Life without power...

We always ask the question, what would it be like if we didn't have this or that. Well this weekend my family and I are experiencing days without power.

It wouldn't be so bad if we were experiencing true fall weather. Unfortunately, we had at least 6 inches of heavy snow that seems to have taken down trees almost on every block in this area. The temp is down as well. When we stopped in our house to grab a few things, our house was at a chilly 51 degrees. We even attended a birthday party where we all were wearing jackets to stay warm inside the house.

I'm trying not to complain too much as we are lucky that my parents had power all weekend so we didn't have to experience the cold unlike some unfortunate families. The local hotels are booked and apparently it could be this way until the end of the week. I just want to go home.

We know we can blame this on mother nature but our block has been having electric problems for some time now. We have lost power almost 10x in the last year. Sunny, no wind? Power outage. Rainy? Power outage. Hurricane? Power outage. Snow? Power outage. It is just insane. Technically, this is our 2nd outage of the week. Let's just say we are not pleased, I think we have every right at this point.

But I will end my complaints here. I do ask though that you keep my family and all those affected by this same outage in your thoughts!

XOXO

P.s. don't forget, the giveaway to be announced tomorrow as planned.

First snow of the season...

A Day At The Park With Papi

Saya and her Papi go to the park almost every one of his days off and she loves it! They get to spend some much needed QT usually while Mommy is at work. They get to play and I get to see all the pics :). It always brings a smile on my face.

Here are some random pictures of Saya at the park...Photos by Papi himself.

November Giveaway Coming Soon...

Stay tuned... November 1st, I will be announcing my next giveaway!

Here's a hint:

This will be perfect to use for your Thanksgiving entertaining!

Family

Family. Everybody has one. Big or small, they can make a huge impact on your life. Besides the Lord, my family is my #1. They are my support system, my rock and shoulder, so without them I am nothing.

A year ago, we lost two members of our family, my uncle Tony and cousin Lou. It was sudden and largely unexpected. Their passings were huge hits to my Father's family because that side of my family is really close. That kind of closeness is something that I have craved for my Mom's side of the family. Granted, we are closer than we used to be but we need a lot more work. Both sides of my families have to make a better effort to spend time with each other and not just at parties, weddings and funerals, myself included. But I will stop here because this post isn't to talk about that. 

I wanted to write about the fact that before the passing of my uncle and cousin, it had been years (or decades) since our family had lost a large player in the family. Unfortunately, what comes with time is aging. My surviving grandparents are 75 (maternal g'ma) and 86 (paternal g'pa) and their health is declining. My parents, aunts, uncles and even cousins are getting older and are only going to get older. I am not ready to lose any one of them at this point even though this reality is much closer than ever.

So I wanted to take this time and say that I LOVE you family! For all those that I don't get to speak, see, or even those I have never met, don't think I have forgotten about you. I LOVE you too! I appreciate each and every one of you and are thankful to have you all in my life! God Bless you all!

Here's just a small piece of my Family at our annual 4th of July Party, July 2010 :)

{Photo by Tio Flor}

Recipe: Taco Seasoning

My family LOVES enchiladas, tacos, tostadas and pretty much anything else Mexican so I make either one of these dishes almost weekly. Prior to yesterday, I have to admit that I would use the packet taco seasoning to season my ground beef. I know, I know! The amount of sodium could probably kill a cow but I never knew how easy it was to make my own seasoning. That is until I did some Google searching.

I found the recipe below on AllRecipes.com and tried it for my beef tostadas that I made for dinner yesterday. This recipe is perfect! The right amount of seasoning and the flavors blended so well. I think it tasted better than the packet seasoning! Of course, depending on the heat that you or your family can tolerate, you can make some adjustments. As you can see below, I made some minor adjustments because of what spices I had in my pantry and you can do the same.

Try it out!

Taco Seasoning

Prep Time: ~2 mins | Yields 1 oz

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 ½ tsp Ground Cumin

1 tsp Kosher Salt*

1 tsp Black Pepper

¼ tsp Garlic Powder

¼ tsp Onion Powder

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper (ground red pepper)*

¼ tsp Dried Oregano

½ tsp Paprika

Directions:

1. Combine all spices in small bowl and stir until mixed.

2. Reserve in an air tight container.

*The original recipe uses Sea Salt and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes which I did not have in my pantry to I substituted with the above starred ingredients.