Do you have an inner Fiesta?

Posted on Jul 21, 2010 05:41:18 PM

I’ve been having so much fun lately. Between watching America’s Got Talent, painting my house, drinking coffee everyday and participating in the new Ford Fiesta Movement, I am smiling all day long between stupid arguments with my cats, grandmother and husband.

On another note, do you speak Spanish? If you don’t, it’s O.K. anyway. You can try to decipher my ancient dialect while thinking: “What’s up with that hair?”

This hair…

For the next couple of weeks, until August 6th to be precise, I’ll be competing as a top 25th semi-finalist for a chance to win the new Ford Fiesta.

Look at this baby!

The Ford Fiesta Movement is happening Nationwide! Thanks Ford, Puerto Rico has been included <3

If you want to follow my crazy hair and help me become a Ford Fiesta Agent or "Embajadora de Ford Fiesta" as they say here in Puerto Rico, follow this link and vote for Limari Colon once inside the Top 25 video gallery. You may also “Like” it on Youtube.

MY BLOG HAS AWOKEN FROM ITS COMA! YAY! *Special thanks to Amysan who gave me the idea and the motivation*

Much love from Puerto Rico ^_^
-Li

“This is the story of a girl…”

Posted on Jun 22, 2010 03:55:34 PM

Hello there.

This is not a cooking blog.
Life is happening and my blog is currently NOT.
I loved Toy Story 3.

-The End.

Delicious Chocolate Puff Pastry Croissants!

Posted on Jun 5, 2010 07:56:28 PM

OK. This recipe gives me out completely. I watched “It’s Complicated” yesterday with my husband and mother-in-law, and I couldn’t get those delicious croissants filled with chocolate out of my mind. We looked up the recipe and found this incredibly easy one from Recipezaar. The results?

Ingredients:

2 puff pastry sheets, thawed (use one 17-ounce box)
1-1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons hot water (more or less as needed)
confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1- Set oven to 350°F.

2- Grease 2 baking sheets.

3- Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface, then roll out to make a 10-inch square.

4- Cut into  even triangles.

5- Place 2-3 tablespoons milk chocolate baking chips in the center of each triangle (as shown in picture).

6- Brush the edges lightly with the beaten egg.

7- Roll each  triangle, pressing the edges to seal like this:

8- Place on the baking sheets 2-inches.

9- Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

10- Cool on baking sheets for about 3 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

11- In a small microwave-safe bowl melt the 2 ounces semisweet chocolate with 2 tablespoons butter on HIGH for about 25-30 seconds, stirring once and until smooth.
Before:

13- Stir/whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until combined.
14- Add in water until the icing is smooth and desired consistency for drizzling is achieved.
After:

15- Drizzle over the pastries.

Enjoy! The Nutrition Facts are available on Recipezaar.

Easy Cheesy Turnovers!

Posted on Jun 4, 2010 05:30:31 PM

Hello! Welcome to my Cooking Friday. Today I baked, which probably means the end of the world is near. Nevertheless, for you quesito lovers, here is a super easy cheesy recipe.

Things you’ll need:

1/2 Cup of Sugar.
8 oz. of Cream Cheese.
Vanilla Extract (a few drops)
1 Lime (a few drops too…)
1 Egg
1 Pastry Dough Sheet (hojaldre in Spanish)
Honey Glaze (as much as you want!)
A Pizza Cutter

Step 1:
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Step 2:
Cut pastry dough sheet (must be at room temperature) in nearly perfect squares.

Step 3:
In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, lime, vanilla and sugar until everything is silky smooth.

Step 4:
Stretch every other corner of each square as shown in picture:

Step 5:
Place a spoonful or forkful of filling in the center of each square. You can add other fillings too like Guava or Strawberry.

Step 6:
Brush a small amount of egg (you can mix it with a little water) in the two stretched tips of each square. After placing the filling in the center, wrap each corner to look like this:

…and brush a little egg on top of each pre-baked quesito.

Step 7:

Bake! Stare at your oven’s door like an idiot until the turnovers are golden. I did it!

Step 8:

Drip a delicious amount of Honey Glaze on top of each quesiiiiiito!

Step 9:

Pig out! ^_^ As we say in Puerto Rico: Buen proveho y a lechonear se ha dicho!

Instrument for Unsent Letters by artist Rebecca Adorno

Posted on Jun 2, 2010 09:36:30 AM

For those of you who yearn to write a letter, but are afraid to do so… You can still submit it here, and it will be completely anonymous.

Bless this incredible Puerto Rican artist. Enjoy the video!

Instrument for Unsent Letters from Rebecca Adorno on Vimeo.

“Changing the world…”

Posted on May 31, 2010 09:22:25 AM

“…one blog post at a time.”

That is going to be my new motto.

These months (for me) have been an accelerated course on life.

I helped a teenager pass his 7th grade, even when everyone else said: “You will fail!” I helped him study, gave him unsolicited advice, cried with him, and intervened when his tutor was ready to hang the gloves and give up. This wonderful kid is part of the hundreds, if not thousands of kids that belong to the state here in Puerto Rico. A kid that cannot get his driver’s license, (even the apprentice one) until he turns 18. A kid who’s dad died and mom neglects. Who has been raised in foster care for over six years with a complete stranger. A kid that stiffens when you hug him, and answered: “No.” when I asked him: “Do you know what love means?” I told him I loved him that day, and I meant it. This kid is thirteen years old.

I have also learned that the US alone puts to sleep (nice wording for euthanasia), at least 5 million animals each year. I became aware of this truth when I found two puppies in the middle of the night, trying to cross a highly transited road. I took them in without knowing what would I do with them, since I couldn’t keep them. I bathed them, removing their ticks and fleas (which was pretty nasty). I dewormed them, fed them, and gave them as much love as I could. I started looking for no-kill shelters in Puerto Rico, to find out that even if we have 78 municipalities that by LAW are required to have a shelter each one, there are only 5 or 6 in the whole island including Vieques. Oh, and those do NOT guarantee the animals will be killed the next day.

What broke my heart about this matter is that those kind souls who did have no-kill shelters, or sanctuaries, are in the verge of filing for bankruptcy because they lack the funding. I found around 3 or 4 of those, and only one was willing to take the dogs immediately. All of them were overbooked.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
–Ghandi

I guess Puerto Rican’s can’t get mad when people call us a “Third World” country. Stray cats and dogs are part of our daily bread.

I did find them a home after two weeks of intensive searching and pleading for help. I thank the kind souls that helped  these two babies change the lives of two families for the better. I also thank my husband for being such a rare specimen in this world, and having the courage to support my decisions with understanding.

Aside from children in need of love and care, and animals in need of love and compassion, I also learned that I can’t change the world if I don’t start by changing myself. Not only my actions, but my thinking.

I want to be the person that changes your day when you talk to her or meet her. I yearn to be the one infecting the world with just one smile. I pray to God everyday, to give me the strength to carry out my life in the best way possible.

I used to be a selfish, careless person. I did wake up from that trance a couple of years ago, and now, close to my 25th birthday, I truly know that a life without purpose, is a life not worth living at all.

Blah Blah Blah…

Posted on May 25, 2010 06:38:31 PM

May 12, 2010 was my last post.

Today is the 25th.

I turn 25 years old on the 27th of June.

Rewriting a book is a very dark, scary place for me… for most writers I would say.

The End.

I woke up screaming and gasping for air…

Posted on May 12, 2010 09:09:25 AM

A lot of times I go to bed and nothing happens. I sleep. I wake up. A new day starts.

Other times, I find myself gasping for air and screaming my lungs out, scaring my husband, cats and neighbors. As it turns out, my father used to suffer from the same sleep interruptions. Is it genetic? Is it psychological? Is there a mythological Old Hag sitting on my chest and tormenting me at nighttime? I’m pretty sure it’s that last one, though I went to Sleepnet to find some useful information:

* Sleep is as important as food and air. Quantity and quality are very important. Most adults need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you press the snooze button on the alarm in the morning you are not getting enough sleep. This could be due to not enough time in bed, external disturbances, or a sleep disorder.
* Keep regular hours. Try to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day. Getting up at the same time is most important. Getting bright light, like the sun, when you get up will also help. Try to go to bed only when you are sleepy. Bright light in the morning at a regular time should help you feel sleepy at the same time every night.
* Stay away from stimulants like caffeine. This will help you get deep sleep which is most refreshing. If you take any caffeine, take it in the morning. Avoid all stimulants in the evening, including chocolate, caffeinated sodas, and caffeinated teas. They will delay sleep and increase arousal during the night.
* Use the bed for sleeping. Avoid watching TV or using laptop computers. Know that reading in bed can be a problem if the material is very stimulation and you read with a bright light. If it helps to read before sleep make sure you use a very small wattage bulb to read. A 15 watt bulb should be enough. Bright light from these activities may inhibit sleep.
* Avoid bright light around the house before bed. Using dimmer switches in living rooms and bathrooms before bed can be helpful. (Dimmer switches can be set to maximum brightness for morning routines.)
* Don’t stress if you feel you are not getting enough sleep. It will just make matters worse. Know you will sleep eventually.
* Avoid exercise near bedtime. No exercise at least 3 hours before bed.
* Don’t go to bed hungry. Have a light snack, avoid a heavy meal before bed.
* Bedtime routines are helpful for good sleep. Keep routines on your normal schedule. A cup of herbal tea an hour before bed can begin a routine.
* Avoid looking at the clock if you wake up in the middle of the night. It can cause anxiety. This is very difficult for most of us, so turn the clock away from your eyes so you would have to turn it to see the time. You may decide not to make the effort and go right back to sleep.
* If you can’t get to sleep for over 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something boring in dim light till you are sleepy.
* Keep your bedroom at comfortable temperature. Not too warm and not too cold. Cooler is better than warmer.
* If you have problems with noise in your environment you can use a white noise generator. A old fan will work or you can buy noise machines from many sources.
* Know that the “night cap” has a price. Alcohol may help you to get to sleep but it will cause you to wake up throughout the night. You may not notice it. (It is worse if you have sleep apnea because the alcohol makes the apnea worse.) Sometimes people snore only if they have had some alcohol or may snore worse if they already snore.)
* If you have a sleeping partner, ask them if they notice any snoring, leg movements and/or pauses in breathing . Take this information and try the sleep test. You may have a sleep disorder or you may just need to increase your awareness about your own sleep need. If you have any concerns see your doctor.

Recap of what I learned:
No caffeine (at least a couple of hours before going to bed).
Use a tall pillow (or several).
If the crazies continue at night, take a sleep test.

Update on Maruja’s Transplant:

Posted on May 1, 2010 11:52:29 AM

Great news!

Maruja’s transplant was done on April 28. Given her fragile condition, the doctors decided not to wait for a “perfect match” and go ahead with her brother’s donation, which was a partial match.
I ask all of you to keep her in your thoughts and prayers, so her body may accept the bone marrow transplant and heal. Have a wonderful weekend.

Much love and gratitude,
Limari

****************************************************
AUGUST 21,2010.

Last news about Maruja… The cancer came back aggressively and she passed away a couple of weeks ago. I was building the courage to write this update. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

-Li

Love is Patient.

Posted on Apr 30, 2010 06:58:46 AM

I would lie to you if I said I’ve never been a religious person. I have been. I don’t consider myself religious now, but rather, a very spiritual being. I have come to understand that by no means religion is a synonym for spirituality. I think I’ve mentioned this before. I have come to know the God of my understanding, yet religion has offered me a well of knowledge and I can never seem to forget this verse:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
And if I give all my possessions to the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

In a Fast Food Nation, where most things are categorized as instant gratification, marriage can often turn into a difficult road to endure. Feminism freed women from infidelity, telling them “Don’t take that crap from anybody sista’!”. Laws protected us women against domestic violence, and still women die each day from this. What ever happened to forgiveness?

Excerpts from The Love Dare by Stephen Kendrick & Alex Kendrick:

Love is built in two pillars: patience and kindness.
Love will inspire you to become a patient person. When you choose to be patient, you respond in a positive way to a negative situation. You are slow to anger. You choose to have a long fuse instead of a quick temper. But patience stops problems in their tracks. It is a choice to control your emotions rather than allowing your emotions to control you, and shows discretion instead of returning evil for evil.
Anger is often an emotional reaction that flows out of our own selfishness, foolishness, or evil motives.
Patience helps you give your spouse (or loved one) permission to be human. It understands that everyone fails. When a mistake is made, it chooses to give them more time than they deserve to correct it. It gives you the ability to hold on during the tough times in your relationship rather than bailing out under the pressure.

I’m not saying: “Go out girls! Get beat up by your boyfriends or husbands.” By no means I would ever say: “It’s just another woman. Big deal!” Domestic violence, infidelity, disrespect, and other great offenses are deal breakers for me and go against my rule book. Respect is as vital as air for a relationship to survive.

I heard once that “when people say for better or worse, they usually mean for the better.” I understand that now. My grandparents have been together for 54 years. My parents have been together for 27 years. There is a saying in Puerto Rico: “Nadie sabe lo que está en la olla. Solo el que la menea”. It translates to: “No one knows what lies inside the pot. Only the one that stirs it.”

I recognized there is a mystery in every lasting, good relationship. I will never know what my grandparents and parents have gone through to learn unconditional love. Nowadays, such love seems like a myth. People such as myself ask themselves daily: “How much is too much?” “What if there is someone better out there?” “What if I’m making a mistake?”.

Truth be told, you are the only one who will know when too much arrives. There is ALWAYS someone better out there. The only problem is, once you find that someone better, there will always be someone better out there. What if you are making a mistake? I believe nothing in this life is coincidental.

Life is a tough school to master. Whatever the lesson is, you have to give it your best, or else you will fail. And by you, I mean… ME.