New hair cuts

Spring cleaning in my house means of course a lot of cleaning, purging, getting rid of stuff we don't need, organize what's left and also new hair cuts. 

My daughter and I went short! 

What do you do in your Spring cleaning time?

Cherry pie

I'm enjoying making pies since....well, since last Thanksgiving actually! 

I've made 2 or 3 apple pies, a pecan pie, chocolate pie, couple of pumpkin pies and this time was the turn of a cherry pie. 

I must confess that even tho I make my own pie crust from scratch from a trusted and easy recipe, for this cherry pie I went with a can for the filling. 

It was good, proof is that the only survivor of this adventure was the empty pan. 

Still, I will love to try to make the filling from scratch as well one day. 

Any recommendations for good recipes?

Influenster J'Adore VoxBox

Right after valentine's day I got the Influenster J'Adore VoxBox and well, the day went away from me and I forgot to blog about it, so here I am now! 

There were some very neat things in this box and even tho I didn't take pictures of things as I unpacked them, I still want to show you some of the products. 

Of course, the first thing to attract my attention is always the food stuff like the Hershey kisses decorated for Valentine's day!  

I've been pretty busy at work and these puppies were really handy in my drawer when I needed a pick-me-up or to give to my students as a motivation for a job well done! The next thing I tried was the Crème Caramel Red Rose Tea:

  

I had 2 sample bags and it was the perfect treat to relax at the end of a busy day. I each little bag there was a coupon for $1.00 off and this mama is going to get herself a big box of it! I loved it because it tastes sweet as a cake but without the calorie. A simple indulgence that doesn't ruin my waist line! I still have a sample for the decaffeinated Lemon Chiffon that I haven't tried yet, but I will soon! Little by little I count on tasting each of these awesome flavors! 

Also included in the box there was a set of Kiss Lashes. I'm not a fan of fake lashes, so I can express my opinion about them. This is the second set I receive and I feel bad having just laying them around, knowing that I will not use them. Anyone interested? I'd be willing to send them anywhere in the State for free: the only thing I will ask in exchange is pictures and an honest opinion, along with permission to post it on my blog. Contact me in interested!

Also included in the box and not used yet, were the John Frieda Frizz Ease Hair spray 

 

and Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask. Maybe now that I'm on Spring Break, I will have the chance to try both of them! 

Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's day last Friday. I surely did! The day began with sweet gifts: 

One of my student gifted me the rose, hubby gave me the chocolate red rose and the kids made the "Love" art at school. 

Me and my daughter enjoyed a Valentine dance at her school, it was fun! 

At night, me and hubby went to dinner, a real date without kids....YAY! 

Well, just because we had no children with us, it didn't mean that we couldn't act like it, right? 

What about you?

 

Snow

It's official! Winter in the south has definitely changed. January 29th 2014, first time we had snow in Florida in over 20 years.

Yesterday, it was such an horrible day for me. I woke up with a terrible muscle ache in my upper arm and couldn't figure out when or where I hurt myself. 

Then, I got news that my grandmother, my mom's mom, passed away in the early hours of Italy time. 

Here I am, hurting physically and emotionally, stuck in the house for a winter storm, road closed, screaming kids in the house......I so wanted a do-over! 

But today, I woke up and there was white, fluffy stuff all around.It might be cold outside, but something melted inside me for sure. 

I like to think that it's her, or a sign of her, snow all around, a way to tell me she's always around me even if I can't see her anymore. 

Might be silly but I like to think of that. 

Good bye grandma! 

You never were the warm and fuzzy kind of grandma, but you did show your love to me, you thought me to be strong and I will never forget that. Fly away to you husband and to your child that you lost way to early, you were so strong to live until you were 90 years old, carrying inside you the burden to have lost at child when he was barely 20. I never met my uncle, but through you, I loved him just the same.

 I can't imagine how hard that could have been for you, that's why I always squeezed you twice when I left your home. Once for me and once for the child you no longer had. 

From you I take my green eyes, my dark brown hair that make me different from everyone in my family since that are all darker. I'm picky and have high standard just like you were and I'm proud of being like you.

Matcha DNA Certified Organic Matcha Tea review

One of the things I missed about blogging during these weeks at the new job, is writing about all the wonderful product samples that I received over the holidays. 

One of which was the Matcha DNA Certified Organic Matcha Tea.  

Of course, I had to tried immediately but I must confess that is was different from what I expected. 

I thought it was simply another brand of green tea, but I was totally wrong as by infusing the powder of one little bag in a big glass of water gave me a rich and green mix. 

It is an acquired taste for sure and, try as I may, I couldn't bring my self to drink it pure :( 

I still wanted to really try it given that is organic and I'm attracted to anything that are, so I gave it another chance in my daily smoothy, as it suggested in the package and I loved it this way. I thought I'd share my recipe with you in case you would want to try it too.  

Mixed Berry smoothie 

1/2 cup of mixed berries (like blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries) 

2 Tbp of Sugar (I usually omit the sugar tho) 

1/2 of milk 

1 cup of ice 

and 1 ripe banana 

plus a single bag of Matcha DNA Certified Organic Matcha Tea 

 And voila', this is what you end up with!

Granted, it still comes up looking pretty green after being mixed together in the blender, which could be a put off for some people, but I assure you that it tastes as fruit and nothing more! 

I'm really happy to have had the chance to try Matcha DNA Certified Organic Matcha Tea and I hope more people would feel like giving it a try! 

Disclaimer: 

This is a personal blog and I do not receive monetary compensation for any of my product reviews. All reviews represent only the my opinions based on personal use and results.

Look Beneath the Surface

Almost a month since last post.....what can I say! The new job and the online courses related to it, plus lesson planning and teacher trainings are keeping me very very busy! 

Not complaining, I'm loving it! 

 But today I want to share this poem with you. It was part of the reading material for a paper I had to write and it really struck a cord with me. 

So, here it goes: 

Look Beneath the Surface 

My voice may sound different than yours, but I speak your language. 

We speak the same language, but we say different things. 

I hear what people say about me and it isn’t pretty. 

Everyday I’m criticized because of my accent. 

I study hard and try to learn all I can about American culture, but that’s not enough.

 My voice holds me back. 

How would you like to hear what I hear? 

My eyes may look different than yours, But I see the same world. 

I see the same things you do, but you see me differently. 

You may see me as grade competition, but I work hard in school because going to college in America is a big deal to me. 

I see the way you treat me and it doesn’t look good. 

How would you like to see what I see? 

My skin may look different than yours, but I feel the same things. 

I have the same feelings you do.

 I laugh and I cry, but I do it for different reasons. 

I never hurt anyone, But I still know what it’s like to be feared. 

I get angry knowing that my hard work in school may not pay off because of my skin color. 

How would you like to feel what I feel? 

By Cynthia Lysen, University of Florida The Network Newsletter of Broward ESOL Council, Winter 1994 

This poem struck a cord with me because unfortunately I encounter this kind of behavior quiet often! 

Do you remember my "You're not American!" post? 

I thought after getting my citizenship one year ago things would get better. 

And many things improved, but many others stayed the same as I encountered the same prejudices and discrimination twice in the last week. 

*SIGH*