Boston Cream donuts | Comments (1)

Posted by Lisa Marie on June 30, 2009 at 2:50 PM

I’ve been a ‘junk food junkie’ for as long as I can remember. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some greens. But I’m more passionate about dessert. I’d be lying if I said otherwise. So with that being said maybe now you can better understand my love for Sweet Avenue Bake Shop. I know that there’s more to life than cupcakes and donuts. But what can I say? I love my sweets.

Last week Juan happened to tune the TV to one of my favorite movies; Next Friday. Hey, don’t judge me. I actually find it to be very funny. Anyway, there’s a part where Day-Day is talking about Baby D. Craig is like “Wait, wait, you got a restraining order on a little girl named Baby D?” Then Day-Day goes on to tell him about her and how big she is and how she knows about all the new snacks before they even hit the streets. “Year 2000 snacks.” Juan makes jokes and tells me that’s me with Sweet Avenue. I was offended at first until he was like “Hun, what day is today?” I was like “Boston Cream day! Yeah, baby!” He’s like “Uh huh. See? And when can you go try out a mystery flavor?” I was like “Friday.” He’s like “See, you know all about the new cupcakes before they even hit the streets. Sweet Avenue has this new cupcake. It’s called Boston Cream. When you bite into it cream shoots all in your mouth...” At that point I died laughing. I can’t argue with the man. He’s right. I’ve called him on the cell phone plenty of times asking him to get me the newest cupcake flavor. Then I go into detail about it and how awesome it sounds. So I can see why he made the reference. In case you have no clue as to what I’m talking about, here is a clip. Be sure not to watch it around children. There’s lots of cursing in that clip.

Now onto the good stuff.

Filed under: Entertainment, Food, Photography, Vegetarian Related

Everybody loves donuts… and cupcakes! | Comments (2)

Posted by Lisa Marie on June 26, 2009 at 11:46 AM

With everything that’s been going on lately I haven’t had the chance to take/post any photos. I think it’s been a month since I last uploaded a photo to Flickr. Since things are starting to look up and I’m in such a great mood, I figured I’d upload a few yummy looking photos. I sort of messed up the chocolate frosted donut while taking it out of the bag, but I didn’t want to leave the cute little guy out of the photo shoot. You have no idea how thrilled I was when I found out that my favorite bake shop is now making vegan donuts. I don’t think there’s anything better than a vegan donut. Well, maybe two vegan donuts! But you get the picture.

Filed under: Food, Photography, Vegetarian Related

Me and my crazy world | Comments (0)

Posted by Lisa Marie on June 25, 2009 at 7:27 PM

This week was a doozy. Father’s Day weekend was great. The ride there however was pretty scary. It was raining non stop and once we hit Connecticut it was so dark we could barely see. Not a good combination. The plan was to be in Rhode Island by that time. But we were stuck in traffic for like two hours. As we crossed a bridge a passing car splashed us with water and we couldn’t see for a few seconds. I thought we were going to die. A million thoughts raced through my mind. Thank God we made it there ok. My Dad loved his gifts. We mostly hung out and ate some really good Rhode Island food. I’ve always said that food there tastes so much better. I’m not a fan of Jersey food. Or maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough? Anyway, I went to Garden Grille Cafe and got an order of nachos and chipotle seared seitan. It was delicious! Not only was is delicious, I was actually able to eat it without choking. I wish I had pictures to show you, but my mind was sort of elsewhere. I was too busy enjoying myself and my food. I also got a humongous veggie dog at Spike’s Junkyard Dogs. The guys didn’t care for their hot dogs, but I was pretty much in heaven while eating mine. I wish I could have loaded it up with veggies, but the crunchier stuff is harder for me to swallow. So I went simple and had mine with mustard. Still delicious. I wish there was a place like that out here. -sigh

We also visited with a few of my aunts and caught up a little. My sister called me which I found to be weird. I haven’t heard from her in months. To make a long story short, she called and asked me to wish our father a Happy Father’s Day. I told her Ethan kept asking to see her so that he could play with his cousins and asked if we could visit. She said yes and then hung up just to call back minutes later informing me that she was on a bus to our father’s house. Since she has a restraining order against him he said that she couldn’t visit. She flipped out and was pissed that she got on a bus for nothing. I tried telling her that I didn’t ask her to get on a bus in the first place, but offered her a ride back home. She said to forget it. When I asked “What about Ethan?” she said “Forget it. I’m going home.” My mother basically did something similar. She called to wish Juan a Happy Father’s Day. Juan asked her if we could see her and she said she had to work until 4:30 PM. He told her we wouldn’t take up much of her time so she caved and said she’d call later on to set something up. After my sister’s stunt I realized neither wanted to be bothered. So I called my mother and basically told her that if we didn’t get to see her before we left then I didn’t want to be bothered with her any more. I went on about how she makes me feel and how I was so sick of hers and my sister’s head games. I held off on telling her how I felt out of fear that she would cut me out of her life completely. That weekend I realized that she had already done that. So what did I have to lose? Nothing.

We debated on staying an extra day because we had so much fun. Plus we weren’t looking forward to driving back home in the rain. But we decided it would be best to get home since we have to get back to the real world sooner or later. The first thing I did was ask Juan if Mil ate meat while we were away. He asked her and she said no and showed him the freezer full of Boca Burgers. I was so impressed. Bil totally caved and ate meat throughout the whole trip. I just assumed that Mil would have too. They both decided to go vegetarian last Monday. It was totally their idea. I had no influence on them what-so-ever. So anyway, after seeing the Boca Burgers I felt so bad and told Juan that I wanted to make her something special to eat that night. I remember those days all too well. While I see nothing wrong with eating a frozen veggie burger once in a while, I felt much better knowing that there are way more options out there. So I whipped up my favorite vegan potato salad and heated up some chipotle seared seitan which I brought back home with me from Garden Grille Cafe. She enjoyed the dinner a lot. It was a nice quiet night. Then, without warning, our lives were flipped upside down. Again.

We woke up to the faint sound of a knock. Juan claims he heard a few thuds. He went to check it out and then came running back in the room in a panic. I asked what was wrong and he said he had to rush Mil to the hospital. I jumped out of bed to go see what was going on. Juan ended up dialing 911 while I tried to cool Mil off with a cold rag. She was breathing really heavy and her head kept jerking around as if she was nodding off. I won’t go into detail from here on because there are some nosy people that still read up on my life even though neither of us wants to bother with one another. I’d rather not fill them in on any details. To make a long story short, she had a massive stroke which resulted in a blood clot. She was transferred to another hospital where she had surgery to have the clot removed. We waited in the waiting room for what seemed to be forever. Then the good news… she made it out of surgery and the clot was removed successfully. It was a miracle. We were told she might not make it. My mother-in-law survived brain surgery. It’s just… wow. So many things ran through my head. What if we hadn’t come home that day? What if we actually stayed that extra day? What if we weren’t all moved in and no one was here with her? What if we lost her? The very thought bring tears to my eyes. Everyone knows Mil and I have had our issues. Man, have we had our issues. But for the past five years she’s the only mother I’ve known. The few times I was hospitalized she came to visit and stood by my bedside. She helped me through my pregnancy. When I’m sick she brings me tea. Whenever I’m in the kitchen she does whatever she can to help me out. When she sees me come back with something from the market, she goes out and gets more of it. Why? So that when I run out I’ll have more. I never got it before. I was always so quick to judge and question her motives. But the moment I thought I could lose her… I just knew I’d miss it all. Even the bad stuff.

While we were waiting for Mil to get out of surgery my mother called. I called a few people when Juan told me that Mil might not make it. 1) My mother. 2) My grandmother. 3) My father. 4) One of Juan’s cousins. I thought Juan might need the support of some family. And then I e-mailed my best friend. Everyone got back to me. I honestly didn’t think my mother would call me back. But she did. After she asked about Mil, she said “Oh and while I have you on the phone...” and used that time to redeem herself. As if that was the time to discuss our issues. But it did keep my mind occupied so I went along with it. To make another long story short… here’s what I learned… my mother cut me and her grandson out of her life because of her boyfriend. She claimed that I’m more accepting of my father’s girlfriends than I am of her boyfriends. I told her that wasn’t true. Then she told me she didn’t want to be put in a position where she felt she had to make a choice. Then I replied with “But you did make a choice, didn’t you?” She said “No! I didn’t!” I said “You haven’t seen me in what, two years? You haven’t seen your grandson in what, two years? You did make a decision. And the messed up part is, I never met your boyfriend. Not even once. You never even gave me a chance. You just made up your mind and went with it. How unfair is that?” Then there was a long pause. It was so long that I thought she had hung up. I said “Hello?” She said “Yes. See, this is why I didn’t want to have this conversation. Because I knew you’d turn it around on me.” What the fuck ever! She’s just pissed because she knows that I’m right. I had one conversation with that guy on the phone a few years ago. I might even have it saved on an old blog somewhere. I called and said “Hello, is my mother there?” He said “Why hello, Lisa. I’m doing great. Thanks for asking.” I was like wtf? I don’t know this guy. What am I supposed to do? Start grilling him? Should I have asked him twenty questions? Fuck that. I was polite. I said hello. Where I come from that’s enough. Now if I knew him and just asked for my mother that might be a little rude. A little chat wouldn’t hurt. But what do you say to a person you’ve never even met? How’s the weather? So when she brought that up she said he was offended. I told her that I was offended and asked her if his feelings were somehow more important that mine. Then she got all huffy and claimed I could have been nicer. Ok. Next time I’ll be like “Yo, whattup, foo? Where my mutha be, yo?”

She told me she would call me back today. She hasn’t. You know what? I don’t really care either. 1) She brought that topic up at a wrong time. I guess it never occurred to her that I was upset. Maybe my crying wasn’t enough of a clue? 2) She cut me out of her life because she was afraid that I would mistreat her boyfriend. A guy I’ve never even met. She never gave me the chance. I never mistreated her ex. Why would she think I’d mistreat this guy? I think he was the one afraid to be in my presence. He was rude and overreacted. He would have felt weird and didn’t know how to deal with it. He had my mother make a choice. She did. I’m over it now.

Pictures later on tonight. Or tomorrow.

Filed under: Health And Fitness, Food, Mood Swing, Personal, Travel, Vegetarian Related, Family

Almost out of here | Comments (2)

Posted by Lisa Marie on June 20, 2009 at 11:18 AM

My mother called me yesterday and left a message on my voicemail. She said that she’s booked. She works until 10:00 tonight and works from 8:00 - 4:30 tomorrow. Then she had the nerve to say “Uh… I miss you.”

--------------------

You miss me? YOU MISS ME? Don’t you dare lie to me. First of all, if you ‘missed me’ that much you would make the time to see me. You know since you haven’t seen me in over a year. Or has it been two years? I lost track. Second of all, how is it that you are booked all weekend yet you told me that you get off work at 4:30? If you go home, shower, cook and eat dinner, you’re still left with SOME time before the day is over. Don’t try to tell me any different. I know. I work too. So why not save your excuses for someone that actually believes them? Don’t call me anymore until you can learn to be upfront and honest with me. Quite frankly I’m sick of your bullshit. Furthermore, you’re lucky that I have the amount of respect that I do. Because I should be calling you by your first name. The title mother/mom should be reserved for those that are deserving of such a title. It’s cool though. My MIL has done a great job taking your place.

I’m done. I’ve said it a million times. This time I truly mean it. I’m done. No more meeting you in various parking lots around Rhode Island. I’m you’re daughter. I should be welcome into your home. No more waiting on your phone calls. No more trying to cram all that’s going on in my life into a measly five minute phone call. I see what you’re trying to do. Throw a dog a bone, eh? Thanks, but no thanks. You clearly don’t care. So why do you bother? One day I hope to find out what your problem with me is. I’m not a bad person. I’ve always talked to you with respect. Seriously, what the hell is your deal? If I were you I’d deal with it. Ethan is four years old. You’ve only seen him maybe five times. It’s bad that I can count on one hand how many times you’ve actually seen your grandson. Your only grandson. You should feel ashamed of yourself.

--------------------

I’ll never understand her or her ways. Sometimes it hurts so much. It’s worse not knowing what I did. What did I do?

Blah! I’m going to get ready for my trip now. My Dad is going to be so surprised when he sees his gift. We got him a Jeter jersey. I told him we had to wait and special order it. He seemed so let down. The look on his face when he sees the jersey at the bottom of his gift bag is going to be priceless. I hid it under the hat. Juan also picked out the coolest birthday card ever. I’ll definitely post photos when I get back. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Filed under: Mood Swing, Personal, Travel, Family

Father’s Day plans | Comments (0)

Posted by Lisa Marie on June 18, 2009 at 6:19 PM

I can’t wait for this weekend. We’re going to Rhode Island to visit my father for Father’s Day. We’re probably going to go out to eat or something. Well, that is if I can eat. I’m still having difficulties. But I’m not going to stress about it this weekend.

I called my mother to let her know that we were going to be in Rhode Island and asked if she wanted to see us. She said she couldn’t because she wasn’t sure what her work schedule was like. I found that to be odd since just before I asked her she was complaining about only having 25 hours this week. Yet now she doesn’t know what her schedule is like? Whatever! She did say that I was welcome to stop by her work, however. Wow! So I get to stop by and talk to her while she steps out for a smoke? I don’t think so. I’m not wasting my time anymore. Screw this. I’m not going to bother calling her anymore. She NEVER answers anyway. I leave messages and she usually calls me back on her way to work. So I get to talk to her for like five minutes. If she’s not working as much as she’d like, why can’t she make the time for me? I don’t understand. And I’m sick and tired of trying to understand. It’s over.

I know this though… I’m going to go to Rhode Island and I’m going to have a great time. As for Juan, the plan is to sneak out while he’s sleeping and make a run to the mall. I’m going to get him a PS3. He’s been wanting one. We have every game system except for the PS3. He mainly wants it for the blue-ray player. He’s going to love it.

Filed under: Mood Swing, Personal, Travel, Family