Shrimp Asparagus With Penne

For a while, I like the ready made pasta in the bag by Bertolli when they first introduced them to the public. The price was decent at about six dollars a bag, and they didn't taste that bad.

This ready made pasta was great for my family since we were on the road five evenings out of seven, for my little boy's soccer games and practices.


Take a look at the picture above, and you will see these ingredients:

• shrimps--about 20-25 medium size, peeled and deveined
  
• asparagus--one bunch, cut into bite sizes, washed, and steamed to tender
  
• tomato--2 medium size, washed and cubed
  
• minced garlic--1/2 teaspoon
  
• pasta--your choice and cooked following direction on package
  
• cilantro--washed, and chopped into 1 inch in length

The process of putting this Shrimp Asparagus penne pasta is very easy. It is a great imitation of the Bertolli pasta, and it contains all natural ingredients.

• After your pasta is cooked, mix in a little Extra Virgin Oil, or margarine to keep the noodles from sticking together. Set aside!
• Steamed your asparagus until tender to the fork. Or microwave them for about 2 minutes
• In a frying pan, add one teaspoon of cooking oil with half teaspoon of minced garlic
• Put in your cubed tomatoes and shrimps
• Cook for about five minutes or until shrimps turned color
• Combine the cooked pasta into this pan with asparagus.
  
• Toss up well and serve with cilantro on top

Tips

• Replace shrimps with beef, chicken, or pork to your liking
• This meal can serve four people
• Affordable and healthy
• Asparagus can be replace with broccoli, or other favorite vegetables
  

Feast your eyes on other entries below.

Thanks for being here!

Bandana Lantana

These beautiful pink lantana flowers were found in the summer at a local nursery! They came in all sort of colors, but today I will only show the pink ones.


At first, I wasn't impressed with these flowers at all. I knew they were pretty, and very colorful, but I was looking for more exotic or unique flowers to shoot on that day.


However, after seeing a few frames of these lantana flowers in my camera, I felt in love with these little blooms. The pink color in particular was quite attractive to me.


Then I remembered as a kid, my friends and I used to pick each little flower and sucked its nectar from the root. This was one of those great memories as a child I had.


I hope to grow these flowers in the coming warm months. As I understand, this plant will continue to bloom throughout the summer, which will keep a very colorful garden for me.

This week, I want to introduce you to LemonyRenee at Of Lemon and Honey. Her last pink post was fantastically fun, and her blog is a joy to visit.

Thanks for being here!

Warm Sunny Days

The wind brushed over my cheeks
Of warm sun ray and beautiful days
He sat among the tall grass
Stared in the direction of my way

Our eyes darted to the corners
I watched him, and he watched me.
We were both lost in contemplation
On peaceful shore of summer days

And a love began just like that
A look, a feel, two empty hearts
In total silent on deserted sand
Two souls found and merged about

So we sat in warm sunny days
Count the waves and our beating hearts
Weaving dreams for a love to last
On the shore of an ocean past

Thanks for being here!

B is For Believing

The worst feeling one could experience is denial, especially when it has to do with believing. As a child, I struggled between reality and made believe. I knew that my body got the beating every day, but the adults around me convinced that it was just in my dream. That I had fallen off the bed, banged into the wall, or sleep-walking and caused bruises on my body.

In a mind of an eight year old, her reality and her imaginary world crashed! What was real? What was not? How come those that witnessed the beating told me that it didn't happen? Why then did my body felt the pain every day? Everyone hushed! Everyone quickly shooed that episode away, as if it never happened!


For the longest time, finding someone who would believe my story was like looking for God. I knew God exists, but I needed to feel that his presence was real! My abuser was a person who served God, and was God chosen selected few!

I went to church believing that God loves me, and that there was another world beyond this world. Although I didn't understand why it had to happen to me, but I didn't question any of it either. I had no one to ask the questions anyway, and I had no one to share my experiences.


I went through my childhood as a shadow in the dark. I caused no pain and headache! I had no voice! All I wanted was to find someone to talk to, and someone to believe me. That was the hardest part of being existed but not recognized.

As I grow older, my mind went through a blank period of time, and I had no memory of my childhood. Whatever happened in the past was tucked so deep inside that I believed they were almost erased from my conscious.


(View my Childhood Series here, or at the top of the blog!)

My Direction and Path to Alphabe-Thursday

I found Jenny Matlock's website through blog hopping, and was happy to run into her Alphabe-Thursday challenge, where you post something related to the letter of the week.

I jump in and start my writing! What surprising to me was the direction that this challenge has led me to. I haven't written anything about what happened to my life as a child before. However, the letter "A" stares at me straight in my face, and my fingers begin to type about the abuse that I had endured as a child.


It didn't take me long to finish 300 words, so I have decided to take this path to write about my life experiences. It may be too heavy for some to process or understand, but this was what I remembered. It may help someone out there who went through the same thing as I did to start sorting out the pieces.

I'm not hoping to change the world or anything. I'm just writing out my RAW thoughts and feelings. Also, I'm acknowledging the horrific experiences that had taken place for the first time in my life.

It is not to say that I'm living in the past, or that the experiences have paralyzed my life. It is merely a way to heal one's soul.

I will link this series at the top of my blog under Childhood Series, just in case someone is interested in reading from the beginning.

Thanks for being here!

Snow on Basil

I caught the snow piling up on these basil plants from my summer garden. This was how my world looked last week, and yes I went outside while it was snowing to look for photo opts. Crazy isn't it?


It was very gray outside, but the untouched snow was beautiful. It was white, sparkle and clean. I like taking pictures, and winter is not a great time for me to explore.


I should have take these pictures at different angles, but it was extremely cold out that day with the wind blow very hard. I just had to snap a few pictures and went inside.

Thanks for being here!

You Might Have Anxieties

Since writing about Panicking or Hypertension, I found out that I was not alone! I know a few people who have this same problem, and one in particular woke up the same way I do! He went to the doctor and was prescribed Zantac. As it turned out, he was diagnosed with high anxieties.

I don't want to take any medications because the long list of side effects were enough to scare me stiff! The pill might treat one illness, but on the other hands it's giving birth to many others! Who wants that? Call me crazy but I am not willing to trade one illness for ten other problems.


So why do I have anxieties? Well darn, there are plenty of legitimate reasons, and I don't know exactly where to begin. Life itself is enough to give anybody high anxieties. Life for an old divorced mom is even worst, and living with no extra money for anything else could really do a number on health.

As long as I can function, I don't even want to find out what kind of illnesses I might have or not have. Heck, I haven't even seen a doctor in over four years, and yet, every month I receive a bill for my Priority Health. Now, if I have anxieties, this is one of the things that caused it.


I know now that I might have anxieties, so I will take extra times regulating my own heart rate, and calm my mind down before I hop out of bed.

Thanks for being here!

Branches on the Snow

After the snow came and went, I looked for shadow when the sun arises. I wasn't disappointed to find these lines on a fresh blanket of the snow! Since I wanted the undisturbed look on the snow, I had to take the picture from a distance away.

I like it when the snow is still white, clean, and smooth. Once it is walked on or shovel, the snow looked terrible and dirty.


I don't remember what this bush used to be in the warmer months since I saw this on a church's ground. It seems that those warm seasons were so long ago, and my body has gotten used to freezing temperature.


These are just simple lines from the branches of this bush, but it carries its own beauty and volume!

Thanks for being here!

Butternut Squash Soup

I don't like cooking, because it is such a chore to cook for one person. There is no joy in eating alone, and there is no "ooh or aah" noise that makes the meal interesting. However, I have to eat therefore I have to cook.

In an effort to get my little guy to try different things, and introducing him to new vegetables, I bought a butternut squash for the first time for less than two dollars. I peeled the tough skin outside, cored out the seeds in the middle, and chopped it up into bite size cubes.


Then I put the squash pieces in a pot of water with four pieces of sliced ginger to cook them down until tender, while I peeled the shrimps, and gave it a bit of mashing. In the meantime, I also soaked some clear noodles, which can be found at Meijer or Asian market.


After the squash is fork-tendered, I put in the shrimp pieces to cook for another five minutes. I only used salt and pepper to season the soup. Place your clear noodles in a serving bowl, pour the squash soup on top, and sprinkle with green onion or cilantro.

This soup turned out delicious, and all natural. My little guy loved the noodles and the broth. He wouldn't eat the squash though, but I know he got them in the broth.

Tips

• If you don't like seafood, substitute with thinly sliced chicken breast or pork pieces.
• You can also blend this squash soup if you like creamy texture. Just use the green onion and cilantro to top it at the end.
• This whole pot of soup costs me less than five dollars to make, and can feed four people easily.
• Ginger and squash are great sources for health benefits.
  

Feast your eyes on other entries below.

Pinkly Impatiens

These beautiful pink impatiens flowers were taken in the summer, where my world was in colors. At the moment, my area shows nothing but gray sky and white snow.

If you could tolerate the freezing temperature, of course you would have plenty of wintery beautiful things to take pictures, such as icicles, frozen lakes, snowy hills, etc..I'm on the other hand, hibernating for now.


Looking through my archives, I found this fantastic pink color of impatiens flowers. Once, a friend told me that my computer must smell like flowers, and I have to agree to his notion. I have too many pictures on my hard drive, which I should find a better solution to keep them soon.


My favorite thing to do when I am taking pictures is to use my macro function. I find that with close-up pictures I have more appreciation for all the details in the subject that I captured. Macro photos give a sense of marvel, awe struck and speechless at times.


There are some flowers that I came to love after I see them in macro, and these impatiens flowers were one of them. I finally noticed their heart shape petals for the first time after loading the pictures up. I guess if we take time to look, there is always something new to learn.

A Is For Abuse

Abuse comes in all forms, shapes, and types. I used to think that abuse has to leave physical marks in order for people to see. Back when I was a young girl, that was how it went. Beating, senseless hitting, kicking, or a knock down here and there! All had to do with physical touch.

How would I've known it was abuse if there were no bruises on my body for a girl who was barely eight years old? I was called all kind of names that you wouldn't find in the dictionary. I was to blame for everything that didn't go right. Those, to me, didn't hurt, and didn't burn the skin. So I didn't think it was another form of abuses.


I learned to live with all the beatings and punishments, because I believed I deserved it. I was different and was not normal. In fact, the society might even considered me as a beggar when I grow up, helpless, unproductive, and should be tossed aside.

So I took the beating! I grew fond of being physically tortured. On the day I didn't get hit, I waited for it, I wanted it to happen, and I craved for that stick to pound on my little body! I didn't feel right if there was no slap across the face, or a smack in the back of my head! Strange, but I remembered offering my abuser the stick, the ruler or whatever I could find at that moment.


Even at that young age, I later knew why I wanted to be beaten. I wanted to get it over with on that day so I could relax and prepared for the next day. I didn't want my abuser to hold an extra day over my head, and took it out harder on me when it would come.

No one in the family believed my story when I told them. Everyone thought that since I had a rich imagination, I had made it all up! I grew up not knowing what was truth, and what was not. I made believe that those horrible years with my abuser was just in my dream, until my abuser came clean years later.



(View my Childhood Series here, or at the top of the blog!)

Soften the Edges

Along the way, I have lost sight of what I love to do, and that is writing! I used to be able to whip up some articles, working on a poem, and eagerly submitting them to different writing sites. Those feelings have been replaced with the necessity to find paid writing jobs for financial demands.

Why? I have to make a living! I have to come up with plain money! Whatever I manage to save or make, it all went into my son's soccer games, his soccer gears, or his everyday needs. I want him to advance in life, and not holding him back because of my situation or the lack of money. As long as I can handle it or let the bills sit a bit longer, I will fulfill my little boy's desires to the extent of my capabilities.


Paying the bills and finding ways to make ends meet have consumed my being. I am taking on paid ad reviews just to stay above the water. The money didn't come in as fast as it went out. It never is enough.

It not means to say that I am negative, nor I don't appreciate what I have. In fact, I do! I count my blessings at the end of the day, every day, no matter how small it is. I just chose to write as closely to the way I feel as I'm experiencing it. I don't want to hide it. I don't want to sweep it under the rug, and I don't want to always making myself fell upbeat about it anymore.


Life is hard, and I am making the best out it. I got a lemon so I make lemonade, and that is not all, I use the lemon seeds to plant more lemon trees. I use lemon peels for all other cooking recipes and chores. There is nothing going to waste!

Thanks for being here!

Follow Me

Spending sometimes outside does my body and mind good. I get to fill my lung with fresh air, and also have a moment to take in the wonderful view of nature.

While the weather is still colder than I would have like, I went by the river to hunt for photo opts. The geese seemed careless about the freezing wind. They were still out in flocks.


They were hungry of course; therefore when they saw humans, they came in closer for some crumbs. I didn't bring anything to feed them, and ignored the group of geese that followed me, to get the above picture of these four geese.


As soon as I moved toward these four geese, the others followed me as well, and joined the group. They followed me, and I followed them. There is a sense of harmony between nature, animals, and human.


Thanks for being here!

Sparkle in the Snow

This is the second set continuing from the fence post last week. I saw this shadow at the corner of our garage and the neighbor's yard. The sun was out that day, and most of the snow had melted, leaving a few spots of icy on the driveway.


I'm not an experience photographer, so I tried my best to capture the sparkling ice patch with the shadow of the fence and branches. If the weather was warmer, I would have spent more time outside trying to snap the best ones, but it was below zero with the bitter wind cutting right through my three layers of clothes.


I enjoy looking for shadow since through it I am able to see something else. Sometimes it is pretty, while other times, it makes no sense.

Thanks for being here!

Pretty Little Flowers

This post is dedicated to the wonderful group of bloggers at Pink Saturday, hosted by Beverly. The process of this meme is different than other memes that I have joined. It is a bit more private, but is so worth to be a part of this group.

My first entry last weekend was very warmly received. Even in my wildest dream, I thought the most I would receive is 10 comments, but I was wrong. So thank you Pink Saturday bloggers for welcoming me into this group, and a big thanks to Beverly who organized such a wonderful supportive circle.


When I saw these flowers, they took my breath away. The flower stalk looked so delicate, but could hold up to four or five flowers, and of course my thought was perfect for Pink Saturday post.


We are in winter, and under a blanket of snow. These beautiful pink flowers were at a Conservatory that I visited. I wish I had a better camera to zoom in to the fascinating middle of these three petal leaves.


I don't know what these little beautiful flowers are called, but I am sure some one in the Pink Saturday group would know.

My last week entry was identified as Aechmea Fasciata, by G at Doves Today. This will also serve as a new site I have visited.

Thanks again to everyone who visited and commented to make sure I'm welcomed.