Bangladesh red, yellow, and white

Bangladesh? I'm pretty sure you know when you hear Bangladesh what it is and who they are. We were invited to attend their new years celebration this past weekend. A couple of friends joined in on the celebration. When we arrived one of the police officers thought we were lost and was going to help direct us out of the street. When we said we were trying to find parking he just had a whatever floats your boat kind of head shake look. It was more strange to walk upon the crowd of people and be the only Mexican and white person there. We got those crazy but are they really here looks.

We sat towards the back didn't really know what to expect. Felt like being in a whole other country. It was quite interesting their colors for the new years were red, yellow, and white. We didn't wear Indian dresses but after looking at those beautiful dresses I told myself I wish I had. The crowd was filled with pretty red colors. The designs all uniquely made. The new years was celebrated with singing and dancing. They also released red and white balloons. Through the festivities they had vendors selling their clothing and jewelry. Didn't try all their foods but what I did taste was delicious. One thing that bothered me was that while they were playing their music no one danced just witnessed it on stage. I'm used to seeing people dance with the people on stage. Everyone was really friendly. Made us feel part of them. Well almost for the fact that they would sit next to Heather just to look at her. They would look at her and grin.

We actually enjoyed our selves. Learned a little about a culture that I never thought I'd get this far with. Plan on doing it again when we get invited just hope to have a dress this time. If you ever get the opportunity to experience another culture do it. Since we tried a little something to eat we will be going to an Indian restaurant and further our tastes buds. Keep in mind their foods are spicy so I'm going to take the mild side.



papdi chaat

samosas

seekh kabab

When we were leaving a car approached us.  A lady on the passenger side rolled her window down and asked if we had came from the festivities. Heather said "yes." She then asked if we liked it. Heather said" yes we enjoyed it." We had to throw in that the food was delicious. She then said "thank you for learning our culture."

la familia

Family came to town. When your family comes to town what do you end up doing? Love my family we are made up into our own characters. Some play bigger roles than others. When we get together be it here or there we tend to do what we normally do. As a family it's not always the same so let me explain. When we go to Heather's dad's house. We have dinner and make it a movie night be it what day we pick it ends up with a movie. I love movie night I just have to pretend I'm not crying at a sad movie. At my parents it's meeting time or BBQ's. Heather's mom is far, we either go there or she comes here. Hate the fact that she is far but sometimes it's how it has to be. When family is not near you tend to do the things that you know they cannot experience at an everyday. In my case I try not to make them tired with my let's do things. I think I've gotten better with it. So I will share one thing we did as a family when they came to visit this time.

We have a tattoo artist in the family which you can already imagine what happened. Chelsie McKnight was able to make my first tattoo last year so she came prepared just in case we were in the mood to get one. She made the statement..."if you guys want one I brought my equipment!" we just looked at each other. Heather said "do you want one?". I said "well don't know they are painful." Heather had been wanting a small one so we knew she was getting one already. The next statement was... "if you like I have new black light ink" my eyes grew that big expression of confusion and excitement at the same time. So they explained it to me. Just in case you are like me and didn't know it's an ink that will not show on your skin unless you happen to come upon a black light. I said okay if I get one I want it to be an equals sign. I want two lines to wear if I happen to be under black light I want it to show red. Then we all talked about getting a tattoo. We all liked the equal idea so we all had Heather draw on us as Chelsie did her work. You should have seen us taking turns at the "chair of tattooing!". I wasn't getting nervous till it was my turn. Heather's mom went first. She would have to tell you how she felt getting it but how I saw her reactions I just knew it was going to be painful. Bri went next, took it like there was no pain. It was my turn I'm not going to lie. I screamed for her to hurry and finish it. I tend to have them in places that just hurt. I'm not trying to prove that I can handle the pain just trying to have it where I want it. Heather went next. I asked her if it hurt twice since she got two of them. She replied like saying "what pain?" lucky her. Then Chelsie herself was last. Heather drew it and she did her own tattoo. One tough lady. Our evening ended with our living room turning into a tattoo shop. The pain was so bad that I had to call it a night I felt dizzy. Of course it only hurt while she was doing it...and after she finished...and the next day!

You have heard the saying the family that prays together stays together.

Chelsie tattooing Bri

This family not only prayed together but also got a tattoo to make us whole.
This is my family. I have always wanted my sisters and me to share one but that has yet to be seen. I don't encourage the pain but I do encourage that as a family let it mean something.
So on April 13, 2013 Heather and I got our very first black light tattoo from Chelsie McKnight along with Bri and mami n law. I am blessed to have a mami n law that is willing to share something so simple, a tattoo. When she comes back next time I hope my sisters are ready.

Equal meaning I just want no one person to be seen as less than anyone else...just equal.  So if you happen to cross us at a black light party look for my red and Heathers white.

No, we were not drunk we just wanted to share something.

For the record I will not make this a habit. I don't get a high from it. I do however make it meaningful.

on one knee

We were invited to a surprise birthday party here a couple of weeks ago. It had been planned for a while. You see we didn't really know the birthday girl that well and we didn't know what to expect. After much thought we decided to join the party. It was quite unique. Had an Elvis Presley impersonator and the Vegas theme going on. It had been a surprise birthday but something told me it was much more than that. They had a slide show and when I saw pictures on the screen it remind me of us. I love taking couple pictures after a while you see how you have grown, in my case how huge I was and how many haircuts my babe had gotten. Something told me that this slide show was going to be the real surprise. As soon as it was over she got on one knee and proposed to her girlfriend. It brought happy tears to my eyes. Here I was eyes wet, nose runny, and cheeks fluffy.

First I had never been a witness to an engagement and second I had never seen another lady propose to another lady. When Heather proposed to me it was back in 2006. She drew me a sketch folded the paper and gave it to me on one knee at our apartment. No witness around to witness our journey. Here I was feeling these emotions for someone I barely knew. Then I thought about the true meaning of my tears. The fact that here were two females that were in front of family, friends, even us declaring their love to want to marry each other. You might have seen your typical man and women but not this day. Love is love everyone deserves it. With the whole equality going on, on same sex marriages thinking it's not right to feel the way you do for another how do they know.

I'm not here to change your opinion on whether it's okay for same sex marriages to get married because believe me when I say that I don't want to see a lot of straight marriages happen but they do anyway. I'm here to say that just as you feel the happiness of one man and one women say "yes I will marry you" goes for everyone. The feeling is the same. The excitement is the same. I cried when my sisters got married so I would think that it would also apply to me. That day I also realized that even though the world is against you, you still take the world as your own. If someone is standing with a sign and say who are you to get married they don't realize that while they are against you, you still go on with your regular day planning. So while you picture the female crying and saying yes to the man that just proposed you also picture the female saying yes to the female that also got on her knee and proposed. After attending and witnessing such chapter in their lives I felt special knowing that they wanted us to be present for us to witness it. I would not have wanted to miss this for anything.

I don't normally like to blog about friends since I don't want anyone to feel jealousy but I just had to share this love story. So with this said want to wish Angel and Jessie much love and happiness. 

wine ice cream

Saw an ad in the paper almost a year ago and kept telling myself that I needed to try this. Finally last week we went to Specs (an adult beverage center) with the purpose of finding this, What The What marvel. When we found it we both saw the light shine bright on it and said aaahhhhhhh!!!!

delicious if I say so myself



Yes my friends I'm talking about this wine yes wine ice cream. Who would have thought to make this? I tried Heathers first and yuck but then again I wouldn't like that wine but when I tried mine I was OMG in wine heaven. So tasty delicious. I asked if the ice cream had the wine or the chocolate maybe because I am a no sugar added person and I don't do chocolate so let me just say that I have come to the conclusion that any adult beverage be it ice cream contains no sugar. Yup that's right. Does wine have sugar? Nope. Does a margarita have sugar? Nope. Does any alcohol shot have sugar? Nope. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

They have other flavors so if you happen to come across this delicious (will taste the wine) item just make sure to keep it away from the kiddos because that would be something just crazy.

check out the website
http://www.mercersdairy.com/index.php

egg carton

Hello friends how are ya'll?

Been busy with here and there mostly having Saturday free days for us, meaning sleeping in watching Chiller TV seeing what stupid scary movie will pop on.  Have been trying to visit the streets less because I am old. The hard part is trying not to be at two places at the same time.

Wanted to share this with you because well it meant so much to me.  I'm pretty sure that by now you know a little bit about my grand parents. Don't want to go into detail but lets just say that Heathers grand parents have been the grand parents a kid could only want to ever have. On my parents side the one I wanted to get to know I never had the pleasure of meeting and the one that still lives kind of doesn't want anything to do with us. So this past Easter more like this past Sunday we received a carton of eggs from Becky. She explained the story about how a tradition came about and couldn't stop it from ending.

Becky's mother which would be my mother in laws (harsh words) mami (grandmother in law) to me has with her husband made Easter eggs (carton) for her grand kids. There has always been a confusion about who and if everyone got their eggs because picture Sundays at your moms with about maybe over thirty people at your house. This is how I remember back eleven years at me maws house the one time I visited. Me maws husband has passed and she still continues the tradition. Each grand kid still gets that carton of eggs. For eleven years we have missed out on those eggs but what makes it special is the fact that she still made them for us to have. So on this particular Sunday I realized that even though I had only in eleven years maybe seen this remarkable women twice she still included us. That is what made this special egg carton even that much special.

Loving the small things in life and cherishing the value it has.

the sixth most haunted place in Texas

we were not alone The Nutt House Hotel

As you have already heard we did a ghost tour this past weekend. We love them. Some of you think why the idea of a ghost tour? Well it's also a way of history. I really don't know how I would react if I ever saw a ghost in an actual ghost tour. I know I have witnessed them when I was younger. It never bothered me before to see one but as I got older I stopped having these encounters maybe because I would not react the same as when I was younger. As I get older the kick I get is the history in it. When you think about encountering a ghost you don't realize that you just encountered a piece of history. What is the definition or what does a ghost mean? First you would have to believe in ghost to understand the meaning. When you encounter a ghost does it give you chills of excitement or of being afraid? Is it because something still haunts where they have passed which could only mean that so many years have passed so many generations have traveled but that one ghost still remains there. That my friends makes it a part of history.  So becoming a ghost hunter for me is to try to figure out the story that led me to the ghost.

a poem by an inmate on the walll

the second floor of the jail cell

Granbury is a little over an hour from DFW. You can come and go in that one day or stay in a hotel off the beach or a haunted hotel. Granbury has it's own history. If I happen to be standing at the same place in the square (downtown) a few years back I would have been killed for being a Mexican. Did you know that Bonnie and Clyde ate a sandwich under a tree on the lawn of the courthouse as they were on the run and the sheriff missed them by minutes. Did you know that they had their first hanging outside the jail and it took him almost thirty minutes to die that the town witnessed such horrible death that they never hung another person. Did you know that Mary haunts a room at The Nutt House Hotel, number four because she owned the hotel and demands it stays clean. Did you know that a haircut from a barber was fifty cents back then and that a person didn't like his haircut sliced the Barbers throat with the cutting shears used for his haircut. Did you know that when the Barnum and Baileys came to town for the circus a little girl was watching from her window and fell to her death and the circus never went back due to remorse. Did you know that in a saloon one night three preachers of the word of god after drinking got into an argument and they shot each other. Did you know that in a funeral home they would display your deceased body at the window for people to see for fourteen days for fifty cents a day. 


So many ghost stories (history) that you just have to witness it yourself.

That day we met people from Frisco, Arlington, South Carolina, even the UK. You never think about the impact that a small town has on a person. Granbury is the sixth most haunted place in Texas. Granbury had 16 saloons and 18 brothels. Talk about some fun and trouble times. This to them was what Deep Ellum is to us. Before the tour we visited the jail. The jail no longer takes inmates but the thought of setting foot inside this building and stand inside the cell just gives you an eery feeling. How the years have passed by. As we started the night ghost tour the guide told us of an app that you upload onto your phone and you can detect any ghosts near you. The feeling of looking at your phone and it telling you that someone is just behind or in front of you makes you look up and you of course see nothing just blows your mind.

 

 

every day he gets gifts many pennies sometimes whiskey

When we take day trips like this we always make it our business to stop at the cemetery. Why? Well because we look for the times of years that they have been there. The one year when the children must have passed from a horrible epidemic. The who had the money and who didn't by if the head stone is marked. In this case we were able to see where the famous Jesse James was laid to rest.

once was a funeral home where at this window would be real dead bodies being displayed

if you open this door it will lead you to a mystery

this staircase was built without knowing it would have caused two deaths

Yes so much useless information that we are feeding our brain but it's an adventure. The unknown that once was there and now is history. So whether it's hunting ghosts or learning a piece of history I get a kick out of this stuff. Go on a ghost tour some are better than others. This being our second one was way better than our first. Sometimes it's the fact that one doesn't leave the place that they haunt just because they want their memory to live on. Go say hello, they welcome you.

As far as the app on your phone you have to ask Heather. She tried to turn it on when we got home and I told her "you better not".

Before I forget we are going to go back in May. May 18 to be exact for their second annual paranormal expo. The cost will be five dollars for a full day of mind blowing experiences. Will end at the cemetery but not for the weak. Picture yourself with total strangers just as it's getting dark at the cemetery. Well if you want to join us we can get scared together.

the place beyond the pines

 

A movie that is based on the role of a father figure in a son's life. The father now realizing he has a son tries to provide for him but sometimes his choice of doing so is what ends up killing him. Tries to connect two families to one another, how do they connect? When kids grow up do they really turn out like you want them to? Or do they end up doing what you didn't want them to do? This movie is your typical shouldn't have done it and this wouldn't have happened but you kind of have to feel bad for the father that is trying. You will see your typical bad corrupt cop and how important it is to be there for your kids. The ending didn't really cut it for me. Lets just say that they try to connect the ending by showing us that every kid wants to be somehow like their parents. If you are a bad seed does the fruit from that tree really fall that far from it. I would recommend it to someone that doesn't believe in giving the world a second chance. Wanting to believe that the bad can be good and that there will always be a bad cop somewhere. I give it three stars (I'd give it another try). Would have stayed for a Q&A with the director but had a major head pain and decided to leave after the movie was over. Missed out but my allergies were killing me.

Looking forward to the first wine walk on bishop for the year 2013. Always have fun doing them. It's not really about the wine, okay maybe a little, it's about having fun and enjoying the things you see. Pretty soon we won't be doing them so got to enjoy them while I can.

This weekend we will be doing a ghost tour out in Granbury, Texas.  Wondering how different it will be from that of a city ghost tour. If you'd like to check it out here is the link:  http://www.granburytours.com/Pages/default.aspx


If you love Texas you got to love the Texas weather.