Tortillas Made with Love

My family has been spoiled with homemade tortillas all of our lives because of my Nana. My Nana always has fresh tortillas at her house, and whenever a family member shows up the first thing they do is head to the kitchen for a tortilla. Some of my family puts butter on their warm tortilla, some of my family likes their tortillas with mustard (gross....obviously not me), the rest of us just heat it up (if needed).

My Nana doesn't use a recipe so she never measures the ingredients. It's amazing to watch her hands roll and knead the dough with speed and perfection that only experience has taught her over these 60+ years. Some of my earliest childhood memories are rolling out her "bolas" with my great grandmothers rolling pin, which looked like a small smoothly rounded old branch.

As a child my tortillas were shaped like ovals, squares, or like blobs from an inkblot test. My Nana was always able to somehow transform my weird shapes into almost perfect circles by pulling and stretching the dough before placing them on the comal.

A few years ago I attempted to follow along with my Nana to learn how to make her tortillas. Without measurements and a recipe you can imagine how hard it is to follow along. The tortillas I helped make that day were delicious, because let's face it, she did most of the work.

Yesterday, I finally attempted her tortillas on my own. I called her ahead of time for some advice and looked up a recipe to try and gauge the measurements I should use.

My dough wasn't the consistency it should have been. Half of my bolas didn't look like what I remembered. Since my dough wasn't quite right I had a hard time rolling out my bolas (and it wasn't just their funny shape). I was feeling a little defeated about my progress and started getting upset. My wonderful husband saw me getting flustered and before I had a full on meltdown, he stepped in and rolled out the rest of my bolas into his own weird shapes and sizes. I gently stretched the bolas into more circular shapes, like my Nana would do for me, and placed them on my small comal to cook. The tortillas we made together were pretty good. No where near what my Nana can do, but I am learning.

I got a phone call this morning from Nana asking how it all went. When I explained what happened, and my disappointment, she reminded me that when she first started making tortillas she cried after the first few attempts. She encouraged me to try again and to just keep going.

I am so very thankful for these moments and memories I have with my Nana.

I am also thankful for my husband to calm my nerves and help me through the process.

Unknown Caller

It was a typical summer day in Arizona, sunny and way too hot, and I was on my way to a BBQ/pool party at my friend Jessie’s house. My good friend Lindsay was in town from her internship in Hawaii and Jessie wanted to get all of her friends together for a party, but really it was an excuse for everyone to do some day drinking by the pool. Even though we were all friends in high school it still can be awkward to be around a bunch of people that I never see or talk to anymore. I really didn’t want to show up to the BBQ alone so I called my friend Julie and she was just getting out of the shower and would be there an hour or so. I really didn’t plan on staying that long since I would have to pick up my son early from his dad and I didn’t want to wait around and extra an hour for her to be ready. I decided to call Lindsay and make sure she was there so I could least stand around with her and talk to her. I was already on my way and getting close to Jessie’s house. I had my summer playlist from my iPod blaring out the windows, which consists of Bob Marley, Pepper, Sublime, and Slightly Stoopid…pretty much anything with a reggae sound to it; I was trying to put myself in a friendly upbeat mood. I turned down the music to make my call. I grabbed my cell phone out of its place in my cup holder and noticed I had a voicemail. I quickly glanced at my missed call and all it said was “Unknown Number”, I didn’t think anything of it and I was way to close to the party. I called Lindsay and made a mental note to check the voicemail later.

Lindsay and I arrived at the BBQ at the same time and being there wasn’t as awkward as I was anticipating and it ended up being a successful couple hours. As soon as I had my son, he and I went to the mall. I figured it would be a nice day for us to go to Barnes & Noble, so I could pick up the books from Cosmo’s summer reading list, and he could play in the play area right outside the store. We grabbed some lunch in the food court and then went about our day. Once we finally got home and I was relaxed on the couch with my new book “Why He Didn’t Call You Back” skimming the pages for anything interesting. Diego was watching cartoons and playing with his new stuffed dragon he acquired at Barnes & Noble. I was bored with my book, I was really hoping it was going to be like “He’s Just Not That Into You” for some insight, but it was mainly common sense. I finally remembered that I hadn’t checked my unknown caller’s voicemail and picked up my cell phone. I called my voicemail and the semi friendly robotic woman’s voice chimed, “You have one unheard message” I can’t help but think of the Friends episode where Joey says in a comical robotic voice, “’you have one new message” and then continues with “what a cool job!” I always quietly laugh to myself whenever I hear that on my own voicemail.

Next thing I hear is a man’s deep husky sounding voice telling me, “you’re fat and you’re ugly.” I listened to it over and over again trying to see if I could recognize the voice because it sounded a lot like someone I work with. I couldn’t help, but think if this is the person I think it is, he sure does have room to talk. He is a seven foot ogre with pot marks all over his face and slanted eyes that you can never really tell if they are open or not. I was never offended by the comments, but thought of them as comical. What kind of adult male goes out of his way to prank call another adult in the middle of a Saturday afternoon? Usually when a guy is prank calling a girl it has something to with alcohol and possibly drunk dialing, but it was a sober sounding message.

I don’t want to jump to conclusions about who would do something a twelve year old girl does, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t help but think it was the guy I work with, but I kept questioning myself to why he would do such a thing. He is married, and we are what I consider work friends. We run in the same work social circles and occasionally will see what the other is up for the weekend if it’s anything interesting, but never any ill feelings. Regardless of whom left the message it’s completely asinine. First, I may not be extraordinarily beautiful but I know I am not ugly. Second, I may carry around a few extra LBs, but I really don’t care. I still have guys tell me I am beautiful and I am smart and fun and if someone wants to call me from an “unknown number” because he doesn’t have any balls and he tries and break me down or give me a complex…..I say to you….NICE TRY.

I <3 E.C.

I look for the stories that no one has really read because I want to be able to discover characters on my own. Real life stories that I can relate to, where I can find myself in a certain character. The heroine, the villain, the comic relief.

I thought "only 14 year olds are reading Twilight" and "its a love story about vampires? C'mon let's get serious" I had no idea what the hype was about, I just didn't get it!

I bought Twilight for my 14 year old cousin for Christmas. She left it at my house on New Years Eve. There was nothing good on TV since it was Monday and The Hills were over, DWTS and American Idol were in between seasons. It wasn't Grey's Anatomy Thursday. I thought I might as well see what all the buzz is about. And then I started reading Twilight.....

I read all 4 books with 10 days! I couldn't put it down. My breaks and lunches at work were consumed by the adventure in Bella and Edward's love. I found myself getting home from work making a quick dinner for my son and getting into pajama's right away just so I could go to bed and read until 3am.

If guys were smart and wanted to know what women really wanted all they have to do is read Twilight and see how tender and passionate Edward is about Bella. That's what love is about. Me, as a woman, am actually IN love with a character from a book! If you haven't read it, it's written from Bella's perspective and I can't help but feel weak in the knees right alongside with her when she sees Edward and I can feel my heart speedup when they kiss. I am in love with Edward because I am in her head and I feel everything little thing she is feeling.

I've always wanted to have my life to turn out like a romantic comedy or fairy tale and have my happily ever after. But now after reading this book all I want to know is, where the hell is my Edward Cullen?

That Explains It

Today a story on CNN.com is why we marry people who are like our parents. I already knew this....but it just confirms my suspicions.....

"Sometimes, people choose mates who resemble their parents not because of fond memories, but to make amends for an unhappy childhood.

"This is most common if you felt rejected or abandoned by a parent and still haven't worked through it," says Stephen Treat, director of the Council for Relationships, a Philadelphia nonprofit. "Your psyche wants to go back to the scene of the crime, so to speak, and resolve that parental relationship in a marriage."

Women who felt abandoned by their fathers are likely to choose emotionally unavailable husbands, for example, and men raised by hypercritical moms will be drawn to wives who pick on them, he says.

It's not a good idea. "You think you'll be able to heal this way, but you're probably no more equipped to deal with the situation than you were as a child, and the parental dynamic gets repeated in your marriage, usually with bad consequences," he says."

No wonder!!! lol....if you know me. I hope you got a good laugh out of this.

A Promise

If the Cardinals do indeed win the Super Bowl on 2/1/09 I will get a Cardinal tattooed on my body with the date around it! It will be my very first tattoo for the very first Super Bowl!

Has Hell Frozen Over?

11 years ago in section 33 at Sun Devil Stadium, you wouldn't find many season ticket holders for the Cardinals. You probably wouldn't find too many throughout the stadium. People didn't want to pay for season tickets and then have to walk 1/2 a mile to the stadium in 110 degree weather when the team would most likely lose anyway.

3 years ago in section 113 at the new University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale we have become surrounded by Arizona Cardinals fans who have endured the same pain and disappointment that I myself have faced over the past several years. We have come together and celebrated victories and comforted each other in losses. We have been disappointed even in our new stadium by defeat. Throughout the years even though we have been angry, disappointed, and embarrassed we have never given up hope!

On January 3rd 2009 I walked into University of Phoenix stadium for the first round of playoff games for this season. Arizona Cardinals vs Atlanta Falcons. I knew, that because this was a home game and there aren't that many Falcons fans here in Arizona that our boys were going to come out with this intensity and win the game. We had been the underdog, we were told that we don't even belong in the playoffs. I knew that was just fuel to our fire. We came out strong and we defeated our opponent. I just kept thinking this was the best day of the year for 2009.

On January 10th 2009 we played in North Carolina agaist a team that beat us in the regular season 27-23. We should've won that game back in October. The Panthers were undeafted at home. Everyone was sure we wouldn't win. I'll be honest, I was just glad we made it this far! I couldn't have asked for a better game. We shut down their run and we came up with a HUGE victory! As long as the Eagles were to beat the Giants then we were going to have another home game for NFC title!

On January 18th 2009 I got to walk into the University of Phoenix stadium for the last time this season, simply because the next game was the Super Bowl and it is in Florida! The walk to the stadium doors are a little different these days. Maybe because its a walk across a parking lot or because it's January and not 110 degrees outside or maybe it's because the football fans in this state have started to jump on our bandwagon and are finally supporting the Cardinals and we have finally filled out our lot with nothing but Cardinal RED!!!

Today we beat the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC Conference Title. We are going to the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay on February 1st 2009. It has been a long and bumpy journey. Not only do our players who we are truly grateful for deserve this, but the fans in section 113 who have been there longer than all the players deserve this most of all!

Go Cardinals!

PS
January 3rd was the FIRST best day of the year and as you can guess January 10th was the SECOND and January 18th was the THIRD. I am hopeful that on February 1st it will be FOURTH best day of 2009 when we get to FINALLY say that the Arizona Cardinals have won the SUPER BOWL!

All I Want For Christmas Is You!

This year for Christmas I am asking for something that doesn't necessarily need to come on Christmas Day, but sometime between then and the following Christmas would be fantastic!

Okay so here it goes......I would like a man. Not just any man, a decent one. I am so tired of falling for guys who take advantage of all the wonderful things I have to offer.

I have provided you with a list of qualities I think this man should have......
He should have respect for everyone, especially me
He should adore my child and love him unconditionally
He should love my family as much as I do
He should be charming and charismatic
He should have a sense of humor but also know how to be serious
He should love music and appreciate my passion for it
He should want to curl up in bed and watch movies or my Friends DVDs
He should show affection in public (an appropriate amount)
He should want to marry me
He should love to go camping and be able to handle the outdoors
He should wear pajama pants when he's at home (because they are sexy)
He should live for football Sunday
He should appreciate that my friends are an extended part of family and he should enjoy their company
He should trust me
He should have his own friends, but like to bring me around ever so often
He should have a job
He should have his own car (trucks are preferable)
He should also live on his own (or roommate......NO MOTHERS)
He should take care of himself and care about how he looks, but isn't vain
He should have an opinion and be passionate, but not condescending
He should be understanding
He should be interested in current events
He should stand up for what he believes in
He should be able to call me out on my complexes
He should want me and ONLY me
*OPTIONAL* if he knew how to play the guitar or piano that would be amazing

Please, if you can wrap this man in a box and tie it with a bow that would be much appreciated.

Thanks Santa!
Love,Meghan

PS
I have enough problems of my own and I am tired of taking care of other people.......its my turn! So just to be clear......I don't want the one who...

Comes with baby mama drama
Drugs of any kind
Alcohol dependency
Anxiety
Depression
Psychological issues stemming from bad childhood
Anger management problems
Commitment phobias
"Girl"friends
Allergies to cats