delicioso but not domingo

I keep meaning to post the pictures of my treats for the Sunday posts but I forget every time. So here are the deliciosos but not on Sunday. I blew it and forgot to take a picture of the finished product of the pies. It's really hard to remember to document while you are in the middle of something. That's the way all of my life is. Poor Oscar doesn't have as many pictures as most first children do.


It's pie season but I just can't muster up the energy to make a whole pie from scratch so I made up these mini cheesepies. At least I think I made them up, let me know if someone already came up with this idea. I don't like to spend all day making food so I opted for the Pillsbury box dough that you just add water to. It's ready to be rolled out in like 1 minute.



I also don't enjoy spending more money than necessary so I mixed fresh blackberries that were on sale for $0.88 and a can of blueberry pie filling with some cream cheese. That's why I called them cheesepies.




Line cupcake pan with dough, fill with mixture, top with more dough, then bake according to boxed pie crust directions. They were delicious, and one was more than plenty to satisfy my sweets craving. So sad I don't have a finished product picture cause they were so cute and tasty looking.



These I found all over the internet and I thought they were pretty cool. I had leftover candy corn and orange and black food dye from Halloween so this was an inexpensive treat for me. Just make your own sugar cookie and frosting recipe and pipe out frosting in orange and black for the legs and eyes. And the candy corn stays on because you spread some frosting underneath it on the cookie.



And since I was running with the non-Sunday delicioso theme, I had to post this. It's one of my favorite commercials. I know it's not hilarious but I laugh every time, I just can't help it.

oscar at 6 months

Oscar in his red high tops


Today was his 6 month birthday so here are his stats from the pediatrician visit today. He also got 5 shots while he was there and found out he had an ear infection. I think he's also cutting some teeth, so he's had a really rough few days.



If you click on the picture to blow it up, you'll see percentages next to his weight, height, and head circumference. However, instead of a high 90's percentage like the others, the height category has only an up arrow and no percentage. That is because his height is literally off the chart. They brought out the growth charts that tracks the normal margins of growth on a curve and where he's been placing, and he's outside the margin limits every time. My little basketball/volleyball/soccer/football/baseball player is growing just like his daddy did and he's looking sooo much like him lately. We love him so much. He has grown some really cute hair over the past month and he officially has brown eyes. His eyes are so much prettier than mine though because they're this pretty caramel color and mine are pretty close to black.


Nate in his red high tops. I don't think Nate was even a year old in this picture. Longest legs you'll ever see.

diamonds in my arizona rough

Warning- I am NOT making any statements or stances on where I stand politically on my ideas of illegal immigration, because I myself still have no idea.

Scenario 1:
Tonight I paid a visit to one of Mesa's little nuggets of gold, Rancho Grande Super Market. It's a full size SUPER Latino super market that boasts freshly grilled carne asada Saturdays outdoors, an amazingly clean environment, an impressive selection of Latino groceries, a delicious freshly made to order take-out section, great music, and THE FRIENDLIEST smiles and customer service in the west. I first asked a teenage girl where I could find some "masa preparada" (ready made dough) for tamales and she KINDLY and HAPPILY guided me with a huge smile to the area where I could find some. I go to check out and one of the best things happens. A woman cashier in her 50's not only assumes I speak Spanish, (never happened to me in the U.S.) but talks to me in Usted which is our equivalent of ma'am or sir. She sincerely and sweetly asks me how i'm doing with a big smile on her face.

Scenario 2: Immediately after Rancho Grande I go to Target. A teenage girl is my cashier. The customer ahead of me asks how her day is going and she proceeds to complain about how she has to work on a Friday night. This is her direct quote, no joke: "There are plenty of old people that work here. You'd think they'd sign up for the Friday night shifts, but noooo, I'm stuck here on a Friday night instead."

I had no other option but to contrast the two situations right away. I mean they literally happened one right after the other in the same night. The only thing I could think of was the state of our economy and the gratitude most people have or should have for their employment, whatever it may be. I thought of the illegal immigrants that stand outside on Broadway Rd. waiting for work. You've all seen them in your own city somewhere probably. Every morning they are out on the street at 5am, if not earlier, waiting for their next gig where a stranger determines their pay and their work. And they keep going out there every day! That Target teen employee made me realize, even in these days of a national %10 unemployment rate, I still don't see any U.S. citizens out there competing with the illegal immigrants on Broadway. I've known some of those guys to make at least $10 an hr and they pick up jobs pretty consistently sometimes if they're good. So why aren't any U.S. citizens at $10 an hr skill level out there competing with them?

Scenario 3:
A situation close to home has completely been blown out of control. I wish I could give the history of this situation so that you could understand what's really going on, but that just wouldn't be right. After a long time of unemployment, some people we know have been offered an opportunity for employment in the same field as their previous career. They have not pursued or taken advantage of this opportunity at all. However, they are now PUBLICLY frustrated and disappointed with us for not doing enough for them.

After thinking about all of these different scenarios, it's really hard not to think about the all those illegal immigrants I see on Broadway everyday. They've become the talk of our state and the talk of the nation. After these people we know decided to voice their disappointment and frustration with us to others, I became extremely frustrated for the takers in life. All I could think of were the people who take, complain, expect, demand, etc. It made me so mad that even with the financial state of our country, and the state of every other country in the world, that people are still unwilling to work and expect to not have to work too hard. And then I thought of those guys out on Broadway Rd. waiting for work and they lightened my anger.

I remembered those wonderful workers at Rancho Grande Super Market, my co-workers at the Red Iguana who will be life long bussers at a restaurant, and the guys that stand out on the street in many cities waiting for work every day at 5am without any expectations, and they really brightened up my day. Their work ethic and gratitude has become a little diamond in my Arizona rough and i'm really grateful for them today.