila but not to the point where it’s super strong and you won’t be able to enjoy these cupcakes.  Feel free to always play with the food coloring if you want to achieve a different color of your choosing.  I felt these were a fun “spring” color.  The grenadine in the frosting will also add its own shade of red, so if you’re happy with only that then by all means.  It felt good to bake cupcakes again.  Enjoy.

our wedding video

Fresno, CA. Wedding photography: Lina Ryann Photography

Ceremony and Reception Location: Central Valley, CA.

This is much more me.

Earrings: Cracker barrel of all places!

Gingham button up: Old Navy

Turquoise ring: Bought it at a pow wow (search to see if pow wows are happening near your town, they’re so much fun)

Skirt: Charlotte Russe

Boots: Atwoods

Hope you all had a Happy Cinco De Mayo and that you all have a fabulous weekend.

I was really excited to find some recipes in Forks Over Knives that were perfect for a Mexican themed meal AND involved grilling rather than standing over a stove.  This past week I made Not-So-Fat Guacamole, Fresh Tomato Salsa, and Veggie Fajitas, which utilized a recipe for Grilled Portobello Mushrooms.  If I haven’t convinced you to buy the Forks Over Knives Cookbook yet, this meal should; I absolutely loved it.

The Salsa recipe is pretty standard and I cannot wait for fresh tomatoes, which will make it even better.  The Not-So-Fat Guacamole is anything but standard.  There is NO avocado in this recipe.  Now, I have seen and tried low-fat guacamole recipes that replace some of the avocado with some kind of bean, like edamame in this this Happy Herbivore version.  The Forks Over Knives recipe is made with edamame and broccoli,  along with the more traditional ingredients such as red onion, cilantro and garlic.  The flavor profile was reminiscent of gaucamole, but the texture never got there for me.  It lacked the creaminess you expect from a good guac recipe.  I would say this makes a good spread in a wrap but isn’t a replacement for a dip (not for me anyway).

The portobello mushrooms were marinated for an hour in a soy sauce based marinade before grilling.  The fajita recipe called for red onion and bell pepper to be cooked stove top but since I was grilling the mushrooms I threw the other vegetables on the grill too.  After grilling, I sliced and seasoned stove top to finish the fajitas.  This was a fairly quick and easy meal to prepare and very satisfying.  The recipe for the Grilled Mushrooms mentions having them as burgers; I’ll have to try that next time.  They really soaked up the marinade well.

New Recipes Made This Week: 4

New Recipe Tally 2013: 60

Even if a penniless person does not have access to a phone. When the going gets tough and people in this type of situation cannot afford to pay for phone service nor a prepaid cell phone, nor prepaid cell phone card, there is social media. I’m talking about using Facebook in this case.

The penniless individual can leave loved ones messages to keep them informed of their life activities. Every now and then when I sit down to watch some of my favorite programs (especially some of the live on air television shows), there is usually one individual who uses Facebook to “blast off” at the mouth to other individuals. Usually this pertains to airing their own “dirty laundry”.

This really tickles me sometimes. It seems to me that these same individuals really think that everyone in the world is paying attention to them, or really cares about their real life drama. Some have gotten their fifteen minutes of fame so to speak.

Some do not even realize that within their little “bubble life” environment, they are like a peion. Like a speck of dust amongst a pile of dirt. Numberwise, these same individuals are 1 out of approximately 1.5 billion Facebook users in this world.

So, when they broadcast their private lives, they may only have an audience of 5 to 20 individuals. Facebook is pretty cool. Social media, period kicks ass! And, can be full of surprises as well. These surprises can be pleasant to very pleasant, or down right the kind of surprise that can piss one off.

All in all, I have discovered that I like social media. There are so many sites out there! Even though I don’t date or anything, the founder of one site in particular that I frequent sometimes left me impressed concerning how active he is within his social media community.

Hell, I liked it so much that I even joined the dating group within this community. While the site is new and everything, I feel that while everything is fresh, why not join the band wagon and have a blast! I even formed a group myself!

Now, back to the surprises part concerning Facebook. I received a surprise earlier this week. It was one that down right pissed me off, too. While browsing around my small Facebook community, I found out that an immediate family member of mine befriended my first love’s cousin.

Has anyone ever had a moment where you wanted to ask someone, “What in the fuck were you thinking?” This shit didn’t make any fucking sense to me! O.K. I’m fixing to give you guys a little of information concerning this shit. Almost 21 years ago I met a young man who ended up being my first love.

During the time that we were together, I discovered that I met him once before when both of us were children. He and his family shared their photo albums with me at times. There was one photo in particular I saw that sparked my memory, and took me down memory lane.

That picture was when my first love, his brother, and his late father were dressed in their ”Sunday’s best”. I remembered the event that took place the day I met the little boy, who later on became my first love. Me and an older friend of mine were playing a game of dare.

This was one game I discovered I didn’t like because when it was my turn, the stakes were always so high that I always faced getting into trouble. I didn’t think my very pretty friend could come up with such a dare because she was so pretty and innocent looking. It was this day in particular that I stopped playing dare.

I never liked the feeling of being nervous, scared, nor being caused to sweat. It was also on a Sunday I was given my dare quest when I met this older little boy. We made eye contact. When I saw him I became even more scared, then guilty because I was doing this on a church day.

And, it was something I didn’t want to do. Yeah, this was the picture of that fair little kid in his little brown suit, wearing his Sunday’s best. After that moment of meeting that kid, I hoped that we would meet again some day. When we did, that dare game was long forgotten, until that picture was shown to me.

Me and this guy saw one another, I fell in love, cried every time he had to go back to his base in Long Beach, California, met and befriended some of his family members, ate meals with them, went to church with some of them, and exchanged Christmas gifts with one of the family members.

During the time we saw one another I even discovered that both of our dads even attended the same school. Now, here is the situation: My family did indeed meet this guy on many occasions. None of them took the time to know him, participate nor encourage any group events involving him, etc.

Further, my family only gossipped amongst one another(mainly about me getting fucked and when I’d probably get knocked up). My diary was even taken by one of my siblings and shared with my dad!
Thank God half of it was written in Spanish. They couldn’t read nor understand that. The point I’m trying to make is that my family didn’t know shit wadoodle about my first love’s family. Only one relative hung out a few times with one of his cousins.
However, I stopped taking her with me to that cousins house because her behavior was not a good influence on that cousin and for no reason at all she wanted to fight the child. I wasn’t going to have that. No one has a right to go around wanting to fight someone because they are a little innocent and slightly geeky.
Anyway, this other “meatball head” of a family member decided to be friends with this cousin in particular(of my first love), who is all grown up now. He never fucking knew her! What the fuck?!!! No one was ever concerned with what was going on in my life and now this shit! It’s amazing when you think you have closed a chapter in your life. Someone can really open “Pandora’s Box”, again.
Before this incident, another family member of mine disrespected Big Momma(identity protected)by requesting to be friends on Facebook with Big Momma’s former best friend. I mean, what the fuck? Her former best friend went through a lifetime of heartache because of Big Momma’s brother, who was seen as a “meal ticket” by some former neighbors in Los Angeles, who got knocked up with another man’s child twice.
This nasty bitch even had the nerve to claim that Big Momma’s brother was the father. While this was going on, Big Momma’s best friend, who had a relationship with Big Momma’s brother originally, really was pregnant with Big Momma’s brother’s child.
The whore down the street even lied about her age(this is what I was told). She really was a ho, though. Big Momma’s best friend ended up getting an abortion because of the heartbreak Big Momma’s brother caused by cheating on her with the whorish tart down the street, who lied to everyone that she was pregnant with this man’s child.
To make things worse, this same man wanted to cheat on his current wife with Big Momma’s former best friend in recent years! Now, she confided in Big Momma to keep this between them and said that she would rather be friends with just Big Momma and no other family members, because of the fact that she didn’t want to be caught up in the past, again,no other issues, etc. would arise.
And, what the fuck happened? One of Big Momma’s sisters browsed Facebook and discovered that Big Momma and her former best friend were now Facebook friends! Big Momma warned the sister that it is not a good idea to bother her former best friend at all.
Big Momma’s sister did it, anyway! Shit! Absolutely no respect! Sometimes I wonder what in the fuck is wrong with people these days. When a relationship between two people is over it is supposed to be over! Everyone should be moving on to meet others, create their own families, and that’s it.
I was pissed when I found this shit out, too! I had to browse Facebook this time because I was trying to find out my kid’s Facebook address and then tried to reach other family members to let them know about her Cinco de Mayo birthday party. After that I decided to coast and browse Facebook, again for a moment. One thing about my family: Because of the horrible pranks some of my siblings have played on me, in my personal life I usually don’t divulge any type of private information, because of their immaturity and what I had to face and deal with concerning their filthy pranks, decisions, etc.
Further, while browsing for the last time, I decided to briefly scroll down to my former first love’s profile. I saw pictures of the well maintained and beautiful lawn he has surrounding his house, his two cute children, and the fact that he’s still a church going man.
Looking at this, I saw and felt good to see that someone other than myself has actually taken the time to achieve their life long goals and actually reap from the achievements. Even though I have yet to achieve mine, I remain working on all of my goals. I’m actually proud of the guy.
Next, I believe that when a relationship is over it is over. Sometimes prowling around into others’ past can bring harm and/or unwanted and raw emotions to the surface that may have been buried long ago. Also, consequences.
To me, this is NEVER safe territory. Unless such information is freely given, or automatically included in a public search, delving into such matters is disrespectful and worse. It is only necessary when answers are needed by the F.B.I., unsolved cases, investigating “deadbeat dads”, etc. It is not supposed to be intended for personal entertainment, sabotage, etc. This is real stuff.
These are real people, real families, emotions, etc. Not a game. Especially not chess.   

Cinco de Derby

The weekend of the Kentucky Derby and May 5th presented a great excuse to wear a fascinator (every girl really needs one!); day drink in Chicago with my friends; watch the most exciting two minutes in sports, cheering for the horse with coolest name…I supported Over Analyze ( don’t over analyze that); play margarita beer pong and last, but certainly not least, smash a pinata with a giant fork when a baseball bat was nowhere in sight.

Photos by Elizabeth Lightbody

When we think of Cinco de Mayo, we think of ska music, and those darn skanking kids that like to dance to that music. Two of Southern California’s premier ska bands, Voodoo Glow Skulls and Left Alone, went on tour last month, and that tour ended this past Saturday, coinciding with Cinco de Mayo weekend. Hosted by DiPiazza’s in Long Beach, this all-ages show only cost $13 to enter, and as always, comes with free parking. In addition to Voodoo Glow Skulls and Left Alone, four other local ska-punk bands graced the small stage in DiPiazza’s known as the Lava Lounge to leave Long Beach skanking all night.

First up in the night, Schizm took the stage… or at least tried to take the stage on time. This punk rock band from Southgate forgot to bring percussion stands, and as a result, they had to go find some, resulting in a 15-minute late start. Once they finally started, a sizable crowd had already gathered, presumably in anticipation of the great lineup of bands for the night, or in fact for the set of Schizm. Either way, for as short as a time period that they ended up with, they rocked a hard set. As the night’s only band without any correlation to ska, Schizm gave all that they could give – just pure energy in the form of hard fast music. Rarely does an opening band garner a tight pit, but the crowd loved the music, and raged hard during Schizm’s short set.

Isolated Victims acted as the ska warmup for the night once Schizm left. With a brass section featuring two trombones and no trumpet, Isolated Victims brought exactly what the crowd desired in a Latin-based ska band. They varied the types of songs in the set, including a few Spanish songs, and pacing between slow and fast songs. Isolated Victims played an entertaining set with no real surprises – just some good clean ska music.

Seeing them again for the second day in a row, South Central Skankers entered the stage third for the night. Compared to the previous night, they had added a trombone player to their set. The set list remained virtually alike, playing almost the same songs in a similar order from the previous night. They only made a few changes to the set based on the location and allotted time. South Central Skankers have mastered their craft of ska music, and delivered a perfect set on this night. No one could ask for anything better, save for the usual hecklers waiting for the headliner. Unlike Isolated Victims, they did not play anything too fast or hectic, so the pit remained smooth and mobile the entire time.

The last of the openers, Profesor Galactico, started his set next with his band. I originally conceived a band called Profesor Galactico, but later found out the name represented just one person. A step away from the night’s ska-punk theme, Profesor Galactico played a mostly mellow set comprised of indie, ska, and reggae. His music combines these genres plus funk, hip hop, hard rock, and other similar genres. As such, the pit remained still during the set, probably in anticipation that the headliners would go on next. They strived to play feel-good music, but perhaps they played to the wrong crowd, as many punks and rabble rousers had appeared in the audience by now. They still received a decent ovation for their performance, despite many people wanting the next band quick.

As the first headliner of the night, Left Alone started their set once lead vocalist Elvis made a grand entrance into the room. Once he set foot onto the stage, they immediately started playing, causing the audience to go nuts in this tiny venue. Left wasted little time during their set, stringing together song after song with little down time. Songs in their set included Wasted Time, I Hate Emo, The Sinner, and Every Night.

Once the final headliner set up, Voodoo Glow Skulls marched onto the stage and immediately started their set with Insubordination. From this point, chaos ensued in the pit, the tiny pit encased within this small venue. As with any Voodoo Glow Skulls show, lead vocalist Frank always enters with a Lucha Libre mask for at least the first song. From here, they continued to play a lengthy set, with songs like Charlie Brown, El Coo Cooi, Voodoo Anthem, Shoot The Moon, El Baile De Los Locos, and many more. They always end their set with Say Good Night followed by Band Geek Mafia. After these songs, security had left the pit area, but unknowingly did not pay attention to the band lingering on stage. Voodoo Glow Skulls went on to play a two-song encore, sans security to monitor the pit. Luckily, much of the crowd did not have so much energy by this point, so nothing too rowdy occurred.

This show’s flyer mentioned two other bands that could not make it to the show: Shoplifters and Niño Zombi. This makes the second night in a row that Niño Zombi did not show up to a show. Regardless, the bands that did play put on an excellent show that all of the attendees will not soon forget. Some of these bands have additional gigs coming up in the upcoming weekends, so follow them all to discover their next show location. Also check in here every week to discover other great shows or events to attend in Southern California!

I can’t believe there are only 3 weeks of school left! We will be reviewing all of the Spanish vocabulary we have worked on this year as well as finishing up various projects and revisiting some of our favorite activities during the next couple of weeks. We hope that you will celebrate all of our hard work this year with us on our last day of preschool from about 10:30 – 11:30. (There will even be a piñata!) Look for more information on this next week.

Important Dates:

May 27 - No School, Memorial Day

May 31 - Last day of Preschool, Party 10:30 – 11:30

Logo from the De Colores blog can be found at: http://decoloresreviews.blogspot.com

The libraries are loaded with children’s books that address Latino culture. Some of these books provide multifaceted, culturally honest insight into the histories and experiences of Latino people. Many do not. It’s fair to say that we can easily fill a room with “multicultural” books that are superficial or even plainly dishonest.

Luckily, De Colores: “The Raza Experience in Books for Children” has recently hit the blogosphere, reviewing and critiquing “children’s and young adult books about Raza peoples throughout the Diaspora.” The blog’s contributors–a dream team of award-winning authors, educators, community activists, and artists–have already reviewed dozens of books, creating an essential resource for parents, teachers, and librarians who are interested in moving beyond token treatment of heroes and holidays.

De Colores features collections on El Día de los Muertos, Sonia Sotomayor, La Llorona, Latina Cinderella, and César Chávez–as well as the best description of Cinco de Mayo that I’ve ever read. Some of the books that we’ve created educator’s guides for have also been reviewed at De Colores, including Under the Mesquite, Journey of Dreams, and Queen of Water.

All reviewed books are listed in alphabetical order beneath the special collections, which are located at the top right side of the page. There are tabs along the top of the page that provide information about the blog itself. I recommend spending a few minutes clicking through the different tabs to get a sense of the types of reviews that De Colores writes.

“So what is la Raza,” you ask?

In De Colores’ words:

For many people, the word “Raza” goes back to an ancestral place; it’s old, grounded in the people whose blood runs deep in this hemisphere. Embodied in La Raza is the story of how the world was once black and white, and how it was transformed into a rainbow of colors. Embodied in La Raza is the blood of Inca, Maya, Mexica, Tolteca, Zapoteca, and hundreds of other Indigenous peoples—some mixed with the blood of the conquerors, some mixed with the blood of the enslaved, and some mixed with both.

It’s great to see new resources that are inspired by and inspire this identity. It’s even better when the resource is as well thought out and carefully executed as the De Colores blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

- Adam

Dreams Resorts & Spas held nighttime performances of traditional Mexican dancing and music, tequila tastings, games by the pool and on the beach and served delicious Mexican food. Take a look at pictures from the event below. You can see more pictures on our Facebook pages.

A Mariachi band at Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort & Spa

A party at Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa

A show on the beach at Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort & Spa

Celebrating at the Explorer’s Club for kids at Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa.

Our delicious spoils.  (PS: A gallon of mussels is A LOT of mussels for four people)

Collecting the gallon was surprisingly quick and then we went to the forest trail to look at the marsh and some birds.  The forest here is made of Loblolly Pines and they grow all awkward and disjointed because of the salt and lack of nutrients in the soil.

Then it was back to the house for cleaning mussels and getting ready for the Cinco de Mayo feast.  The cleaning of the mussels actually took forever and made us understand why people just buy their mussels from the store, but we powered through it with the thought of margaritas when we were done.

For Cinco de Mayo we made a delicious spread of tacos, corn salsa, guacamole, rice, and of course the famous Wolff Family margaritas.  Kim and Heather thought the margaritas were a bit potent but that’s the way we like them in the Wolff House so that’s what you get when I man the blender.  Overall it was a delicious meal and we very much enjoyed our celebration with Loretta, our goose decoy, at the head of the table.

On Sunday Mom and Dad came to do a little late birthday celebration for me.  It was good to see them and get a few more birthday presents.  We started off their visit with a trip to the horse racing/casino combo to place some bets on my godfather Bob’s racehorse.  Unfortunately Street Invader didn’t finish strong and thus with our losing tickets we celebrated with pizza instead of winning tickets at Ruth’s Chris, but what can you do.  They hung out here for a little while longer but then had to head back home and I had to get ready for the workweek.

This week I had some variety doing kindergarten and pre-K programs instead of all ninth grade ones.  On Monday I had to do my first puppet show and other than forgetting the voices for each puppet I think I did a pretty good job.  It was really funny how interactive the kids were with the puppets and how they really do talk to them like real people.

For dinner Monday we cooked our delicious fresh wild picked mussels which we cooked with lots of garlic, wine, and butter aka my favorite ingredients.  I have begun trying to institute family dinners cause it’s the worst to cook for one person so hopefully that takes off and then we can do potlucks with the neighbors because I am the party planning committee after all.

The rest of the week passed without too much commotion but I am definitely happy it is Friday.  Luckily we’ve got some sun today for kayak with the high schoolers so hopefully everyone can stay in their boats today so I don’t have to rescue them.

Life has been going pretty well and I am really happy that I decided to come here to Assateague.  This weekend is supposed to be nice so I’ll get out and get some pictures for you all and will get one of me in my uniform soon.  Have a good weekend everybody and talk to you soon!

PS: Check out this article about the wolf and moose populations back on Isle Royale: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/opinion/save-the-wolves-of-isle-royale-national-park.html?hp&_r=0