Sparkle with Light

Moving across the country

2009-11-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

It's been almost half a year since I moved to Washington, D.C., and I am really enjoying my time here. I think this was one of the best choices I made in my life.

Despite it's bitterly cold winters, Chicago was great -- so much nightlife, sports, great food. Along the way I met such great people, some that I hope I can keep a life-long friendship with. But because of the ridiculously demanding job and with too few acquaintances, I feel like I didn't get to really know the city as well as I would have liked to. The only "sight-seeing" I did was on my way to work downtown via the El, or when I would tag along with family and friends doing the tourist thing. Chicago was such a big city with so much to do and see -- maybe it was too big for little 'ol me.

San Diego was also an amazing city --the perfect weather, beautiful beaches, great perks as military spouse. Again, I met fantastic people that I know I'll be friends with for a long time to come. And again, I didn't get to enjoy the city as much because during that time, I had way too much free time (didn't have to work), but again, no one to enjoy it with.

While living in these two cities, Jaime, my husband, was serving in the U.S. submarine force. I had no family in either of these great cities.

Now in D.C., I am enjoying the city. I made friends quickly and reunited with old but fantastic acquaintances that are now dear friends. Food is fine, and there are some pretty sights near where I live, but not enough to out-shadow Chicago or San Diego.

I've been trying to figure out why it is that I'm extremely happy. Yes, my job with AFOP is exactly what I hoped for, but an argument can be made that it was better being in San Diego and not having to work -- and that can be better than any job! And the weather would be warmer than in Chicago, but it's still not as perfect as the San Diego weather.

Here I was, hoping to find the answer by comparing the cities, when the answer was on his way to pick me up after work. Jaime was the factor that made the biggest difference.Although I've been married for almost three years, I've been able to truly experience married life this last half year. And although there were times I prayed Jaime would take a fishing trip somewhere, I know that after a couple of hours, I'd be wishing he was at home when I needed to reach something on the top shelf or to hear me critique a celebrity's outfit.

It turns out that it doesn't matter what city you're in when you have great company.

Changes

2009-08-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

"It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes. Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live and let's change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do what we gotta do, to survive."

--Tupac, "Changes"

The battle to eat better

2009-06-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Last night, I went to see Food, Inc. I thought it was great! More than anything, it really made me think about what I was supporting with my dollars, and what I'm putting into my body.

After working with others in the Good Food movement at FAS, I had made up my mind to eat healthier and to pay more attention as to where I'm buying the food from (mostly farmer's markets). I also decided to start growing food myself. So far, we've had a few road blocks.

While I was traveling on business last week, I had called home and noticed my husband was more annoyed than anything. He had these two pots with cilantro and parsley that he had brought from Chicago. Apparently, something had chewed most of the plants. Actually, it ate the leaves, which is the best part. He was really mad about it, which made me crack up even more. We had spotted a turtle, raccoon and chipmunk in our backyard, but weren't really convinced it was any of them that ate the plants.

Earlier today, we looked outside and caught the culprit -- a hedgehog eating what was left of the plants and some watermelon rinds we had left next to the plants. It was hard to get mad at them because they were so cute! We are now going to have to rodent-proof the backyard if we want to grow most of our veggies. I guess that'll be next week's project.

My goal for the end of the year is to switch completely to organics and to have my nice garden in the backyard.

Backyard rodents, the war is on!

Living the life in DC

2009-06-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to say I'm no longer in Chicago working the corporate PR world. I was offered an opportunity to do what I love best and have moved to D.C. So far, things have been amazing! Exhausting, but very much worth it.

I work at a non-profit organization now (AFOP) advocating for migrant farmworker children. It is much more fulfilling and much less stress. I feel like I broke out of prison by leaving my old job! This work now is definitely right up my alley.

The packing part was not fun. We had to pack up in two days and drive through the night. I thought I could do it alone in one day -- boy, was I wrong! Luckily, with a large family nearby, I was able to call the troops to help me out. Thank God for family! We drove all night from Chicago to DC. Well, not we, more like Jaime. I slept most of the way. The crappy part was that it rained for more than half of the trip. I think we could've made it under 10 hours if it wasn't for that.

Anywho, we got to move in that weekend to our awesome townhome. It has way more space than I will ever need. What's even greater for me is the huge shopping center nearby. Jaime likes the state parks and rivers and woods more -- that is, until some chipmunk came into our backyard and ate all the cilantro and parsley we were growing. I thought it was hilarious.

I guess this will be home for the next 3 years or so... and I'm okay with that.

Wedding day memories

2009-04-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

Well, as some of you might have noticed, I fell of the face of the planet around the end of January. That's because I was busy planning a fantastic wedding in our hometown with our family and friends.

Below are a couple of snapshots from this lovely day:

I couldn't have asked for more on this day. There was so much food and desserts, the music was fantastic and the weather outside was a lovely 80 degrees with no clouds in sight (in February!).

Thank you to all that made this memorable day happen and those who were with me to share it. I was the happiest bride in the world!

I'm back!

2009-04-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot of stuff has happened in my life. A quick recap:

My husband Jaime is out of theNavy, (yay!) but he joined the Navy Reserves. So does that still make me a military wife? Hmm.
My hamsters died a couple of months ago. They were my only companions for two years while Jaime was out to sea, and I became more attached to them than I realized. Barbara and Nancy, you will be missed.
Now that Jaime is out, we got to throw our big wedding. I'll share pictures and more details later.
I just got back from an AMAZING conference. I was at the Food and Society Gathering in San Jose, CA (Did you know it was the 10th largest city in the U.S.?). I'll get into that later as well.
Jaime and I are thinking of possible new spots around the country. Any suggestions? We'll stick to Chicago for now.

I would share more things right now, but I'm a little busy watching Best Week Ever on VH1 and they're making fun of Groomer Has It. I actually met a guy at the #FAS09 that helped produce it.

P.S. Did anyone else know that Keiko (a.k.a. "Willy" from Free Willy) died in 2003? I just found out on a show on PBS.

Inauguration Day!

2009-01-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

Today is an exciting day! Regardless of what your political views are, everyone has to admit today's a big day. It's great to be able to say, "I remember when the first n0n-white was sworn into presidency."
I thought that being in Grant Park in Chicago when Obama was declared winner of the presidential election was as exciting as it got. I could not imagine a bigger feeling. But now I'm sure that for those lucky folks in D.C., it must be electrifying to be part of this historic event.
I have waited for so long for this new presidency. I certainly pray that God give Obama the wisdom to lead this country well and that it can help heal a lot of the damage that has been left behind.
I can't wait to go to D.C. in a couple of weeks.
Watch the inauguration with me on CBS!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-06T06:02:00.001-08:00

So my year is off to a great start! I just got back from a restful vacation in San Diego. I got to say goodbye to really great friends and had fun taking professional photos on the Coronado beaches. Jaime is finished with the Navy. Yay! He began his terminal leave on Dec. 29. He is back at home with me, although getting back wasn't much fun... I have the worst luck with air flights.
My sister and my nieces also came to visit me. I had a lot of fun visiting Navy Pier, the Lincoln Park Zoo and running around downtown Chicago with them.
I'm really excited for 2009. It seems to have a lot of potential. I have a lot of grown up decisions to make in the next couple of months that will determine the path my life will take. A little nerve-wrecking, but exciting.
And of course, this "New Year" post wouldn't be complete without a resolution. My resolution this year is to take it easy. Most people have resolutions to do more with themselves. I think I need to take it down a notch. I've been used to running around, over-achieving my whole life. I think I'm in a good spot and have done pretty good for myself. I need to find some quiet time for me and actually relax, not try to relax while thinking about everything that needs to get done. 2008 had a lot of things going on and while they were fun, I burnt myself out rather quickly. I say more naps and more reading and more laughing. Life is too short.

Welcome home, Jaime!

2008-12-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

Last week was an exciting one. My husband, Jaime, finally came home after a LONG deployment.

I flew to San Diego to meet him. It was nice to get away from the cold, but it was a rough time getting there. My flights were delayed until the next day, and to make things worse, I forgot my license at home. I had to get felt up by the TSA folks and had my bags tosses around. It wasn't bad... just annoying. But thanks to a few friends in SoCal, I was picked up at the airport promptly and taken to the sub base to wait for the sub to pull in, ready to show off my banner.

I had forgotten how anxious I can get seeing the sail of the sub in the distance and later the tug boats hauling it in. They take FOREVER to tie it to the dock and finally place the brow.

Last West Pac, Jaime was one of the last ones to get off of the boat, so I stood there with my sign, patiently waiting for all of the sailors to get off. Since I wasn't really paying attention to the first guys, Jaime managed to sneak up on me. LOL.

That night, we had a nice dinner at Adam's Avenue Grill, a fave spot of mine in San Diego, and then called it a night. The next day we went shopping, ate lunch and a movie, and headed back to cold Chicago.

Jaime was here the weekend and will be returning today. I don't feel too bad since I'll be seeing him throughout the month, including this weekend, and he'll be coming back home at the end of the year. Yay!

Counting down the days until terminal leave begins....

Thanksgiving weekend

2008-12-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

I just got back to Chicago after a wonderful trip to Texas. I had a blast with my family and friends!
I got to San Antonio on Wednesday night where I met with Gibby. Since it was his birthday, we headed to the Riverwalk for dinner and a few drinks. It was a great night to sit out and relax.
Thanksgiving day, we drove down and stopped for some great brisket sandwiches in Three Rivers. Gibby dropped me off at my Grandma’s house where I met with my sisters and a couple of my aunts. It was great to see my nephew wasn’t running away from me. Amazing what a dollar bill can do! I stopped by my sister Luz’s house to see her and my fabulous nieces. I was so happy to spend a little bit of time with them before they headed to their uncle’s house. As if I didn’t eat enough at my Grandma’s, I headed to my sister Rocio’s house to eat dinner with her and watch the Cowboys game. Afterwards, our talks began about our family tradition – Black Friday. We pulled out the ads and started plotting out our game plan. We decided who was going where and with whom and buying what. We were ready for war!! All we were missing was the warrior face paint. LOL.
Since Thursday was also George’s birthday, Gibby and I met up with him and hit up the few bars that were open on Thanksgiving night. The two we hung out at had pretty good live bands playing some of our favorite tunes. Later in the night, we met up with some of George’s/Gibby’s friends at Rodz. After succeeding in getting George drunk, I took off to get a wink of sleep before heading to the stores for my Black Friday shopping.
I slept under an hour before getting up to get in line at Wal-Mart for four hours just to find out that the X-Box I wanted was sold out. Boo! It wasn’t a total loss – I got a good deal on a TV for my dad and a Blu-Ray player for my husband, Jaime. Somewhere around hour 3, workers from the McDonald’s inside Wal-Mart filled a shopping cart with pre-made breakfast combos and started walking up the line of electronics selling them to the tired and hungry. I was pleasantly surprised and bought one for me and my sister Beatriz. They even had ketchup and jelly with them. LOL. I’m sure this is not something that happened in every Wal-Mart, but I was glad it happened in mine. I was so hungry! After getting out of Wal-Mart, the smart thing to do would have been to go to sleep. Instead, my sister Marisol and I headed to Circuit City to look for DVD’s, Wii Games and Blu-Ray discs. I got a few good deals on boxed DVD sets, including Mad Men and the Office. My sister Rocio took off to Target and got me a Wii and the Sex and the City movie. It had been a successful morning! I took a quick 30-minute nap while my niece knocked out the opponent on the Wii Boxing game. (Mind you, she did it in the second round and she’s 6. She’s tough!) I then had to get up to head to meet with my wedding planner with my sister Luz to help me.
After eating at Khan’s Mongolian Grill with my sisters, I headed to Harlingen with George

and Gibby to meet with Laura and Hernan at the Greyhound Race Track. We had placing 10-cent bets and losing money. Hernan came close to winning big twice – it was kinda fun to see him upset about it. LOL. We headed to Applebee's afterwards where George entertained us with his "abstract" drawings. (By the way, who puts cheese on their steaks? Apparently Gibby thought this was a great idea. Just curious...) After nodding off at the bar, we called it a night and finally got SOME sleep.
Saturday, I had breakfast with my sisters again and headed out to go dress shopping with my bridesmaids. Then it was off to getting things ready for my surprise party for Gibby and George! Luckily, Laura and Hernan were helping me out. After running to Wal-Mart to get the chips and drinks, I picked up the boys and headed to my parents house. We had pizza, beer and most importantly -- a moon jump! It was hilarious! We all quickly realized that we were so out of shape. All it took was five minutes of jumping to get us out of breath. After a game of Scrabble and ice cream cake, we cleaned up the party and I ran around to get stuff ready for my trip back to Chicago. Gibby and I ate take-out from Kato's Sushi while watching SNL and then headed to bed early. Sunday morning we had a long drive to San Antonio to catch my flight back to Chicago. Our wait at the airport was even longer. My flight was delayed a few times and what was supposed to be a 2:15 p.m. flight turned into a 6 p.m. flight. Nothing like sitting in an airplane for close to six hours! I finally got to my apartment in Chicago and crashed out.
Thanks to everyone who made this trip memorable! I can't wait to see them again.

PoPCorn!

2008-11-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

I am going to make a bold statement here and declare POPCORN my favorite snack.

Megan gave me a bag of Orville Redenbacher's mini bag and it totally changed my mood. I'm much happier and bouncy. In retrospect, popcorn has always made me feel better. I will go to the movies JUST for the popcorn. Does that make me a fat ass? I hope not. But it sure makes me happy!

What's cooler is that I'm not alone. LOL. There's an actual Web site called Popcorn Fan Club with other people like me. There's even the Popcorn Institute and a museum called the Wyandot Popcorn Museum.

Fun Facts:

According to the Popcorn Institute, Americans today consume 17 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year. The average American eats about 54 quarts.
Popcorn was integral to early 16th century Aztec Indian ceremonies -- they used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.
One of the ancient ways to pop corn was to heat sand in a fire and stir kernels of popcorn in when the sand was fully heated.

Well, I think I got my keyboard greasy enough. Back to the PR world!

Addicted to Ender

2008-11-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

Although I vehemently deny that I'm a nerd, I have a few friends that would beg to differ. I guess it doesn't help my case when I graduated from the Science Academy, majored in Physics and Math most of my college years and most incriminating, love the Ender book series by Orson Scott Card.

When I attended the Science Academy, part of our required summer reading included the books Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. I fell in love with these books. Not because they were Sci-Fi books, full of faraway planets and galactic battles. It was actually despite the fact that they were full of that Sci-Fi stuff. The story line is great, the characters are memorable and the book is written without all that fluff. Granted, I'm not a book expert, but I know what I like. As a matter of fact, I got a few friends of mine into the series too -- all of whom did not graduate from a science/math magnet school, took the minimum math/science classes and don't typically read Sci-Fi books.

Last week, my favoritest person in the world, Gibb, gave me my early Christmas gift. He bought me THE WHOLE SERIES. Every one of those books. I had read most of them, but there were a few I had left to tackle. The gift also included the most recent addition, which came out this month. I was so excited I couldn't contain the girly side of me. Yes, I shed a couple of tears. As of last Friday, I am reading Xenocide, one of the 10 books.

To add to my nerdiness, below is a chart with the book titles and the order in which they were written.

So if you're looking for a good read, I definitely recommend these books whole-heartedly. I have yet to meet a person that doesn't enjoy them.

"My brain is on fire!"

2008-11-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I wrote a quick entry on my trip to Michigan. Even though it was a little town, I was excited at the possibilities this trip had. Boy, it was more than I had ever imagined.

I was placed in a room with 20 of the most amazing individuals for an intense day and a half of planning for the 2009 Food and Society (FAS) Conference, hosted by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The feeling in the room was electric with so many ideas floating around. It was so much fun to create and think and share with everyone. I can’t wait to see how this conference is going to shape. I’m so pumped to be part of this great movement.

For those who are just getting to know me, let me take a step back and fill in some of those gaps formed with the statements above.

I grew up in a migrant farmworker family. At the age of 12, I began to work full-time out in the farm fields, doing anything from picking onions to detassling corn fields. I did this every year thereafter, during any time off from school. I managed to overcome the educational, social and emotional barriers this lifestyle placed in my path towards my goals. Once I began college, I stopped working in the fields, but my parents and two younger sisters continue to do so today.

As a result of my background and my academic successes, I was invited during my high school years to participate in migrant programs and help out kids with these same types of barriers. Slowly, I became the poster child for this ignored injustice in America. I was invited to share my story in anything from national conferences to meetings with U.S. Representatives to press conferences. As more people heard my story, more invitations came for me to spread the word. A huge catalyst and support for my new-found advocacy work was the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs. They took me under their wing and have awakened a passion in me for social justice for the humble but hardworking and honest migrant farmworker community – my community. For the past five years, I have been a voice for these people and do so with great pride and respect, especially for the migrant farmworker children. I’ll get into more of my work at a later date.

Fast forward to spring of 2008 – I was invited by Ricardo Salvador (awesome man) to speak as a Provocateur for the 2008 FAS Conference and once again, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of food. There is this Good Food movement propelled by people who passionately believe in making the world a better place through what we eat. I’ll get more in-depth with that at a later date too.

This year, I was invited to become part of the planning committee for the 2009 FAS Conference, which is the reason for my trip to Battle Creek, Michigan.

So now that you’re more-or-less brought up to speed, I can continue ranting about what an amazing experience those two days were.

It was so refreshing to meet with people that genuinely care about others. Food is such a huge part of our society. It’s a part of celebrations and rituals, essential to our lives, brings comfort and memories, joy to even the toughest cookies out there (ha ha). These people that joined me for planning this conference were there because their work is centered around making food good for everyone and for our environment. After such a riveting meeting, I am ecstatic to see what the conference will be like.

With everything else going on in my life, it was nice to take a break from that all and nourish my creative and passionate side I ignored for so long. This space had no prejudices or boundaries. It gave me time to look inside and honestly answer: What am I hungry for?

I am hungry for real change in my life and in my work. I am hungry for emancipation of my true thoughts and feelings, and the acceptance of who I really am. I am hungry for truly inspiring moments in life that make me feel spiritually renewed. I am hungry for people I can trust and who are not afraid to love.

What are YOU hungry for?

Exploring the World.

2008-11-10T20:34:00.001-08:00

Traveling is one my favorite things in life. I just love to be somewhere different, meet different people, try different things. I even enjoy staying at hotels, living this pretend life of luxury.

I don't enjoy being lost or missing a flight or some of the downers that come with traveling, but they make for interesting cocktail stories. How boring would a trip be if everything went right? Well, I've never been on a "perfect" trip, so maybe it is fantastic! I just never experienced it and can't imagine taking a trip and having everything go exactly as I planned it.

My latest escapade is to Battle Creek, MI. Not exactly the most exotic location, but so far it's been nice. Not many people I know can say "I've been in Battle Creek, MI!" It's the Kellogg mecca from what I've seen.

I just find it insane that there are people who have never left their state and are perfectly content with that, or have left for a couple of days and are ready to go home. How can you not want to see what's out there and experience life? How can you want to just stay in your hometown 'til you're last days? How do you KNOW it's better without having anything to really compare it to?

I have heard the excuse many times that someone doesn't want to leave because of their family. I have family too, and I love them DEARLY. Family really does mean so much to me. Sure, I miss out on everyday things and celebrations, but that doesn't mean that I don't stay close with them. As a matter of fact, I think I've had longer and more personal conversations with my sisters and parents now that I'm gone than when I was at home. I enjoy seeing them a lot more when I do and I have learned to appreciate and love them more each day.

I think it's important for everyone to explore the world, even if it is little ol' Battle Creek. Who knows... I might discover the world's best burger here or meet a new lifetime friend. After all, those are the little things that makes anyone into an interesting, experienced old person, which I can only hope to be described as one day.

What was your favorite get-away place?

Flashback to the Coldplay concert - July 2008

2008-11-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

So Mr. George Magee informs me that, once again, I'm famous. Check it out below:

Well, not really. LOL. But I'm somewhere in that crowd. Basically myself and my two best buddies, Gibby and George, went to the awesome Coldplay concert in July when they came to Chicago. They told us they were going to record it and put it on their video and --Ta-da! Here it is! To accompany such a joyous occassion, below are a couple of pics of me and my boys from the concert.

Oh, good times. Anybody else been in the crowds of a recorded concert? Here's your chance to let people know you were SO there!

Followers aren't always bad...

2008-11-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

Well, this week I have been such a follower. It's pretty exciting stuff, though! Thanks to my lovely co-worker Megan, I have recently joined the Twitter world and now I'm writing a blog. Wow. I even started to subscribe to the RSS feeds. I feel so modern! I know, this stuff is so yesterday, but I'm working hard to catch up! I haven't had too much time to wander around online. Now that part of my job is to keep a pulse on the "public", I am learning a lot from my co-workers and what the capabilities are of the virtual world.

I've always been a trailblazer with my migrant advocacy work and with my regular job that my brain is fried. I don't want to think. As a matter of fact, I envy my husband right now who is able to just turn off his brain sometimes and stare blankly at the TV.

Anyone else have cool things out there I should join? I feel like being a follower of the masses. I already have Facebook and Myspace too. Yes, it's sad, but is it really that bad?

Speaking of today's technological advances, did everyone see the crazy hologram thing on CNN? I haven't made up my mind if I liked it or not. I guess I'll wait to see what the "thought leaders" are saying about it. LOL.

I am taking a break this week and be content FOLLOWING. It's nice sometimes to sit back and let the wind roll by.