taste of atlanta

I MUST GO TO THIS.

 

Mexico...

I've tried to explain this trip so many times and it never comes out quite right. The truth is, this trip left me speechless. Its taken me awhile to process it. There is just so much to tell that can't be said right. It was an experience I'll never forget. I'll do my best to tell the tale as best I can. 

 

 

 I'm part of a group at my college called Christian campus fellowship (ccf). Every year or so the take a group to Mexico to work with Casas por Cristo. It's a really cool organization that works with local pastors to provide houses for families in need that the pastors are already ministering to. They are literally the hands and feet of what these pastors tell their people every day.  

 

This year Leslie and I were able to go. The whole trip was about a week, but we only spent three days in Mexico. What did we do the other four? Drive. Yep, we drove to mexico. At first I was a little skeptical, especially because I didn't really know most of the group. But throw 11 people (9 students, two staff) in a 12 passenger van for 40 hours, and you get to be real close. Literally.  

 

I think that the road trip part was my favorite, but of course so was the actual build in Mexico. On the road we did everything from catchphrase, to random radio sing a longs...even chess. I learned a lot about those 10 other people on the way there, and on the way back it was even more fun, because now we knew each other and had jokes and stories to share.  

 

In Mexico we were able to build a house for a family in need. The mom had applied for the house about six months ago. She applied mainly because one of her sons had a brain tumor which prevented him from walking. It was hard for him to get around in the house they were living in. It was poorly built. I don't have a word for how sad it is...but the son died before we got there. He passed away on the day he was scheduled to have surgery to remove it. I can't even imagine what it was like for the mother when we came to build the house...too late. I don't know what God's plan is with them or His reasons for why that happened, But I sure am going to continue praying for that family.

 

 

I loved working with everyone, we really got to know each other. People always talk more when their hands are busy, and boy were we busy. We finished the house in two and a half days. Only by God's grace I tell ya.  

 

I could write five more paragraphs, explain every awesome  moment, but I won't. How about we sit down one day and get tea or coffee and I'll tell you about instead? In the mean time, I hope you are all gearing up for summer.  We gotta soak up every second of sunshine. Yes, its cliché to quote "Life is like a box a chocolates..." but I say Georgia weather is like a box a chocolates, grab the good ones while you can.

 

 

before

 

 

 after

 

study break

I love studying when no one is home. Usually, especially if mom is home, study breaks mean I have to do something else. like chores. When I am home alone, study breaks mean running around the house, dancing to loud music, and random baking. This time I was really in the mood for biscuits, (they are my second love, after avocados) but I also wanted something sweet. So I added sugar to my biscuit recipe and voila! It was fun trying to make them as quickly as possible and trying to distract myself while waiting for the eternal 15 minutes to pass to eat them. I barely measured anything, hoping and wishing that my rushed eyed measurements turned out well. Well I was not disappointed my dear friends. These slightly sweet biscuits were delicious. I've noticed that when ever I'm in the mood to bake something, I always make biscuits, maybe I should branch out...or not.

 

These pictures of Alexander are just because...

 

20

Well...I turned twenty... I suppose that deserves some sort of acknowledgement on here. Especially since I tend to post a lot on "growing up".
It's kind of exciting. I feel like my life is REALLY going to start now. I know that technically I won't be doing anything different, but I feel really a part of the adult world. Before, I was a teen in college. Now, I'm in my early twenties in college. Doesn't that sound completely different? To me it does. I don't know what God has in store for my life, but I can feel myself heading towards it.

My friends did an excellent job with gifts this year. I almost cried at every one. Two of them gave me tea. But not just any tea. my Absolute favorites. And you would think, that's no big deal, well I didn't tell you they ACCIDENTLY chose my favorite teas. I think that's birthday Karma*. My dear sister Leslie (yes, I just called you dear >:) Leslie ) made me a chocolate cake from SCRATCH. With whole wheat, drowned in chocolate. It was fantastic. However, the top food gift that I received, ( can you tell I have a thing for food? People give it to me as presents) was a batch of All Natural, somewhat Organic, made from SCRATCH, Oatmeal Crème pies. Oh man, those took the prize. They were incredible. That girl, Taylor, is Amazing. Thank you Taylor.

              

 

 

Other incredible gifts were

Les Miserable DVD, which I opened after right after seeing it for the first time. Emotional much? Goodness, that movie is emotionally exhausting. I love it.  

A watch, I had no idea how incomplete my life was without one.

AND PETER PAN! well not the actual boy, I still have yet to find him, It was an annotated version  of the book, with a bunch of extra's like J.M. Barrie's life story, original notes and drawings, original screen play(I know right!?), and other cool stuff. Perfect for a nerdy girl who is a tiny bit obsessed about the boy who never grows up.

 

Thanks to everyone who made this entire weekend oh so fun. I'm truly blessed.



 

*p.s. I don't really believe in Karma, it was just really cool .

 

Taste the Rainbow...

...the REAL one.

You don't have to eat organic to be healthy, just eat colorful! One of my favorite things to eat is salad. Not just because it's "healthy" but because there is so much you can do with them. Lettuce is just a canvas for the artwork that is salad. and of course, avocados are one of the BEST things to put in a salad. Also, surprisingly mixing fruits and veggies in the same salad is really good too. And tacos? Well to me they're just like a salad wrapped up in a tortilla. Yum.

alright, skittles taste good too. ;)

Dominicana

I've noticed that I don't put much about being a Dominican on here, but can you blame me? No one blogs about being 1/3 native american or being 1/5 irish. It's a part of who we are, its natural, it's not something we think about on a continual basis. It does come up however, especially when I am holding a strawberry-blonde, blue-eyed baby that is supposedly my nephew.

I found this blog of a girl born in the states but moved to Italy, and reading what she posts on the cross cultural differences is great. I recently read this one, and I love the way she puts it. About women serving men when it comes to cooking and other kitcheny things. I've seen it my whole life in my family and sometimes it makes me want to marry a southerner so that he WILL go get the bread himself occasionally. But when I think about it, she's right. I want to serve. That's the way the women in our culture show their love. And she's right in the post how the men would be lost without them. Ha.  Now I'm not saying my dad is a total pushover or helpless, he does lay down the law, but he would really suffer without her. Aside from losing the love of his life, I don't think he could really survive on Tostitos and salsa regardless of what he says.

Anyways I'm not writing this to talk about how I want to be a kitchen maid my whole life. Just that I really love my family and culture and I hope to keep that regardless of who I do or don't marry, regardless of where I live and who's around me. It's true that most of my spirit is southern. I grew up in the the South, but I cant deny the Dominican part of me. It's in my blood... and I like it that way.

p.s. If you didn't read the post, read it, she explains the whole serving thing waaaaaaay better.

The other day.

Tuesday was a beautiful day. It was one of the first warm days in awhile. (Now we're back to dreary rain :P) I went on a walk, soaked up some vitamin D and even went barefoot for awhile, taking it all in. Then I made a smoothie with just a banana, strawberries, and pineapple. The pineapple and banana were SO ripe, I didn't need any sugar and it was still really sweet. Yum. Hope your sunny day was justas grand. If you have any ripe fruit around on the verge of becoming unpleasant, make a smoothie. Or do as my mom does. Her motto is "when life leaves you with ripe bananas, make banana bread."