First Day in Jamaica!

More to come!

Vacation!!

WOO!

I am out of here! I will be gone for a week on vacation. Our cats are mad they get left with the cat/house sitter but oh well. At least we don't leave them alone.

We will be in Jamaica. I so need this vacation. My back pain, work being crazy and months of blah have got me nuts and I just want to relax and get away from it all for awhile.

Make sure to check back next week as I will probably post some vlogs and photos if possible. Or maybe not. I might just be too lazy to do a thing!

Have a great week.

Wordless Wednesday ~ He Never promised me a rose garden

But he did plant me one. Tom planted roses this year and he brought this in for me. I love roses.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Monday I had a freak throwing out my back moment. I thought it would go away and spent the day in bed. Then it got worse on Tuesday and I had to go to the ER because I could barely walk. Side Note: The ER I go to is the same one featured in the movie The Fugitive with Harrison Ford. Yes, folks, our ER is freaking famous. I got the rest of the week off on bedrest. So suffice it to say, I have been doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself and taking the drugs prescribed to me.

Friday I go see a sports doctor who will hopefully help me get better. I have been sort of working from home but I could only do work stuff and not blog stuff. Sigh, I am not even 50 yet and I am falling apart at the seams.

Sunday in the Garden with Tom

Okay, I was only out in the garden for like 5 minutes but I did weed some of the lettuce and onions. This year is Tom's year to do the garden. He is very meticulous about it. He has labeled everything and has a calendar for harvesting etc. That is so different from the first year we were here and it was my garden. Yes, my style was willy-nilly. I had no idea what I was growing and when the veggies would be ready to pick. This, my friends, is why we are together. Tom is organized and conscientious and I am random and willy-nilly.

Anyhow, if you are a regular Carolyn in Carolina reader you know this begins my endless documentation of the garden. If you are a new reader, get ready because I take pictures of every little thing. I am a garden geek and am always amazed that we grow our own food. Hopefully soon, I will have all my endless "look what I picked today" photos. How I love the summertime and gardening!

Enjoy the photos.

Kitties are loving the warmer weather!

Scout and Shawn tolerate each other most of the time. They are rarely together unless there is a kitty fight going down. They don't fight often because they choose to stay away. But with the warmer weather and sun, they called a truce and shared the sun room. As you see we had to cover the furniture otherwise it gets ruined.

More scenes from around the house!

Carolyn's Easy Arroz con Pollo Recipe

I have still been under the weather so I am so lazy. I am trying to keep it simple but still make tasty meals. I had the opportunity to review some Maggi products on my other blog, The Art of Random Willynillyness, so I made a real quick and easy meal that was tasty for Tom.

Growing up we always had Maggi Bullion cubes or "Cubitos Maggi" as my mami and abelita called them. There was always a packet of cubitos Maggi in our house. They would use them to make stews, soups and as a spice to fry up chicken or to make rice.

We would always have the Maggi sopa de vegetales, pollo and fideos (chicken, veggies and noodles) at home as well. I remember having sopa de fideos as much as I had Campbell's chicken noodle soup. It's funny that I remember something so random but that's just me.

As I grew up, I always had cubitos Maggi in my pantry as well. I love using them to make chicken broth. I also love using them when I need to spice up my arroz con pollo or other meals. The cube has so much flavor that I use it as I would salt or pepper.

I received a basket of items, including the garlic and onion bullion cubes, chicken flavored bullion powder, Sopa de fideos (chicken noodle soup) and some sofrito paste. I had never tried the sofrito paste so I decided to use that. Sofrito is a mixture of garlic, onion, tomatoes and spices used as a base for cooking traditional recipes.

I wondered if I could achieve a one pot dinner with the sofrito paste and no other spices. I started by frying up some chicken thighs. Then I added the sofrito paste and finished cooking the chicken. I then added some chicken broth and simmered it all together. The only spices I added were salt and pepper. Once I let the chicken and sofrito cook a while, I added some rice and let it all cook up. To finish the dish, I added some fresh cilantro.

It was delicious and easy. The dish was so flavorful because of the Maggi sofrito paste. Hubby loved it! If you have never tried these products, you really should. They are very good. I love the fact that every time I use them, they remind me of my childhood.

Scenes from our House

Spring is here in Western North Carolina. I took a few pictures of some flower bushes around the house. I will have some garden pictures this weekend. We had a frost the other night and Tom had to cover the tomato plants. I hope they are okay. Luckily, the weather is warming so I think they will be fine.

Wordless Wednesday - Mondrian South Beach

Best bed ever!

Okay there is this giant vending machine where you can buy almost everything. Freaky!

My Adventure in Miami! Part 2

When we last left off, I was back at the Mondrian South Beach sleeping in the comfiest bed ever. If I have had a bigger suitcase, I might have taken those damn pillows because they rocked the house.

Okay, I digress so back to the story. On Thursday, we bloggers had to meet to take a tour of the Telemundo Studios. Studio tours are right up my alley since I am a total geek about movies, TV and stuff like that. I love seeing how everything gets made.

We arrived at the studios and were given an overview of the programming they offer. There are two upcoming novelas that looked good: La Casa de al Lado and Mi Corazon Insiste. I would watch Mi Corazon Insiste just to see Jencarlos Canela because he is hot! But I can't watch novelas anymore because of Tom. I always tell him that novelas would teach him Spanish but no go. Oh well.

Then we went on the tour. The fun part of this was seeing all the novelas Telemundo has made. At one point I saw a poster with Andres Garcia. Now my Latino readers will immediately know who Andres Garcia is and, if you, don't do a search. I remember when I was little and one of the first novelas I remember was the Los Hermanos Coraje with Andres Garcia.

As I walked through the halls and the studio it brought back memories of my abuelita because I would watch novelas with her all the time. I always watched with my mami as well. It was sort of a given in our house that at a certain hour, we turned off the English language programs and watched Spanish language TV.

The tour was fun and interesting. We got to see how sets were built and then taken down and rebuilt again. We got to see the prop room, editing room and learned how music gets added into the shows. We even got to watch a novela scene about to be filmed. That was really cool.

After the tour we went back to the hotel, had lunch, then got ready for the Latin Billboard Awards. I have to thank Libby from Being Latino who rocked out my hair with her fantastic flat iron. I so need to get myself a flat iron. I think I rocked the straight hair!

When we got to the awards, we were first seated in the bleachers but it was hot and noisy. I opted to stay there because I could sit. I never wear heels and when I do, they are always low heels but I just can't wear them anymore. We got to see some celebs arrive then the fans got a little too out of control and almost pushed us off the bleachers. Luckily, we were moved to the secondary red carpet where we could sit or take pictures if we wanted.

That was so much better. Some of the bloggers have sites that deal exclusively with celebrity news so it was wonderful for them to have the access. Since my blog is not that type of blog, it was cool for me to sit back and watch the whole spectacle. I could so do more red carpets!! I even got some great pictures of Gloria and my Marc Anthony!! I love love love love love Marc Anthony!

We went into the show that was actually really good. What a difference it is to be there live instead of watching on TV. Like I said, the set was amazing, the lighting was great and the music was even better. I could not believe Emmannel was there. I loved Emmanuel's music decades ago and it was great to see him still alive and singing. Mana was great. I discovered a new band, Camila. Don Omar had me dancing in my seat and Marc Anthony killed it with that fantabulous voice of his.

We were supposed to attend the after-party but when we got to the area to enter it was jammed packed full of people. We could not get in. People were pushing and shoving and being crazy. In the end, we had to decide whether to try and go in or go back to the hotel. Some of us stayed and some of us went back. I cannot stand crowds and it was hot and humid. I opted to go back especially since we weren't sure we could get in and I had to get up early, pack and get to the airport in the morning.

Did I miss missing the after-party? Not really. I was actually glad to get back to that fabulous Mondrian bed and sleep a few hours before going home. I slept like a baby!!

The next morning, I got up (way too early) and took a cab to the hotel. The flight was uneventful, which is always a good thing. I got a little sleep and, for once, I had no issues at any airports. My bag made it to Asheville. My car was still there and the drive home was easy peasy and I was glad to be home.

I had a wonderful time and Telemundo and NMS did a great job with the event. As always, it was a fantastic learning experience. It was great to see my friend Migdalia. It was also great to meet new bloggers and hang out in Miami. I wish I would have had more time in Miami to see my friends who still live there. Hopefully, one day Tom and I will return and do a vacay there and see everyone. It seems every time I go, it's for an event that I don't have time to enjoy my adopted home town.

It's now back to the real world. I am going to be so busy with work these coming months. It is our busy season. I have 2 events to plan and the usual work stuff as well. Oh how I wish I could win the lottery!!

Sorry about the lopsided pictures, Grrr blackberry!!