Friday Favorites: Week 4

For this week's installment of Friday Favorites the prompts are:

• Favorite (or Dream) Job
• Favorite vacation spot
• Favorite Book

1)  Favorite (or Dream) Job:

I don't have a dream job. If it was up to me I wouldn't work at all. How's that for honest?

Of the jobs I've had, I'd have to say that the last full-time job that I held before I had Bella was my favorite. I've been in retail my entire working life. When I was 18, I started working part-time at a store while I was in college full-time. I hated school more than I hated earning a paycheck so I "took some time off" and started working full-time. Fast forward to many years later, I never went back to school but made a career out of what started as a minimum wage earning, part-time job. Retail is tough. You work long, thankless hours. People treat you like shit and think that because you work in a store, you are dumb. Au contraire, mon cheri. I'll never knock a formal education and recognize that an education is never a waste of time or money. However, not having a degree doesn't make someone lazy or dumb. OBVIOUSLY. But I digress. In any event, at the "peak" of my career I worked for a woman's boutique style retailer as the store manager of a training store. When someone at a management level or above was hired, they came to my store and our team showed them how things were done. I was also on our company's expansion team which meant that whenever a new store was opening (anywhere in the country), I had to live in that area for a few weeks while it was being built to help coordinate the construction, the merchandising, etc as well as hire and train that store's staff. In addition, our company was based out of San Francisco so I would fly there twice a year to help develop new products. Not bad, huh? And when there was no one to train or nowhere to go, I still had to run my home store and 7 others. I was responsible for about $14 million worth of sales per year. It was a challenge, but yanno what? I loved it. Most of the time. It may sound dumb but working with customers could be so satisfying and being a rock star in your field isn't too bad either. Running a multi-million dollar business is something to be proud of, no?

2) Favorite vacation spot:
Spain and Portugal. My grandmother took me there when I was 12. I long for the day that I can go back!

3) Favorite book:
Confessions of a Shopaholic. I am profoundly vapid through and through...  

Friday Favorites: Week 3

For this week's installment of the HV Nestie Blog Challenge the prompts are:


Favorite TV show, or one that is most like your family

Favorite Store to Shop at

Favorite Recipe


1) Favorite TV show:
You know how people say that certain trashy shows are their "guilty pleasure?"  Yeah, I don't know what that feels like because I watch crappy TV, love it and feel no guilt about this.
Have you ever heard of the show "Bad Girls Club" on Oxygen?  It's one of my favorites and if you watch it too, I love you.  Do you watch RuPaul's Drag Race?  I do and became hooked in season one when I realized that a former coworker of mine was a contestant (Ongina).  If you rooted for him, I love you.  I had drinks with him over the summer and wanted to push him off of his 5" heels, beat his narrow little ass and steal his Chanel bag.  That bitch knows how to werq it.
My favorite show, however is "Modern Family" on ABC. It's funny, smart and relatable to me. Even if it's not trash.

2) Favorite Store to Shop at:
Target. I can find pretty much any and everything there. Not my first destination for clothing but shopping there makes life simple so I'll go there for just about anything.

3) Favorite Recipe:
This recipe is for a Domincan seafood and rice stew. I've only ever used shrimp for it because that's all my abuela ever used. It is so delicious and so much like hers was.
Here's a link and the recipe:

http://www.dominicancooking.com/2001/12/asopao-de-mariscos-seafood-and-rice-pottage/

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of shrimp, crab or lobster
• 1 lemon (may be omitted)
• 2 1/2 cups of rice
• 3/4 gallon of water
• 5 tablespoons oil
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped green peppers
• 1 pinch oregano
• 1 teaspoon mashed garlic
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1/8 cup chopped seedless olives
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 spoon finely chopped parsley
• 1 spoon finely chopped coriander
• 1/2 spoon of thyme leaves
• 1 cube of chicken stock
• Salt

Preparation:

1. In an iron pot heat the oil (reserve 2 spoons of oil), add the herbs, olives, spices, tomato paste, peppers, garlic and salt. Add the shrimps and stir (be careful with hot oil splattering). Cover and wait two minutes, then stir again.
2. Add the remaining water and bring to a boil. Add all remaining ingredients (including the rice). Stir regularly to avoid excessive sticking. Let 3/4 of the water evaporate, by then a grain of rice should be about 3 times its original size. Adjust salt to taste. Serve while hot.
3. Serve with a few slices of avocados or tostones.

Friday Favorites: Week 2

The prompts for this week are:


Favorite piece of clothing

Favorite Superhero

Favorite Movie

1) Favorite Piece of Clothing:
Well, I will start this by saying that I love clothes. With that said, I have a lot of shopping to do. Last year I lost 40 pounds by following Weight Watchers. WOOT! I made my goal weight in November so I've really only bought winter clothes that fit me properly at this point but with spring coming, it is ON! I am about 3 sizes (or 4 depending on the brand) smaller than I was in April 2010. I plan to buy clothes like the ones I had before, just smaller.
One of my missions is to find the perfect little black dress. I'll probably take the plunge and treat myself to a Julian Wrap Dress by DVF. What the hell, right? If I do, I'm sure it'll become my favorite item of clothing!

Buy it here!



2) Favorite Superhero:

Batman. He may not have actual superpowers but he is handsome and resourceful!

3) Favorite movie:

Forrest Gump. I cry every time I watch it. 

Oh shit. Is this a date?

Some things you need to know:

1) I am happily married (more often than not).
2) My husband and I have a five and a half year old daughter who you met in the post below. We are a happy little family.
3) I was a stay-at-home mom from May 2005 until November 2010.
4) I currently work at a small, privately owned Home Improvement Showroom that specializes in kitchens and bathrooms.

Here's what happened at work today:

I called the sales rep from one of our cabinetry distributors to ask some questions and order some samples for the showroom. We made small talk and I explained my plight to him. I am new, I need an entire cabinet as a sample. What should I do? He was super nice and walked me through the process. He then asked me how long I've worked for the store, how I like it so far, etc. He then mentions that he hasn't been in to visit us lately and that he should pay us a visit to properly introduce himself. Hmmmm, okay. We get reps in and out of here fairly often so that didn't strike me as odd. What  did seem strange was that he asked what days and times I'll be here. Hmmmm, okay. I give him our business hours. No. He'd like to know when I'm working and wants to set an appointment to come by and see me.  I tell him that my schedule varies and that I'm usually here from 9am to 2:30pm so he said he'll be here Tuesday around noon and he'll bring me some coffee.

SO NOW WHAT? I know that sales reps are friendly but he already has an account with us. We already use his company for many of our jobs. Is he hitting on me or am I reading too much into this? I think I sound pretty cute on the phone but still. I :::coughcough::: I am pretty sure that I am coming down with something. It'll probably keep me from getting in on time on Tues.

I'll keep you guys posted...

I'm making decisions!

I have decided that I will try to post more than once a week.  I have also decided that I need to take more pictures.  I do take quite a few with my phone, then race to facebook for instant gratification and (let's be honest) feedback.  I see funny shit sometimes.  My kid is cute.  These things need to be documented. BUT what I have noticed is that I don't use my actual camera nearly enough.  As I sit here browsing through my photos, trying to find one that I can use for my blogger profile, I'm struggling.  Most of my pictures are so freaking old!  I look back at pictures of my daughter and I'm amazed at how much she's grown up.  I don't want to miss out on doing that because yanno what?  As controlling and type-A as I am, I can't stop her from growing up.  It's happening and the revolution should be photographed.

Here are some old pictures of my baby.  It's hard to believe that she's five and a half now.  She can read anything and is starting to write pretty well on her own.  I luff her to bits.  One of these days I'll do a proper homage to her.  For now, here's some pics from her first year on earth.

Hi, Isabella! I'm so pleased to finally meet you! I'm your Mami!

Small and terrifying. Just like her mom.

 

 

Coming home from the hospital. 5 days old

 1 month old

 

4 months old

Just chillin'

I love to jump!

I'm one!

Friday Favorites: Week 1

You are going to get to know me whether you like it or not!

1) My favorite song:

This one is tough. I have so many different varieties of music that I enjoy and listen to in a regular basis. I know that everyone says that but in my case it's actually true.
I have a special place in my heart and life for classical music. I played classical violin from the age of 4 until I finished 6th grade. I became the youngest first chair violinist in the history of the Harlem Children's Orchestra at the age of 8. I remained first chair until I stopped playing altogether. My family moved to the Bronx when I was 10 and the commute into the city was just overwhelming, leaving me with no time for friends or any other activities so that was that and I was done.
Classical music opened the door for opera. I love music with a juicy story, I love to share in the character's joys and pains. The singers' voices are a true blessing and gift.
I am a Latina so it goes without saying that my people's music means so much to me on so many different levels. It is the music of celebrations, the music of my heritage and history. The music that reminds me of my family members who are now long gone and the wonderful times we had.
My formative years were spent in the Bronx so hip-hop surrounded me. I have a deep, passionate love for its lyrical mastery and powerful messages. I even llike the fluffy stuff, the kind of hip-hop that you'd never thump in yo' whip. Some of it is strongly misogynistic, but you know what? So is this world. It ain't right but it is what it is. It was a happy day when I realized that without my daughter in the car I could play Wu-Tang at full blast. I, like the Clan, ain't nothin' to f*ck with. I would probably lump R&B music in here too. Love me some New Jack Swing!
I love love love dancey- pop music. I listen to all of the things that make a true music aficionado cringe. Britney, etc. I even try to emulate the dance moves. Shhhhh! Don't tell anyone!
80s music? 90s new wave and alternative? Yes, please. I started college in 1991, on Long Island and fell off many a barstool listening to songs that I love to this day. I listened to WDRE every day like it was my JOB. Good times.
Jazz is fantastic and so expressive. I am a sucker for a slide trombone. That music is like a conversation with a friend. You never know which way it's headed but it could (and should) go on for hours. I'll add swing music in with this. Swing music is great to clean the house to or dance around with a toddler. It's money, baby.
Classic Rock is pretty amazing. I associate many songs with movies, as certain classics often appear in movie soundtracks. I'm glad they do because this is something that I've become acquainted with in my adult years. My parents never listened to rock music so I was never really exposed to it until later on in life. It's now a part of my every day life. My husband listens to classic rock almost exclusively in the car, so where he goes, it goes.

In any event, I will say that my very favorite song, the song that I can (and have) listened to over and over again is I Would Die 4 U by Prince. It's perfection.


2) My Favorite Food:

Cheese.


3) My Favorite Day of the Week:

Friday, especially every other Friday, when I get paid!