Project over here, project over there...

You know that dreadful feeling when you have to do something you really don't want to? Well, I feel that way right now. There are so many projects around the house it's hard to decide which to tackle first. Actually, I have to clean out my closet. There's no more room. Even Dave has stated an opinion, so it's serious. Ugh! Next? The master bedroom is getting a face lift from top to bottom and I would like to have this completed by Sept. 1st. Once this is done we can focus on the basement and maybe the kitchen/back porch sometime next year.

Jalapeño Cornbread

Great with chili! Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Arrowhead Mills.

1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup of organic unbleached white flour
1 cup organic yellow cornmeal (Arrowhead Mills)
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs or 1/2 cup of liquid egg substitute
1 cup of soy milk or milk substitute*
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. honey**
1 1/4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated***
2-4 jalapeño peppers, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare an 8" square pan using oil or cooking spray. Saute the onions in the vegetable oil until just limp, about 5 minutes. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl blending well. Separately beat together the eggs, milk, honey and oil. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients beating until just moistened. Stir in the onions, 1 cup of cheese and the jalapeños. Pour into prepared pan ad top with remaining cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until crusty brown.

* Oat milk is a good substitute
** For a sweeter cornbread, increase to 4 tbsp.
*** Cheese can be omitted for those who suffer from milk allergies (as in my case).

Rondas, Bread and Wine

Packed weekend.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet my distant cousins at the 1st Ronda Family Reunion held at Rockland Lake State Park. We had an amazing time chatting, sharing family history and stories, and assembling the family tree. I never realized how many us were out there. My sister and I always considered ourselves the only ones. Funny enough, so did the other Rondas. Growing up as the only child (my sister is from my father's second marriage) and shielded by my grandparents, it was nice to finally connect with my family and have that sense of belonging. I am looking forward to our next reunion, which reminds me, I have to call my dad.

Today Dave and I drove up to Vernon, NJ and Warwick, NY for bread, cheese and wine. Bobolink Dairy (http://www.cowsoutside.com/) is the place to go for delicious artisan bread and cheese. Both are made on the premises...and you're greeted by the dairy's rooster. After our purchase of cheddar cheese, cranberry and walnut stick, rosemary epi, and garlic and duck confit ciabatta, we decided to take a drive to the Warwick Valley Winery (http://www.wvwinery.com/). If you haven't been there, I strongly recommend a visit. We've had bad experiences with NY wines, so we went in with no expectations. However, I think Dave went in expecting the worst. Well, we were wrong. The Harvest Moon and the Cabert-Franc shut us right up...we even bought some to bring home as well as some hard apple cider. The grounds are perfect for picnics and there is live entertainment on the weekends. I do not recommend the food at the restaurant...bring your own picnic basket, blanket and some cheese and bread from the Bobolonk Dairy...You are all set for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

- Yeye

Cough, cough...sniffle.

I've been sick for almost three weeks now. No motivation to write, but feel the need to keep things moving...and give my husband something to read even if it's two sentences.

Hope to get back into the groove soon.

- Yeye

Coqui, coqui, coqui...

Well, it's been raining in Puerto Rico, which means the coquis are happy. Haven't really done much on my first full day here. Just taking it slow - island time. I am hoping the sun will shine tomorrow, so I can work on my tan and do some swimming. Right now, my mother is cooking a seafood dinner, which includes fried ripe plantains...yum! Stuffed myself earlier with yucca w/garlic and onions and some baked batatas (yams).

Stayed tuned for more...

- Yeye

"¡Ecua jei!"

A few weeks ago I purchased a Latin NY Magazine July/Aug 1975 at a garage sale down the street. I'll have to scan a few pages and share some of the highlights of when Hector Lavoe,Willie Colon and many other salsa bands took center stage in NYC. Salsa was super hot then, not saying it's not now, but the songs spoke about real life...stories. Now salsa is about love (el corazon), how beautiful the girl is and how fast a man can get into her pants. A true "telenovela". All about the drama. I don't mind listening to Victor Manuelle or Marc Anthony once in a while, but I can honestly say that I cannot identify with it.

- Y.

Tomorrow...

back to my morning blogging routine. Night blogging is just not working out for me. Rubbing my eyes...time for bed.

- Yeye

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Aaahhh! Heat! Loving it!

Sitting in my office right now finding it very difficult to complete a literary translation. It's boring - plain and simple.

Purchased my tickets today for Puerto Rico. It's nice to have something to look forward to-home cooked meal, coconut and guava desserts, palm trees, beach-especially when it's your family and friends. Soon it will be time to seriously search for a job and God only knows when will be my next visit to the island. Not fair at all. However, I'm grateful and happy that I will have this opportunity.

My gandparents haven't been doing well. This time it was my grandmother's turn. She was in the hospital over the weekend with some type of virus. As usual, I do not find out about these things unless I ask. She refrains from telling me, so that I don't worry. I'm always worrying. They are both in their 80's and slowing down. She doesn't cook much, so she relies on fast food or very simple foods that don't provide much nutrition. So, one of my goals is to go food shopping and prepare some meals for them. Actually, it was my grandmother's request. Just amazes me how roles are switched.

Good night!

- Yeye

Quiet!!

There's a lot of noise. Zero patience today for anything or anyone. Just want to be left alone. Actually, haven't had breakfast today. Low blood sugar. Oh, great, my husband just showed up with an apple turnover...because my ass isn't big enough already. Ugh! PMS! Why are you so evil? I hate feeling this way; total bitch.

Horses and Fire Extinguishers

Husband has suggested we use the extra blanket tonight. Time for bed.

¡Buenas noches!

- Yeye

Fabulous Red

The downstairs bathroom is getting a face lift. It's a very small space, so I decided on a bold color, Fabulous Red. My husband, on the other hand, has his doubts and has already expressed, in detail, his concerns. But I am moving forward and very excited to see the end result. Stay tuned!

- Yeye

It's the Simple Things

Sipping cafe con leche and listening to Bebel Gilberto Radio on Pandora.

Namaste!

- Yeye

Literalmente literaria

Que fastidio. Encontre la tecla para las tildes y ahora no me acuerdo cual es. Bueno, solo quedan tres semanas para completar la clase de Traduccion II. La clase se basa en traduccion literaria, y como los demas compañeros de clase, la realidad es que no tengo mucho interes en ella. Claro, pongo todo mi esfuerzo para aprender y entender pues uno nunca sabe las vueltas que da el mundo. Nunca falla. He aprendido por mis propias experiencias.

La traduccion es de un cuento de Nadine Gordimer, ganadora del Premio Nobel en Literatura, nacida y criada en Sudafrica y defensora de los derecho civiles de la poblacion negra en este pais. Muchos de sus cuentos y novelas se basan en los prejuicios e intolerancias que ella ha visto y vivido. Para mas informacion sobre la autor visite http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/gordimer.htm.

Bueno, a buscar la dichosa tilde...hasta la proxima.

- Y.

Baked Chocolate Tart

Recipe courtesy Jamie Oliver

5 ounces of unsalted butter
5 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate
8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Small pinch of salt
4 eggs
7 ounces granulated sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 medium heaping tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche
10-inch tart shell, baked blind

Place the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and allow to melt, stirring occasionally until well mixed. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar together until light and well creamed, and then add the maple syrup and sour cream or creme fraiche. Stir the chocolate mixture into this mixture, scraping all the chocolate off with a spatula. Once you have mixed it well, pour it into the pastry shell. Place into a preheated 300 degree oven for 45-50 minutes. During cooking a beautiful crust will form on top.

Carefully remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes, during which time the skin will crack and the filling will shrink slightly.

Enjoy with fresh berries and whipped cream.

Un espreso con espreso

Buenos dias. Me encuentro sentada en mi cocina tomandome un delicioso cafecito con mi "laptop" llamado Espreso (es una computadora Dell de color marron) escribiendo o por lo menos intentando de escribir un "blog". Decidi empezar a escribir en espanol para ver si mejoro mis habilidades de redaccion. Veremos.

Ya van casi dos semanas de desempleo y todavia me siente fuera de mis elementos. Es como estuviera en unas vacaciones extendidas. Ultimamente me he pasado como una ama de casa-limpiando, recogiendo, lavando-pero unas de las cosas que si estoy disfrutando es cocinar. La realidad es que cuando estaba trabajando para Olympus mis deseos para cocinar o preparar postres fueron disminuyendo, y aunque si cocinaba, no me daba el mismo gusto. Era otra tarea mas. No hace mucho unos de mis suenos era matricularme en clases de cocina o una escuela donde podia aprender a cocinar profesionalmente. Creo que esos suenos volvieron aparecer. Como mi padre y mi tio, disfruto mucho investigar nuevas recetas, experimentar con ingredientes, e imaginarme que mis esfuerzos y amor es trasmitida a la comida tal como la novela de Laura Esquivel Como agua para chocolate. Me alegra mucho, sobre todo, ver la caras y expresiones de mis familiares y amistades cuando se saborean esa primer bocadito de una deliciosa comida casera.

Se puede decir que ya logre unos de mis suenos que era tomar mis cursos de traduccion. No me puedo quejar y con la ayuda de la Virgen espero continuar logrando mis suenos, sea ahora o en el momento preciso.

Hasta la proxima...perdona la ortografia. Ya investigare como poner las tildes.

- Y.

Weird

Just tried signing in and it gave me an error message. Ok, so I tried again and it brought me here without a password...hmmm. Whatever. Anyway, had one of those foggy kind of days. I took the day off to run some errands both local and in NYC and somehow I feel I just got off a 6 hour flight.
No energy. Good night.

- Y.

All Smiles...For Now Anyway

Well, another week has come and gone. 4 more paychecks...my countdown. I am feeling very optimistic, however those who call me at work would probably disagree as I am usually in a bad mood when I answer the phone (result of boredom). Some may consider my bad mood as my natural state of being, others well, they just know me. As I mentioned, I'm feeling optimistic, and not only because we have a new president, but I have many things to look forward to. The main one being my termination with Olympus and beginning a new chapter in my life. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. Although I may not know it at the time, something I do today may or will have an effect tomorrow (or weeks, months, years later). For instance, last summer I decided to leave the NYU Translation Studies Program: 1. Too expensive 2. Very limited interaction between students and instructor 3. my company had announced lay-offs, which now gave me the opportunity to seek the translation program at Hunter College. Not only is it cheaper, but I have the classroom experience, the opportunity to network, and I will complete the program in May - fingers crossed.

So, what else? Well, despite all the doom and gloom news about the economy and unemployment rates, most of my ex-coworkers have managed to find new jobs...and good jobs, too. I am very hopeful. Also, Dave has found a solution to his College Algebra problem - his dad. This means he will continue pursuing a degree in Physics, not cool off too much and be able to get a grip on his math anxieties, which lowers my anxiety as well.

Anyway, the drama lama will not cease to follow me around since I do come from a crazy Puerto Rican family (that's a whole other blog and a half), but at least I can concentrate and focus on what really matters at this time. I'm sure in a couple of weeks I'll be a nervous wreck and huge stress ball cursing up a storm like a drunken sailor about my translation classes, but for now I will continue to meditate, do yoga, try to eat healthy, crochet and fill myself with the things I love to do and be around the people I love.

Off to the movies I go...hasta la pasta.

- Yeye

Numb Fingers

I have been having chest pains on and off for the past week and a half. Not sure if it's anxiety or if I'm actually suffering from some ailment. To be honest, there has been a lot on mind and I am having a hard time verbalizing what I feel. It's a mixture of things - some good and some bad. I never seem to find the time to practice guitar, read a book, finish a project. Most of my time is spent at work and when I come home it's to make dinner, clean, and maybe watch a little TV with my husband. There are two things that I truly look forward to on the weekends: my yoga class and my guitar lessons. They both provide a moment of clarity - therapy.

I'm making a reservation for Dave and I to attend a Valentine's Day Stretch and Massage Workshop at the yoga studio. Something different, breaking away from the usual dinner at some restaurant where we would spend $100 anyway. This could be interesting and funny. I just want to spend time with my husband that doesn't require sitting in front of a TV or across a table. Today we played "Let It Be" as a duet, Dave on piano and me on guitar. My fingers were sore from my guitar class earlier, but I enjoyed it, numb fingers and all. Plus, it's almost like a supplement to my regular class. He knows how and when to kick my ass.

I know things will fall into place as soon as I get a plan together. Time is available - I just need to organize my schedule. Classes start soon, so I need to take advantage of this mini-vacation. Anyway, this is a start...more work needs to be done. There are still some issues, drama mainly, that need to be dealt with, but not now.

- Yeye

Stuck

Listening to Pandora, Joni Mitchell Station, and loving it.

I'm finding it hard to write for some reason. I've noticed that my chest has been tight for the past couple of days - anxiety. I've been working on organizing my home office and will feel better as soon as my creative space is ready. I'm looking forward into pouring some of these feelings into a project(s). Plus it's the perfect time for it. The holidays are over and a long and boring winter is ahead of us. Time to reconnect with myself emotionally, physically and creatively.

Please be patient...

- Yeye

A Clean Slate

Happy New Year!

1. Find new job
2. Lose 20 lbs
3. Continue yoga practice and meditation
4. Start blog
5. Create, create and create!

Well, I feel better now. Simplicity and peace.

- Yeye