a la Carrera

#SOL19 Day 12

You may have noticed that I kinda skipped day 9 and 10 OF Slice. I don’t think enough people are following me on a regular basis or enough to have noticed, but my Catholic guilt could not let it go. So, I must confess. Friday I was playing the role of cheering mom. My youngest was in town playing Volleyball. I get a little into the games, one might say. It was great to see my” 6’4″ baby”, spend time with some of the nephews who came out to cheer him on, and even his high school coaches, who joined us. I had great intentions of what the blog would say about their landslide win, but the words never quite made it “to the paper”.

What I was going to write about was how I had mixed emotions about the win. As happy as I was that they did win, I was a little disappointed at how easy it was . Funny how just 2 weeks earlier, I would have given anything for a win and was devastated at the loss that took them to 5 excruciating point by point sets . Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take the win, I guess I got used to the intensity of play from the previous matches.

I missed Saturday’s games due to tax preparation most of the day. The stats clearly showed they continued the winning streak. Thus the face on my lovely goggle-faced #7. Go Duhawks!

#SOL19 Day 11

Although I have heard the justification and reasons for changing the time in spring and fall, I still have the same question…

WHY mess with my system? Just when I had gotten in a pretty good habit of waking up earlier, spring forward. Do they not know what this does to a body? Even so, I set my alarm for what would feel like 4:30. I woke up relatively easily. Got ready and was waiting for my hubby to pick me up at 6:15, just in time for morning mass.

6:15 comes around. Nothing. I call him. Nothing. Dial again, Nothing.

Guess who’s internal clock did not reset? You guessed it. My hubby. Normally not a big deal, but he had taken my car the night before. When he finally called, half hour later, to apologize for not waking up. I settled down in my comfy chair with my cup of tea, and prayed for the construction in my house to be completed quickly and for patience at having woken up extra early for no reason, especially on the day after this cruel thing called Daylight Saving Time.

#SOL19 DAY10

Sorry If you don’t speak Spanish. I am working on building my Spanish literacy. So I’m pushing myself to write en español. Feel free to copy and put into google translate. I’m sure it will make for some interesting reading.

Hoy me caí en el baño. Con el cambio de tiempo y por algunos otros compromisos que tenía, andaba a la Carrera. Que sorpresa, ¿verdad? Paso tan rápido que casi ni supe lo que estaba pasando. Por más que traté, no lo pude evitar.

El pie se me resbalo de la orilla de la tina,

la cabeza pego contra la pared,

mi hombro en la otra orilla de la tina,

y caí como costal de papas dando vuelta al pegar el fondo.

No sabía si llorar o reír. Lo que si se es que me dolía todo. Pronto pensé —Así es como pasan los accidentes. No me pude mover por unos momentos. Gracias a Dios, me pude levantar sola y no me quebré nada. Tal vez no debería andar tan de prisa. Pero luego no tuviera de que escribir hoy.  ¡Cuidado en el baño!

#sol19 Day 7

So you may hate me for this, but I am not really a dog lover. Actually, I always been somewhat afraid of dogs. But will you just look at this 120 lb. cutie, who somehow became my 4th child. I say this now because in this picture he is still and adorable.

After school today, I stopped by the house to check on the construction project. Due to said project, I have been living elsewhere for months and had not seen my dog for a few days. He literally jumped me. I wanted to be mad at him, because he knows he is not supposed to jump on people, but I couldn’t. He truly was so excited to see me. It had been a crazy day at 5 different schools, from Kinder to 1st to 4th to 5th, small group to whole class., PD to meeting, modeling to testing to observing, then this misbehaving dog melted it all away. I turned my back to show how “displeased’ I was (smiling the whole time.) He just jumped me again from behind. Did I mention how big he is? His paws landed right on my shoulder blades. In spite of the fact that I was wearing a jacket, sweater, top and undershirt , I was able to feel the sting of the claw marks that he was undoubtedly leaving on my skin. That does not sound pleasant at all, yet I was awed by the fact that this beast could feel so deeply for me. Did I mention I am not really a dog lover? Yet he loved me unconditionally. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from these four-legged friends.

#SOL19 Day 6

Although I speak quite openly and frequently about my faith, wearing this mark on my forehead all day took it to another level. It’s not that big a deal when faced with other Catholics, even if not practicing. There is not that total look of confusion as to why you might “choose” to walk around with this blotch of dirt on you face. But I find even among believers, there is a decrease in understanding the significance and value of the practice. This year I loved a reflection by Father Mike Schmitz of this mark reminding us of our need to change marking a turning point in our life, because we were meant to be incredible. I am reminded that I am a work in progress. Even when I mess it up, he still says, ‘YOU ARE MINE.”

#SOL19 DAY 3

One year ago, today

Sadness, yes

but mostly peace.

I am grateful for her, always.

Strong, resilient, kind.

She was her name,

LUZ

May she shine brightly, ALWAYS.

Rice a la Carrera

Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population. It is prepared around the world and yet basically it’s pretty much the same. It can be taken for granted or even overlooked. In a time where things and relationships can be seen as so complex, it is comforting to think how this simple grain can unite us on such a yummy level. Enough of the deep stuff. I was thrilled to uncover the pot to this beauty.

“What’s so special?” I think I hear you asking.

• 

I was a la Carrera as usual! I had taken special care to prepare my beef and veggie soup (aka caldo de res) when I realized I had forgotten to make the rice, which of course get’s added to the piping hot bowl of yummy caldo,  just as you are about to serve it. Everyone knows you can’t rush rice. If you over-stir, it’s mushy; uncover too soon it won’t finish cooking; undercook, it’s to hard, overcook, the bottom burns. Do you see my dilemma? I rushed through the process hoping for it to be done before the whole family joined the table. I opened the lid to find this

just-right pot of not too hard, not to dry, not to mushy feast.

If you cook rice, you know that timing is everything. I hope you can relate to my simple pleasure of just-right rice. In the end, the dinner was great, mainly because we ate and spent time together as a family. I couldn’t help but think of all the other families around the world sharing their meals together and also those without.

How did I come up with that title you might ask yourself. If you don’t speak Spanish, or even if you do and you are wondering, ” Why the french?” – a la Carrera. Well, let me quickly tell you. Quite simply, I can’t get back into my blog http://maestracarrera.blogspot.com/  to blog. I have had an entry all written up for quite some time, but I cannot log in. I knew I wanted to do Slice of Life. I couldn’t bring myself to let go of Maestra Carrera. Maybe it’s a sign. So, at the last minute and a la Carrera (in a rush), true to my name, I just created a new one (with the help of Angela Gonzales.) It’s not pretty, the page needs work, but I completed Day 1with a few minutes to spare!