A Successful Shot

A Successful Shot

As a hobby I like to to practice photography. I can never say that I’m an expert at it, but it is something I do enjoy. I am always looking for an opportunity to to snap photos.

Yesterday I went out with my family after a snowstorm to see what my camera would catch, and to my surprise as I was trying to capture a beautiful landscape shot something unexpected happened.

A family of deer came up to us and I had to take advantage of the situation and started shooting. It was amazing how close they came to us, so I figured I would share my favorite shot from yesterday.

I posted on Facebook and have gotten great reviews so feel free to let me know how you feel.


I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

via Daily Prompt: Successful

New Year, New Interior Self

New Year, New Interior Self

A new year has begun and I am ready to take it on! This past year has been a challenging one for myself but I ended it on a good note. Receiving a giant kiss at the stroke of midnight from the woman I love and mother to my child!

I always tend to reflect on my interior self and look to make improvements. Since I am only human, I am a flawed person and have made some small mistakes. After all hindsight is 20/20.

For some reason 2016 was a challenging year for me personally  and I found it hard to stay positive. With the loss of my teaching job I fell into a state of depression. I come from a really small town and finding a new career that pays well is no easy task. I always thought that getting my business degree would make this type of transition easier, but honestly it’s not.

If it wasn’t the support of my wife I honestly don’t know how I would’ve gotten through it. One thing is for certain is she is my rock and she was the only person who supported me  in that time of difficulty.

It was her positivity and support that kept me going, so this year I am starting the year with a positive outlook. I have a great new job and a wonderful family at my side.

When my wife and I married 4 years ago, we were in college so I could not afford to get her a proper wedding band, so to surprise her I took her to a jewelry store and bought her the ring I promised years ago.

As I start the year on the right foot my hope for everyone is to do the same!

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

 

via Daily Prompt: Interior

A Lot to be Thankful For

A Lot to be Thankful For

As we sit here ready to enjoy some quality time with the people we care for, and reflect on the past year to be thankful for the lives we have. I can’t help but reflect on my own life and realize how blessed I really am.

My early years are some that I some that I wish nobody had to endure. My entire childhood was spent in the foster care system until I aged out at 18, and was sent out into a world I was not prepared for. Thanksgiving was not a holiday I enjoyed very much. I was always the token child that everyone ignored. I witnessed multiple families come together, congregate and enjoy each other’s company, while I sat in the background and pretended that I was a part of them. In all reality I knew I was the black sheep  and I would be sent away to another home so I wouldn’t get too close to this particular family and actually have some sense of sentiment in my life.

Don’t get me wrong I am not writing this for anyones pity. I didn’t seek pity from people as a child and I do not seek pity now.

I beat the system, I grew up, paid my way to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in business, which I am very proud of, and married the love of my life, now I’m the father of a very beautiful 2-year-old daughter who takes my breath away every time I look at her.

I promise I am getting to the point.

Recently, I was working as a high school math teacher at the school I graduated from, but in May the administration decided that they would relieve me of my contract and before I knew it I was unemployed. What really made it hard was the fact that I was a father and just 7 months prior, We purchased our first house.

Talk about the shit hitting the fan, it felt like I was Macbeth watching  my own demise and refusing to accept it.

For six months I searched, applied, and interviewed for multiple jobs and  since I come from such a small community, it is harder to find a job that pays with my credentials. I always assumed that getting a degree would make obtaining employment would be easier, but I was wrong. It gets harder.

We were considering leaving our home, renting it and let someone else move in and pay the mortgage because it was coming to the point that my wife’s income would no longer sustain our bills.

Talk about heartbreak.

As I sit here writing this post I can’t help but reflect on everything I have accomplished up to this point, and realize that for the first time in my life I have a my own family. Not just my wife and daughter, but people who have come into my life through this journey over the years, who support me and have given me the greatest joys in some of the darkest of times.

I am thankful for everything that has happened to me, the ugly, the good, and the weird, because it makes me the man I am today. In all reality, I wouldn’t know the man I would have become if the state didn’t take me away from my biological family as a toddler. I honestly don’t know if I wouldn’t be alive today.

So as we sit and contemplate life today lets look at the blessings we have before us, along with everything we take for granted on a daily basis and be thankful for what you have at this moment in time.

In case you wondering if there is a happy ending to the story, there is.

After six months of searching and interviewing I was finally offered a respectable position as a bank assistant manager and we get to stay home!

No matter how dark you think your life is, there is light at the end of the tunnel and in the end, you can overcome anything.

Believe me this is not the ending of my story I’ve, only covered the first chapter!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

Election Results on Delay?

Election Results on Delay?

This campaign is by far one for the record books. Never did I think that it would come down to this. Hillary clinton has just decided that she will not speak at her own headquarters  tonight and will wait until tomorrow,  Donald Trump has yet to decide whether he will hold on to wait for results.

My question is how does the nation feel considering that many of us are patiently waiting for the results of this election?

How does everyone feel about the current situation, considering this election?

I am young and have only voted since 2004, but this situation is very weird.

Many of us have done our research and have chosen our candidate and are now trying to stay up and see the final result, but it seems like we have to wait longer than expected.

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WANT’S RESULTS ALREADY?

 

 

 

 

Go Out and Vote!

Go Out and Vote!

Today is the day! It is election day and we as a country have a civic duty to go out and vote. This election year is definitely one for the record books, and we as Americans can come together and change the course of history.

Today we find out who will be our next president, and it is our job to go and vote for who we think would be best fit for the office.

I’m not here to endorse a candidate our my own political party, I am writing this small blog entry to express them importance of your vote.

If you support Donald Trump, then vote for him.

If Hillary Clinton is your choice, vote for her.

You are the voice of your country and your vote counts, no matter what anyone says.

Be courteous of other voters and their right to choose, lets help this country move forward!

If you want to spread the word feel free to reblog!

Happy Voting!

A New Halloween Perspective

A New Halloween Perspective

Halloween is approaching!

There is always something fun about this Holiday, as a child it meant that as soon as the sun went down I would go house to house and load up on as much candy as possible. I always looked forward to finding my costume and parading it in school, trying to be a cool kid.

In my teen years Halloween was an opportunity to look for mischief, such as bag snatching, egging houses and everything else my warped little mind could think of when amongst friends.

As for my college years, I don’t want to go into the detail of my Halloween exploits, lets just presume they were fun.

Nowadays, I find myself a father of a beautiful 2 year old baby girl, and my Halloween exploits have changed and have a different meaning. Now that she is becoming more aware of her surroundings I have decided to start our own family traditions.

Today we started our evening by watching the classic Hocus Pocus ( I don’t care who you are, that movie is a classic for this time of year!) and since the Holiday is approaching I felt that pumpkin carving was in order. Mind you this is the first carving session I’ve done in years, and I couldn’t have been happier.

Seeing the eyes of my daughter light up as she was digging the seeds was worth every second. I am starting to see these holidays from a different perspective, and now it is time for me to see them from a parents point of view, and I truly understand the importance they have. It is a time to get the family together on these occasions and pass on the traditions as well as creating your own, and really enjoy the quality time.

Times like these remind me of how lucky I am.

Until next time..

Happy Halloween!

Changing for the better.

Changing for the better.

One thing is certain for me, and that is keeping up with a blog has not been easy, muchless, a blog that has a certain niche. I have always wanted to a be a blogger, I just didn’t know what niche I wanted to blog, due to the fact that my research on blogging always suggests to choose a certain niche to create traffic.

So I am going against my research, and trying a different way of blogging. The reason for this is I don’t want to constrain my writing to just a certain niche at this time and explore many different avenues as I evolve as a writer.

Blogging for me can be therapeutic, and a way to express myself creatively. I’m not going to delete any of my old posts because I want to be able to see the evolution of my blog as time goes on, and see where it ends up.

Who knows?

This is going to be fun!

Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, not for a Foodie.

Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, not for a Foodie.

OK, I admit, it has been a long time since my last blog post. Life has a weird way of deviating you from many things you want to pursue.

With that out of the way, lets get to it.

Recently, I accompanied my wife to a work training which happened to be at a hot location. Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, and believe me, I was excited.  Every time we decided to go to Santa Fe, this resort was definitely on our list of locations to visit. This time though, I knew that I couldn’t really experience all this place had to offer, due to the fact that I had a toddler in tow and no babysitter, so I figured that I would try the the food.

Since, this is a popular resort I figured that this was a way I can experience the resort with my daughter and let the foodie in me explore a location I have never been before.

So here comes my opinion, this place truly is not somewhere you want to bring a family unless you have a nanny in tow. Honestly, I figured that this was going to a be a fun weekend for us but I slowly discovered that if you want to have fun in this place, do not bring your children.

Considering that this place considers itself a top getaway for any New Mexican, you would assume that gaming is not the only premise to lure people to its location. Its highway allure and T.V. marketing, will lure some families to find a way to escape the mundane activities that are so prevalent in our everyday lives.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many different activities that people enjoy, such as the golfing, and the beautiful accommodations that is offered, but the food is  terrible. When I say terrible, I am not holding back. I had such high hopes, that when I took my first bite, I was surprised. I have come to find that places like this have a generic taste.

When I took my first bite of the the food, I felt like I was taken back to my college days and I was eating in the cafeteria just to survive.  Its disappointing to see such a beautiful hotel stoop to such a low level, culinary speaking, that it takes away from such an amazing experience that you have drive south to Santa Fe, just to take the taste out of your mouth.

Honestly, this is not a foodie location. All you get is a generic taste provided by corporate hotel, and total disappointment of a culinary experience you expected.

Drive south to Santa Fe, and find a real restaurant.

Until Then, Happy Eating.

 

Stella’s Restaurant 210, Taking a Chance in a Spot With a Negative Reputation.

Stella’s Restaurant 210, Taking a Chance in a Spot With a Negative Reputation.

So there is a new restaurant in the Taos area, and it has not received the credit needed by anyone, So I am doing my civic duty. This little place has open up recently and I have observed such little activity and I fear that the people of the Taos area are not giving this restaurant a chance because of its location.

The restaurant is located at  210 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur, and has opened its doors recently to the public. I myself have been skeptical of the place because of all the negative stigma that has been surrounded by the location. One thing for sure, is word of mouth, and the negative rumors surrounding the location is going to make it difficult for this little restaurant to survive.

There have been many times, I have passed by this place and cringed at the thought of eating there. I admit that my small town prejudice had came out. I can’t count on my two hands how many times I have passed this restaurant and cringed at the thought of eating there, but one day of indecisiveness between my wife and I, and she to my surprise, pulled into the parking lot and I obliged her decision.

I was very reluctant to walk in the doors because the location has a bad reputation. I can remember growing up , and this place was always an asian restaurant, and I would always hear despicable rumors as to their operations, some as bad that people would say they cooked actual cats and served them to the public.

Of course, there are no facts  behind this rumor but it was enough to crumble any restaurant that has tried to succeed it. I definitely  tip my hat off to the owners of this place because when I walked in, I was truly impressed, and I haven’t stepped into this place since I was a child.

When my wife and I, walked in, it was to my surprise that I was greeted by a familiar face, first I thought that the waitress that greeted us found a new opportunity and switched work-places, but to our amazement, that was not the case.

It turned out that the waitress, and I do not know her name, was the same waitress who served us at Stella’s Italian Restaurant.This is a place that I hold dear. I tend to spend special occasions there and I have yet to write  review of it, but that will be another article.

Now, sticking to the current subject, it turns out that this restaurant is owned by the same owners as the Italian restaurant I mentioned earlier, and our waitress turned out to be one of the owners. I found it cute that the restaurant is named after their daughter or granddaughter, I didn’t want to be impolite and ask.

This was definitely an experience that I will not forget due to the fact that my own daughter, who is two years old, decided that she wanted to be difficult. Let me tell you, when she wants to be heard, her scream can almost reach a pitch that can shatter glass.

To keep a too long story short, this has been the best meal I have had in a week. Sometimes it is the impulse, that can motivate us to try something new, and I am grateful it led us to this place.

We were lucky enough, that this place has not reached its popularity and we were the only patrons, because the screams of my daughter reached every corner of this place and despite my apologies the owner made us feel like it was not a burden. She even made it a point to make sure my daughter got her meal long before us, in order to make our dining experience better.

All that aside, I have to say it is a young restaurant, willing to make a name for itself because of their ability to delight anyone who walks in the door. You can tell there is a little bit of inexperience of the cooking staff but the menu is amazing and intriguing, and you will not be disappointed.

I am hoping to reach those people who have that negative stigma in the back of their heads and those who have no idea what this place has to offer as a new culinary experience, to try this Place, and I assure you that you will fall in love.

Lets make sure that this restaurant survives and serves our small community for a long while.

Until next time Happy Eating!