The Dish by Ish...

The "line"

2011-04-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Attending funerals is probably one of the more difficult things a person has to deal with in their life… Unfortunately for me, I have been attending funerals since I was a little kid. It started with my Grandfather, Aunts and uncles, Nonna, Dad, Paternal Grandmother, Godfather, and many other family members and some friends. I have already been to 2 of them this year. It doesn’t get any easier… Ever.

Last week as I was sitting at my cousin’s funeral, something was said that caught my attention. There were many random thoughts going through my head to keep from crying, as Msgr. M. was in the middle of giving his mass, and he told us; “it comes down to the "line" between the date you are born and the date you die - how are you going to live that "line?”

The "line" between the date you are born and the date you die is life and how you live it… It made me think; what kind of eulogy would be given at my funeral? Would they say “she loved to laugh and her laugh was infectious” or “she lived her life to the fullest”? What would my “line” say… I guess that would be a better question.

I am inspired by that comment and I have been thinking about it for days… I not only want to be content with the way I lived my “line”, but I also want to make my loved ones proud about the way my “line” was lived.

I will be concentrating on that from now on…. So look out “line” here I come! How are you going to live your "line"

Good or Evil... you decide

2011-01-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

What do you do when every bone in your body tells you that someone is no good? Do you share your feelings, keep it to yourself, watch and learn, or do you just wait, sit back and let the shit storm begin?

In this particular instance, I did a little bit of all of them. I shared my feelings with friends and family and the comments I received were not always nice… a couple of people stated that my observations were warranted. On the other hand, I was told by some that I was being bitter, jealous and that I needed to relax and to get over it and not let it bother me. Well my observations were validated over the last few weeks; I am happy to know that my intuition was spot on and I can still be a good judge of character. Damn good.

Looking back, I had been exposed to evil years earlier and it was in the form of an abusive relationship… I also learned that what didn’t kill me, made me stronger; totally cliché but so true. Truthfully, those rough few years made me hone my skills and see people for who they truly are… good or evil.

Evil may be a harsh word, but I think certain actions are just that… for instance; not complying to a dying persons wish, when all they need to do is bring their infant to visit them, especially when they had been asked to do so repeatedly. It makes me want to scream… “It is not about you, and you need to realize that.” But to keep peace, I don’t.

I have a feeling that things will come to a head this week, because it has nowhere to go and I am absolutely fed up with tiptoe-ing around as not to anger anyone or to stir the pot… well my wooden spoon is at the ready, let the pot stirring begin.

3-4 months

2010-09-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

I am mentally and physically exhausted and need a break...
I believe somewhere tropical will do the trick, 3-4 months will be fine.

The end.

2010-06-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

you gotta live to learn

you gotta crash and burn

you gotta make some stances

and take some chances

you gotta live and love

and take all life has to give

you gotta live and learn

so you can learn to live

I absolutely love this...

Trifecta!!

2010-04-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

It is a rare day when something I see, or hear doesn’t remind me in some way of my dad. It could be something as simple as the warm sun on my skin, the breeze in the air, the start of baseball season, even something funny or lame as the dude or dudette that can’t figure out how to merge onto the freeway to save his/her soul! (you all know the person I’m talking about) ;o)

This brings me to why I am writing this post, it is something my dad used to say to me when I was a young girl… He would say to me “Now Honey, all I want is for you to be happy, and I want you to find someone who loves you just as much as you love them… and for god sakes child; if you learn nothing else in life, learn how to merge!”

Some of you that read this never had the pleasure of knowing my dad but you would have gotten a kick out of him... he was loving, funny, and one of the most genuine, larger than life personalities you had ever met.

I like to think that I get a lot of my quirkiness from him, such as my all time hatred for stickiness (oh yes, thanks to my Dads sweet tooth!) my curly hair, and my sarchastic sense of humor...or so my mom says. Ha ha ha! This makes me laugh to no end.
So even now that he is gone, he is still with me everyday!!

Well dad, your little girl has hit the trifecta... she is damn happy, she is loved just as much as she loves, and she can merge like a fricken mad woman!

Love you Dad!!!

Pity Party

2010-03-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

Today has been a bit of a roller coaster... when it started, it was good... there was laughter, a bit of nostalgia, and then; a total breakdown....

Some of you know my Guam cellphone story; (I won't go into it now, lets just say it was not good) today's breakdown was sort of like that, although, not in public thank God. Here is how it all started...

I couldn't figure out an excel spreadsheet, yeah, a damn spreadsheet set me off. Go figure!
so what did I do... I broke down in tears, not just any tears, full on sobbing, snot running down my face, gasping for air, kind of tears. The kind of crying that makes you gag yourself and almost throw up. Oh yeah, that was me. 100% fit for a strait jacket!

It would have been OK if I was alone... but I wasn't. My poor coworker was there to witness the whole thing. Oh yes, she looked at me like I had a third arm growing out of the top of my head. nothing is more humbling then the look of pity someone shows you when she hands you a napkin and says "ummm you have a little something" and points to their own chin to try and tell you you have either drool or snot on yours. Oh good God I was a mess...

After about 10 minutes I calmed down... I felt better and realized that what I needed to do was just let it out. The frustration is lessened, and hopefully the hurt, anger and sadness will lessen with time as well... it just took a silly spreadsheet to do it.

I am just so glad that I have a husband that loves me unconditionally and some of the best friends in the entire world!!! I love each and every one of you!!! I am now looking for a new motivator... that doesn't involve large amounts of ice cream, cake, red wine or chocolate, I promise... ;o)
I will keep you posted...

sigh....

2010-03-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

I have not posted in such a long time, and this one is a bit different… I am going to take a style from a friends blog and post a couple of pictures as they can express feelings without too many words… and sometimes you need just that. Sometimes, you need “Simplicity”... so Ms. Simplicity... I apologize if I overstep, but I couldn’t help myself.

I’m sure most of you know the saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well… I am at sort of at that point right now. WTF do I say? (Yes, I am sort if censoring this blog) I have TONS to say, albeit, most of which are not very nice and truthfully not really this persons fault… so I would have to choose my words carefully.
I cannot and will not divulge the topic, so please don’t ask…

I once uttered the words “I pride myself on not being an asshole” and I do. So once again, I will put on a happy face and make nice when I simply want to walk away and go cry in a corner.

Enough said…

New Year, New Goals...

2010-01-13T02:57:00.000-08:00

Soooooo..... it is a new year with new goals...here goes------>>>

My goals are to get to the gym and finally get motivated! I'm done being lazy, I'm tired of being tired, I'm finished with feeling crappy... I need to get mooooving (read: feeling like a cow) and active again. I felt so much better when I was going to the gym a couple times a week.

So there, I have said it and now I have even typed it. Now I have to do it. No excuses.... no whining about my back, no whining about my joints, nothing... I'm sucking it up, pumping the advil and hitting the gym full bore!! Woo Hoo!!!!

Stay tuned... you never know what can happen.... ;-)

What are your goals?

(shhh, I know that I'm 12 days late, but c'mon... better late than never)

Youth... where did it go?

2009-11-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

It is a Monday evening, and as I sit here on my couch, it comes to my attention that time flies by when you are busy and that there is just no stopping it...This weekend however, was fairly uneventful.

Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that there wasn't much going on. Everyone needs some down time, although lately my plate has been full. In between planning our 20th high school reunion which is now over, (the party went off without a hitch, I can throw a damn good party by the way...ha ha it took me days to recover, but is was sooooo much fun!!)
I am also helping 3 friends with their weddings, one of which I am in, working my Pampered Chef Calendar, and then launching a brand new project which will be live in January...all while working at my job a 10 hours a week from my regular 40 (my hours were cut in Sept). I have to do this by running back and forth from my house to the office. I am very grateful that I have those 10 hours at the office, as it allows me to keep my insurance, so the 10 hours are totally worth it. Whew, ok, now that I have rambled about my busy schedule, I will be getting to my point.

This weekend, I only had a luncheon to go to on Sunday and the rest of the weekend was pretty mellow... So mellow that my Saturday night consisted of hot tea, fuzzy slippers, facebook and bejeweled.

Dude! when did I become an old lady?

My weekends used to start at 10:30pm now I am usually in my pj's and on the couch ready for bed by 10. This is what my weekends have come to... Were did my youth go?

I am determined to find it... I will let you know once I do. Stay tuned, it could be a wild ride...

frustration

2009-09-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

There are times where I am so frustrated that I cannot see straight... then I eat cake... and all is well!

;o)

Oh, and Miss A. I might need to borrow some of your points, I seemed to have blown through mine the last couple of days....LOL!!

Mom's Birthday

2009-09-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

My mother turned 65 at the end of August and we decided to go away for an overnight stay to celebrate!
We really couldn't do anything expensive, so we decided to take a trip to Monterey, I have an aquarium membership that allows entrance, we could use Hilton points for a free overnight hotel stay, the only cost would be meals. We decided to go for it, and I am so glad we did!

What is there to do in Monterey?... let me tell you, there are plenty of things to do in Monterey that are not very expensive....

To start the day we visited the Elkhorn Slough Safari nature cruise in Moss Landing . It was so much fun!!! If you have not done it, I highly suggest it, we had a great time. The cost is only $32 for adults... and the cruise is an hour and a half!

First off, we completely lucked out by going on the hottest weekend of the year, we boarded the boat at 9:00am and there was not one ounce of fog... it was already over 70 degrees so we knew it was going to be a scorcher...we had a great time cruising the slough checking out the wildlife. It was really great.
We saw over 70 otters, over 400 seals, numerous birds, some jellyfish floating in the water and even some pelicans diving into the water for fish.

Although, if this is something you are thinking of doing, we were talking with others on the boat that on a previous trip, they were bundled up with blankets and jackets and it was socked in with fog... so it all depends on the day and time you sail. Either way, I think it would be a fun trip.

After the Safari Cruise, we traveled to the Carmel Valley and drove around, visited the Bernardus Winery and walked around downtown Carmel.
After taking a rest at the hotel, we at dinner at Domenico's on the warf, it was a great way to end the day!

The next day, we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium... Did you know that if it is your birthday, you can get a birthday button from the information desk and they put your name on it and you can wear it around all day!!! how fun is that?!?!?! hahaha, needless to say, I think I was more excited then my mother, but she was a good sport. I love my Mom!
The Aquarium has a new White Shark on exhibit and they have Jellyfish as well as a new Seahorse exhibit right now.
The Jellies are always a favorite of mine, they are so cool to watch, I love it. The Seahorses are really nice, it is a larger exhibit then it used to be (they had one years ago) but it is a great one!

We had a great weekend and it was fun just hanging out... Happy Birthday Mom, I love you!

The Eye Doctor

2009-08-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

So my very first visit to the Ophthalmologist was fairly uneventful... although, the blackberry message I sent during my the wait time for my eyes to dilate was pretty funny...

I thought I would post it just for giggles...

Now mind you; I have never had my eyes dilated and didn't know what to expect.
I did not know that you would not be able to see things close to you, as in magazines, cell phones, text messages, etc... cue the following Blackberry message:

Participants:
-------------
Ish•,A. <3

Messages:
---------
Ish•: I just had my eyes sialated and evetything is blirry... I cammot see abything so I xont kow what I'm typing
Ish•: Ho natter how hard I tey I cabt read abtthybg
Ish•: Ny arms are bot long ebough
Ish•: Hipe yoi can read this'-'
Ish•: I find ir ieonic thar ab ete de has stuff to read ib tge waitibg roon wheb you xabt see shit,,, hust ny ovservatuob...
A. <3: LOL
A. <3: Most amazing bbm ever

After I returned home a while later and my eyes were back to normal I finally was able to read what I wrote and replied...

Ish•: Hahahhahhahhaa
Ish•: I can finally read this
Ish•: Omg
Ish•: Too funny
A. <3: :D
A. <3: Funniest bbm ever.

What the Blackberry message should have read the first time:

Ish•: I just had my eyes dilated and everything is blurry... I cannot see anything so I dont know what I am typing
Ish•: No matter how hard I try I cant read anything
Ish•: My arms are not long enough
Ish•: hope you can read this :-)
Ish•:I find it ironic that the dr has stuff to read in the waiting room when you cant see shit... just my observation...

Happy Friday!!!!

only 1

2009-07-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have found a tortilla/wrap that is very yummy... it tastes like a normal tortilla not some piece of burlap posing as a tortilla or wrap...and it is made with olive oil...what Italian girl doesn't love that!

and the kicker... it is only 1 weight watcher point! yes, count them, ONE! woo hoo!!!

:o)

2009-07-30T10:07:00.001-07:00

Enough Said!!

Wednesday's, Squirrels....and unconditional love

2009-07-29T12:25:00.001-07:00

I believe I have experienced one of my worst nightmares this morning....
FACE TO FACE WITH A SQUIRREL!!!!
(ok, face to shin, but whatever; you get my point)

So when letting the puppy out this morning, and when I say puppy, I mean full grown dog of 5 years plus that still has some occasional playful puppy attitude... I opened up the door to find a squirrel on my porch. Now mind you, not just any squirrel, this was the MOTHER of all Squirrels, it was huge... with a bushy tail and long nails and at least as tall as my knee while standing on it's back feet... and a dark grayish brow... it was HUGE and scary!

Now please, don't get me wrong, I am an animal lover... I will go above and beyond to help animals in need; but squirrels freak me out... I'm talking gut wrenching, cold sweat, and all over uncontrollable muscle twitching; freak me out... I was always told I am not allowed to "hate" anything but squirrels might just cross that line... lol, sorry Mom.

So I open the door and smack dab in the middle of the porch is the Mother of all Squirrels (M.O.A.S.) I freak out... I scream, do a little river dance because I think it is going to run at me...try to slam the door so it wont come in, the dog charges the door to try to save his Mama (he was trying to catch the squirrel, but I like to imagine otherwise) I slam the door on the dog... he yelps....the M.O.A.S doesn't move!!! The dang thing screams at us!

It was this strange cackle, somewhere between a loud chirp and a crows caw and then it takes off across the driveway to be followed by the dog... and I am left standing there in my nightgown hair disheveled and wondering what the hell just happened.... (Mind you, this all took about 10 seconds to happen... which is even funnier now, and if you know me, I know you can totally get the vivid picture)

A few seconds pass and I am standing at the door, trying to catch my breath, thinking that if the squirrel ran into the house, I would surely have to move because the house would then be ruined for me... good God, could you imagine!!! aaaccckkkk!!! (Amaya, it was that whole squirrel in the fireplace thing again)

I finally called the dog back to the house after he did his business and he looked at me like "Aren't you happy Mama...I scared the squirrel away!!" He had completely forgotten I nearly took his head off in the door, he was just happy to be up and chasing squirrels away from his mama. What a way to start a Wednesday morning...

Happy Mid-week everyone!!!

Yummy!!

2009-07-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

Greek Yogurt...

I have never thought of trying it... I have heard all about if from friends, and random strangers, but never thought about buying it myself... well, I finally did.

Say Hello to my little friends!!! ummmm best thing ever!!!

Golden Gate Bridge 5K 7/19/09

2009-07-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well lets see... where should I start....

In March, my friend Jessica contacted me and asked if I would like to participate in either a 5 or 10K walk to benefit the MS society... I said sure, not knowing if I would be able to complete the entire walk, but why not...I was looking forward to it.

Much to my dismay, I was not the only one who was enthused enough to join. After a few emails that circulated we had a group of friends excited about it.
We campaigned for funds, asked friends, coworkers and even strangers to help support us... fund raising was fun and it felt really great knowing that we were doing a small part to help fight such a horrible disease.
Long story short, we had about 20 people in our group and we raised a total of $6400 for the MS society!!! Amazing! It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight... it was warm and we couldn't ask for anything better! Oh and we did the entire 10K!!! I am so proud of us!!!

Fast forward to July 19th... Bella wanted to walk a 5K across the famous Golden Gate Bridge for her birthday... I am a native Californian, born and raised in the South Bay. I have never set foot near or walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. I could not wait to join her, what a way to celebrate.
She researched and found a company called move-something-or-other-fly-by-night-blah- blah.....advertising the walk on Active.com Since Active.com is reputable and trusted by the athletic community, we signed up.
The cost was $20/25/30 depending on when you signed up. Being the procrastinator that I am, it cost me $25.
Ha ha!...oh shoosh, like you thought it would be any different...

We got up at 5:15am to be on the road by 6:15-6:30am. Bella, AM and I were meeting CB around 7:15 at her house so she could walk with us... we picked her up and made our way to the bridge.
Once we arrived, there was no registration or sign-in table, walk signs, or even anyone wearing a familiar logo t-shirt. We thought we had been had! There were other people looking around for anyone "official" but they were nowhere to be found... "oh hell" we said, "we are here, lets walk this thing anyway"... so off we went.

We made our way through the socked in Bridge and were laughing at how cold, wet and windy it was... it is July for cryin'-out-loud... what is up with that... although once we got started it was a godsend... I am so glad it wasn't sunny and hot because it would have been miserable...

We hit the halfway mark on the bridge and we were finally warmed up... we were chatting, laughing and having a great time. We said that we would be doing the bridge walk at least once a year from now on!
By the time we got to the Marin side of the bridge, there were two deer-in-headlights looking volunteers with clipboards, staring at us... they asked us sheepishly if we were walking the 5K. When we said yes, they mentioned that the starting point was on this (the Marin side) WHAT!!! Oh well, whatever... we signed the clipboard and were asked if we wanted water... which came out of the trunk of a car, not cold and not even out of its cello case... ummm yeah, totally and completely cheeeeesy!

Sooooooo, after reading the volunteers the riot act, we were given the "head honchos" information and we were on our way back across to the bridge...
All in all, the walk took us about an hour given the stretching, chewing out the volunteers, and taking some pictures. We had a great time and we are looking forward to doing it again!

Weekends and Wine

2009-07-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

My husbands uncle and his wife were in town, a couple of weekends back and we had a nice casual bbq at the in-laws.
I decided to bring over some wine... I brought over a Malbec and a Pinot
YUM!!!

Zolo Malbec Gaucho Select '08 (750 ML)
92 PTS WILFRED WONG. A fascinating red, the sassy and alluring '08 Zolo Gaucho Select Malbec perches over with the intent of fusing ripe berry flavors onto the palate; long and persistent.

Bannus Pinot Noir Reserve '07 (750 ML)
90 PTS WILFRED WONG. Ripe for Carneros, the bold and almost gutsy '07 Bannus Reserve Pinot Noir powers its way onto the palate; finishes with pleasing elegance; drinks well now.
Both wines were so very yummy...

I would definitely recommend them to anyone who enjoys a great red.

Migraines....

2009-07-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

They SUCK~

Sooooo Gooooood!!!

2009-07-06T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is possibly one of the most decadent things I have eaten in a very long time...

Will I be paying for this later....oh of course, but at the moment, those were exactly the bites I needed!!!

Blogs

2009-07-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

Blogging... I have never really had an opinion about it... Some blogs are good, some are bad, some are just random pictures that have meaning to the blogger and some have purpose. Then, there are a few that are great, these are the ones that have helped me find my voice...

It has take me years to get the gumption to do it, I have always thought to myself, "Why?"
I have now finally realized that I have things to say... albeit random things that only my friends and possibly some family members will think are funny, but things nonetheless and that is OK.

I am embarking on a new journey... come take it with me.