Happy Birthday

Art is true in its still form

Viewing indebtedness for stillness

Uncultivated by its form

And inebriated by its worn out places

Sit and listen

Stop and understand

Oblige the stillness

Inebriated by places

A mad world it is

Watching everything

Still having no control

 

Life is standing still

Now we can appreciate it            

Subsequently still

With no tomorrow

To drown all sorrows

Dreams make no sense

While you run in circles
In a completely mad world

 

I'm back in the kitchen!

I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, and am happy to share with you what makes me happiest; COOKING! Although my boyfriend may beg to differ, I feel that I am definitely a genius in the kitchen. My Portuguese and Brasilian background, mixed with Jersey Italian and SoCal Mexican, gives me a niche of spice with flavor like no other. Enough of talking about myself for now, let’s get to the meat of life; EATING:

Ingredients:

1. Jasmine Rice
2. Canned corn
3. White beans
4. Kielbasa
5. Onions
6. Bay leaves
7. Garlic
8. Jalapeno peppers
9. Broccoli
10. Olive Oil
11. Salt
12. Pepper

• Sautee the garlic and throw the rice in. Regardless of how much rice you want to make, the secret is to always use 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice.
• Throw in the can of corn after the rice has been cooking for at least 10-15 min. (low fire--I always remember my grandmother saying, "The slower you cook things the better it'll taste!).
• Meanwhile you should be cooking the white beans in a pressure cooker (either that or let it soak in water overnight before cooking it for about 1 ½ hrs.).
• Throw in a whole onion cut in quarters (there will be 4 pieces :) and some bay leaves to cook with the beans. Don't forget the salt!
• Fill a small pot with about 2 inches of water and let it boil. Once the steam is going, get the broccoli in there with some salt, pepper, and I used garlic powder but that's your choice. Cover it up to let the steam cook the broccoli. Better than submerging the vegetable in a full pot of water.
• Once the beans are ready (30 min. in the pressure cooker, 1 hr. 1/2 in a regular pot), Sautee the jalapeño peppers with olive oil, then throw in the kielbasa.
• Once the kielbasa has had a chance to fry a bit, throw in tons of garlic and fry it a bit more.
• When the kielbasa has been frying for about 5-10 minutes, scoop up some beans with tons of liquid and throw it in the mix which contains the garlic, kielbasa, and jalapeno peppers. Swirl it around and quickly throw all of that into the pot of beans.
• Let everything stand under fire for another two minutes or until its boiling and you’re ready to SERVE!
• Voila! Eat and enjoy
• I recommend some Cholula/Chili Garlic Hot Sauce with it.
• Delicious!!!

Para a comunidade: Eu quero justiça – Meu filosofo favorito

Não falo de pessoas pobres

Falo de pessoas realmente pobres

Os fracos e os hipócritas

Você me ensinou a ser forte demais

Me chamam de maluca e de sem educação

Será que já não e obvio?

Sou sua metamorfose de garra e determinação

Você me ensinou a lutar

A escolher para não ser escolhida

Que culpa tenho se a minha tolerância não se transforma?

Foi assim que me ensinas-te a ser

Você acha que eu deveria ser diferente?

Deveria ser eu mais compreensiva,

Mais reservada

Menos teimosa 

Um pouco menos agressiva

Mais magra

Mais baixa

Mais nova

Mais reservada

Menos atrevida

Mais inocente

Mais não tão convincente,

O que querem de mim realmente?

My first restaurant review!

http://www.wineanddinedeals.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=130:tabule-restaurant-around-the-world-dining-in-the-gaslamp&catid=34:homepage-slideshow

Dreams

Everyday that I wake up and remember my dreams, I am thankful.  Last night in my dream, I was back at the farm in Warren, N.J. One of the thousand places I have had the pleasure to call home throughout my lifetime. There was a beautiful sunset and one of my roommates was  excited to have found a rare perennial and was getting ready to plant it.  I asked if I could have a piece to plant myself and he gladly handed me a branch and showed me how to sow it.  Needless to say I woke up inspired! An interesting detail is that it is his birthday in a couple days and we haven't spoken in awhile.  I actually only found out it was his birthday, after my dream. 

What I realized was that my subconscious was telling me that I had gotten through some of my fears by letting go of things which no longer served me.  This dream was a reassurance that  I am finally headed in the right direction and that once again I can believe in friendship and move forward.  For awhile, I had terrible nightmares of being chased by someone or something that wanted to harm me.  I now know that the only harm chasing me were my fears of letting go and the walls I had built were keeping me stranded.  I was running away from myself!  My essence had been stained to the core, and that had left me exposed and weak to deal with my own demons.

I also looked up what it meant to dream of sowing and here is what I found: "To dream that you are sowing seeds, represents new beginnings or a major project for which you are laying the groundwork for.  The dream may also be a metaphor for sex or some sexual act.  Seeds, represents new". 

That is it!!!  My idea to publish a newspaper and the research I've been doing for it is helping me break through those walls.  I am learning!  I am growing!  Phew, what a relief! I was becoming a grumpy pessimist. 


The sex thing is a given, I am always thinking about sex.

So today I took the time to reflect on the last year of my life.  Thinking about where I was and where I am, reminding myself of the possibilities for change and becoming a better me. It is also planting season and as in my dream, I started sowing my seeds.  Today I planted cherry Tomatoes, Basil, English Thyme, Parsley and of course, more dreams.

Later I decided to make a delicious meal in my new pressure cooker.  While cooking, I was brought back to my grandmother's kitchen almost eighteen years ago.  The loud sound of the steamer, instantly reminded me of a simpler time, a time that I now strive for.

A panela de pressão gritando no meu ouvido, cheirinho de alho frito e Kid Abelha tocando na minha pandora.  Dezoito anos antes e eu me encontro na cozinha da minha avó, meu irmão na sala assistindo televisão e minha mãe correndo de um lado para o outro, limpando alguma coisa.  Meu pai, com certeza de cueca e se pendurando da porta para esticar o corpo e falando como isso faz bem para sua coluna.   Se tento forçar  a lembrança da minha infância, me encontro cheia de perguntas e esquecendo quase tudo. Mais quando vem assim derrepente, e como se eu estivesse voltado no tempo.

...It is now the next morning and I am finishing up yesterday’s post.  Had another dream, this time with friends that weren’t so encouraging and supportive and are no longer in my life.  In the dream, they did exactly as expected, thought of themselves and ran right over me.   Reflecting on both dreams and realizing their relevance, I concluded that it was only the beginning of my growth. 


The roads we travel are filled with obstacles and bad people.  Whether you choose to follow your dream and fight for what you believe in, or if you allow life to just carry you through, there will be hardships.  Bad people are everywhere because we are all bad.  Must us realize our faults and learn from our mistakes to be good.  Ultimately,  you control many things in your life. 

I just hope to have the strength to forgive myself and not to forget that I am human too.  I hope to grow and learn through all my experiences as I walk through life and evolve my soul as much as I can while I am here.

Books I recommend

So here I am...

...I've decided to make one of my dreams a reality and it is proving to be extremely challenging, even before I get started.  As I gather information from friends, family and the world wide web it feels as if I'm moving further and further away.  I have started with the attitude of pushing through all the obstacles and difficulties of this, and it is proving to be quite the challenge.

Will I have enough money to invest?  Will I be able to do this well?  Will I give people what they need and want or just what I think they do?  Thoughts and ideas race through my mind.  At this point, there is no turning back for me.  If I don't do this, someone else will and I will kick my self for the rest of my life and grow into a bitter old woman.  

The dream to bring together a community, to translate between the lines, to inform and educate.  Why should it be this hard?  I guess if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.  Thinking I could do it all by myself was silly, but now I know.  Less motivated people have accomplished more.  I will do this, I can do this!

So here it is, the time when everything will be decided and it is now that I will break through my first obstacle that is my mind and my will. Where to start?  I've spent the last three days reading through articles on the internet, and today I know more than I did then.  Still, it doesn't feel like it's enough.  

Next step.....get some advice from the professionals, the people who have made the mistakes and learned from them.  I'm sure I will have to learn through my own mistakes, however maybe I can bypass the ones they've made.  I think it's a good place to start.

Seja o que Deus quiser!!