Rolly Polly Fish Heads

I do most of my grocery shopping at the local Korean Markets near my house. Last night my friend and I went to buy some sushi during their "happy hour." I think it is kind of funny that they call it "happy hour" because there is no kind of alcohol on the premises...doesn't it usually refer to reduced price for alcoholic drinks? Hmmm. Anyway... happy hour means that all of the sushi, rice patties, Kimchi, egg crab cakes, chicken wings, and other Korean treats are 2 packages for $5 after 8:00 pm. This is a really good deal because some of these packaged goods are usually marked for $7 and $8 each. My friends twins are hooked on seaweed and rice, since they are from El Salvador, doesn't that makes sense? Ha! They are 5 year old Latino Americans who love Asian cuisine. Yup! Okay... so back to the fish heads....I saw these strings of fish set out to dry. I had never seen these before. I have seen many other things before...like frogs, turtles without shells, odd looking sea cucumbers, eels, and all sorts of weird snails that are the size of my head...but never these fish. I thought it was really cool. They were dripping and just hanging there. If you ever want a string of fish just let me know or better yet come visit NY. The possibilities are endless with a string of fish....I think I'll get one to hang on my door.

Friends, Festivals, and Fall

Yesterday was a fun day! I invited a family in my neighborhood to go with Jose and I to the city. There was an Autumn Festival in the Village and a few street festivals at the local parks. We took the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) from the stop that is right by my house and got to Penn Station pretty early. The kids thought it was fun because they had never used the LIRR before. Here is a picture of me and their daughter on the LIRR.

We walked to Union Square and got some veggies at the Farmers Market that they always have there. It was nice to see all of the pumpkins and seasonal items that show up this time of year too. Here is a picture of two of the kids by an awesome stand on Broadway. (You may recognize the little boy as one of the twins from one of my previous posts.
We finally got to Washington Square park and walked through a street fair. They had fun trying all of the different types of food that they sell at those events. They also had fun rummaging through the cheap jewlery bins and makeup. And of course...Jose had to buy a belt like he does every time we go to one of these street fairs which is about every weekend. No joke! Here is a cool picture that I took of a street performer jumping over a bridge of people.

ALS: Kimmy's Ladybugs

I never even knew what ALS was until a few years ago. These three letters have taken on a whole new meaning as I have watched someone that I love suffer after being told that they had ALS. My good friend, Kimberly Mcspadden, was suffering in the beginning stages of this disease while we were serving as companions together in the MTC. She didn't know what it was but there were obvious complications to her health and as a result her mission call wash changed from Spain to New Jersey. She was only able to serve for 7 months before her health was too unstable. She went home and her diagnosis of ALS began to slowly unfold. Interestingly enough, she is one of the youngest people ever diagnosed with this disease. What is ALS? Kimmy explains it well on her myspace page....here is an exerpt.

"I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease) in 2002. It's a neuromuscular disease that usually strikes older men, obviously not quite so in my case. What happens is the muscles stop regenerating, getting smaller and smaller until they become useless and paralyzed. All voluntary muscles are affected, causing the loss of speech and movement, choking (from lack of control over the throat), and lung weakness (which is the worst, contributing the most to death). ALS is 100% fatal and as of yet they have not found a cure or any treatments. I am living proof that ALS can strike anyone, no matter your age or gender.

I have seen Kim's body change and become weaker over the last few years. This has been very sad for me and I have had many questions come into my mind about mortality and our true purpose for being on this earth. What is each of our true missions? Will we be able to accept the will of the Lord when faced with adversity? Kimmy has been such an example to me. I feel so privileged to have been able to serve as her companion during our time as missionaries. She has lived far longer than the doctors EVER expected. I really feel that one of the reasons is so that people can learn from her and her faith. She has been a true missionary to all of the people who network with her. She has also become a great activist for raising funds for ALS and stem cell research. I think that she has truly made the best out of a very hard situation. Many people would choose to be angry and feel sorry for themselves....not Kim! She says that she is thankful for her illness now. Because of her illness her body has become weak but her spirit has become steel. She has grown spiritually in ways that she feels she never would have had she not gotten sick. She believes that this illness helped her become the person that she needs to be in order to be able to be prepared to meet her Heavenly Father some day.

I am blogging about this today because the Annual ALS Association South Texas Chapter's Walk to D'feet ALS is on October 27th. Kimmy has been trying to spread ALS awareness for months now and she has organized a fun weekend in Texas for all those people who will be going to walk and "roll" with her. Check out her myspace accounts if you want to learn more able ALS or my amazing friend Kimberly Mcspadden. ¡La Quiero Mucho Hermanita!

Alert:Borrowed Blog Entry

I saw this post on someones blog as I was reading about their trip to Costa Rica. I am heading to Costa Rica myself in January and so I was curious about their trip. Anyway...blog entry was too cute and the recipe sounds pretty good too! Enjoy! - nymanzanita

Foods You Should(n't) be Eating

I have a couple really fabulous dessert recipes that are incredibly tasty (eat up!) but also incredibly bad for you (still eat up but feel guilty about how much you eat afterward). Everyone I have served them to thus far has loved them and stands in awe of my dessert making skills. And because I have one of these creations in the process in the kitchen right now, I'm going to blog about it. And I'm going to take pictures. Because I can.

Wonderfully Amazing Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Ball

Put 8 oz of cream cheese and 1/2 c butter in a bowl.

Blog while it softens. Get impatient when it doesn't soften quickly enough. Burn yourself trying something stupid you don't want to talk about. Wonder if your metal bowl is microwavable. Sigh with relief because it is.Beat the softened cream cheese and butter with your hand mixer until smooth. Think wistfully about KitchenAid mixers.

Mix in 3/4 c powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbsp brown sugar. Sample the brown sugar. Remember how much you love brown sugar. Add a few sprinkles more for good measure.

Stir in 3/4 c mini chocolate chips. I've made this recipe with all kinds of chocolate chips. Mini chips, regular chocolate chips, regular sized dark chocolate chips, large chocolate chips, etc and for some reason the mini ones are just the most satisfying. So much so that I just spent 15 minutes chopping my large dark chocolate chips into small pieces. It's worth it. Try not to cut yourself if you go this route. Blood doesn't enhance the flavor of chocolate. But, if at all possible, use mini chips.Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Think wistfully about getting a better camera that takes pretty pictures of your kitchen adventures.Shape mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic and chill for another hour (I usually let mine hang out overnight).Roll the ball in chopped almonds. Think about how much you dislike the guy who lived in the house before you who let the grout get so dark and grimy that no amount of bleaching can touch it.Serve with pretzels (my favorite), chocolate graham crackers, or whatever else you fancy. Rejoice!

The pictures say it all......

New Shoes for Ezra

I went to the outlet malls in Riverhead (Long Island) a couple of weeks ago and went crazy at the Osh Kosh store. I got these little shoes for my nephew Ezra. Super cute!

I heart my Seminary kids

I miss my Seminary "alumnos" so much! I see them every week at church and around town but it just isn't the same. I am not teaching this year because it was going to be very hard with my current schedule. I had no idea that I would miss being with these amazing kids every day though. We had such a good time together and they are so dedicated to the seminary program. I taught them every day (Mon-Fri) for an hour each evening and the kids NEVER wanted to cancel a class due to a holiday, etc. In fact, our classes usually went over the alloted time and they would wait for me on the steps of the church if I was late for some reason. They were always ready to learn more about the D & C and to sing new hyms. They loved to use my gospel rock dvd's to memorize the scripture mastery and I loved listening to them rap out the references. I learned so much from them as I watched them grow spiritually and their stories and application of gospel principles were amazing. I wanted them to grow closer as a group so that they had stronger friendships within the church. We had a blast at a Halloween party that I held for my class as well as the English class. They had fun carving pumpkins, bobbing for apples, and other "carnival" type games that they had never done before. We made dinner a few times after class and they had fun teaching each other how to cook. The highlight of the year was our trip to the Temple though. I really wanted us to go as a group to the Temple to perform baptisms for the dead. I invited the English class again and we went as a group. Afterwards we went out for pizza and then walked around the city to see all of the Christmas displays, etc. It was a really neat experience! Anyway... I miss being with them each afternoon and I never thought I would feel such a withdrawal. I saw one of my students yesterday on the train and he said that he was sad because they weren't going to have Seminary every day this year. The youth of the church are awesome and I am so glad that I was asked to serve in this assignment in the same place that I was able to serve as a missionary a few years before. A big hug to my seminary "alumnos"....keep reading every day and keep memorizing those mastery scriptures so you can rock it at Super Saturday this year! Hermana Sandra

ZUMBAhips!

If you are reading this...you probably know that I am CRAZY for ZUMBA! I became an instructor when I was in AZ and have had lots of fun Zumbando! I am so excited because the Today Show is doing a segment this Monday (October 15th) about Zumba and the creator, Beto Perez, will be in NYC. I was so excited to find out that he was going to be here and so I already went and purchased some bright green (the signature Zumba color) glitter to make a big ZUMBA sign. I plan on being there early in the morning to show my Zumba Love on the plaza. This isnt the best part though..... I got an email today from the Zumba headquarters that said the following: "Beto will be doing a private class in an exclusive gym in Rockefeller Center at 2:00pm. The first 30 ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network) members who respond to this email will be enrolled to attend this special event free." I about screamed and lost control! I immediately responded to the email and then called the office to see if they had received it. I found out that I was the second person to respond. Yay! I am so excited that I will not only see him on the Today Show but I will be able to take his class and with such a small group. This is big! People spend $400+ to take workshops where he is present and they are usually sweating with about 300-500+ people. I am sooooooo lucky to have this opportunity. Can you tell I am excited?

Garland of Gratitude

Here is a fun activity that is perfect for this time of year....Garland of Gratitude. You can do it to celebrate the season change into Fall or in November as a Thanksgiving lesson. I have done this with my nephews for FHE as well as with my Seminary students last year in Queens. We did it last week for FHE with our branch and everyone (all ages) really liked it too. This is what I do.....
1) choose different shades of construction paper in Fall colors (yellow, orange, creme, brown)
2) cut out leaves using a simple pattern
3) spray the leaves with water in a spray bottle
4) scrunch up the leaves in a ball & then flatten them back out to dry (they will have a texture)
5) find pictures of things I am thankful for (ex: my family, temple, home, food, etc)
6) I start out the lesson by showing the pictures and explaining why I am thankful for all of these things. Then we have a discussion and everyone can share their thoughts and what they are thankful for. You can keep this really basic or create a more in-depth lesson with scriptures, quotes, testimonies, etc. Then pass out the leaves to every one to write what they are thankful for on them (Some times I have them scattered on the table as a decoration before the lesson starts then they can choose leaves from the table). They can use one leaf to write all of their blessings or they can use a bunch of leaves....whatever you like. Then you can staple the leaves on a ribbon and hang it in your home to look at all month. My sister-in-law hung theirs in their home and the kids would talk about it when they saw it. I hung the garland that my Seminary students did on the branch bulletin board and the branch members enjoyed seeing what the kids had written.

I think that this is a great object lesson. Here are the links for the website that I got the idea from and the pattern for the leaves. Let me know if you do this...I would love to know your experience. Happy Autumn!

Korean Chili Peppers

I LOVE Korean food! My friend Alice (who is Korean) and I meet up for Korean food frequently. My favorite place is around the corner from my house and they have great lunch specials. Korean food tends to be on the more expensive side and is usually served "family style" so this place is perfect because it is inexpensive, has individuals lunch specials, and has great food. They place a random assortment of bowls (Banchan) on the table before the meal is served and each bowl is filled with small portions of Kimchi and other vegetables to compliment the taste of the food. It is SUPER yummy! One of my favorite bowls is filled with peppers that are marinated in soy sauce and vinegar. My friend, Rosa, and I made some the other day and they are awesome. I love this with rice and veggies....yum!

History Uncovered

I noticed this piece of history being uncovered as I went to the bodega the other day. A construction crew had torn down a section of the building and this old advertising wall was revealed. You can see the outline of the wall that they tore down and how the paint had been covered for years. This was so interesting to me because every piece of commercial property in this area is Korean owned and usually occupied by a Korean restaurant or deli. It is hard for me to imagine how this area used to be when it was an Irish, Italian, Greek, and Polish neighborhood. There are still a few of the original "oldies" living around here but they hardly leave their homes. I have tried to figure out when these stores that are being advertised on this wall existed. I cant find any information on the Kadkowski Bros. or the Murray Hill Confectionery Company. I will have to ask one of the older men that I see at the laundromat every week...maybe he will know about it. I think it is interesting that it says that the telephone number is 224. Would there really have only been a three digit number? Anyway... I'll let you know if I find anything out.

Fried Piggy

I was really sick last weekend. I had a terrible cold and my throat was VERY sore. The city had cut the gasline where I live because we had a big gas leak and it was SUPER dangerous. The pipes were not up to code and so I had to endure a week of no hot water and no gas to cook. Needless to say, I had no way to make a nice pot of chicken soup for myself and I was not able to show since I felt horrible and the water was ICE cold. I decided to order some soup from a Colombian restaurant that delivers. They soup was yummy but I couldn't eat the rice or beans, etc.....I was just too full. Later that night I decided to eat some more of the food. I noticed that they had included a chicharron in my order which is very typical of Colombian restaurants. A chicharron for those of you who do not know....is fried pork fat with a little meat. Many countries serve chicharrones but each country has their own way of preparing them. As far as Colombia goes, there is usually a tough leathery part which is the skin....then the fat...then some meat. It has great flavor but it is really greasy and fattening. Anyway, I had no plans of eating the chicharron but I did notice something odd about it. There was a horn or a bump on it and I decided to look a little closer. It puzzled me so much that I knocked on me neighbors door to get her opinion. I was right! It was a pig chi-chi. I almost feel over dead! I felt so bad for this little piggy who got its chi-chi fried. Can you imagine? I know that we eat animals all of the time but seeing this pig chi-chi was a little too much for me. I tossed it in the trash and knew at that moment that I would never be able to get to close to a chicharron again. Ha!

Shopping Carts: Part II

These little twin boys live on my street. They are my little buddies and they are the first to greet me as I walk up to my house every afternoon. They see me walking in the distance and they start yelling my name until I get to them. Too cute! Anyway....there is a woman who lives next door to me who continuous to steal the shopping carts from our local Korean Market. Instead of buying a "granny cart" like the rest of us use for laundry and groceries, she enjoys shopping and then walking off the store premises with the carts. The best part of all of this is that she ditches her shopping carts in front of my house. There are sometimes two carts out there at one time. I need to go to the library the other day so I decided to take the twins with me. I loaded them in the cart and pushed them down the street to the library. We went in and returned/checked out books and then we returned the cart. It was fun for them to race down the street in the cart and I got my exercise pushing them. I thought I had taught my neighbor a lesson, since she saw me take the cart away with the twins, but to my surprise there was a cart in front of my house when I got home tonight. Thank you very much!

Chew On This

Stop what you are doing and run out and get this book! It will make you think twice before ever entering in a fast food place again. I randomly came across this book as I browsed the aisles of my local library the other day. I recognized the name of the author, Eric Schlosser, since I had read his previous bestseller book called Fast Food Nation. I was curious as to what more he could possibly say about the fast food industry and how we are being deceived by creative marketing and extremely hidden health hazards on a daily basis. I innocently started to read the first chapter when I got home and I started to turn the pages like I was in a race to finish. I was completely consumed by the crazy and insane health facts and things that I was learning and discovering. I am not saying that I will never pick up a McDonald's hamburger again in my life....but I am much more and will definitely limit my consumption of fast food as much as I can. I think I am going to need to buy my own copy of this book because I have dog-eared the library copy about 50 times. If you do decide to check out the book...don't get bored with the history of the hamburger and some of the in depth details that he gives about the cattle ranches, etc. You can of course skim over all of that and stick to the more interesting parts. I personally was very interested in reading about the french fry factories, color, smell and flavor additives and chemicals that they put in food to make it more appealing, the chickens that are used to make nuggets, marketing gimmicks to appeal to children young and old, etc. I especially like page 9 where he explains that what we eat literally enters our bodies and becomes part of us. It made me think about the saying "You are what you eat." Very interesting book...hope you enjoy it if you check it out.

Watch Out...flying acorns!

Wouldn't you agree that NYC is a very urban place? Hello? Of course, right?! Most people think that NYC is all things "city" and nothing to do with "nature." For the most part they are right...but there are a HUGE abundance of squirrels and chipmunks running on the power lines and up the trees ALL of the time. Either these little guys are feeling spunky because it is Autumn or the acorns have grown wings because I got thumped TWICE today as I walked outside. The first time was while I was walking to the gym this morning and I felt an acorn thump me in the stomach really hard. The odd thing was that I was nowhere near a tree and I looked around to see if someone had thrown it at me. Nada! Then I got bonked on the top of my head as I crossed the cross walk this afternoon. It smacked my head so hard that it made a noise and then I saw it bounce on the ground and roll away. I was embarrassed and confused so I looked around to see who had thrown it at me. There wasn't anyone around that I knew. I am sure that anyone who may have been watching me thought I was crazy because I kept spinning in circles trying to see if there was anyone around that I knew who had thrown it. All I can conclude is that the squirrels must be really excited to stuff their cheeks and a few acorns slipped from their claws and flew out of the trees and thumped me on their way down. Coming to NYC soon? If so, watch out for the flying acorns!

Polish for Fall

Okay..so I have a small problem. I am a toe nail polish addict! I have a big basket that is full of over 75 different O.P.I colors and a few other brands tossed into the mix. I came to the realization that I was a polish-a-holic while I worked for Elizabeth Arden Red Door and continuously took advantage of my connections to the products. As a result of this polish craziness.... I try to change my toe color every week so that I don't feel so guilty about having never broken the seal on some of the bottles. I usually go for the bright colors that really make my "Flinstone toes or chicken nugget toes" (as one of my brothers calls them) dazzle. Sometimes I opt for the always impressive French tip when I want a clean and elegant touch. I was looking for a color that said "choose me" the other day and I came across a color called Ecuadorable Coral from O.P.I. It is PERFECT for Fall! I am in love with it for this time of year. The picture that I have posted may look a little red but it really is more of a burnt orange/brown color. I think of falling leaves, candy corns, pumpkin scented candles, and all things Autumn when I glance down and she my shiny little "Piggy's" polished with this new color. Thanks O.P.I.!

Garden In Transit

Every year there is some type of an Urban Art Project that is supposed to inspire the residents in NYC. A few years ago the city had The Gate Project in Central Park and millions fled to the park to walk the gated paths. This year the city has decided to take part in something called Portraits of Hope. School children and those that are sick in hospitals are able to express themselves by painting large flowers on sheets on weatherproof panels that are collaged onto various structures, etc. Some of these places include: Planes, Scaffolding, Race cars, Airport Watchtower, Boats, Hope Tower, and more. This year the NYC part of Portraits of Hope is called Garden In Transit. Check out the website to see how neat this project is. The taxi cabs will have the flowers painted on them until December and it is a way for the children to see something that they have taken part in being displayed. It is Art Therapy in its truest form. I was walking to Penn Station the other day and I walked by a warehouse where I could see the Taxi's being painted inside. I decided that I wanted to volunteer and so I am going to paint next Tuesday at JFK. I'll let you know how it goes. Flower Power!

Pea in a Pod

Look who's pregnant! My sidekick of 26 years called me last night to tell me that I am going to be an Auntie again! I am so excited for her and I know that she and her husband, Nathan, will be amazing parents! They both are SOOO talented and I am sure that their "little one" will be playing with the New York Philharmonic by the age of 4. Sarah and I just shared our 30th Birthday's together this past summer and it is exciting to see her jumping into this next phase in her life. Congrats to the cute family that lives in 3G! Oh.. Sarah.. if you are reading this...now you only have 9 months to figure out that whole hyphenating thing... ha!

Let's Go Mets!

I feel VERY guilty about one thing....I think I have jinxed my FAVORITE baseball team. I have gone to 5 Met's games this season and they have lost every time. I always joke about how I better not go to Shea Stadium when they play at home because they will most likely loose if I grace the stadium with my prescence. I have even been on the train as it stops at Willets Point to let thousands of people pour off of the train and into the stadium and all I can do is wave at them and say, "Have fun without me...I can't go or we will loose for sure!" So for now, I faithfully watch the games at home as I polish my nails, clean the house, and work on the computer. Hopefully their luck will get better and we will get to go to the World Series again. I am trying to have faith since I am not quite sure that we are World Series material this year. Anyway...until then...I'll keep chanting... "Let's Go Met's!"

Shopping Cart 101

I used to think that a shopping cart was used to carry your groceries from the supermarket door to your car. I am finding out that there are MANY uses for a shopping cart. There is the "Ghetto Kitchen Cart" that the ladies use to sell food items and the "Ghetto Laundry Cart" that people conveniently steal from the local grocery stores to use as their personal laundry carriers. NICE! Take a look for yourself: