Year end questions!!!

I received this survey via email through one of my greatest friends. I felt it VERY appropriate for this wonderful New Years Eve! LEt me tell you, I am SOOO excited for this doomed 2009 year to be OVER!! I am THRILLED!!!!
This survey is ALOT of fun! Copy and paste and post it on your blog!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!


1.
What is your occupation right now?
Housekeeper/Mom/Wife/Taxi and a Dance Teacher

2..
What color are your socks right now?
They're flesh colored...cuz I don't have any on! Only slippers! :)

3.
What are you listening to right now?
Wow Wow Wuzby!! My boys favrite 'coooky' show!

4.
What was the last thing you ate?
ate? Last time I ate was last night and it was some Mexican Style rice. This morning I had a nutritous Red Bull for Breakfast! haha

5.
Can you drive a stick shift?
Uh, yah! I learned to drive on a stick...hahahaha..no really! I did!

6.
Last person you spoke to on the phone
My daddy!!

7.
Do you like the person who sent this to you?
You Betch-ya! *In the BEST Sarah Palin Impersonation*

8.
How old are you today
26....and a half! Can't forget that! lol

9.
What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Gymnastics...nothing else. I'm not a sports fan.

10.
What is your favorite drink?
oh gosh...hard one! DIET COKE OF COURSE! duh! hahaha

11.
Have you ever dyed your hair?
LEt's just say; I haven't had my natural color since I was 14!

12.
Favorite food?
Asian...all day everyday...sushi, noodles, rice...all that. YUM

13.
What is the last movie you watched?
The Polar Express...well..not really...it's just what's on constantly rightnow. The last movie I watched from beginning to end was The Blindside...GREAT movie!

14.
Favorite day of the year?
Everyone will say Christmas Day...but mine is The First day of SUMMER!! Holla!!!

15.
How do you vent anger?
Lash out irrationally!...workin' on it!

16.
What was your favorite toy as a child?
All of my baby dolls. I LOVED babies and playing 'mommy'.

17.
What is your favorite season?
Spring! Everything blooms and turns green. Perfect weather and my boys and my birthdays are in Spring. I love Spring!!

18.
Cherries or Blueberries?
Blueberries. We love blueberries!!

19.
Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
Yes, of course! Please do so!





20.
Who is the most likely to respond?
I hope everyone!! hehe ;)

21.
Who is least likely to respond?
I hope noone!! hehe ;)

22.
Living situation?
Our cute little gingerbread home with the purple door, nestly snuggled in the inner city neighborhood. Just me and my boys! :) (I wish I could add a little girl to the equation!)

23.
When was the last time you cried.
A few weeks ago after my friend tragically passed away. It was the hardest funeral I've ever been to.

24.
What is on the floor of your closet right now?
shoes, shoes and more shoes!!! And my dance bag of course!

25..
Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
My mom and sister...awwwwww. lol

26.
What did you do last night?
Hung out at home with Boricua, Prince and Wise. Just lounged around, ate and watched TV...what we do best! haha.

27.
What are you most afraid of?
Losing one of my kids in a tragic way. I don't know how I'd deal with it...I'm crazy about my kids.

28.
Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
I don't like hamburgers...but if I have them...cheese please.

29.
Favorite dog breed?
Shih-tzu yorkie mix!!!

30.
Favorite day of the week?
Friday. No work, no taking kids to school and sleep in the next day!!

31.
How many states have you lived in?
2; Maryland and Utah.

32.
Diamonds or pearls?
oooohhhh....HARD ONE!! I'm in love with them equally!! They're both brilliant. I'm a jewelry whore! I really am! I'm obsessed!!!

33.
What is your favorite flower?
I love love love all types of roses. I have 7 rose bushes in my front yard. Long stem, wild and short stem. I love primroses....all roses. I love anything romantic, fagrant, luxurious and feminine. If I ever have a daughter, her middle name will be Rose. So, roses it is!!!

Copy and Paste! Change the answers! It's your turn!
xoxo,
Soosie.

Christmas 2009!

What a wonderful DAY! So calm , humble, peaceful and quaint! We had only a few gifts but they were so special and the boys were so happy and satisfied. Boricua and I loved our gifts as well. Who wouldn't love a snuggie? I got a bright pink snuggie and I LOVE it! I also received the 'Shoes Under' shoe storage compartment you put under you bed...Boricua is sick of my shoes being everywhere...and I do need to keep them organized! And this greatest Blender...by Bella Cucina. It's the Rocket Blender and a chopper. So, not only can I blend stuff, I have a chopper!! It's a really nice kitchen toy. I LOVE IT.
Grandpa and Grandma Leesy gave the boys some great things. Grandma Linda gave them some fun games and clothes. My sister gave them those awesome Police and Cowboy dress up outfits you see below...um..how freaking cute are they?! They're F.A.B. I love it. Grandma Leesy gave me a long necklace made of REAL pearls, Pink Quarts, silver and crystals!! It's the most gorgeous necklace.
The V Fam gave out scrumptious treats to family and friends. I gave them a little sample of some of 'Soosie's Couture Sweets' collections. I'm launching a candy line in January and my sweets are just as loved as if I had my own clothing line! It will be my 'clothing line' but in candy and cookies! I'm really excited. I am ready network and be the savvy business woman that I am. ;)
We also donated clothing, blankets and shoes to the homeless shelter to the children. We had a huge turkey and the makings to pass out to the homeless this week. We are also giving out hot cocoa to the hungry and less fortunate.
So, amiss all of the the gifts and food we were blessed with, the greatest gift we recieved was the gift of serving and giving to others.
We are not sad or let down from the Christmas hype. The Holidays are still here! We are celebrating the wonderful THREE KINGS DAY on January 6th! The Wise Men are coming on camels to each drop us off a gift. Boricua celebrated it growing up in Puerto Rico and it's still celebrated in most Spanish Speaking Countries. It's a really wonderful way to keep the Spirit alive, learn different cultures and take advantage of the after clearance sale!!
Happy Holidays....YES STILL!!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

Well, its the day before Christmas and all through the house....where there's peanuts on the floor and a little boy squirming like a mouse! I am sidetracked on this blog and I have so much to do...I need to cook a turkey for the homeless and make cookies and caramel for the family too! I need to pull out my vacuum and clean up this mess...but I don't want to..I must confess! Prince and Wise still have their jammies on and so do I...my oh my...doesn't the time fly?! I am SO excited for Christmas and New Years...to finally say goodbye to 2009 and give 2010 a BIG CHEERS!!
So, today...i's sunny and there's a new fluffy blanket of snow. I'm looking down at peanuts all over the floor that my dear Wise did this morning. Wise wants down from his loft but I haven't let him down yet. Prince wants candy and we all need to get dressed!
We decided to cook a turkey and make plates for the homeless..but then I realized I don't have a Roasting pan! It might have to wait til Christmas day! But that might be better anyway! I've got to make my caramel and cookies today for Santa claus. We need to wrap aunty's, grandma'a and niecy-poo's presents. I need to bathe and get pretty...as with the boys. Then we're off to Grandmas to have a wonderful feast!

Merry Christmas!

LEGACY PHOTOGRAPHY!!

We had an awesome photoshoot last Saturday!! Liz Watson, from Legacy Photography, came over to our house and we had a nearly 4 hour long shoot. It was alot of fun! We took so many photos. It was so nice to have the photographer comeover to our house, instead of being in a studio. I highly recommend Legacy. She was so great and these few pictures are gorgeous. I am very satisfied! I cannot wait to see the rest of them!! Aren't they beautiful?!
Check out Legacy Photography!

Spreading the Holiday cheer!!

This year Boricua and I decided to minimize gifts and focus on togetherness. The boys are getting one gift from Santa and one small gift from mom & dad. We got small sentimental gifts for family and made 9 plates of goodies to give to friends. We put together a huge bag of small gifts for the Care Center for the Elderly up the street from us. They had alot of fun picking out things the Care Center residents needed. We are getting warm blankets and clothing together to drop off at the homeless shelter, for the children. We drive past the shelter and see small babies bundled up in the cold, while their parents are waiting in line for a warm meal. It was just brought to my attention 350 children stayed in the Homeless Shelter last night. Last month we bought food items to make a nice meal for a homeless man looking for work. Prince was very concerned about that man and he was happy to help him out.
Our beautiful tree was donated to us from a great friend! All of my tree ornaments were purchased a few years ago on Clearance at Target. I spent pennies on them! It was so awesome! I still had leftover wrappng paper so I didn't need to purchase a bunch of new packaging stuff! We had a strict budget and was very aware of our spending. Spending alot isn't the meaning of the Holiday and we really made ure to emphasize that and teach the boys what Christmas is all about.
2009 has been a very hard year for alot of people. Alot are jobless and homeless. Alot took paycuts and barely have enough money to make ends meet. There was alot of tragic deaths and one that really hit home for me. A friend of mine from school, passed away tragically a week and a half ago and left 2 small children behind. She was such a sweetheart and her family are devastated with the loss. It was a very hard funeral to attend and left me mourning for a few days afterwards.
We had alot of calamities throughout the World this year. I'd say this was the year that would make or break us. It was by far one of the hardest years for me! So, as I say goodbye to 2009 and hello to 2010 next week, I am going to celebrate and rejoice for the new COMEBACK YEAR!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving was wonderful! It was the FIRST Thanksgiving I've cooked on my own and the first in our V Fam home! It was a tight squeeze for us all but that's what Thanksgiving is for, eh? There's so much food and family, you don't know how you got it all to fit?! WOW!! Isn't that something to be grateful for?!

I am so grateful for our Church that dropped a LOAD of food to us before Thanksgiving. I ended up with two turkeys! I had no room for them! So, I decided to give one of them to a Family in great need and they couldn't afford a Turkey for Thanksgiving. I felt so grateful and blessed to have had the opportunity to do that with our current situation right now. It was great!

I was very nervous to cook my Turkey. I've never cooked a whole Turkey before. With my nerves aside, I followed my instinct and this bird was by far the best bird I've ever tasted! It was perfection. Tender, moist and flavorful! And the skin was rich and crispy! You didn't even have to cut into the bird! It was Dee-licious. The legs peeled off..no cutting required. And oh my gosh...the gravy turned out FABULOUS. My secret weapon was BEER. Yes, Beer. A good ol' 24 oz of Miller High Life and lots of butter basting!! I lathered that bad bird up in butter. When you lifted it, the juices just oozed and the meat peeled off. I'd say it was a dead on Target grade A job for cooking my first Turkey. Beer, butter, Garlic powder, Onion Powder, Adobo, Paprika and salt will make one happy bird...TO EAT!!

I also made little place settings and found some cute napkins. I made some napkin ties that were festive. It was cute.

I also made garlic ranch mashed potatoes, the best sweet potato casserole, gravy, dream whip jello dessert, stuffing, pumpkin cream pie and banana cream pie.

My brother and sister-in-law came in from Korea to visit! They brought us all of these amazing little gifts from Korea. I got the cutest sets of handmade earings and a traditional Korean jewelry box made with Mother of Pearls. The boys got these really cute bags, fun crayons and puzzles, with that fun and colorful Asian Animation. Boricua got a cool shirt with Korean writing on it and some toe socks(those socks that have outlets for each little toesies! Popular there, since they were flip flops alot!!) It was great. We had a nice traditional laughing extravaganza! That's all we do when we get together! LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH!!

On the downside, I was dealing with a Migraine ALL DAY LONG!! My new medication made me dopey, I was really tired and felt some kind of cold coming on...so I physically felt poopy.

We all had a great time! The kids had a blast, they made a magnificant mess and all of us old hags sat around and did what we do best...laugh.

HOLIDAY PLANS

SO, here's the deal!

Our pressings needs are exceeding our limits. It's been a really tough few months! We have been working on getting on top of things, finding extra work and doing all that we can to take care of our pressing needs. Whenever we feel we MIGHT be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, something comes up and sets us back further than before! It's been a big dark hole we slowly start climbing out of, then we fall again and the hole somehow become deeper. It's been very distressing and overwhelming. Not knowing how you're going to pay your bills for the month or if you can put gas in your car is a very uneasy feeling to have! 2009 has BY FAR been the toughest year for us. It's been a rollercoaster of obstacles.

With our current situation, Boricua and I have decided to sell some of our precious items, to help take care of these pressing bills that continue to pile up. There's also that pressure for the gift buying for the Holidays and we decided to do gifts after Christmas, on Three Kings Day(January 6th). Our boys will have one gift to open on Christmas this year. We're hoping we can get a Christmas tree for our home too. I get a huge knot in my stomach, thinking my kids might go without the traditional Holiday things that bring in that spirit of joy. But my boys are still young and we all have eachother and that's what matters the most!

Please check my blog 'Simply Soosie's' and check out my items for sale. You or someone you know might be interested! It will help out our family TREMENDOUSLY! We must sell these items. I have pressing medical bills, future testing and observation for my eye and living expenses.
Please check it out, spread the word and know all of it is going toward a Family in need.

So...those are our Holiday plans! Nothing big, no big gifts, just Family togetherness and doing all we can to help others in need as well!

THANKS! :)

DISCOURAGEMENT..

I'm so discouraged about my figure rightnow...Just as I was feeling BETTER and losing inches, I go into my dr appointment, stepped on the scale and guess what; NO WEIGHTLOSS! I still weight the same! I'm totally perterbed. I don't know what to do now! It seems to be SO HARD to lose weight for me lately! My body is making me hold onto stuff for some reason...
And another thing...Hormones take merit over everything right now...I'm tired of some of my regular food intake and want a little junk food. I want more carbs. Either way, it doesn't matter anyway. Why should I bust my butt when I can't get any weight off?! It's really annoying...thus I'm DISCOURAGED about it ALL right now.

PS~ At my rehearsal Tuesday night, you could see my jiggle literally jiggle when I was dancing...it was humiliating. I just don't get it....
I really need to remember The Law Of Attraction when it comes to this and FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE! Then I will manifest my goals!
OH yah, and eat pizza, chocolate covered preztels and ramen noodles today! hehe. ;)

My Eyes...

I went to the Doctor today and finally got my eyes checked out. Doc didn't think the difference was a huge cause of concern(HOORAY!) but enough to kind of be baffled. He performed a number of tests on me and I did a basic eye test...turns out I didn't do so great. I was suggested to go see an Optometrist to get an eye exam and probably...GLASSES!! GLASSES?! Are you kidding me?! You know what though, I'd rather need a pair of glasses or lenses over some kind of pressure in my brain ANY DAY!
I was also given a prescription dose of Riboflavin and Prescription Medication for Migraines. They feel the Chronic Migraines could've contributed to it but they're not exactly sure yet. So, I go in next month to get them checked again.
I am grateful it is nothing serious! I kind of had a feeling all along everything would be okay. :)

HALLOWEEN PICTURES!

Halloween was FUN! It was cold and the kids didn't trick or treat as long as last year! My sister was with us! It was great! My mom made a yummy pumpkin cream soup with soutwest quesadillas and this amazing sauce! It was GREAT! OH! And her FAMOUS SUGAR COOKIES! I still have YEt to taste cookies better than hers! They are AMAZING!
BY THE WAY; Prince was CANDY CORN, WISE was a LION and my niece was Cinderella!
So much fun! :)