Perfect for day like today ~ Progresso High Fiber Soup

It's raining and perfect weather for a bowl of soup.

Thanks to My Blog Spark and Progresso, I received a sample of the Homestyle Minestrone soup to try along with a prize pack that includes two branded soup mugs and two branded spoons. The mugs are a beautiful blue and very large.

In addition to the 75 great flavors of Progresso Soup, there are four new, great tasting Progresso soups that have 28% of your daily fiber intake per serving (7 grams) and have no added MSG or artificial flavors. The new varieties include Chicken Tuscany, Creamy Tomato Basil, Hearty Vegetable and Noodles and Homestyle Minestrone.

I was a Campbell's girl growing up but as an adult, I've been sampliing Progresso's different varieties. YUMMY! I especially like their version of Chicken Noodle.

Progresso and My Blogspark are offering one of my readers to win their own prize pack. While the picture shows Chicken Tuscany, you will be getting Minestrone instead. :)

In order to win, please leave a comment on what you like to eat on these cold rainy days that warm it up for you.

One comment per person, no need to follow or tweet. 18 and over, USA only. Ends February 3rd, 2010 10am Central. Winner will be chosen by random.org

Good luck!

EDITED TO ADD please include your email address in the comment if its not visible in your profile. This is the method you will be notified if you are the winner. Winner will have 24hrs to respond. Thanks!

Happy Twenty Ten!

We went to my sis' house where we gathered to bring in the new year. Its the first time we were all together since the previous new years, one or another was somewhere else. And the first time without our Momma. Damn, its still a huge tug of pain.

Nothing had given me relief or hope til I read a tweet from Ashton Kutcher about Brittany Murphy's death. He tweeted "See you on the other side, kid." Stupid, but it clicked something in me. I'm gonna see my Momma. I shake my own head at it that the tweet made me realize it.

So, in with the new. No resolutions!! I suck at them. One day at a time. :)

I'm just glad we made it to 2010 with my baby Joanna and hubby and my sisters, nieces, nephews, friends and Presidente with coke. :P

Are you ready for some football?!

A recent survey conducted for Old El Paso Green Chiles found that the majority of Americans will be gathering around the TV to watch the Big Game at home with friends and family on February 7, 2010.

Including this family. And a big part of watching the game is the food!

Thanks to Old El Paso and MyBlogSpark, we will add super nachos with green chiles! Big favorite of the hubby. I like that fact that they are not spicy but give great flavor.

Old El Paso, through MyBlogSpark, has graciously sent me a “Tackle the Taste” gift pack that includes two free cans of Green Chiles, as well as a football-shaped ceramic serving platter, two sets of football-themed plates, cocktail napkins, and a themed table runner. And they are providing an additional gift pack to one of my blog readers if their number is drawn!



To enter, please comment on how you use Old El Paso green chiles.

Only one entry per email address/person. US residents 18 and over. I will pick a number using randomizer.org on January 9th 10am CT. Happens to be my 12th wedding anniversary too! :)

You can go here for a .55 coupon for Old El Paso Green Chiles!

Sweeper in the making?

My beautiful baby won tickets to the Jan.3rd Dallas Cowboys game. Yay!!

Scared crapless right now.

Hubby worked the cowboy game and my sis came over to watch the end of it. Afterwards, I invited them to go out and get ice cream. When we came back we saw police at a neighbor's home. She dropped Joanna and me off then called me. She stopped and asked the police what was going on. They were looking for someone.

I got a little scared and we stayed in our living room til we got ready for bed. I got an email from the neighborhood lady who welcomes the new residents. She said the the couple had arrived from church and the man went in to use the restroom when he saw an intruder. He yelled at him, shots were fired and he yelled to his wife to run. She ran to a neighbors, called 911. The intruder ran towards the school. They took the husband to the hospital where he later died. There were some witnesses so, hopefully this person will be caught!

She also mentions that there was another robbery down the street on Saturday as well a street over.


I'm still waiting on hubby and every creak in the house is scaring me crapless.

Annual Santa photo

We've been going to the same mall Santa since Joanna arrived in the US. Its amazing that its the same Santa. One of the nicest I've seen.

He was standing there stretching his legs and saw Joanna pass and waved at her. Good marketing, who knows? But it felt real and nice. Joanna wrote him a note and sat to read it to him. He never hurried us to get the picture taken and took the note and tucked it under his pillow.

It brought a smile to this here scrooge. :)

Snow! And then no snow...

We had a few minutes of excitement this morning. And there was none. Didn't even last the day. But beautiful while it was here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting into the season

Its that time for baking and getting together more than usual. I love it. And I hate it. For obvious reasons this year.

I was worried about what family would think about my having my mom's wheelchair at the head of the table this year. I discovered that it doesn't matter what they think about this. I want her there. As I said before, memories are not enough for me. I need visual. So, her wheelchair will make me feel better a bit.

Today Joanna and I made spice cupcakes. They came out pretty good! I also invited her cousin to spend the night with her. Joanna's in heaven right now. :)




Edited to add that its not that I don't care what my sisters think. They know her chair will be there with us. :)

I was yelled at by Joanna

And I deserved it and more.

When I was a kid, I was not social..something that I still am not. I was a reader and I liked being left alone. My sisters would do cartwheels, flip upside down on the jungle gym and were very active. Then at 10, my life changed and there was no hope for a normal childhood.

So, as an adult, I still like being left alone. I thought it would change when Joanna came into my life. I wanted things different for her. Happy childhood, in the now toys, activities, road trips, friends. But I had forgotten who I am. I spent 2 years in Mexico during her adoption. We spent the most part of the day alone. And while I missed my family, I was content to be alone with her. And she seemed happy.

Then school started and she was so shy. I blamed it on not having anyone for her to play with while in Mx. Living here, I didn't interact with anyone either. We'd go to the park and outings but, always with family or by ourselves. And I thought she was happy.

So fast forward to today. We were at my sister's and she asked if she could spend the night. I told her no because her cousins would not be there. In the car, she asked if she could spend the night at another cousin's. I said no because it was going to be a hassle picking her up the next day. She then said, "My dad doesn't play with me, you don't play with me." I replied, "that hurts my feelings." She yelled at me "Well that hurts my feelings too!" OMG, it tore me apart. I was so shocked. I I I I...and that is my problem. Too many I's that I didn't even think she was lacking anything. She was so right. "Not right now" was like a staple in my everyday vocabulary to Joanna. Tears just sprung out like they are now thinking about it again. All I could do was apologize. I called her aunt and asked if she could spend the night. She said of course, her niece was very welcome. Joanna was still sniffly. She said she didn't have any friends. I said yes she did but we didn't know them well yet. When we left she was smiling again.

On the way home, hubby didn't really get what had happened and asked what had gone on. He had been driving while on the phone. So, I repeated what she said and he busted out in tears. And we talked and both vowed it was going to be different for our little girl.

Later while running an errand, I called her to see how she was and stupidly asked if she thought I was a bad mother. She started sniffling and said yes. Another stab in the heart. I apologized again and she said her dad was bad too. And I apologized again and she said that's ok. I told her no, its not for her to be crying. She then said I was only a little bit bad.

When we were adopting her, we were sure it would be a better life for her than staying in Mexico. And I was so wrong. She ended up with two self-absored parents who have to be slapped in the face to get a clue.

It's so hard to change who you are. It will not be easy but I know that just hearing her yell at me in my head should give me the kick in the ass I need. I like to think I'm a realist. All I can say is that I'm going to try. I've tried other things that I never complete but, this is the person most precious to me in this whole world. And as a summary of this post.....I suck.

Halloween '09

Two-fer

Joanna lost a tooth while at lunch in school today and another while eating a hot dog at her school fun night. She actually pulled the second because it was already bleeding, ready to go. The school nurse put the first one in a cute little plastic tooth.

Now just waiting on the Tooth Fairy....

Our visit to the State Fair of Texas

I thought we weren't going to be able to go but, we scrounged around and made it! I didn't eat a corny dog but thought of her everytime we passed a booth. :)

Joanna was so patient and waited til the very end to get on the rides and play games. My brother and his family joined us and we wanted to see the buildings before they closed. The fair is so big, we didn't get to see everything. Joanna got to pet the goats. We were startled by this donkey who had a llama by the throat. He let go and went on his way. No idea what that was about!

The Texas Lotto show was about to start so, we sat and waited. Brother and his wife really liked it so we hung around til the 8pm show. The first contestant's number was 48 and I was in chair 49. Sigh. :P SIL got picked to pick a number and won 10 scratch-offs.

Finally we headed to the midway. Joanna was told she could get on 2 rides and play 2 games. Imagine her delight when she got to get on 4 rides!! She's such a good girl. She won two little stuffed animals too. Finally we headed home. Slept all the way there. :P See you next year, TSF!

I wish I could stop counting the days...

When we decided to take Momma off the machines. I didn't feel anything. When we gathered around her, it was unreal. I didn't feel anything. Until I heard my sister scream and then, I just lost it. It was real. I totally expected my mom's heart to beat on its own. I totally expected her to breathe on her own and be ok. My mom had been so strong all this time. It was the worst wake up call ever. My mom was gone.

Its been 8 months today. I think about her everyday. Every.day. And I'm counting them down til the 8th of every month. I don't cry as much, maybe only once a day.

I asked Sabrina if the kids talk about her? She sounded surprised I asked. She said yes, especially Michael. She said that they talk about how Nana told them stories of when she was in school and such. It made my heart jump with happiness. I know Michael was really close to her even through our trials and tribulations with him. He's got her big heart.

My thing is what I could have done? You are not suppose to live with regret but, I do. Big ones. Big big ones. My biggest one is not telling her just how much she is loved by all of us. Yeah, you could say she knew but saying it to her....I'm sorry Momma. I love you so much.

State Fair of Texas

I love the fair. Autumn begins, days are cooler and the fair is here, except...yeah, its a downer...I miss my mom.


Usually the days leading up to the fair are filled with excitement but, to tell the truth, I just about forgot today was opening day. Unbelievable.


But, we will be going and I will be seeing my mom in her scooter looking for the Fletcher's Corny Dog stands and see her betting on the Cowboys on the roulette or paying everyone's way to play a game. Loading up two corny dogs to take home...and I think I will be smiling.....thank God for memories....

The return of my nephew.

It's really weird to be on the boy's side of things. Usually its the guys being a-holes to us women.

A while back my niece called me to ask for advice on my nephew. Seems his baby's momma broke up with him and he was really upset. She gave him advice, that I felt, was pretty good since she'd been so blind herself in her relationship.

Then my nephew in Georgia had trouble in his relationship. I won't go into too much except that, to me, she was partly at fault from what I read in her myspace.

Both of my nephews have their flaws, who doesn't? But these girls...sigh....my heart was aching for the boys. But then again, it was a bit refreshing to see that there were two guys that actually felt what women usually go through. And they might learn from it or be bitter. Bitter like me. HA!

Anyway...my nephew is back in town. No telling how long. But, I guess they felt it was needed...the space... And now her status on myspace is "lonely"....sigh.

Winner of the BTFE giveaway.

This was the first winner but didn't leave an email in her comment and its not in her blogger profile so, I have to pick another. :(

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:52
Timestamp: 2009-09-19 02:08:20 UTC

So the new winner is:

Here are your random numbers:47
Timestamp: 2009-09-19 02:13:18 UTC

Congrats to Nicole who said

The first thing I would do was turn on the tv and then get something to
eat!!

You have 48hrs to respond back with your address. Thanks for some very interesting comments!

Happy 1st Birthday

The most special day in a life is upon our own dear Phoenix. Happy 1st birthday big boy!! We love you and hopefully will get to see you soon.

Latest ups and downs of my own personal heaven and hell.

Joanna finally found sweet relief.

Cowboys won.

I miss her more than ever.

It rained and my swampy backyard was almost at our doorstep.

I won a flip camera this week at a Twitter party.

Top Chef is da bomb.

Patrick Swayze died.

My Farmville needs harvesting and I'm out of fuel.

:) :(

BTFE Back to school giveaway

Well school has been going on for awhile but who couldn't use more supplies?

Thanks again to My Blog Spark , I get to host a giveaway.

BTFE or Box Tops for Education are a way to earn money for school. Clip them off of products, send them in to your child's school coordinator and voila, you've helped them earn money. You can also go to their website and print out coupons.

My Blog Spark sent me a box with highlighters, glue sticks, binder and 2 coupons. One for Totino's Pizza Rolls and one for Pillsbury's Toaster Strudel. Both products have box tops on their packaging. And now Avery has joined in. The binder has two box tops attached to the upc. Great! The prize pack includes 14 box tops!

One lucky reader will win the following prize pack generously sponsored by My Blog Spark.



All you have to do is comment on what was the first thing you would do after school as a kid? Straight to sports, homework, TV?

Extra entries by tweeting or blogging about this giveaway. Please post a separate comment for each one you've done.

I will pick a winner using Random.org on September 18, 2009, 9:00pm CT. You have 48 hours to respond or I will have to choose another winner. The prize will be shipped by My Blog Spark.

I will not sell any emails or information given to me whatsoever.

This giveaway is only open to residents of the US, age 18 and over.

If your blog is private or you don't have a blog, you must give your email address in the comment. It is the way the winner will be contacted.

Good Luck!