Mike

Wordles Wednesday: Matachines

2012-02-15T20:33:00.000-06:00

Video(s) of The Week - Superbowl Commercials

2012-02-10T12:00:00.002-06:00

Here are my favorite commercials from this years Superbowl.

Doritos-Man's Best Friend. The whole commercial is funny!

M&M's - Sexy and I know it. So funny!

Acura NSX: Transaction. I loved the part where Jay Leno shows up.

The Voice - Vocal Kombat. The fighting is kind of cheesy, but the ending is awesome!

H&M - David Beckham Body Wear. Do I really need to say why this video made my list.

Wordless Wednesday: Rattlesnake Rattles

2012-02-08T12:00:00.000-06:00

Randy's (@areyousuprised) Inspired Chicken and Rice

2012-02-06T12:00:00.001-06:00

Today's recipe comes from YouTube, specifically @areyousuprised. If you don't know who Randy is, you need to check out his YouTube Channel.

Ok, before I go on with the recipe, you need to watch his video where he makes his EXTREME PROTEIN dish, the inspiration for my dish.

Isn't he just sooo cute!

Now Randy's dish and mine are a bit different because Randy is packing protein, working out, in shape, hot, good looking, delicious....but I digress....and I am not, so mine might not be as healthy.

Ingredients:

Chicken
Seasoning
Onion
Rice
Chicken stock or bullion cube
Black Beans
Corn
Salsa (any brand, any level of heat)
Diced Tomatoes (not pictured)

I'm not adding any amounts because it's really up to how much you want to make. I used this whole package of chicken and at the end I would have liked more corn and beans, so I will use 2 cans of each the next time.

First make your rice. I did two cups of brown rice with four cups of water and a chicken bullion cube. Cook until done. While the rice is cooking, start on the chicken. Dice the chicken into bite size strips and season with your favorite seasoning.

To a hot pan, add some oil and the chicken. Cook chicken until it's almost done and then add chopped onion.

Cook until the onion is translucent and then add your corn and beans. Because I used can beans, I did rinse them with water before adding to the pan.

Then add your chopped tomato, fresh or canned, and salsa. Again, add a lot or a little bit of salsa, according to how spicy you like it. I like mine spicy so I added about half the bottle of salsa. Set the heat on low, cover, and let it simmer for a few minutes while the chicken soaks up all the deliciousness.

When done, get a plate and scoop some brown rice in the center. Then get a heaping scoop of chicken and salsa and place on top of your rice. Top with some chopped cilantro and enjoy!

Video of the week!

2012-02-03T19:21:00.000-06:00

I was in Wal-Mart, the only place in Del Rio that has books for sale, looking for a new book to read. As I was browsing the very small selection of books, I came across one called The Hunger Games. As I read the title, I remembered someone who I follow on twitter, I'm pretty sure it was @tyleroakley, had mentioned the book. I picked it up and read the back cover. Seemed interesting, so I bought it. After I bought it and read some chapters, I decided to do a twitter search to see if anyone else was talking about it. Turns out there are a lot. That when I found out about the other 2 books in the series and the upcoming movie. As soon as I was finished reading the first book, I read the second, and then the third. I really liked the series and the trailers for the movie look good. The second trailer was just released yesterday and the movie is set to come out in theaters March 23, 2012.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-01T20:17:00.000-06:00

Empanadas de Calabaza (Pumpkin Empanadas)

2012-01-26T21:51:00.000-06:00

In my last post I said I was going to make pumpkin empanadas using that huge pumpkin my grandmother gave me. Empanadas are basically stuffed pastries that are baked or fried. They are very common in Latin American countries as well as southern Europe and southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanadas are made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing. The stuffing can consist of a variety of meats, cheeses, vegetables or fruits among others.

Empanadas are really easy to make. They can be make savory or sweet. They can be large entree size, or they can be small bite size. There are many recipes out there and I chose to do this one

Ingredients:

Pastry
3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Cinnamon (optional)
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup warm water

Filling
4 cups pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 beaten egg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

I didn't have any parchment paper, so I didn't use any. I didn't have any stick to the pan, but it might be a good idea to use it if you have it.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Adding cinnamon is optional. It was not in the original recipe but I LOVE cinnamon, so I added it. I put in 1 large tablespoon of cinnamon. You can add however much you want.

Then cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles crumbs.

I just used a spoon and scooped the shortening all around the bowl, then I used a pastry cutter to mix in the shortening until it resembles course crumbs as seen below.

Stir water in 2 tablespoons at a time, just until you can gather the dough together. Knead the dough a few times in the bowl, then scrape it out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into quarters and then cut each quarter into thirds to make 12 equal portions.

The recipe says that it will make 12 servings. You can make 12 large empanadas, or 24 medium empanadas, or a whole bunch of small epanadas. It's all up to your liking. I made medium sized and small empanadas so some of the 12 dough balls were slit in half. Like I said, it's all up to what you want to make.

Cover the dough balls and let rest while you make the filling.

I found that the dough was a lot more manageable if you wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it. I would say at leas one hour. I actually let mine in the fridge overnight.

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together until smooth.

I didn't have any ground cloves so I added ground nutmeg...why not.

On a floured surface roll each dough ball our into a thin circle about 6 inches across. Spoon 1/3 cup of filling into the center of the dough circle. Fold the dough over the filling to make a half moon shaped pie and crimp the edges of the crust together with a fork, leaving fork lines in the dough.

I did not make them 6 in across, so I did not use 1/3 cup of filling. I used more like 1-2 tablespoons.

You can also use an empanada mold to fold and crimp your empanadas.

Gently lay the empanadas onto the prepared baking sheets. Brush the tops of each empanada with beaten egg.

Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is hot and the crusts are shiny and browned, about 20 minutes.

I baked mine in the middle rack and it took a bit longer than 20 minutes to bake. You just have to keep your eye on them. These were not going to a party or going to be given away as a gift, so I wasn't too picky with how they looked. My stomach doesn't really care if one is torn or I didn't crimp tight enough and its leaking. Just be careful not to over stuff with filling or you will have some leakage and tears in the dough....well I did.

I also made mini bite size empanadas with a small mold.

Serve warm with ice cream for dessert or at room temperature with coffee in the morning for breakfast. You can also reheat them in the microwave if wanted.

Like all recipes, you can play around with the ingredients in both the crust and the filling (eg. take out or add more sugar). If you are going to make a savory empanada, you might want to omit all or some of the sugar in the crust. A good filling for savory empanadas is taco meat. Just use some ground meat with onion, peppers, and taco seasoning. Serve with crema fresca and/or guacamole

Roasted Pumpkin

2012-01-22T21:25:00.000-06:00

In December of last year, my grandmother bought some pumpkins and she gave me one. I don't know what kind of pumpkin it is or what to do with it. My grandmother told me that I could roast it like a regular pumpkin. Well, not too sure what to do with it, I let it sit in my living room as a decoration piece.

Well, the other day I decided that I better do something with it before it goes bad, if it hadn't already. I wanted to make empanadas with pumpkin filling, so why not use this pumpkin. I have never roasted a pumpkin before so, like I always do with something new, I went to google and did a search. I found lots of info and found out that it really isn't that hard.

First I wash the outside of the pumpkin and cut it in half. Then I removed the seeds and guts.I was surprised with how bright and orange it was even after sitting in my living room for a month.

Then I quartered it.Then I cut those quarters in half, that way it would not take as long to cook, and fit better in my pans.

I roasted them skin side up at 350 degrees and it took about 1 1/2 hours till it was done.

Then after letting them cool for a bit, I took a spoon and scooped out all of the flesh into a bowl. I got four large bowls from this pumpkin.

Then, in small batches, I used a blender to puree the pulp.

This is what I ended up with...a whole lot of pumpkin puree. I put some aside to make the empanadas and the rest I put into freezer bags and into the freezer to use at a later time.

I plan to use all the puree to make empanadas, but it can be used to make pies, breads, cakes, flans, soups, and whatever else you want.

2012-01-22T11:30:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I have neglected my blog for way too long.

Lately when I'm at home cooking, I start taking pics and twitpic them. I thought, why don't I blog about what I cook, so I can post more pics and share what I cook with anyone willing to read this.

Now don't get me wrong, my blog will not become a food/cooking only blog. It will still be a jumbled mess of things that I want to blog about blog.

Convo: Her name is Joe

2011-03-12T21:59:00.000-06:00

Mom - "I didn't know you knew how to do this stuff"
Me - "What stuff?"
Mom - "Car stuff"
Me - "I used to date a mechanic."
Mom - "Oh really, what was her name."
Me - "Joe"
Mom just walks away

Funny Story - Not You Bitch

2011-01-27T22:13:00.001-06:00

Background:
My brother and I are playing Call of Duty on XBox Live. I am in my room and he is in his room with his girlfriend. We both have are mics on so we can communicate during the game.

The Funny Part:
During intermission, my brother asks his girlfriend if she is hungry. Because he still has his mic on, I heard him and answered yes, as if he was asking me. At the same time his girlfriend had answered and responding to me, he said, "not you bitch."

Because she answered at the same time and she can't hear me talking to him, his girlfriend thought he was talking to her.

After that, all I heard was "no, not you, I was talking to Mike, really, I was."

I just couldn't stop laughing once I realized what happened. I wish I could have seen the look on her face when he said "not you bitch."

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2010-11-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

I love this song! Youtuber totallyjeremy has some awesome funny videos. You should really go check them out!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving day, and be safe if you are going out shopping on Black Friday!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-17T15:00:00.000-06:00

Matachines dancing at the park

Matachine captains bowing and making the sign of the cross to a portrait of the Virgin Mary

It's Water

2010-10-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

There is this guy that I know that refuses to drink tap water. He only drinks bottled water or water from a filter pitcher.

Whenever I make tea(usually instant, like crystal light) this guy loves it and drinks it up. I use tap water to make it and he doesn't seem to notice.

Also, the ice cubes in the glass of filtered water are from tap water........dumb ass

Drink the damn tap water.

Damn It! (Conversation (short))

2010-09-24T10:39:00.004-05:00

Very short conversation between hot neighbor and I this morning as I am leaving my apartment:

Hot Neighbor: "Hey, how's it going?"

Me: "He....Hi....goo..um..tha....an ...u?"

DAMN IT!

I like Diet Coke

2010-08-04T19:21:00.003-05:00

A guy takes me out to a pizza place to eat dinner. While I was getting my drink, a diet coke, he tells me, " you know, diet coke is bad for you."

Dude, if you are so worried about my health, why the hell did you bring me to a pizza place......dumb ass.

I like Diet Coke!

You Just Go

2010-07-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went and got ma hurr did. As usual, I got it cut short..... but shorter than usual.

The main reason I like my hair short is that there is little to no fuss with styling it. You just go!

You wake up.....and just go!
You take a shower....and just go!
You have sex....and then wake up.....and then take a shower (optional)....and just go!

It's so easy.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T22:37:00.001-05:00

It's Funny To Me

2010-06-17T16:31:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I go into bathroom stalls and on the wall I write, "For a good time call/text me at .... " and I put down my brother's phone number.

The things I do for a good laugh...

I wonder if anyone calls him?

I wonder if he ever accepts a caller???

Hmm.....

The San Antonio Missions

2010-06-12T21:19:00.006-05:00

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that my mom is here for vacation and yesterday we went to go see the San Antonio Missions.

Even though I have been living in San Antonio for six years, I have never been to the missions. My mom, who rarely visits San Antonio has also never been there, so I decided that it would be a good place to go visit.

It was awesome! We visited three of the five missions.

Mission San Jose

Mission San Juan

Mission Concepcion

The missions that we did not visit were the Mission Espada and the Alamo. The Missions are each separated by a short drive and by the time we got to the third mission we were on hour 4 of the trip and the sun had came up and so did the heat.

Mission San Jose aka The Queen of The Missions, is really a cool place to visit and see the actual rooms where the Spanish missionaries and indians lived in. I do recommend to take the Park Ranger or Docent guided tour because you will learn a lot more about the mission than you would by just walking around.

The missions were built by Spain in the 1700's and used to convert the indian people to Catholicism and Spanish tax paying people.

The churches at the four main missions still have Sunday mass and are run by the Archdiocese of San Antonio. I think it would be nice to go to one of the Sunday services, but very uncomfortable. While visiting the missions, we did go inside the churches and they were hot and humid. We could only stay in for a few minutes before we had to get out and get some air. Maybe sometime in the fall or winter will be more comfortable.

I do plan on visiting The Alamo later this week. It has been many many many years since I have been there and would really like to go again.

I do have a lot more pics of my trip on my FB page!

If you are ever in San Antonio, I recommend visiting the San Antonio Missions. Just make sure to get there early in the morning(a lot cooler), wear comfortable clothing and shoes, wear a hat, bring some water and of course, bring a camera to take a lot of pics ( I took about 324 pics!).

What do you see?

2010-05-28T14:05:00.006-05:00

I was playing with some magnet beads, like I usually do, and came up with this shape.

It reminded me of something that I had seen before, but could not remember what it was. After just a few moments of staring at it and thinking, I knew where I had seen this shape before...It is the shape of an antibody.

Ah science....

Is there anything in particular that you see when you look at that shape?

Mom Thinks I Do Drag

2010-05-27T16:37:00.002-05:00

Mom found a wig that belongs to a Halloween costume from a few years back. She asks me,"why do you have this wig?"

I told her, "For Saturday nights!"

After she finished crying, I told her it was from a Halloween costume.

She doesn't believe me and now she thinks that I do drag.....

Overheard Convo

2010-05-25T14:40:00.003-05:00

Overheard conversation between two ladies

Lady #1 - I went to the doctors office today because I have a blister on my lips

Lady #2 - Is everything alright? Did he give you any medication for it?

Lady #1 - Everything is ok, He just told me to sit in some warm salt water.

Me - ewwww

Super Awesome Great News

2010-03-27T15:49:00.004-05:00

Ok, here is the great news!!!

Starting today, The Queer Etsy Street Team will be donating 100% (minus fees) to the Trever Project!!!

How exciting is that!!!!

For those of you that do not know, The Trever Project is a non-profit organization established to promote acceptance for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

They operates the only accredited, nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth.

So make sure you visit The Queer Etsy Street Team Shop and buy some awesome stuff from some awesome artists for a good cause.

Please help spread the word.

P.S.
You can also find some of my Hemp Bracelets there!!! There is also FREE SHIPPING on all items in the shop!!!!

The Difference Between Regular Friends and Mike

2010-02-25T18:28:00.000-06:00

Friends: Never ask for anything to eat or drink
Mike: Helps himself and is the reason why you have no food

Friends: Call your parents by Mr. and Mrs.
Mike: Calls your parents dude and dude

Friends: Would bail you out of jail
Mike: Is the reason you are in jail

Friends: Have never seen you cry
Mike: Makes you cry

Friends: Borrow your stuff for a few days then gives it back
Mike: Will deny ever having your stuff and then pawn it for some cash

Friends: Only know a few things about you
Mike: Could care less

Friends: Will be there to take your drink away from you when they think you've had enough
Mike: Will look at you stumbling all over the place and say "What a dumb ass"

Friends: Helps you up when you fall
Mike: Will start laughing when you fall

Friends: Will offer you a soda
Mike: Will make you get him a soda

Friends: Gives you their umbrella in the rain
Mike: Takes your umbrella and says, "Run bitch run"

Friends: Will help you move
Mike: Will supervise you move

Friends: You have to tell them not to tell anyone
Mike: Will tell someone the minute you leave

Friends: Are only for a short time
Mike: Is for life

F*ck You!

2010-02-24T22:40:00.002-06:00

This video says it all.

Stories From The Past

2010-02-15T12:37:00.000-06:00

I am currently reading a book called Mexican Americans & World War II. One of my uncles, a dean at a local community college, gave me this book, from his collection, to read.

During a visit with my uncle, my mom was with me, the topic of the past came up, as it usually does when family gets together. My uncle's, aunts, and mom were born either right before or right after the second World War.

My uncle tells me many of his stories of the hardships and discrimination that he and his family went through during those years and the many years after. Hardships including the whole family traveling out of state to work as a pickers on a farm at a young age and discrimination including being refused service at a diner for being Mexican-American.

He tells me of a time when were forced to go to the bathroom in the woods near a restaurant because they were not allowed inside of the restaurant.

My mom adds her stories of discrimination that she remembers.

Toward the end of our visit, my uncle gave me the book and said it was something that I should read. The book is a collection of letters and essays written by those who have either lived through that time or interviewers of those people.

As I read the stories and letters in this book, I tend to imagine my mom and her family during that time. Growing up with almost no discrimination towards me, it's easy to forget and really sad to think of what my mom and her family (and other Mexican-Amercians) have gone through growing up.

I think this is a book that all Mexican-Americans not raised at that time should read, especially the youth of today.

Done, bye

Opening Ceremonis........really......

2010-02-14T18:10:00.005-06:00

Friday was the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. Was it just me or was it kinda boring? I did like the beginning part with the celebration of the Canadian aboriginals and then the parade of nations. However, the rest of it was just so boring. I actually caught myself falling asleep.

There was also the unfortunate training accident that took the life of 21 year old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. This was great cloud of sadness that hovered over the opening ceremonies.

The games started on Saturday and I did watch some of them including ski jumping and speed skating. I don't have any particular event that I am interested in, so I will be checking in from time to time to see what event is going on.

Happy Valentine's Day and I hope you had a great weekend! Bye

That Game With The Guys And The Ball

2010-02-08T00:53:00.002-06:00

How about those........football guys teams......whatever.

Just kidding. I know who was playing in the big game. Did you watch it? I did. I'm not a big football fan, but I always end up watching the Super Bowl. Lets be honest, I really only watch to see the so called awesome commercials and maybe watch the game in between them.

Anyways, I was invited to a cookout at my uncle's place for the game. It was nice. Spent time with family, had great food (that I cooked), and cheered for our team. I don't usually have a favorite team. I just pick one at the start of the game and root for that team.

Today I picked the winning team. But mostly because that's the team my uncle was rooting for. So, how about them Saints. Was that a great game or what!

On to the commercials

The commercials, in my opinion, were very disappointing this year, especially from Budweiser. My favorites as you can see below were from Doritos.

Here are the very few that I did like.

Snickers with Betty White and Abe Vigoda

Doritos Snack Attack Samurai

Doritos House Rules

Doritos Underdog

What were your favorite commercials?

OK Bye

Pink Gamer

2010-02-06T12:54:00.003-06:00

If you are here reading this, then you might have noticed the change in color of my blog page. In honor of February and that candy, hearts, and flowers day, I decided to go the pinkish redish whatever route. I think it looks nice.

The current game that I have been playing is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I usually play online on xbox live. At some times I do really good, and other times I really suck at it.

Anyways, I recently found two websites that cater to us gamers in the GLBT community. They are Gaymer.org and GayGamer.net. They are really cool sites and have lots of members. I recently started gaming with a few of the guys from there and it's really cool. I even found a MW2 Clan that was out there for gaymers.

If any of you are on XBox Live, make sure and add me to your friends list. My GamerTag is GMikeD.

Done, Bye

Chuck

2010-02-04T21:28:00.002-06:00

I had a piece of chuck roast in the fridge that had been thawing out and really did need to be cooked before it went bad. I decided to make it last night so it could be ready for lunch time. I asked one of my friends for a good recipe and she gave me one that she uses all the time. Of course I did not have all the necessary ingredients, so I just threw together what I did have.

I got the chuck roast and liberally seasoned it with a seasoning mix and a bit of cumin. I placed it in the crock pot and tossed in some sliced onions, some baby bell peppers and some beef stock. Turned the pot on low and let it cook.

It cooked for about 10 hours. I started it at 230am and by lunch time it was tender, falling apart and delicious.

I used the meat in a sandwich and it was goooood. You can also put the meat in a tortilla and call it a taco.....so versatile. Don't forget to save and use the gravy, yummy.

Ok, I'm done with this post. bye

Hey Stranger

2010-02-04T00:34:00.004-06:00

Wow, It has been a really long time since the last time I posted an entry. I do not really have any excuses for not blogging except for just being lazy. Yup, I will admit it. So what. Get over it! I'm sure all my readers really missed me......

So, you guys, what is the 411? What has everybody been up to? What is the hot gossip? What are you guys listening to? What's the cool jams?

Update on my life:

My back pain has gone down quite a bit. I never did have back surgery. With time, physical therapy, and lots of pain pills (not really lots) the pain has gone down. I wouldn't say that I am back to 100%. I probably will never be back to 100% but I have accepted that and am doing what I can with what I have.

I have finished school, got my degree, and can't find a job. What I am thinking of doing is going back to my old job, if they take my back, while I look for a job in my field.

My Etsy shop is still closed. Maybe within the next couple of months I will be able to reopen it. Yay!!!

Besides all that crap, I am doing ok.

I leave you with this classic clip

Feliz Diez y Seis de Septiembre

2009-09-16T14:26:00.005-05:00

Diez y Seis de Septiembre or the 16th of September celebrates Mexico's independence from Spain.
In the early hours of September 16,1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo, accompanied by several others, rang the bell of his little church in Guanajuato, and gave the cry—El Grito de Dolores! ("Mexicanos, Viva Mexico!"). A call to fight for liberty. This was the beginning of the Independence War, which lasted 10 years.

Viva Mexico!

Weekend Special!!!

2009-09-12T14:51:00.007-05:00

For those interested, I did change my twitter user name. It was MikesHempShop and is now Mike021. So if you are following me, now you know who that Mike021 guy is.

I am going to have a weekend special, starting today. Buy any 3 items from my shop and get one packet of Nutiva Organic Hemp Shake for FREE! A delicious organic protein superfood drink mix. Choose from Amaxon Acai, Chocolate, or Berry Pomegranate.

Tell me your choice either be sending me a convo after purchase or use the message to seller option during check out.

These Hemp Shakes are awesome. Great as a snack or as a meal replacement. Each shake is packed with organic raw protein, phytonutrients, and fiber. They contain no trans fats, gluten, dairy, or lactose.

My favorite is the Berry Pomegranat!!!

Explanation

2009-09-07T19:38:00.003-05:00

If you have not noticed already(by visiting my Etsy Shop) I added a note to my shop announcements stating I am closing my shop. People have been asking me, in private messages and email, why I am doing it. So instead of typing it out many times, one blog should do.

If you read my earlier posts, you know that I have two injured disks in my lower back. Because of this I was not able to go back to my regular job, which includes a lot of manual labor and heavy lifting.

I have spent the past few months going to doctors, having epidural injections, and a few imaging tests. I have relied on family loans and my savings account to help pay for living expenses. Well, both those options are drying up. This is the major reason I am no longer able to keep my shop open. Listing and re-listing items can rack up my Etsy bill, and I just can not afford to pay that.
The shop will stay open until all items have sold or expired, whichever comes first.

It will be one year, in November, since I injured my discs. When this first happened, I truly did not think I would be here almost one year later suffering from pain. Although the severity of the pain has decreased, there is still pain.

I am going to have to start looking for a job that is very low impact. There is nothing to do but find a job. I need to pay the medical bills that are piling up, plus the medical insurance. I found out the other day that my pre-existing conditions waiting period has been met, so I do not have to wait until next year to get treated. Maybe after a few months of working and saving, I can do something to get this problem fixed.

The talk of surgery does scare me, a lot, but I have heard from many people that it does help.

I am hoping that after I get all this stuff taken care of, and things get better, I will be able to reopen my shop and add lots of new things.

This is such a depressing entry, so here is a video to make you laugh. I did.

BEDA Day 31 Last Day

2009-08-31T23:05:00.004-05:00

That's right, I posted a blog for every day in August. That month sure did fly by fast. It was fun trying to think up things to blog about. Will I continue to blog every day after August. Probably not, but I just might blog more often than I did before I took on the BEDA challenge.

For my last blog of the month, I am going to post a video of one of the people I'm subscribed to on YouTube. No explanation is needed.

Just watch the video. At the end, let me know what your thoughts are. What were your thought during the video, after the video?

I hope you had a great month and enjoyed reading what I had to share.

BEDA Day 30 - Feeling Sick

2009-08-30T22:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday evening, I noticed a slight scratchy feeling in the back of my throat. At the time I didn't think much of it. This morning when I woke up, I noticed the scratchy feeling more and it felt like the beginning of a soar throat. Great, that's all I need right now is to get a cold or flu.

Usually when I get this feeling I start taking homeopathic remedies, to help reduce the severity of the cold/flu. I usually take a product called Flu Reduce by Healthy Relief. When I went to the store to buy some today, I could not find any. So I ended up getting another brand of basically the same thing. I was not about to go driving around to other stores looking for it.

As the day is passing by, I have noticed that the lymph nodes in my neck are starting to get swollen and tender. So it looks like I am at the beginning stages of a cold/flu.

I am going to continue to take the homeopathic stuff, keep hydrated, drink green tea and honey with lemon for the throat. Hopefully these will reduce the severity. After the cold/flu has hit, I will change to symptom reducing medication.

Any suggestions from you would be greatly appreciated.

That is my plan of attack and I hope it works. I just hope it doesn't get too bad, because I can not afford to miss one day of class, especially the labs.

BEDA Day 29 - It was a Good Day

2009-08-29T19:22:00.000-05:00

Today was a good day. I woke up early, well, early for a Saturday, around 10am. Did the usual beginning of day activities, you know, email, myspace, twitter, stuff like that.

Got a call from my uncle inviting me out for lunch. We went to a Chinese buffet place. Never been to that particular one before, but it was good. After that we went to the movie theater. We ended up seeing Inglorious Basterds.

It was a great movie. I always like Quentin Tarantino movies and this was definitely a Quentin Tarantino movie. When we got in the theater, the employee that took our ticket warned us that it was a 2 hour and 45 min movie. I'm not one to see long movies, but this movie did not seem that long. It really was a great movie.

When I got home, I spent the rest of the day cleaning my apartment. I am glad that I have a studio apartment and it does not take a long time to clean.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

BEDA Day 28 - TGIF

2009-08-28T19:02:00.001-05:00

TGIF and 1st week of school done. It was a short school week, but one none the less.

Tonight is the drawing for the Mega Millions Lottery. The jackpot is up to $333 million. Wow, how nice it would be to have $333 million. I bought my tickets for tonight, hopping I will win at least some money.

And if not, I also got some tickets for Saturday's Texas Lotto drawing. The last time I played, I won $13! Better than nothing, right.

That's it for today. Good Luck to those who are playing for tonight's jackpot!

BEDA Day 27 - School

2009-08-27T18:35:00.000-05:00

The 2009 Fall semester started yesterday. This semester, which is my last, I am taking one class and two labs. It should not be a too difficult semester. There are a couple of things that I do not like about the labs. They are group presentations and formal lab report.

I've always hated doing presentations in front of classes. In high school and during the first year of college I would not like doing presentations because I would get very nervous. I do not get as nervous now as I have done many presentations in my college carrier, but I still dislike doing them.

The lab reports are another reason. In each lab, one formal lab report is due. This is a five plus page report and I despise with all my soul doing them. Well maybe not that bad, but still. The worse part is if your data comes out as not expected and there is no time to redo the experiment.

So this semester I have to do two group presentations, with 2 different groups, and 2 formal lab reports. Everything will most likely turn out ok, but I just felt like whining for a bit. It's my blog and I can if I want to.

BEDA Day 26 - Youtube Favorites List

2009-08-26T17:29:00.006-05:00

Back to the Youtube favorites list.

This is a video from Barats & Bereta. They have a whole bunch of funny skits that you should watch. Make sure to visit their YouTube Channel.

Here is one of their latest skits.

Enjoy!

BEDA Day 25 - The Guild

2009-08-25T22:01:00.000-05:00

If you are into MMO's or any online games, then you will like The Guild. It is a web series about the life of a group of gamers. It was started in the summer of 2007 with a small following and has grown large enough to have won many awards.

It has been picked up by Microsoft and is now sponsored by sprint. There are currently 2 seasons and a 3rd one being released on XBox live. Seasons 1 & 2 plus extras can be found at their YouTube Channel

All the episodes are so funny and I loved watching all of them.

Here is Season 1 Episode 1

Make sure to visit their website for lots of fun stuff too!

They also just recently release an uber cool awesome music video. Do You Wanna Date My Avatar. Here it is!!!

BEDA Day 24 - Elements

2009-08-24T20:32:00.006-05:00

The Etsy Texas Crafters (ETC) August Design Challenge was to create an item using one or all of the classical elements, Earth, Air, Fire, & Water.

There are 31 entries in this month's design challenge. I am entry # 23 and feature all four elements.

My entry into the challenge is my Angels and Demons Inspired Elements of Science Illuminati Bracelet.

This bracelet was inspired by the book "Angels & Demons". Each color stone represents one of the elements of science used by the Illuminati.

Brown for Earth, Light Blue for Air, Red for Fire, and Blue for Water. The white stone represents the Light that the Illuminati strove to reveal.
Check out all the other entries HERE. When you are done looking at all the great entries, go to the bottom of the page and there will be a link to the poll where you can vote for your favorite(my entry, of course) .

Anyone can vote and only one vote allowed per IP address, but feel free to tell all your friends about the Challenge and ask them to vote, too!!!

If you vote for me, I will love you forever =)

BEDA Day 23 - Sunday

2009-08-23T22:05:00.002-05:00

Today is the last Sunday before the Fall 09 semester starts. What's better than to spend the day with friends and family. Tomorrow is my grandmother's 71st birthday! Because I will be leaving for San Antonio tomorrow morning, I decided to have a cookout and celebrate grandma's birthday a day early.

Went to the grocery store to pick up a few items needed for the cookout, including a cake!

Grandma came over with some friends and her great grandchildren were there too. We had a great time with lots of food.

I spent most of the day cooking, now I have to get back to the kitchen and help clean up. Hope you had a great weekend!!!

BEDA Day 22 - Shopping!

2009-08-22T19:04:00.000-05:00

My mom being a teacher and me being a student, we did some back to school shopping today. Mom starts work on Monday and my classes start on Wednesday. We spent most of the day shopping with a break for lunch with my grandmother.

We had lunch at IHOP. It is located right across the street from the mall so we walked and my grandma there. The IHOP here in Del Rio is ok, but it is not the best. The servers are friendly, but not very attentive to the guests.

After lunch, it was back to the mall for more shopping. While in the mall, I noticed that a stage was being set up with drums, guitars, and mics. Cool, some bands are going to be playing. So I take a seat at some chairs that were being set out and waited for the show to start. Mom went on to other stores while I rested a bit.

They were doing some sound checks and practice songs, and they sounded good(there were 2 bands). Now, before the show starts a guy comes out, gets on the mic, and starts preaching. Apparently this is a church band gathering of some sort. I still stayed to enjoy the music.

After mom was done looking around, we then went to the grocery store to pick up some items to make something for dinner.

It was a nice day, but my feet and back where begging for some rest.

BEDA Day 21 - Tax Free Holiday

2009-08-21T21:21:00.003-05:00

Texas Tax Free Weekend starts today and ends on Sunday Aug. 23rd. These 3 days are the state's annual tax holiday.

Most clothing and footwear priced under $100 is exempt from sale & use taxes during the holiday. This is great for parents that have kids going to school. A lot of people will be doing their back to school shopping during these 3 days.

A lot of people were complaining about school supplies not qualifying for the tax exemption. Because of this, in 2009, Texas shoppers will also get a sales tax break on most school supplies priced at less than $100.

Not all pieces of clothing and school supplies are eligible for the tax exemption. For a list of items that are taxed and tax-free click here.

BEDA Day 20 - Avatar

2009-08-20T17:03:00.001-05:00

Check out this trailer for James Cameron's newest movie Avatar.

It looks like it will be an interesting movie. I'm going to have to wait for some more trailers to come out to see how exciting the movie is going to be.

BEDA DAY 19 Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-19T18:06:00.003-05:00

Del Rio Fire & Rescue Truck
Del Rio, TX

BEDA Day 18 - Movie Rentals

2009-08-18T16:47:00.008-05:00

Do you rent movies? If so, where do you rent your movies from?

There are rental stores like Blockbuster, kiosks like Red Box, and online stores like Netflix.

Before the kiosks and online stores, there was only the physical stores like Blockbuster, or Hollywood Video. I haven't been to one of these stores in many years. I stick to the cheaper $1 a day kiosks like Redbox and Movie Cube.

I have recently come aboard the online movie rental scene and joined Netflix. I had resisted joining Netflix for the longest time, and the only reason I did join, was because Netflix partnered with XBox Live to stream unlimited ready to watch videos directly to the XBox and tv.

Right now I have the 1 DVD at a time and unlimited streaming. I'm fine with the 1 DVD at a time and have no need to get 8 DVD's at a time. I also like the feature of watching the unlimited streaming movies either on my computer or through my XBox.

Where do you rent your movies from?

BEDA Day 17 - Kelly

2009-08-17T17:50:00.002-05:00

Back to my Youtube favorites. Liam Kyle Sullivan has many characters and I love them all. One of his most famous characters and my favorite is Kelly.

Here is a Kelly video for you to enjoy.

BEDA Day 16 - Nice Sudnay

2009-08-16T21:17:00.007-05:00

Today was a nice Sunday. Hot as hell, but still a nice day. The day started with with church and lunch with the mom. Then I went off to get my hair did. It has been about 1.5 months since the last time, so it was getting kind of long. Pic of the Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Del Rio,TX

After my hair was did and I got myself some new hair product, it was off to the movie theater with the dad.We saw District 9. It was a good movie. Kind of slow and confusing in the beginning, but a lot better in the middle and even better at the end.

I also got the new inspection sticker for my car. It's funny, even though I know there is no problem with my car and it will pass inspection, I always get nervous while waiting for it to get inspected.

Hope you had a great weekend!

BEDA Day 15 - Alice

2009-08-15T16:09:00.006-05:00

I am doing a lot better today. I am at about 95%.

Tim Burton is at it again, this time with Alice in Wonderland. I love Tim Burton movies, especially those with Johnny Depp! When I first saw this trailer I thought it looked very cool. It seems like a very interesting movie and makes me want to watch it. I can't wait for more trailers to come out! Enjoy!

BEDA DAY 13 & 14 - Sick :(

2009-08-14T11:51:00.006-05:00

So I missed writing yesterdays blog, but I have a good reason. Yesterday I was hit and hit hard with a stomach virus. I won't go into details, but it started at 3 am and had me out of commission all day. I spent most of the morning hugging the toilet. I am still a bit weak today, but feeling better than yesterday. I will write a better post tomorrow, hopefully when I am feeling a lot better.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

BEDA Day 12 - Lazy Day

2009-08-12T22:15:00.003-05:00

Today was a Lazy Day and this is going to be a quick lazy post. I did not do anything productive today and it's nice to have a lazy day once in a while. And to make it even better, I had some nice cold fresh sliced watermelon after dinner today.

I do have a full day tomorrow though. Hope you had a great Wednesday!

BEDA Day 11 - Perseid Meteor Shower

2009-08-11T22:42:00.003-05:00

Tonight is the night to see the annual Perseid meteor shower. The best time to see it is 11am - 4am CST with the best stretch happening between 3am and 4am CST.

I have already gone outside to see if I can spot any sight of the shower. So far I have not. It is kind of hard, because of the amount of lights on outside especially the street light at the end of the culdesac. It is darker in the back yard and I am able to see some stars, but no shower.

I will be checking outside periodically to see if I can spot some of the shower. I would just stay outside, but it is rather warm outside tonight and there is no breeze around.

If I don't see anything tonight, there is a second chance to see it again tomorrow night at the same times.

Hopefully I will get to see something!

BEDA Day 10 - Nice Day

2009-08-10T21:35:00.002-05:00

Today was such a nice day, at least it was in the morning. I woke up around 7am and went out and did some yard work at mom's house. Well, I did as much as I could. I can not really do as much as I used to due to my disc injury.

Anyways, it was a nice, cool, and windy morning. A nice change to the regular mornings of 85 degrees. Even at noon it was a nice with a cool breeze.

Later in the day I had a late lunch with the brother, which doesn't happen to often.

The rest of the day consisted of resting and watching Pan's Labyrinth the mom. I have seen the movie and loved it, and I wanted mom to watch it. She liked it as well.

A great way to start off the week!

BEDA Day 9 - Del Rio, Texas

2009-08-09T23:08:00.001-05:00

This post is going to be about my home town, Del Rio.

Del Rio is on the Texas-Mexico border and is the county seat of Val Verde County, in the state of Texas. It is a medium sized city with population of 46,682. It's sister city across the border is Ciudad Acuña, in the Mexican state of Coahuila.

The San Felipe Springs, which is the city's water supply, produces 90 million gallons of water a day.In the 18th century, the San Felipe Creek, formed by the springs, were used to irrigate the area. The developing town was being referred to as San Felipe Del Rio, from early Spanish explorers who offered mass there on St. Philips Day in 1635.

In 1883, when a post office was requested, the US Postal Department shorted the name to Del Rio, to avoid confusion with the city of San Felipe de Austin. On November 15, 1911 the city became incorporated.

Del Rio is also home to Laughlin Air Force Base, the busiest pilot training base in the US Air Force. In 1962, it was a U-2 Dragonlady based at Laughlin that took the first photos of land based nuclear missile sites being constructed in Cuba. These photos were the intelligence that started the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Another great feature of Del Rio is the Amistad Reservoir. Also referred to as Lake Amistad, the reservoir was formed in November 1969 by the construction of the Amistad Dam.The dam provided flood control, water conservation, irrigation, hydroelectric power, and recreation.

The lake is bound by Val Verde County on the Texas side of the border and the state of Coahuila on the Mexican side of the border. The dam and lake are managed jointly by the US and Mexican government. Amistad is the spanish word for friendship.

On the left: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
On the right: United States of America

President Richard Nixon and Mexico's President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz shake hands at a ceremony on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande after dedicating the Amistad Dam, in background. September 8, 1969. © Bettmann/CORBIS

Fun Facts:

Famous residents of Del Rio include

Jessica Alba(actress)
Todd Hays(Olympic bobsledder silver medalist)
Shawn Michaels(Pro wrestler)
Radney Foster(Country Music singer/songwriter)

Films shot in Del Rio include

1951 Arrowhead - Charlton Heston
959 John Wayne's The Alamo
1993 El Mariachi, Robert Rodriguez
1995 Desparado, Robert Rodriguez, Antonio Banderas, Selma Hayek
1996 From Dusk Till Dawn, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantin
2007 No Country for Old Men

BEDA Day 8 - Apium graveolens

2009-08-08T16:47:00.006-05:00

Apium graveolens aka celery is the topic for today's post.

Celery is a biennial plant that is used all around the world as a vegetable. Celery is one part of the Louisiana Creole Holy Trinity and helps make up the base for soups and sauces in the French mirepoix.

Besides from it's great taste, celery also has a lot of nutritional value. Celery contains a variety of minerals and nutrients including iron, zinc, potassium and vitamins A,B,&C. It is also a great source of dietary fiber.

Celery also said to have many health benefits and has been used as a medicinal plant for centuries. Celery has a large amount of vitamin C which acts as a antioxidant. It helps reduce the severity of the inflammatory conditions of asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. The vitamin C also helps support the immune system and can reduce the symptoms of a cold.

It is also said to be helpful in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

I am not a hardcore fan of celery, but I will eat it, usually in soups or salads. I have started eating it as a snack. I make it as a version of ants on a log. For ants on a log, peanut butter and raisins are used.

I change it up a bit and use fat free cream cheese and top it with fresh chopped cherries. The fresh cherries add a healthy sweetness to the snack.

All in all, celery is a great vegetable. It does not taste horrible and it is good for you!

BEDA Day 7 - Nazi Zombies

2009-08-07T23:52:00.005-05:00

Gosh, the time sure does fly by when you are having fun. This post is a bit late, well, a lot late, but there is a reason.

If you follow me on twitter then you know that I am a fan of Call of Duty:World at War on the Xbox. I usually play online. There is this added game that is called Zombies. The goal of the game is to survive the attack of the Nazi zombies as long as you can.

I've only played the game once, but today my brother sends me a text and want to play co-operatively. It's cool because we live in different cities, but we can still play xbox games together. He had just started playing the Nazi zombie game and was hooked.

So we get online and start playing. We start off slow, but then get a plan going and do pretty good. We got up to level 11, and could not get past it. We ended up playing almost 4 hours.

The time really does slip by when playing online games.

After that, we decided to go ahead and play the regular game. We played through a few levels. I think we played for another 3 or 4 hours. We're not done yet.

Now we go and play the regular game, online, against other players.It's been a couple of hours and I realized that I have not yet posted.

So this is my post and now back to the game!!!

BEDA Day 6 - Supreme Court Historic Vote

2009-08-06T21:04:00.005-05:00

As I am sure many of you know by now, Judge Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed today as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice and the third female in court history. The senate vote was 68-31 to confirm. Nine republicans and 2 independents joined the majority democrats to vote in favor of Sotomayor's confirmation.

The 55 year old Sonia Sotomayor is the daughter of Puerto Rican Parents and was raised in a housing projects in South Bronx. She has spent the last 17 years as a federal judge.

I would like to congratulate Judge Sotomayor on her great achievement and wish her luck with her new position.

BEDA Day 5 - Man v Food, San Antonio

2009-08-05T20:06:00.006-05:00

Today on the new episode of Man v Food on the Travel Channel, Adam travels to San Antonio and visits Lulu’s Bakery and Café for their 3 1/2-lb. cinnamon roll. Then he goes to Big Lou’s Pizza and Chunky’s Burgers for the Four Horsemen Challenge. The episode will air tonight at 10 E/P.

To see pictures of Adam's visit to San Antonio, click HERE

I have watched this show many times and always wonder to myself if I could ever complete the challenges that Adam does. I have never done any type of food eating challenge, but I have thought about it. I am a big guy and can put down some food when I want to. Whenever I see food eating challenges on tv, I always think to my self, "that looks easy" or " I could do that". Until I actually do a challenge, I just keep my mouth shut.

The challenges that I know I can not do are the ones that have to deal with chilies and heat. I eat spicy food, but not too often. And just a bit of peppers will set my mouth on fire. I do admit that I am a light weight when it comes to eating anything spicy. Most of my family can eat jalapenos whole and love the spiciest salsa with almost every meal. When I visit my mom, she makes sure to keep the jalapeno seeds in with the salsa or pico de gallo, just to keep me away from it. It's ok though, I always make sure to have the mildest salsa in stock. I have been "practicing" and getting used to some salsas that I would not have dared touch before. It's a work in progress.

Here are the placed Adam visited:

Lulu’s Bakery and Café
Adam stops by Lulu’s for their three and a half pound 3 1/2-lb. cinnamon roll and a 48-oz. chicken-fried steak known as The Police Chief Special.
Address: 918 Main St, San Antonio, TX 78207

Big Lou’s Pizza
Adam goes to Big Lou’s for their 42-inch “Big Lou” – a 3 1/2-foot wide, 70-lb. mega pizza piled high with toppings.
Address: 2048 S WW White Rd, San Antonio, TX 78222

Chunky’s Burgers
Adam takes on the Four -Horsemen Challenge: a half-pound burger topped with the spiciest chilies in the world, including the infamous ghost chili. If he can, he’ll become only the fourth person to survive it.
Address: 4602 Callaghan Rd, San Antonio, TX 78228

BEDA Day 4 - Boys Boys Boys/Fashion

2009-08-04T18:50:00.012-05:00

Today we take a visit to my favorites list from YouTube. I love Lady Gaga. Her music is awesome, has so much energy, and is just fun. Here is a video that was made by someone and has combined the songs "Boys Boys Boys" and "Fashion". I think it's an awesome video.

I hope you enjoyed it. I'm off to make dinner, finish laundry, and maybe get some online gaming in between.

BEDA Day 3 - Rats!

2009-08-03T12:15:00.017-05:00

(click on pics for larger view)

This post is going to be about my pet rats. Rats are really a great pet to have. They are smart, have their own personality, and are just cute. I started off with 2 female fancy rats.

Here are the first two I started off with. Misty on the left and Precious on the right.

Precious is the "boss" of the group. She is so friendly and loves to be touched and will follow me where ever I go. She loves the running wheel. She never gets tired of it. Every time I hear the wheel moving, it's her on it.
Misty is the trouble maker. She is the one that I have to watch when they are out of their cage. She loves to jump and is not afraid of jumping from the stand that the cage is on to to the floor. She is always finding a way to get away, and when she does, she will try as hard a possible to not get caught again. I've had to deal with that twice already. But she is also very friendly and will clean your finger nails and clip your cuticles for free!

Then I got Sugar, a female dumbo rat.

Sugar is the cute, sweet, shy one. When I first got Sugar, she was so shy and did not like anyone handling her. After some time and many snacks later, she got used to it. She is very calm and easy going.

Then I got Jasmin, a female blue rat.

I had always wanted a solid color blue rat, so when I saw Jasmine, I just had to get her. Jasmine too was a shy girl when I first got her. But warmed up to being handled quickly. She quickly became friends with the other 3.

Unfortunately, I have lost both Sugar and Jasmine at the same time to pneumonia.

So far Precious and Misty have been doing good. They are healthy and very active.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I Twitpic a lot about my 2 girls.

Here are some extra pics

BEDA Day 2 -Busy Day

2009-08-02T19:39:00.004-05:00

I was actually out of my apartment almost all day today. I woke up at 6am to get ready for church at 730am. Mass ends at around 830am. Then I get a call from my cousin asking if I want to go get some breakfast. Who am I to say no.

So we go to our regular after church mexican restaurant. We spend more time talking chisme (gossip) than eating, so we were there for a while. Her sister and her want to go to the movies and diner later on, so they ask me, and again, who am I to say no.

I go home change and wait for the call to go to the movie theater. We go to the dollar theater and decide to watch two movies! First we watched The Taking of Pelham 123 and then we watched the newest Terminator movie.

Here is my review of the Terminator movie: There are 2 hot guys, one who doesn't like robots, and one who is a robot but doesn't know it. One hot guy is dying so the hot robot guy gives him his heart and the hot guy lives. I think that sums it up. At least that's what I got from it.

Anyways, I really liked both of them. So it's around 430pm now and we are off to go and eat dinner. We go to our favorite buffet place and stuff our faces and of course spend more time talking chisme than eating. We ended up leaving around 625pm.

So now I'm stuffed, tired, and need to study for tomorrows exam. It's the last week of summer school! Yay!!!

BEDA(Blog Every Day in August) Day 1

2009-08-01T21:13:00.006-05:00

When I first started my blog I used to blog almost every day or at least a few times a week. Now it more like once a month. Back in April, there was a thing called BEDA which was blog every day in April. I want to try to do that, but of course, in August. I think it will be fun!

Now, I live an extremely boring life, so don't expect every blog to be long or anything special. And I think I will just be blogging about anything and everything that comes to mind.

It would be great if others wanted to start doing this as well. Nothing special is needed to join. Just start blogging and blog every day for the next 31 days. Sounds like fun, right!

Ok, that picture up there if from a grocery store ad. A friend from Canada sent me this pic. It's not a made up soup or name, it's the real thing. I went to the Grace web site and saw that they really do sell a soup called "Cock Flavor". I have not seen it in my local grocery store, but next time I go, I will be on the look out! I'm sure there are people out there that know about and have tasted this. Their web site states that they are located in Miami, Florida. If you don't have any in your local grocery store, you can always order it online here for only $1! If anyone has tasted it, make sure to leave a comment and let us know how it tastes.

I know the soup has it's name for a purpose, but come one, you have to admit, it's kinda funny.

**I'm going to slowly transition this blog from and Etsy shop blog to my own personal blog. So if you're not into reading blogs that are other than Etsy stuff, you can un-follow.

Wordless Wednesday.......Beautiful Day On The Road

2009-07-29T16:13:00.003-05:00

Wordless Wednesday.....Lucky

2009-07-01T21:56:00.001-05:00

5…$5…$5 Mondaaaay!!!

2009-06-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

Etsy Texas Crafters(ETC) will be holding its first Fifth Monday Sales Event called $5 Monday. It will be held on Monday June 29th. The fifth Monday event highlights items in ETC Member’s shops that are $5.00, whether that is their regular price or a sale price.

This event will last 24 hours (12:01am - 12:00 midnight, Central Time / 1:01am Monday - 1:00am Tuesday, Etsy Time)

Click on the picture above to see all the shops that are participating in this great event.

I will have almost all my hemp bracelet included in this event!!!! So make sure you all check it out!

-Mike

Casanova

2009-06-27T14:52:00.001-05:00

I had never heard of an ACEO until I started my Etsy shop. I have seen many examples of ACEO’s while on my time in Etsy, but nothing that really caught my eye. I’m not the artsy kind of person to begin with. But then I stumbled across an Etsy artist, Roger Casanova from Casanova Design.

Roger is from California, but currently lives in Austin, Texas (Hook Em Horns!)

In his Etsy Profile, Roger says, “I enjoy the side of art that will allow us (as people) to express feeling and things we might not see often or realistically. I enjoy simple, whimsical line work...minimal color, minimal design. I like to allow the viewer to possibly see something that others might not see...and leave some room for thought and to the imagination. Personally I do believe everyone has some art in their heart...and if they can't express it on paper...or craft it, then they can express it by what they like.”

He had recently listed some items that I really liked and wanted, but had to wait for some sales in my shop so I could have some PayPal funds to buy stuff. As soon as I got some PayPal funds, I rushed to his shop and grabbed what I had been wanting. Here is what I got.

Roger has also designed what he calls an “ACEO Jacket”. Here are my ACEO’s in their “jackets”.

They are so beautiful and I love them. I am really glad that I decided to go to Roger’s shop for my first ACEO’s.

Here are some of Rogers other pieces. Click on the picture to go to it’s listing on Etsy.

Roger also has some beautiful bracelets. Click on the picture to go to it’s listing on Etsy.

Make sure you visit his shop, blog, and twitter

My discogram

2009-06-13T11:05:00.002-05:00

Tuesday was the bid day. I arrived at the doctors office almost 35 minutes early. Better to be early than late, right? I did not have to wait long before I was called up. I was taken to an exam room where all the typical questions were asked. Then an IV was started and I was given a small amount of sedative and some antibiotics. The antibiotics are given because this procedure is technically a surgical procedure.

After the IV was started, I was taken to the procedure room. It is a big room with a table, different types of monitors, and a fluoroscope x-ray devise.

I lay, tummy down, on the table with my back exposed. I am hooked up to a pulse oxygen monitor and a blood pressure cuff. The doctor comes in, asks some questions, and then starts.

First he marks on me where he will be inserting the needles. Then he cleans the area with an antiseptic and places an incise drape on my back.

Lidocaine is then injected into different areas in my lower back. After a few minutes, the doctor begins to insert the spinal needles. 18 gauge needles were used as introducer needles and 22 gauge needles were used to advance into the center of the discs.

Because of the anesthetic, there is little pain when the needles are being inserted. That does not mean I did not feel anything. I can feel the doctor pushing on the needles as they go into my back.

As the needle gets closer to the disc and closer to the nerves, I can feel a sharp shooting pain run down my left leg. After the needles are inserted into the disks, a contrast dye is injected into them. This is done for two reasons. One, to make the disks more viewable on film, and two, to find which discs are injured.

In order to find the injured discs, the injected dye will create pressure and cause pain in that disc. The pain I felt was more like a large amount of pressure being placed on my back and not being taken off. It is not a good feeling.

The doctor tested three discs in my lower back. Here are two x-ray images. In these images, you can see the three needles in the three discs of my lower back

ADDED 6-19-09 In the first disc you can see the dark dye stays in the middle. That is a normal disc. In the second disc you can see the dye moving towards the bottom. This is a bulging disc. In the third disc you can see how the dye is not concentrated in the middle like the first disc and a lot more is moving toward the bottom. This is the herniated disc.

After the dye was injected and the damaged disc located, the needles were removed, bandages were applied and I was taken to a recovery room. When I first got off the table and started walking, I noticed that my legs felt weak and wobbly. I sat down for a while, had some apple juice to drink and had my blood pressure taken.

After a few minutes of resting I was able to leave and go to an imaging center to get a CT scan. After the CT scan was completed, I went home and rested for the remainder of the day.

It has been 4 days and I am still a bit sore where the needles were placed. I have an appointment on Tuesday the 16th to get the results of my CT scan. The procedure was done by my pain specialist doctor so I will probably have to take the results to my neurosurgeon and see what the next step is.

Back to Business

2009-06-04T21:39:00.001-05:00

I’m so so so sorry that I have not been blogging. I haven’t even been reading blogs. I’m so behind. Lots to talk about.

First, update on me!

On May 19th I went to my neurosurgeon to get my results from my myelogram. The Dr. told me that he did not see anything significant on the films. The next thing to do was take another diagnostic procedure called a discogram. This time the Dr. will be injecting a dye directly into my disk to recreate the pain and find if the disk is really the cause of the pain. To be truthful, this kinds scares me, but I guess it has to be done. I am scheduled to get it done on Tuesday June 9th.

I am officially a student again! I started summer school this week. I still have to walk quite a bit from the parking lot to the campus, but it is not as bad as it was in January. One week down nine to go!

Second

June is Gay Pride Month, Yay!!!!! In my Etsy Shop, I have a whole section dedicated to Gay Pride! I have a few items in there now. On Friday, I am getting a shipment of new beads!!! Exciting, right! Anyways, in that shipment I will be getting new beads to make more gay pride stuff.

There is a Gay Pride festival here in San Antonio, but I have never been to it. I might go this year, maybe.

I have also delve into earring making. It’s nothing fancy, but it is what I know, Hemp! Here is what I have started off with. Get a closer look at them in my shop!

Until next time………

It’s Been A While

2009-05-15T15:45:00.002-05:00

Hey strangers! I know, I haven’t blogged in weeks. Even worse, I haven’t kept up with my blog reading. Oh well, but I will try to catch up. So how is everyone doing? Good I hope.

Ok, lets get down to business. On my last update, I talked about my evil eye bracelets. Most of them are listed in my Etsy shop and some have even sold! I have also made and listed Evil Eye hemp key chain/ zipper pulls. There are also regular hemp key chains. Soon, I am going to start making hemp bracelets with the evil eye! So be on the look out!

In other news, I am still waiting for my results from the myelogram.(Older Post) I have an appointment on the 19th to finally get my results! It’s been a long time, but I am hanging in there.

In other other news, I just got back from watching Angels & Demons! It was a great movie. I read the book before knowing it was to become a movie. The book is awesome and when I found out it was to become a move, I was just so excited. The move did (as expected) stray from the book at times.The book goes into great detail that was taken out in the movie. Most notably at the beginning and at the end. If you have read the book, don’t expect everything to be in the movie. If you have not read the book, I suggest that you do, if you want to get the full story that Dan Brown wrote. Even though the movie did stray from the book, it was still a great movie. It didn’t even seem like a two and a half hour movie.

Dan Brown has two other novels out at the moment, Deception Point and Digital Fortress. I have not yet read them, but I do plan on getting them soon. There will be another novel, The Lost Symbol, to be published September 15, 2009. It will be the follow up to his earlier novel, The Da Vince Code. So while I wait for that novel to come out, I will be reading his other two.

I guess that’s it for now. I’m going to start catching up on my blog reading. Until next time……………….

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T10:57:00.001-05:00

A time for fajitas, guacamole, and margaritas! Celebrate Mexican culture and have fun.

Have fun and stay safe!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo e Viva Mexico!

Mal de Ojo

2009-05-01T18:56:00.002-05:00

The evil eye, known in Mexican culture as the mal de ojo, is a belief that envy may result in the misfortune of others. It is also believed that the misfortune or curse of the evil eye can be given to a person by a hateful stare.

The curse of the evil eye can cause to its victims, bad luck, pain, and even disease.

Most of the time, the evil eye is cast unintentionally by an envious person. Although the evil eye can be cast on anyone, the primary victims are thought to be babies and young children.This is because they are so often praised and commented upon by strangers or by childless women.

There are many preventative measures to cast away the evil eye. One, is to wear a bracelet that contains an amulet with an eye painted on it. The amulet with the evil eye painted on it is thought to bend back the malicious gaze back to its sender.

When it comes to babies and young children, a preventative measure is to allow admirers to to touch the baby or child on the forehead. This will dispel the envy and prevent the child from the curse of the evil eye. I have seen this done and is a common practice when looking at a baby or child.

If a person is thought to be stricken with the evil eye, a common cure is for a curandero (healer) to sweep a raw chicken egg over the body of the victim.This is usually done all over the body, and then in a cross pattern. This is thought to draw out and absorb the evil power. The egg is then broken into a bowl of water, covered with a straw or palm cross and place under the bed while the victim sleeps.

I remember when I was young, my mother would perform this ritual over me ,and she tells me that her mother did the same to her when she was a child.

I would like to introduce something new to my Etsy shop. Evil eye bracelets. These bracelets contain the traditional evil eye painted on beads. They have not been listed yet, but will be very soon.

Glass and Stone with Evil Eye bead

Wood Beads with Evil Eye Bead

Bracelet with only Evil Eye Beads

These do not have to be only worn as a bracelet, but may be placed or hung in and around your house, car, office, or anywhere you would like to ward off evil spirits.

Right now I only have them made out of stretch cord, but I will soon be making them using hemp!

What’s Up With That

2009-04-25T18:52:00.002-05:00

The Slider.

I just don’t get it. I know that White Castle always served these kind of burger, but now other fast food chains are getting on the slider bandwagon. When I am hungry for a burger, I want a burger, not 4 mini burgers. What’s up with that!

The Spurs.

What’s going on Spurs. You are now 3-1 with the Mavs. The Mavs! I mean come on! Thursdays game was just horrible. I almost cried watching that game, it hurt so much. You did a bit better on Saturday, but you didn’t win. I sure hope you do a lot better here in San Antonio on Tuesday. What’s up with that!

Twitter

I have Twitter, and I love it, but what I don’t get is those people who follow 1,539 people. How do you keep up with all those tweets. Do you read all of them. Why follow that many if you are not going to read every tweet. Right now I follow 93 people and it’s tough to get all their tweets in. Especially those who tweet 500 times a day, haha. Also, please make sure you check your @replies. What’s up with that!

That is enough ranting for now. I hope everyone is having a fun and safe weekend.

-Mike

New Wood Bead Bracelets

Wordless Wednesday........Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T10:38:00.001-05:00

Viva Fiesta!!!

2009-04-16T19:46:00.006-05:00

Hi! I know it's been a while!

Today is the start of Fiesta in San Antonio. Fiesta is 11 days of music, food, parades, and fun filled activities. For more info and the history of Fiesta, click HERE.

To celebrate Fiesta, I am having a VIVA FIESTA SALE!!! Sounds exciting, right.

Here is the 411:

www.MikesHempBracelets.Etsy.com
20% OFF All Items!!! (excluding reduced section)
Please wait for a revised invoice before paying.
Buy 3 or more items, get free hemp key chain!!!

Viva Fiesta!!!

Hola!!

2009-04-09T18:14:00.003-05:00

I have a new section in my Etsy shop, Non Hemp Jewelry. I posted earlier how I made some non hemp jewelry. Well, I decided to make some more and list them at Etsy. Let me know what you all think.

I am also thinking about listing my hemp paper. I am hoping to take pics of and list some new hemp bracelets before the weekend. I am not going to be able to do anything on Friday, and I am heading to my mom's place for the Easter weekend....Yay for cookouts....haha. I will be twittering though. I love twitter!

I will be back in San Antonio on Monday to resume whatever it is that I do.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Dear Diary.......

2009-04-08T12:59:00.002-05:00

Dear Diary,

I got my third and last steroid injection on March 2oth. I was told by the doctor that I could not get another injection for another 6 months and if I am still having pain, to schedule and appointment with my neurosurgeon.

The injections have helped a lot. I am in a lot less pain than I was before the injections. I am walking a bit better, but I can not walk or stand for a long period of time. After about 15 min of walking or standing, I am in pain. This makes shopping, like grocery shopping, and running errands very difficult.

So I made an appointment with my neurosurgeon.

He told me that we might have to do surgery. He says that he wants to do a minimally invasive surgery, like laproscopic surgury. But before this, he wants to run an imaging test. The test is called a myelogram.

The exam is going to be on Friday. I have to be at the hospital by 6am, and diary, you know that I am not a morning person. I will not be able to leave until 11 am. That is five hours!

And that is not the worst part. My neurosurgeon will be taking a month off starting the Monday after my exam. This means that my follow up appointment to find out my results will not be until May. So I have to wait a month to find out what is going to happen. I think that is crazy.

That is what is going on in my life at the moment. Thank you diary for listening.

-Mike

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-04-01T03:37:00.003-05:00

Hemp Paper

2009-03-29T17:30:00.003-05:00

When I make my hemp jewelry, I always have bits and pieces of hemp scraps left over. I would always save the scraps in a bag because I couldn’t just throw it away. There had to be some use for it. I don’t remember how it came to me, but it did. Hemp Paper! Hemp is a fiber, so why not. I did a bit of online research, but all I could find was making paper from the actual hemp plant. Nothing about using scrap hemp cord. So I decided to do an experiment with my scrap hemp pieces. This is what I came up with.

I think is funny how the scraps that I used were all different colors, and the paper came out a grey-ish green color. You can see some colors. I see mostly green, red, and purple fibers throughout the pages. They are roughly 3 1/2” wide by 5 1/2” long.

I don’t know too much about paper making, but I think they came out ok. Some are thick and some are thin. I doodled on one to see if the ink would run or feather out. With the pen and marker I used, there was little to none feathering. These are made out of only hemp, no other fiber or paper was added.

I don’t know what I am going to do with them yet. I have 8 pages, and some more pulp to make about 3 to 4 more.

This is my little way of being green and recycling.

I made the paper last week, but haven't had time to take pics and blog about it.

Think Before You Speak, Please

2009-03-28T02:31:00.002-05:00

Just don’t say it. And if you hear others saying it, let them know that it’s not right.

Thanks

-Mike

I Love My Car, But Sometimes It Can Be A Pain.

2009-03-26T18:57:00.007-05:00

I had a great week spending time with mom. Most of the time spent was shopping and eating out, haha. I took her back home on Sunday. On our way, we were going to stop at Sonic to get something to drink. That's when I found out that my window would not roll down. Great, something else I need to get fixed. When we get to mom's house, I don't even want to think about it and leave it until Monday.

On Monday, I call my brother, who knows more than I do about cars, to see if he can check up on it. He did fix the window on my mom's car, so I thought maybe he could help me. I wanted to get it fixed before going back to San Antonio. I did not want another incident at the BP checkpoint.

He comes by with all his tools. By this time, I had already removed the door panel.

He found out that it was the motor and not any loose wires or switches that was not working. So I do some internet research and find the motor I need and easy instructions on how to change it. The motor only cost me $53. This is a lot better than taking it to a service center and paying $250+ for it.

I went and bought the motor and went to start taking the old motor out. Sounds easy right? Of course not.

The motor is behind a fiberglass panel. In the picture above, the yellow area shows were the motor is, behind the fiberglass panel. The red areas are the small areas where you have to stick your hands in to reach the motor.

Wait, that is not the worst part!

The people who changed it out the last time, did not do a very good job with the screws and bolts. In short, we had to grind off the screws. I’m glad my brother had a dremel with him.

Anyways, we got the old one out, put the new one in, and my car door is back together again with a working window.

Time to show off a bit! Hey, it’s my blog and I can if I want to!

Something New

2009-03-20T17:52:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a great and safe St Patty's Day.

I have ventured into something that I did not think I would ever do. Non hemp bracelets. When I made my last bead order, I also ordered some stones and beads that might be to small for hemp. I got them because they were a really good price. A price that I could not give up, haha. That's my problem with sales, but I'll save that for another blog.

When I received my order, yup, some of the stones and beads had small holes that hemp would not just fit through. So I went an bought some beading wire.

It took me a couple of tries to get it right, but I ended up with these three bracelets.

My mom, who is still visiting, liked the top left bracelet so she is keeping that one. I liked the black bracelet, the top right one, so I am keeping that one. The rainbow bracelet is one I made with some left over Czech glass beads.

Once I made these, I kind of liked it and started making some more. I ended up making 5 more bracelets. Here are some pics. The last picture has the rainbow bracelet included.

I think they came out ok. I don’t know yet if I will list them in my Etsy Shop.

I will however be listing more hemp bracelets soon, so be on the lookout for new hemp bracelets!!!

Hope everyone is having a great day!!!!!

-Mike

The Back of The Cupboard

2009-03-17T03:01:00.005-05:00

First off, Happy St. Pattie's Day!!!!The green background is only for today, so I don't want to hear it! Get in the mood, haha.

Ok, I love food. I love cooking it just as much as I love eating it. What I also love doing is reading food blogs.

My bestest bestest bff (Hi Kris) just started a food blog. There are only a few of posts right now, but they are are really yummy and interesting posts.

I know all of you will go and check out her delish blog and follow as there are more delish posts to come. I am definitely going to try some of her recipes out.

Thats it for today. Have a Happy and Safe St. Pattie's Day!

New Spider Hemp Choker

What's Up With That ?

2009-03-14T23:06:00.008-05:00

First, sorry about the no blogging for 3 or so days. Second, why did my Lazy Blog get more comments than my usual blogs, haha.

So there is this site called DIY OnlineMag.com. I signed up for and won one of their contests. When I was notified, I was so happy because I haven't really won any type of contest before. My prize was my choice of tee shirt from SnorgTees.com. Being the nerd that I am, I chose this shirt. Cool, right! Don't forget to check out the awesome stuff on DIY OnlineMag.com, and make sure you subscribe to their new article alerts

My local news stations started giving out grocery gift cards to viewers. I was up early one day and saw the number to call. You have to be the 12th caller to win. They had many chances to call throughout the morning broadcast. I called and called and called, and nothing. Eh, whatever, it was worth trying. Then I try again on Thursday. I call a couple of times, and nothing. Then I get through, but I am the seventh caller. I try one more time and Congrats you are the 12th caller and winner. Yay me! I won a $150 gift card to a local grocery store. How cool is that. That will help me out a lot. Anyone for T-Bone steaks......j/k

With all this winning going on, I am going to have to start playing the lottery. You never know, I just might win something, even if its $1, haha.

My mom has a week off for spring break (she is a teacher), and guess where she will be spending it. But it's ok. I love spending time with mom. We always have fun together. Shopping, going out to eat, shopping, resting, shopping, and maybe a movie in between, haha. I made sure my apartment was spotless because she will still tell me something if I have a messy apartment, haha, a mom is always a mom, right.

Our shopping goes kind of like this.

Check out the rest of Stevie's YouTube Videos

Time to plug the shop:
Here are some of my new stuff. Click and enjoy!!!!

LAZY Blog

2009-03-11T23:18:00.003-05:00

So what do you think of the new background, better than the black or not????

Hope everyone is having a great day. Hopefully a more interesting blog tomorrow or some time after....haha

Ehh, What-Ever, Get Over It..........

My Addiction

2009-03-08T22:49:00.012-05:00

Some of you may already know and some of you may not know, but I have an addiction. I am not afraid to admit it. I LOVE beads. It seems that every time I go to a crafts store, even if it is just to browse, I end up buying beads.

I was recently referred to an online bead store. Not a good idea. I spent the last of my PayPal funds on beautiful and colorful glass beads as well as metal pendants. I am pretty sure that I will be buying more as soon as I get more dinero into my PayPal account.

I also attended a bead and jewelry show. I have never been to anything like this or even know this was going on. I only found out about it because of a TV commercial. It is The Bead Market. Click on the link for all the info about upcoming shows. Now because I had just received my online order of beads, and because I was out of money, I did go only to browse. I was in heaven! So many types, colors, and shapes of beads anybody could ever want. There were some beads that were pricey, but there were also a lot of bargains.

To tell you the truth, I almost did crack and buy some beads, but thanks to my friend, who went with me and saved me from spending my money, haha. Now that I know when the next show will be in town, I will make sure to save enough money to let me go a bit crazy at the show, haha.

Here is something that I made. It will be listed on Etsy soon. This is a hemp choker with a bear paw pendant. Great for all you bears out there or bear lovers. Rawr!!!

Playing With Beeswax

2009-03-06T21:03:00.010-06:00

I made it safe and sound to my hometown. It's usually a 2.5 hour drive, but I did it in 4 hours, haha. Lunch hour rush traffic in San Antonio, and stopping to eat in Castroville contributed to that.

OK, on to the point of this blog.

If you follow me on Twitter, which all of you should be, then you know that I from time to time post a twitpic of something that I have created using beeswax. Now you may be asking yourself, Self, why in the world is Mike playing with beeswax. Well, first off, I have beeswax around because I sometimes use it to soften rougher feeling hemp. When I get bored, which is more and more often now a days, I just started playing with the beeswax and molding it into different things. This wax is very pliable and fun to play with, haha. Anyways, if you haven't seen any of my pics, here they are. Now the pics are not that good, because I take them with my cellular phone and send them to twitpic. Enjoy!

Sea Creature

A Spiral......Something?

A Flower

Mr. Snowman

And if you don't follow me on Twitter, shame on you!!!! Just kidding, I still love you all. Just follow me from now on.

Dear Diary

2009-03-05T21:52:00.005-06:00

It would be nice if I could write a blog everyday, but right now, my life is so boring. There really is not too much to blog about. I don't want to blog about my etsy shop everyday because that just gets annoying fast.

So this is what has been going on in my life......

I started going to physical therapy last Thursday. It's kind of what I expected. Electro -muscular stimulation, different types of stretches, and lite exercise.

I got my second steroid injection on Monday. I noticed the effects almost immediately. I go for hopefully my last one in two more weeks.

I will be going on a short road trip tomorrow to my hometown. I will be there for a few days visiting family and friends.

So Spring Break is starting soon. What are your plans? Remember not to go to Mexico, too much drug cartel violence. My mom is going to be visiting me during her spring break which starts on the 16th. So most of my time will be spent chauffeuring her around the city. I don't mind, it will be fun.

I added some more pics to my Flickr page. The first five pics are of those that I have not yet listed in my etsy shop.

Anyways,

Did you see Survivor today. They voted off that poor viejita Sandy. I was hoping that they would vote off the "eye candy" girl Sierra, but oh well.

And what's up with the Spurs?

Choke Her?

2009-02-24T04:52:00.020-06:00

I have had many people ask me if I also make anklets, chokers, and necklaces. I have before, but I just stuck to bracelets because it does not really take a long time to make them. So I usually put off making chokers an necklaces. Well, I don't know what got into me, but I decided to make a couple of chokers. I really like the way they turned out. Now, I think I was bit by the choker making bug, because I've been making more. Not only have I been making some more, but I also made a large order of pendants and beads to make new ones. I'm excited to get my order and start making more. I should get it in by Thursday although I am hoping it will get in earlier. The pendants I ordered are all metal and cool looking as I am going to be trying to make stuff for guys. If it goes well, I plan on ordering wood and bone pendants. I did buy a couple of stone pendants and I used one in a necklace that I made and already listed. I will post some pictures of what I have made so far. Click on the picture to go to the listing and see more pics.

These are the first two that I made and listed

Then I made and listed these two.

Then I made these two. Only the natural colored choker is listed at the moment.

I also made matching bracelets and anklets for the two chokers above.

In other news, I start my first session of physical therapy on Thursday, and get my second epidural steroid injection on Monday! Since my first injection, I have noticed a difference in the amount of pain that I have. I also noticed that I can stand and walk for longer periods of time. Sleeping has got a lot better and I don't wake up in the middle of the night with pain anymore. I am hoping that with this second injection and physical therapy, that I will soon be pain free. Thanks to you all who posted nice comments to me in my other post.

In other other news, I love you all (especially you) and have a great day!

Lemonade Award!

2009-02-18T13:05:00.005-06:00

I was given this award by Glass Identities. Thank you so much for this. It feels good to get an award, haha.

Here are the rules:

1.Put the logo on your blog or post
2.Nominate at least 5 - 10 blogs that show great Gratitude and/or Attitude.
3.Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.
4.Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.
5.Nominate your favorites and link to your post.

I would like to nominate.....

Thanks to all of you who read and comment on my little part of the internet I call my blog. Love you all!!!

Finally Some Relief

2009-02-17T20:03:00.004-06:00

Today I had my appointment with a pain specialist doctor. I was referred to this doctor by my neurologist to get an epidural steroid injection to help relieve my herniated disk. I was very nervous because I have never had anything like this done to me before. The first thing they did was test for nerve response. They sent small electrical stimulation through different areas of my leg. After the data was recorded, the doctor came in and looked over the MRI films. He then told me that I would probably need 2 to 3 treatments. He asked me if I wanted to do the first treatment today or schedule it for another day. I have been in constant pain for months, so I told him to do it today. A nurse comes into the exam room and takes me to the procedure room. I lay down, back up, on a small table. They attach a pulse oximeter and a blood pressure cuff. The doctor come in and begins the procedure. I am including a video with this post. This video shows an example of what was done to me. It was relatively painless and the whole procedure took only about 15 minutes.

Already, I have noticed some improvement in the amount of pain I have. I can also walk without limping so much. Hopefully I will be able to sleep tonight without so much pain. I have to go back in 2 weeks to get my second treatment. The doctor is also going to refer me to a physical therapist so I can get some physical therapy done which should also help. I've had to put my life on hold because of this injury. Hopefully with these treatments and physical therapy, I can get back to what I was doing before the injury.

Mike's A Big Fruit ,Salad

2009-02-16T23:01:00.020-06:00

Here is the way I make my fruit salad.

You can use any kind of fruit that you like. Make sure that you wash all fruit before cutting or eating it. Even fruit that has a rind that is going to be thrown away should be washed. Ok, here is what I got for my salad. Now this will make approximately "a lot" of salad. Vary the amount of fruit to what ever you like.

1/2 Pineapple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1/2 Mini Watermelon, peeled and chopped

Almost 1 llb of Strawberries, remove tops and chop

3 Apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

2 Oranges, peeled and sectioned

2 Grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

3 Kiwis, peeled and chopped

3 Peaches, remove pit, peeled, and chopped

Some Grapes

Mix all fruit together. Before I toss away the non sectioned part of the orange and grapefruit, I like to squeeze all the juice from it into the salad. I also like to add sliced banana, but only right before I am about to serve it. If you put the bananas in with the rest of the fruit, it will become very mushy.

The Final Product

I hope you all make your own fruit salad and enjoy!

Science

2009-02-13T03:11:00.009-06:00

I really think I have treasury fever. I just love doing them. I snagged one from treasury west today. This treasury kind of coincides with my earlier Nerd treasury. Although I am taking a short break from school, due to my injury, I still call myself a student. I am studying biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I love science and anything science related. Science is all around us, everywhere we go. I like all kinds of science, but my heart is in the life sciences, hence my majoring in biology. In this treasury, you will see many types of science, including biology, chemistry, genetics, and even physics. Now, I'm not a physics fan, but I thought it only proper to add it in. Enjoy!

Check it out!

I'm Coming Out

2009-02-11T12:56:00.006-06:00

OK, I'm coming out! I am a Nerd. There, I said it. Now I can wear my pocket protector with pride. From my experience in the nerd community, there are many types of nerds. I am a gamer/science nerd. More science than gamer, haha. I am the type of guy that would wear a shirt that has " I like 3.14159265" on it. Here are some of my favorite nerdy items I found on Etsy. This is my "Talk NERDY To Me" Treasury.

Check it out!

My Love of Dragons

2009-02-11T10:43:00.008-06:00

Ever since I can remember, I have been interested in dragons and dinosaurs. I can thank my dad for this. He himself is an avid dragon/dinosaur enthusiast. Growing up, he always took us to different rock/fossil shops, museums, and national parks. We would even go on our own rock/fossil hunts with our hammer and picks in hand. I have many shelves filled with rocks, fossils, and dragon/dinosaur related items. So when I got the chance to make an Etsy treasury, why not make one full of dragons. Here is my treasury.

Check it out .

Queer Etsy Street Team

2009-02-10T04:46:00.011-06:00

An Etsy street team that I am a part of is the Queer Etsy Street Team. We are a group of GLBTQ Etsy artists and craft people. Learn more about this team at the general information page on Etsy or on their blog. There are a lot of great and talented artist in this team. Be sure, when searching Etsy, to type in "Queer Team" to find all the great items by Queer Etsy Street Team. Here are a few my picks from the team.

Ishy's Creations :

Handmade punk rock charms, clothes, accessories and art

She makes awesome charms, art, and accessories.

SB Designs:
Specialize in fine silver and resin jewelry designs

She has beautiful jewelry and Frames

Butch n' Femme:
Eclectic collection of jewelry, buttons, key chains and stickers

She has a whole bunch of fun stuff

So make sure you go check out all the great items and support GLBTQ artists.

And The Winner Is......

2009-02-08T01:39:00.006-06:00

I have not really been doing much but relaxing and taking it easy. I want to say Thank You, to those who posted nice comments to me in my post about my back. I am still waiting to hear from a pain management doctor to see when my appointment is. Hopefully I will find out sometime next week. To make my life just a bit more difficult, I caught the cold this week. It started off slow, got kinda bad in the middle of the week, and now I am doing somewhat better.

I think I also have blog give a way fever. Not only did I start my first ever give a way, but I have been searching and entering a lot of others blog give a ways. I have to say, it's a lot of fun.

Funny Story- I was called by a telemarketer the other day. I let him go through his whole pitch, me not saying a word. Then at the end of his written out speach, he asked for my information. I told him that I was not interested in what he had to offer. So he asks me what about the offer I did not like. I told him again that I was just not interested. After that, I hear nothing but a click. He hung up on me! I thought it was kind of funny. I've never had a telemarketer hang up on me. Its usually the other way around.

I've started making hemp key rings. I was hesitant at first, but after making a few, I think they look good. Before I do post them on Etsy, I want to know what people think about them, so I have been sending them with some of the purchases people make from my shop. Here are some pics of what I have so far.

And now, the part you all have been waiting for, the winners of my first ever blog give a way. In 3rd place, winner of a hemp key ring, Clemart Design. In 2nd place, winner of a hemp key ring, the little red door. In 1st place, winner of hemp salt scrub, Marigold. Congrats to all the winners. I will be contacting you soon to get your info.

Check out these blog give aways!

2009-02-06T22:19:00.005-06:00

FringeLore Earring of the Month Club

FringeLore is having a great blog give a way. Check it out for more details.

http://fringelore.blogspot.com/

It is very easy to enter and you get great prizes.

Luv2Scrapp Blogiversary Giveaway

Luv2Scrapp is having a giveaway to celebrate her one year blogiversary! She makes very beautiful cards. Check out her blog for more details

http://luv2scrappp.blogspot.com/

Heathen's Hearth

Heathen's Hearth is having an :Everything but the Bathtub" give away. Like the title of the give away says, prizes include a little bit of everything but the bathtub. Check out her blog give away here and her etsy shop here.