Favorite Ingredients Friday (Portuguese Beans)

Feijão à Portuguesa (Portuguese Beans)
Leite's Culinaria - by Mrs. Leite

On 01.31.01 a cook from Ontario, Canada wrote:
It was simple to make, and excellent to eat. Reheats extremely well, in fact improves if served the next day. Wonderful winter fare, it's perfect with homemade bread for supper at the end of a cold winter day, with just a salad to start.

Serves 6 generously

Ingredients
1 pound dried navy, small California white or great northern beans, washed and sorted
1/2 pound bacon
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups water
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 pound chouriço, linguiça or Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1 tablespoon paprika
Salt and pepper


Method

1. Soak the beans overnight in enough cold water to cover by several inches.

2. Drain the beans and set aside. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, fry the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

3. Pour off all but 2 or 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat, add the onions and sauté until a dark golden brown. Add the garlic and cook until it just begins to color.

4. Add the beans, water, tomato paste, chouriço, red pepper flakes and paprika. Cover and let simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Crumble the bacon into the beans and season with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes more then serve immediately.

NOTE: Every Portuguese cook has a different version of this dish. I like this one.

I hope you enjoy it!!!

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Upcoming Themed Schedule:
April 6- Easter edition
April 20- Vegetarian edition
May 18- Memorial Day edition (foods to take to the beach or lake, snacks for car rides)
June 1- Freezer cooking meals (bulk meals that freeze easily)
June 15- Refreshing drinks
June 29- 4th of July edition

To check other Favorite Ingredients Friday visit Overwhelmed With Joy

The mystery of my son's blue eyes

My son has blue eyes. Both me and my husband have brown/green eyes, grandparents have brown eyes, close family have dark eyes.

My son was born with blue eyes. Sometimes the baby eyes coloour change over the first months, my son's didn't. It was a really surprise. I never thought I would have a blue eyed son. He's blond, but that is ok, I was blond when I was young (darkened with age) , my SIL is blond, many people in the family is blond. Now...blue eyes...nope.

I heard many jokes about his eyes: Who is the father? Is it the milk man? Is it the butcher?
The pediatrician told me when he was 1 month old: Someone in your family has blue eyes. For sure. It can be someone from another generation. I said: No way, no one has blue eyes.

My parents family is big, my mother has 10 brothers and sisters and my father 5 brothers and sisters, and we barely meet. Everybody live their life, although not far away from each other, but we never get together, only in special occasions.

There was this day, my son was already two, during a funeral, a close friend saw a distant cousin of my father. Guess what? He had blue eyes. Blue eyes like my son. The mystery was solved. There was at least one family member (although from another generation) that had blue eyes. So, blue eyes run in the family.

Two years later, my son was four, we had a family member wedding. Guess what? One of my mother's brother has blue eyes, and she never noticed it. So, the mystery was solved again. The blue eyes run in both my parents family. In my husband's family there are a lot of green eyes, but blue eyes...well...I don't say no again. Some family members live in another continent, most of them I never saw, so, probably someone has blue eyes.

Here is an article I found about this "mystery".

Today is husband's surgery...Update

It's 9am. I just came from Hospital where my husband stayed for his surgery.

A very nice nurse talked to us this morning and explained that there is no schedule for the surgery. It can be done at 10am, 11am or later, so for me to call only around lunch time. As I'm 15 minutes away from hospital, during my lunch hour I'll drive to the hospital to know personally what's going on.

Of course I feel some anxiety but I'm not very worry. I know what they are removing, I know it's nothing serious, I know it is a very common surgery and (two other women stayed there today for the same surgery).

Now, all I can do is...wait...and...I hate waiting!!

UPDATE:
12:50 - I was at the hospital to have some news. He had left the surgery room a few minutes before so he was very sleepy, opened his eyes and continued to sleep.
The nurse said that the surgery went well and there is nothing to worry about.

I'll be there at 18:30 to pick him up. More update later!


FINAL UPDATE:
We arrived home at 19:30. He's fine, no pain. Can only lay down on his side or with his back up.
Has to go to a nurse everyday to clean the wound and Tuesday he has to return to the hospital to have an appointment with the surgeon to see how things are going.

So far...so good. Everything looks fine.

The Capo's Mistress - Mystery/Suspense/Romance

I am always looking for new books to read specially thrillers and suspense ones.

I came across this new book, The Capo's Mistress by Richard Harris, and after hearing the first chapter, I was really impressed and willing to know the rest of the story. It is Richard Harris first novel, a mystery / suspense / romance novel that keeps you awake all night.

It is about Mike Driscoll, ex-cop, in alcoholic rehab that can not resist to a beautiful woman. Mary Carter, ex-showgirl, is a mysterious woman that has to run away from Las Vegas leaving behind a bag full of money. In the hurry to escape she throws the bag into the Treasure Island lagoon expecting to return or arrange someone to go there and pick it up for her. Finding Mike, who has car problems in Virginia City, was the opportunity she was looking for. She takes him to bed, says she loves him and he goes to Las Vegas to pick up the bag. The problem is that he catches the attention of The Capo, who must get the bag, kill Mary or be killed by the mob. A bombastic confrontation will take place in Old town of Virginia City where Big Tony and his Thugs go after Mary, Mike and the The Capo.

What is going to happen next? Download The Capo's Mistress for free until April 27 and find out. The book will be released in this same date. All files are available for downloading in MP3 for free until the release date. You can also read some quotes of the book like Mike’s first night or How Mary got the bag.

You can pre-order The Capo’s Mistress at Amazon for only $16.47 (HardCover).

You won’t be able to put down this book until you finish it.

What kind of Flower am I?

I saw this Quiz at Mama(e) in Translation and I found it interesting.

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

I have no Cannas in my garden but I truly identify myself with the final description of the Quiz.

It's a 20 questions quiz. If you do it, please leave your link in my comments so that I can check what Flower are you.

My Visual DNA...

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

If you take this Quiz please leave your link in the comments so that I can check your Visual DNA

Husband surgery - the date is set...

My husband's surgery date is set. It is scheduled for March 29th.

The surgery will take place in a "day-hospital" basis, meaning he won't have to stay overnight. He has to be in hospital at 8am and if everything is fine he will be released at 7pm. This will change our daily routine so I have already made the arrangements for the day.

#1 - Usually kids are at the daycare and school at 8.45am and I'm at work at 9am. Once I will have to take my husband to hospital, we have to be at the daycare door at 7.30am to leave the kids and than drive to hospital to arrive there at 7.50 -8.00am. Daycare will take Sun to school.

#2 - I don't know at what time I'll be at work since I'm going to wait until the surgery is finished to know if it went well and if he's fine.

#3 - Usually I leave work at 18.30pm and pick up the kids at 18.45pm. I expect to spend some time in the afternoon with my husband and than bring him home at 7.00pm, so I can't not pick up the kids. I could pick them up earlier but than I wouldn't be able to enter in the hospital with them, besides it is not a healthy environment. Also if there is a delay it will be easy to manage without them, therefore, another option is needed.

#4 - I already talked to my BIL and SIL, who have both kids in the same daycare, and they will take my kids to their house while I am bringing my husband home. This way, I won't be worried about them and can concentrate in my husband's issues.

I have everything organized. Let's hope that all goes well with surgery. We already know that recovery won't be easy and he has to be away from work for some time.
I'll be back to this subject in a few days.

A successful drug free rehab program

My son is 8 years old but I already worry about drugs, it is all over the newspapers, news, streets. When I was in my teens, drugs were just too away from me but nowadays they are just around the corner.

Through a friend's testimony I was informed about the Stone Hawk Drug Rehab Center in Michigan. This center has a successfully drug treatment program with a 76%+ success rate. Stone Hawk drug free approach is the base of this treatment. The calm surroundings, rolling hills, large oak trees and a lake are perfect to re-establish the inner balance of each person that enrolls this rehab program.

Families can be relieved to have a rehab center that provides a safe and caring environment, offers full medical physical with regular health check-ups. Stone Hawk makes the difference and provides an individual to return to the society as a sober and well-formed member.

Favorite Ingredients Friday (Portuguese Sangria Blanco)

Portuguese Sangria Blanco
(http://www.portugueserecipes.net/)

Spring is here and a refreshing drink is welcome

Ingredients:
• ½ Cup of Water
• ¼ Cup of Sugar
• 1 Cup of Unsweetened Apple Juice
• 1 Cup of Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
• 3 Cinnamon Sticks
• 1 Smallish Unpeeled Apple
• 1 Unpeeled orange
• 1 Banana
• 1 Bottle of White Wine 750 ml – chardonnay is best for this
• Sparkling Water – this is to top of glasses
• Ice Cubes

Method –
1. Simmer together the water, sugar and the cinnamon sticks for about 5 minutes in a saucepan, after this take the cinnamon sticks out and let the mix cool down.

2. Now chop the unpeeled apple into thin wedges plus slice the banana and then chop the unpeeled orange into 4 wedges.

3. Now combine the wine and juices and put the fruits and the sugar mixture which you down in number 1. mix together and chill for about 4 to 5 hours your choice.

4. Now the fun part to make it all refreshing – pour the sangria over some ice and top with some sparkling water and to add more color you can add some more fruit slices.

I hope you enjoy it!!!

To check other Favorite Ingredients Friday visit Overwhelmed With Joy

Happy Birthday my Flower!!!

She was born three years ago. Our first comment: "She looks exactly like her brother."

Happy Birthday Catarina*

This morning you woke up very happy, saying that you were a big girl and that you no longer were going to suck your dumb.

This morning, before leaving home, you asked for a flower, you said it was for your teacher. When you arrived at daycare you gave it to me. You said: "This flower is for you mom!". It meant a lot to me. I took a picture of it, it's the one in this post.

Today, in daycare, you are going to have a birthday party with your class friends. You are going to have a Birthday Cake with Barbie Princesses, and you are going to offer small bags with sweeties to your friends and teacher.

Tonight you are going to have another cake just for the four of us at home.

This year, unfortunately, we have no money to make you a Big Birthday Party for family and friends, but I guess the most important thing is that the four of us will be together.
Family, neighbours and friends will visit to congratulate you no matter if there is a party or not.

I wish you a great day!!!

* Flower is her blog name

Need disk space? Check these Pocket Size Portable Hard Drives?

I have my hard disk full of music files and digital family videos, and right now I need space in my hard disk.

DVD’s have low capacity and I would have to use a lot of them to save all the files I have in the computer. So I checked the internet for small portable hard drives and I come across Pexagon Tech which has this beautiful Store-It Colours Hi-Speed ISB Pocket Size Portable Drives, from 40GB to 160 GB capacity and available in 5 hot colours.

I am not thinking about spending a lot of money, so I thought they would be expensive. Guess what, they aren’t. A 60GB capacity ultra-portable hard drives, any colour, and personalized with Custom Laser Engraving only costs $69,99. They are really affordable. I think I am going for a blue 100GB with my Blog Name engraved in it - guess what...only $99.99.

They have a high durability due to the Store-Its rugged aluminium design what is good for me because with kids at home it is better to have durable products. Also the Hi-Speed USD 2.0 interface ensures fast data transfers which allow me to make things quicker and have more time to be with my kids.

Father's Day

Today it was Father's Day in Portugal.

Sun did a Pencil Holder for Dad at school.

Flower did a Picture Holder for Dad with her hand printed on it in daycare.

Pure Art.

Terrible twos and threes - are they for real?

I had big trouble with my son when he had between 2 and 3 years old, well, I had trouble dealing with him for all these past years and he is 8 now. A lot of people talk about the "Terrible Twos" and I know what they are talking about. My son was always a very active boy, at first we thought is was the Terrible Twos", then the "Terrible Three", then we suspected he had ADHD but the doctors said no, he was just a "super active" boy, distracted all the time, difficulty in concentrate but it is not ADHD.

Quoting Dr. Marilyn Heins:

We all know such kids. Most of them are little boys who rarely sit still, spring from place to place rather than walk, squirm rather than sit and play, seem to be easily bored, go from one activity to another with the speed of light, and have great difficulty self-calming or self-entertaining.

In other words they act like whirlwinds and the havoc they cause at home or in preschool can seem like a tornado touching down.

I'm not talking about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I'm talking about normal, albeit sometimes impossible, preschoolers.

Well, my son is 8 now and still is a super active boy.

My daughter will be 3 this week and I didn't even noticed or remembered the Terrible Twos. She is a naughty girl, but has quiet moments, moments we never had with my son. Now, should I be concerned about the Terrible Threes?

She has a completely different personality. She's more "girly". She is sweeter, always saying kind words, kissing a lot, but she has a bad temper and sometimes she has bad tantrums but I deal more easily with her then I used to with my son.

So, let's hope I don't notice the "Terrible Threes".

Quoting Eileen Hayes:

Give toddlers a chance

Life with toddlers is full of love, laughter and wonderful times, as well as more difficult moments such as the tantrums in the supermarket. If you can try to understand what makes your toddler tick - wanting to be independent and grown up one minute, but your baby the next - you're more likely to get the most out of this phase in your child's life.

Keeping a positive attitude and concentrating on the fun side of your toddler's life can lift your spirits, even when you're feeling down. Make an effort to join in her play and find time to laugh together. Enjoy activities with her whenever possible - at the playground, in your garden or just at home in front of the TV.

Vow to enjoy your toddler - these years are over all too quickly and many parents feel real regret when school days begin.

"These years are over all too quickly" -
That's what I feel everyday. They grow too fast.

Favorite Ingredients Friday (Caramel Custard)

Caramel Custard (Pudim Flan)

A little late this week but here is a very easy and tasty Portugueses Pudding

1 - 6 teaspoons soft brown sugar
2 - 1/2 cup sugar
3 - 6 eggs
4 - 3 3/4 cups milk
5 - 1/2 tablespoons coffee extract or strong coffee


1. Put a heaped teaspoon of brown sugar into 6 individual ramekins.
2. In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs together until yellow and frothy.
3. Bring milk to boil, gradually add it to the egg mixture, beating constantly.
4. Add coffee essence.
5. Pour this mixture into ramekins, place in roasting pan.
6. Add enough water to come half way up the sides of the ramekins.
7. Bake in a moderate oven, 350 degrees until just set, about 45 minutes.
8. To test, stick a skewer into the custard, if it comes out clean, the custard is done.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

To check other Favorite Ingredients Friday visit Overwhelmed With Joy

Focus at my full time job...I need it

Lately I've been having a hard time focusing at work (full time job). I'm always thinking about home finances, the kids illnesses, if I start or not a home craft job, as I have free access to the internet I'm constantly searching the web for ideas, checking blogs updates, comment blogs, etc.

I need to get organized. Today, I was checking one of the blog I follow Career and Kids and I came across the post 6 Tips to Help You Focus at Work written by the blog owner Elisabeth. These are 6 interesting Tips I'm going to try to follow. I have to organize the tasks I have, do all the work I have to do and see if I still have some spare time for blogging. Here are the Tips from Elisabeth:

1. Start each day with a “to-do” list - Everyone loves crossing things off a list, it’s often the incentive to keep you on track. Try making that the last task of the day, so, you can get right to work the next day.

2. Schedule “worry time” - Take a moment to write down the things that are bothering you, put the list in your wallet or purse, and, designate a time to think about such things. It may be on your lunch hour, or, on the ride home from work, just promise yourself time to address these things later, and, try to focus on the work at hand.

3. Take a short walk - Get up and walk around for a few minutes, preferably outside. The fresh air will help you feel better, and, a brief change of scenery may help you get focused upon your return.

4. Straighten up your work area - an organized work area can help you focus, and, at least prepare for the next day when you are ready to work.

5. Keep a list of “mindless tasks” - write it down, or, keep it in your head, for those days when, no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to get going with your regular to-do list. Put away that stack of files, label the newsletters, weed out your e-mail, just do something, and, often inspiration will follow.

6. Reward yourself - it may seem elementary, but, reward yourself with something small when you get 3 things on your list accomplished. It will give you something to look forward to, and, again, sometimes all it takes is to just do something, and, the rest of the work will flow, thus getting your mind back on track.

Thank you Elisabeth for these Tips.

Elisabeth blog has always a lot of interesting subjects regarding Career and Kids and, being a full time worker with two kids, I really love to read her posts and get some tips and ideas for my daily journey.

Want to travel with your family at low rates?

I work full time so I look forward to a well deserved family vacations this summer. Money is short but I would like to have a enjoyable vacation trip. So I have to combine lower rates with comfort, pleasure and security.

Working for an Export Company such as the one I work for it is essential to have a reliable travel agent with great source of trip information in order to give our President and Vice-President pleasant flights and accommodations during their visit to clients on world wide destinations.

We used to do it locally with an travel agency but sometime ago I made a huge research online for a reliable Reservation Site and I came across the Hotel Reservations website. I presented it to the company president and told him that it seemed a very qualified site. I was given green light to book flight plus hotel with them. Everything was perfect, the feedback was excellent and the President was very enthusiastic about it. Since then I have been reserving with Hotel Reservations.

Compared with other sites, Hotel Reservations have very competitive rates and they offer great discounts. The offer is huge, you have Hotels, motels, resorts, vacation rental, vacation packages, etc..

For sure I will book with them this summer. The vacation packages provide us several options. You can choose one or two destinations and for a more relax vacation, you can opt for the Flight plus Hotel plus Car package, so you can have more free time to plan an enjoyable trip with your family. Also you can check in the site the available activities you will have in your destination for the period you will be visiting. You have suggestions for Theme Parks, Events and Shows, Tours and Sightseeing, Restaurants and Bars, etc.

You can plan your whole trip online or if you prefer you can call their reservation agents toll-free at 1-800-447-4136 (in US & Canada - 24 Hours-7 days a week) or in Europe: 00-800-1276-3549 (Valid in UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia)

Worldwide phone no: (1) 817-333-5105

I have a little girl now...

Today I enrolled my little one in preschool. My baby is growing and will be 3 years old this month so it's time to enroll her.

The priorities go to the kids with 4 and 5 years. If there are a lot 4/5 years kids the ones with 3 years old will have to wait another year to enter in the preschool system, it also depends of the availability of each school. The school I chose, last year, all the 3 years old children were left out the system, let's see what happens this year.

I'm not too concerned about it since, if she is not accepted this year she will continue in daycare where they teach basically the same things as in preschool. Financially the difference won't be very notorious since preschool only works until 15.30 and I must pay daycare to pick her up at school and take her to daycare facilities until I leave work and pick her up. So I have to continue paying daycare for the service, although a smaller amount. On the other hand I will have to pay for her meal (lunch) at preschool. Yes, it's not for free even belonging to the public educational system. The main difference is that in preschool she will be entering the public teaching program and in daycare she will have a private teaching that is slightly different.

She's thrilled to go to school because for her, going to official school is like being already a grown up girl!

Well, the baby is gone, I have a little girl now.

Health Issues: Big scare with my son...

Yesterday, after a sunny, warm afternoon spent playing in the local park, having dinner with all the IL (MIL,FIL,SIL.BIL, nephews) the kids already in bed and I watching a movie I got really scared with my son.

At about 11pm he started with tummy ache, crying, screaming, could not stand up, sometimes not even move. I press the right side if the tummy to check for apenticites but there was no pain there it was really in the middle of his tummy. Once he has problems with constipation i thought it was it. We took him to the bathroom but he just "wasn't in the mood" to defecate. I massage his tummy but from time to time he just screemed in pain. He was in real pain.

I thought about calling a doctor, or an ambulance but the time they would take to get to my place would be the time for me to take him to hospital. So I put him in the car and I drove out of town (the hospital is in a nearby town at about 15-20 minutes away). The pain increased and I just put the emergency lights on, and I exceeded all limit speeds till I got to the hospital. I flew, I don't know how I got there so fast.

As soon as I arrived a nurse checked his tummy and immediatly she told me they had to empty his tummy because it was full and they had to get everything out of there. They have him a appropriate med and 5 minutes later there was a "storm" in the bathroom. And you know what, he left the bathroom talking, walking, no pain...it only took five minutes.

He slept the whole night, no more pain. He's fine now.

I have to be aware of the constipation problem, have to check everyday if he defecates or not. He has to drink a lot of water, has to eat lots of green vegetables (he hates them), no sodas, etc. etc..

I felt I was a lousy mother. Wasn't I aware that I should check him more frequently to see if he defecates every day. He has been having some tummy aches, once or twice a year. This one was really strong. I guess I have to consider that he has a problem and I should be more "wakeful" for it.

I know we have a bad habit at meal time, we drink juice, bottle juice or ice tee. We should be drinking water. So...I'm a bad mother. I let my kids drink bad products. I have to cut on that, yesterday I learned that. I was really scared driving at high speed with my boy crying and screaming on the back seat.

We learn from our mistakes!

Playing on the beach in the afternoon

A little windy but the temperature was great. We had a great time. Flower felt asleep as soon as she got in the car on our way home.

Spring is just around the Corner

Saturday morning. It's a shiny day. Flowers are starting to blossom in my garden.

I want to be outdoors, go to the park, go to the beach, walk in the sand, watch the sea. Take a soccer ball and play in the sand, take the In-line skates and skate, and let Flower ride her bicycle. I just hope we have this weather the whole weekend.

Have a nice weekend you all!!

My first Decoupage Crafts

Here are my very first Decoupage Crafts. I thought it would be difficult but I always had "crafty hands" so, for the first time I guess I score.

This T-Shirt has a paper application and it worked out just fine.


The photo is not very good but this is Decoupage in Soaps.

I'm trying some other projects. Even if I'm not able to sell the crafts I'm doing, at least I can prepare gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, or special days.

Favorite Ingredients Friday - St. Patrick's Day

I must be honest. I had to check in the internet what Sr. Patrick's day was. I had no idea. Here in Portugal we do not celebrate this special day. However I looked over the internet and found this Irish Recipe that I would like to try.

IRISH CREAM CHOCOLATE CAKE

http://allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup butter
  
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add melted butter and stir until well mixed. Pat into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, white sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and flour. Beat at medium speed until well blended and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the sour cream and Irish cream liqueur; mixing on low speed. Pour filling over baked crust.
3. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C), and continue baking for 60 minutes.
4. With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Chill before serving. If your cake cracks, a helpful tip is to dampen a spatula and smooth the top, then sprinkle with some chocolate wafer crumbs.

To check other Favorite Ingredients Friday visit Overwhelmed With Joy

My Real Life versus Law of Attraction (The Secret)

Two weeks ago I watched the movie "The Secret" about the Law of Attraction. Although some parts are a little hard to "understand/believe" it really changed me a bit.

I'm the person that deals with all the finances at home, I control bank account, all kind of bills, I'm the one who knows if we have money and how much. Well right now one thing I know, we don't have a dime. Therefore I'm always talking about bills, taxes, lack of money, and some people (like my husband) call me pessimist. I guess I'm not pessimist, I'm realistic, all the things I've been saying over the years are happening, We are in worse "shape" than we where 5 or 7 years ago.

After watching the movie, it made me think. The Law of Attraction says that "Positive thoughts attracts positive things". Am I guilty of this all situation? I'm always thinking about the bad things that happen in our life. If I start thinking more positively can more positive things happen to me, to us, to our family?

Last week I had to call the bank account manager for an issue and I told him: "I spent the all night making sums in my head. I don't wanna do this", you know what was his response: "That's a good sign, it means you care about your life, others, that don't make those sums, end up with big problems with the bank". So, I'm confused, It's good to think about what bothers us and worry us or it's better not to think about it and think that things are going to be better in a near future.

I'm tempted to put a 5 Euros bill (we don't have 1 Euro bill like you have 1 dollar bill) with a few "0"'s on the right and glue it to my computer screen border and look at it from time to time to see if one of these days I start receiving more money. This is one of the things described in the movie.

I read about the movie in several blogs and some people are skeptical about it. Other fully agree with it.

I'm not here to advertise, I'm not even getting paid for it, but I agree with most of the things they say. Not that good thinks are going to happening out of nowhere but we can have a better life if we think that things can get better. If we have more positive thoughts for sure we will live more happily. Like my husband says: "We'll get out of this situation" - he's a very positive man as you can tell, and he's always saying that I worry too much about bad stuff. I know that. But I'm the one that has to deal with bills, count the euros left for the month, the extra dentist appointment, the extra meds we have to buy, etc. This puts me really down and depressed.

Ok ok ok. Confused? Me too.

Year 2007 was, from the beginning, a "turning" year in our life. I made no resolutions, I made a few changes in our life style even if that meant to be a little away from some friends. We needed space for ourselves. We needed to "breath".

Now, after watching this movie, I (I, me, myself) am trying to get a better approach to life. I have to think that things are/will get better. I don't know if it is this year, next year in 5, 10 years, but for my health sake I have to start thinking positively. Sometimes it's hard because bad things happen all the time (last month we lost our DVD Player, our VCR player and one Television set, my husband car broke yesterday). Ok, ok, we don't have money to buy knew stuff but one day we'll have, for sure. This is what I'm trying to believe now...ok not trying...I'm believing that one day we'll have money to pay for the bills and have a better lifestyle.

You might thing I'm too materialist. I'm not. This was just an example. Of course I wish for health, love, friendship, etc, etc. etc.. Money is just a critical issue right now, but I also think about the other ones. How can I be healthy if I'm depressed because of money issues?

In the movie one of the things they say it's important to do, to start changing our life, is "to be grateful for the good things you have now". And that's what I intend to do. I'll post about it later.

Flickr - don't know what happened

I don't know what happened but who subscribes my feed was notified of around 80 pictures that are not mine. I don't know where they came from. This is crazy. I'll try to figure out what is going wrong.

Positive thoughts **** Positive thoughts****deep breath***positive thoughts

arhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Weekend...not so good as I expected! (II)

Friday Night: Flower had fever and during the night I had to give her medicine every 5 hours instead of the normal 6 hours. This lasted until Saturday afternoon. In the afternoon we had a birthday party of a neighbour who turned 3 years old last week. The party was indoors so I was not too much worried about her getting cold, rain or wind. She was very happy, played a lot and also eat something. At the end of the day she was a little "down" with very little fever (the value is not even considered fever in kids). By this time I had a sore throat, my body was sored and I had some fever.

Sunday, Flower was just fine, no more medicines for her, me on the contrary, I was upsidedown. Completely sore, fever, running nose, headache, all the symptoms from a flu. I spent most of the day on the sofa, Flower joined me and we slept a 3 hour nap!! Of course Sun also wanted to share the sofa with me and we all spent the rest of the day in the sofa and playing in the living room.

Today, here I am, working in the office, feeling cold, feeling hot, blowing my nose all the time, taking tablets to lower the fever.

The best part of all this is that I prefer to be sick myself than having my kids sick. So, let's be sick and have healthy kids!!


P.S. Apart from a broken DVD player, a Broken VCR player now we have a broken living room TV. After 13 years it stopped living and we had to replace it for a small one we had in another room. No money for a new one.
The best part of this, I prefer to have a broken TV than a broken Washing Machine.

I'm trying to be positive about all this. I'll post about (trying to have) positive thoughts another day.

Favorite Ingredients Friday (Sardines on the Grill)

Sardines on the Grill - Sardinhas na Brasa

www.portugueserecipes.net

This time I chose a Sea fish recipe. It's very popular here. You can eat them with your family or you can invite family and friends and make what we call a "Sardinhada", meaning that there is a big fireplace or barbecue where the Sardines are grilled and everybody eat the Sardines, sometimes only with Broa and Wine.

Ingredients:
1- 12 Sardines
2- Olive Oil
3- 2 Green Peppers
4- Coarse Sea Salt
5-7 Potatoes
6- Vinegar

a) Get your Sardines and place them in a bowl, use the coarse salt to rub the fish and then leave to stand for around 30 minutes.

b) Next peel cut in half and then boil the potatoes.

c) Wash, deveined the green peppers, make sure to cut them length ways and then put them on a hot Grill.

d) Place the Sardines in the fish holders then put on the Grill.

e) The meat should be cooked at a medium heat remembering to turn them occasionally, you can cook them to how you like (I love well done)

f) Season the peppers with olive oil and vinegar when they are done.

g) Now serve on a fresh green Salad the tasty grilled sardines with the green peppers and boiled potatoes…enjoy.

To check other Favorite Ingredients Friday visit Overwhelmed With Joy

Health Issues - My father

I guess this is the first time I write about my father on my blog. The past is tough and I’ll write about it some other time.

The present…due to other circumstances. is tough too. My father, who is 77, was diagnosed with Parkinson two years ago. He is getting really weak, he can barely stand on his legs, he falls on the floor several times a week. This morning my mother called me to let me know that he was not ok. He has been with a "cold" for almost two weeks now, coughing a lot and now he has some fever. I already arranged an appointment with a doctor my mother likes for today, at the end of the day.

Here comes another problem, my mother, although with driving license has some difficulty in driving into places she doesn't know. This doctor is in a nearby city and she can't drive alone. So the option is having me or my husband to go with them. Since it is required a lot of strength to handle with my father and my mother alone is having some difficulty in doing some, the best option is my husband who is a very robust man.

My husband also has some appointments scheduled for this month as I wrote here, and he has to miss work several times this month. His employer doesn't pay that time. Now with my father's issues we have another problem. This time I was able to get a late appointment so my husband don't have to miss work, but in the future I don't know.

We have our kids, regular doctor's visits, dentist, etc., we always try to get a "late in the day" appointment, sometimes it's not possible and we really have to miss work.

I have been stressed because of our financial issues, the kids, the work, and now I have to handle this situation. This was expected, but I thought I would have a more stable life by then. That's not the case. I know that things will get worse due to Parkinson evolution, I'm aware of that.

I'm not sure how I will handle this. I already have my home issues. I know I'm not alone and that there are some people in worse situations, but my kids are still very young and they need to have a mom that is there for them and not thinking and handling problems all the time.

I'll post later about what the doctor said.

Need extra income - Gonna start Craft Works

My DH and I had a conversation and we really have an income problem (as we didn’t know already!) We need more money to pay all the bills and for that we need to have an extra income. Changing jobs is not an option once there is a lot of unemployment and it’s difficult to find a new job right now.

I’m really determined to do some Craft Work to earn some money. I don’t know if I will be able to sell them but I have to try. I used to make craft works some years ago when I had no children and I had time. Working full time, with two kids is tough.

Usually I spend my lunch hour at work and I'm thinking about using that time to do some crafts. Yesterday I did my first experience with decoupage here on my desk at work. It was the first time I did decoupage and it really is a good option. I did it in wood but I also intend to do it in glass and clothes. I have some ideas that might work out. Wish me luck!