Author: Monique Torres

I’ve been a little lost…

| Monique Torres

So hi, long time no blog.

 

It’s been a while. I’ve been busy, a bit depressed and not very motivated. It sucks, because I like writing and I like expressing myself and while not many people read this page it is a good way to learn about me and what I believe so I want it here, out in the cyber universe, forever available to some poor sad person who says “Wow, I really wanna know more about this Monique person.”

 

Well here ya go. My stubborn bullheaded opinions, some cooking stuff, weird art (if I can find my drawing stylus. I’m sad I’ve lost it!!!), and whatever else. I also am going to be adding a different feature to the page once I get my act together and I can actually write consistently again. That feature is going to be, hopefully, a bit more interactive because I want people to feel safe to talk about the subject that will be the theme of this area on the page. That theme is depression. I have dealt with a very severe form of it over the last year and I feel that writing about it and sharing my experience could possibly help people. Soo…. stay tuned!

 

I really just wanted to post this here as a reminder to myself that I can write, that it is enjoyable, that when I do it I feel better and I want to do it more.

 

So lets hope it takes or I won’t be writing anything else for another year probably.

 

HA…

laugh…

 

I SAID LAUGH.

 

 

just kidding.

Disgusted

| Monique Torres

I’m just watching some random videos, falling into a youtube black hole of clicking “next” and I just saw a protest with the most ABHORRENT slogan ever.

A group of people screaming:

“Free abortion on demand! Can we do it? Yes we can!”

 

What the actual?!

 

That is DISGUSTING.

 

If you agree with this, please never talk to me again.

 

Why in all of creation should it be free? And why should it be “on demand”… which essentially says that any time, no matter what stage of pregnancy.

 

This is disgusting and I refuse to act like that’s ok to say. GROSS.

 

I’m done. And I’m serious. If you actually agree with that, you have no place in my life at all. Go.

Disgusting.

Take Another Look At Greatness

| Monique Torres

Let me get this out of the way:

I am not a Trump supporter.

I am a conservative.

I do not agree with a lot of things in the Republican party and therefore I don’t really identify myself as such even if my voters registration says that I am.

I believe that by registering as a republican, when I do vote against something they endorse, it makes more of a statement in my own personal opinion, than registering as independent would. Who notices this? Probably no one, but I still stand firm on that.

Now, with all that said, I want to talk about this statement going around that roughly comes out as:

When was America ever great?

 

When I hear that, I sort of choke on my own breath. I mean seriously? People who live here are saying that? I can only shake my head and wonder what they think next as they put away their fancy cell phones, get into their gasoline powered cars, head out to their stores and restaurants, drink lattes that cost as much as food for a month for someone in another country, and then settle into their comfy house for the night with running water, electricity, and oh… something called security enough to sleep without worrying about pretty much anything.

 

Now, I’m not dumb. I know that not EVERYONE enjoys those things, but I don’t think it’s baseless to make this correlation because the majority of people who do make that statement enjoy everything I’ve listed and more.

The first thing we must tackle is the actual definition of “great”.

Is greatness found in the morality of the people? In the resilience of the economy and the value of the currency? In the fruitfulness of it’s industries? In the ability to defend itself from attack? In the way it treats its citizens? In the structure and enforcement of its government and laws?

I would argue that the United States of America excels in numerous ways in all of those categories and more that I haven’t listed here.

Does greatness exclude mistakes, human nature and tragedy? No, but those types of things do not automatically disqualify that categorization.

So, in summary, my definition of greatness is a country that has a population that is moral, resilient, fruitful, secure, lawful, and peaceful… and our country has all of those things.

It’s not enough for me to simply define what I think it is and then say “I win!”.

I need to go a bit further.

I am going to take a more organized approach to state my opinion on this topic by listing the statements I hear to basically prove that our country was “never great”, and giving my rebuttal.

In no particular order:

 

Statement 1: This country was stolen from the Native Americans.

Do I deny that the settlers came here and basically said, “I like this place, I shall call it miiiiine. Move over native population, we have arrived!”

No, I don’t. They did come over here and did countless brutal and terrible acts to claim this land.

What I would like to say is… please name one country that wasn’t built on some sort of domination of the native population.

Anyone?

Bueller?

Has anyone studied the history of our planet? A vast portion of the things we learn about are people conquering people to take their stuff.

It’s what we do. 

Are we at a place in civilization where that doesn’t happen as often? Thankfully yes, but it DOES still happen and to say “Oh this country was founded on murder and brutality” is like saying “This orange is orange like all the other oranges but it sucks because it’s a really big orange and I don’t really like this orange because I’m right next to this orange and this orange is the WORST.”

Seems ridiculous because it IS.

There is not a single square foot of this planet that is not stained and soaked with the blood of the people who were there first.

If you think there is, you are naive and perhaps need to read our planets history a little more closely.

Here’s a list of conquerors you might have heard of before**:

 

  • *Napoleon Bonaparte
  • *Attila the Hun
  • *Alexander the Great
  • *Charlemagne
  • *Genghis Khan
  • *Julius Caeser

 

Those are just a handful. Do a google search and take it in. This planet is bathed in blood and to sit here like a pouting brat and say that our country isn’t great because of how it came to be is juvenile. I personally would love for there to be a better way for things to have happened, but that is not in our nature.

Imagine it:

“Hello Natives, we love your land. May we share it with you?”

“Ummm, no, get out of here. This is our land!”

“Oh, ok, well maybe later. We’ll bring you a present next time.”

Please.

Get real.

The bigger dog wins. It’s just reality. When utopia happens, I hope you’re alive to see it, but it isn’t happening now so to say a country can only be great by some pureness of creation is ridiculous.

Does it make our country great that we did that? No, but what we have progressed to now, as I have stated before, gives us more than enough to claim that title. I do not believe that the sons should pay for the sins of their fathers. I just do not. I won’t digress further into that, but I felt like that needed to be said.

 

*The United States isn’t great because they built so much of this country on the backs of slaves and minorities.

 

Yes, yet another awful chapter in our history. Were atrocities committed on the backs of the unwilling to create a lot of what we enjoy today? You bet. I do not deny that there is some truly nasty and wretched periods in our countries past. They are not excusable, not even to say “Look at what we have because of that!”

I believe that the very same types of success that was enjoyed due to slave labor could have been accomplished without it and I wish that had been the case.

But once again, there are so many societies with that ugly practice in their records. Just look at the progress of civilization since then. Doesn’t anyone notice that what was once a common occurrence is now completely avoided? We have advanced and progressed. We have learned to recognize people as equals, and even though there is still a lot of ground to cover to truly have that be the case, we are far better people as a societal whole than we were 150 years ago, and isn’t that, in and of itself a greatness?

I believe so. ***

This leads me into the outrage I feel when I see segments of our population that think it is okay to burn a flag and to call our country terrible. How terrible can it be that you are doing something so disrespectful and still able to go home at night untouched? Think about it, and think about how that act is treated in other countries. Symbolism is very important to us as human beings and that is like spitting in the face of everyone who has died to allow you that home you enjoy so much. How disgusting. But, I digress.

 

*There is racism, sexism, discrimination of all kinds in our country! How can this country be great?

This makes me shake my head and sigh.

For me, this statement is like rolling in dirt and not washing it off and then looking in a mirror and saying “Wow, you’re dirty.”

These issues we have are more than just something a government can fix with some laws and regulations. This has to do with the hearts of people. These things just can’t be fixed with some words on paper and someone saying “Do this because we say so.”

Education, exposure, dialogue, FREE SPEECH, and the ability to challenge and change the status quo are the only things, I believe, can have any sort of real impact on the types of things like racism and discrimination. You can’t “government” away these types of things. The fact that there are SO MANY different cultures and lifestyles co existing in a country as large as ours without widespread violent insanity is one of the greatest accomplishments I can imagine.

 

Once again, I urge anyone who thinks differently to do a simple google search on countries that don’t allow freedom of religions, freedom of speech, freedom of sexual orientation, freedom of choice. THERE ARE SO MANY that deny things to their citizens. I mean, just look at the population control laws in some Asian countries and the tragedies that result. How in all of the world can someone say our country isn’t great or needs to become great when we have some of the most amazing freedoms to ever be offered to anyone? Even though I disagree with abortion outright, do you know there are countries where it is still illegal?

I mean, come on.Get your head out of the paper bag you’ve shoved it in and take a look around you. I bet if you took five minutes to take it in, you’d realize exactly what you have to feel great about.

*We have so much poverty. How can anything be great when we have starving children and families?!

 

This issue hits me in the gut. I feel like we waste SO MUCH  and there are people who have SO LITTLE. I truly believe that there should be not a single starving family in this country. I’ve read article after article about the waste we close our eyes to in our food industry. Even as far as throwing away tons of fruits and vegetables because they don’t look the way we want them to. It is disgusting. I also believe that communities and local organizations should be a lot more accountable for feeding the people in need in their areas. Soup kitchens and food banks are one thing, but there is so much more that could be done. Nobody should be hungry.

 

With that said, I do not believe that people who need help are without options. Sometimes it’s a lot of work and red tape and back flips to get help, but it is there. There are quite a lot of people who DO benefit from the systems that in place to care for families and especially children. I do believe that if it was easier to understand there would not be a single child without. I have seen first hand how having a child can give you help when you truly need it. I am not sure how things work in other states and since I don’t have that knowledge I do have to classify my thoughts as being pretty limited on this subject. However, I do think our country really does try and while there is a lot of work to be done, the fact that they do try is a symbol of a greater sentiment of the people who live here. We don’t want our people in need to go without. I just think more people need to stop just giving lip service and actually do more, me included.

 

 

I’ve decided at this point to start concluding this post. I could probably write for pages and pages on all of the reasons I hear on why our country was never great and can’t be great. 

The truth of the matter is, we have had a great country for a long long time. Granted, there are bloody truths to how we got here and we are still on the road to maintain and improve upon what we have built here,  but it makes me feel rage to hear people say our country was never great. I feel even more rage at the statement “Make America Great Again”… because it NEVER STOPPED BEING SO.

 

If anyone can give me a country that is great (by the definition of those who make the statement that it never was), was great, or is close to being great… I’ll show you an empty space untouched by man… maybe on a distant planet. There will never be a place that makes everyone happy all of the time as long as there is a person living there.  Accept that and then take a look around.

Our country is freaking awesome, with all the insanity and flaws and messes everywhere. Sure, we have a leadership right now that is highly questionable and more than a bit frustrating. But ya know what? People who don’t agree are doing what they think they need to do to see change. How terrible can a country be when THAT is how we can react and how we can hope to change things… by having our voices free to speak and our actions free to move towards things we think are right. Now some go a bit too far with violence and stupidity, but once again, that’s people for you!

 

My final statement is this…

 

America doesn’t need to be great again, it already is.

 

I love my country and I feel so blessed and happy to have been born and raised here. People are losing their minds at the prospect of not being able to come here. People are breaking the law to live here. People look at us with hate, fear, admiration, and respect because of what our country is.

 

If that doesn’t mean that America is already great, I think you should take another look.

 

 

** Names retrieved from doing a simple google search of “great conquerors in history”
***I know there is more to the topic of racism and our history with slavery and oppression than what I have here, but I need to post another blog on it because this could go on a tangent forever about the African American population of our country, including the fact that I am African American as well as Caucasian in my own racial make up and have a very personal way of looking at the whole argument of racism and privilege etc… but like I said, another blog!

Recipe: Spicy Sausage Spaghetti

| Monique Torres

Welcome to this weeks recipe! This is a hybrid of good ole “hot dog spaghetti” that I used to love as a kid. I like it really spicy, but the level can be adjusted by using regular sausages (A polish kielbasa is a good choice) instead of hot links and taking out some of the red pepper that I add. But we all know I have a spice addiction so I put it all in!

Also for this recipe today, my four year old son helped me out. I like to include my kids when I cook as much as possible and it was fairly painless. I let him do things like pour ingredients in and stir, all with a very careful eye on him. He did a great job!

So into the recipe we go!

Ingredients:

Sausages (Hot links, polish kielbasa, any sausage you like!)

Onions

Bell Peppers (Any color you like)

Garlic

Tomato Sauce

Italian Seasoning

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper

Spaghetti Noodles (Or any pasta you choose)

 

Prep:

So for this recipe I used the frozen onions and peppers from my previous stir fry! It cut out a lot of prep time.

Chop up your sausage into bite size pieces. You can cut them as big as you want. You can keep them as thin circles, cut them in half, or even into quarters. It depends on what sort of taste and mouth feel you are going for. Experiment! I like all of the ways!

Open your tomato sauce cans.

I like doing this before hand so I don’t have to fiddle with it later when I just want to combine my ingredients. Some people may prefer to use a pre made jar sauce or even go straight from scratch with fresh tomatoes or whatever. However you like to make your base marinara sauce, this recipe can work with that too! Just add the meat and maybe the veggies and a few seasonings if you don’t already use them and voila!

 

Cooking:

Heat up a pan with a few tablespoons of cooking oil of choice. I don’t recommend peanut oil, but vegetable, canola, and olive oil work great here.

Saute meat until it is brown on both sides. I like mine to get a little crispy, but it’s up to you.

Remove meat from pan, but keep the oil inside! We will now saute our vegetables in this spicy flavored oil!

(Pardon my weird lighting. The sun was setting and I’m still working on getting curtains in my kitchen hee hee)

Since I used the frozen veggies without really defrosting them, it took a while for them to cook. I don’t recommend completely defrosting frozen vegetables because they get mushy and weird and might not seem suitable for cooking (in soups and sauces they are perfectly fine though, since they usually soften while simmering anyway).

If you use fresh vegetables, this should be fairly quick and you just want the onions to get translucent before you move to the next step.

When the veggies are ready, I add the meat back in and saute for a few minutes just to integrate the flavors. I also added my garlic at this step just to get it browned a little. I have a bad habit of scorching my garlic so I tend to add it last.

Next, turn the heat down and add in the tomato sauce and seasonings. I like to add about a can and a half of water to my sauce. I use the actual cans from the sauce so that I can rinse out the residual tomato left inside and get the consistency the way I like it.

My seasoning collection is a ragtag bunch!

Please season to taste. My version of sauce is very herbacious and zesty, so I like a good amount. You may prefer less, so you do you gurrrrrl. (or boyyyy. Whatever lol)

It is best to start out with what you consider a “minimal” amount of seasoning, let the sauce simmer, taste it, and add what you think it needs.

Once you’ve got all that mixed up you let that sauce go. My minimal simmer time is 30 minutes on medium, but if you have more time, you can do longer on low.

During this time I usually boil my water for the pasta and get anything else ready to go with, like a salad or bread.

Remember to stir it every now and then to make sure it’s not burning or anything. Also don’t forget to taste a few times as you go!

There are a few camps on how to do pasta. One is to add the boiled pasta to the sauce and mix it together. I like this method for lighter sauces and when I’m not using as much liquid in my sauce. To be honest, this recipe is almost like a sausage soup, if you added more water and maybe some different veggies and make it into a soup if you wanted.

Anyway, if I have a lot of sauce I don’t like to add the pasta and mix it directly, it just tastes weird.

The other camp is spooning the sauce over the top of the pasta… and that is what I normally do with this recipe.

And voila!

Delicious!

I also made a salad with some raspberry pomegranate dressing

It was delicious btw. I just added some fresh cut corn, cucumbers and tomatoes and some croutons to a spring mix salad. Yummo.

So there you have it! If you try this recipe let me know how it comes out and if you liked it 🙂

 

 

 

My Sons… Stand Tall!

| Monique Torres

I’ve noticed a very troubling theme popping up in the news streams and subject matter of a lot of opinion and modern event pieces that are tailored towards young people. This is an issue that I’m sure, once the words fly from the tips of my fingers and onto this screen, I’m going to cringe even allowing it to happen.

 

That trend is: being white, male, well taken care of, or any combination of those things  is to be shunned, looked down on, and twisted into some sort of wicked force that is holding the rest of the world down.

 

Yep. I said it. I’m not talking about a few fringe people posting crazy things on their blogs. I’m talking about news, videos, organizations etc, all slamming people for their race and sex and upbringing as if it is all their fault for so many problems and also as if their opinions and thoughts are not as valid as anyone else simply because of those things.

 

I am a mother raising young men. My home is of mixed race and anyone who has seen pictures of my children can tell you, they look like a wonderful little rainbow.

 

My oldest son is very fair with dark blonde hair and hazel eyes. My second child has tanner skin and dark hair. My third child is pale with dark eyes and curly black hair. My youngest is also fair with hazel eyes and light brown hair.

 

It makes me seething with anger that just looking at my children would make someone say to themselves “Oh their opinions and thoughts don’t matter as much, they have privilege.”

 

Bull crap.

 

I hate the notion of privilege and the fact that “oh if you have it, you don’t understand anyone else, you can’t possibly know what your talking about and even if you are stating facts, it’s bad”…and of course, if you’re a male while saying almost anything, it’s “mansplaining” (god I hate that “word” so much) and you should just be quiet and listen without any thoughts of your own. It’s gross.

 

Don’t come to me talking about patriarchy and equal rights or the plight of those who are of “color”. That’s a blog post all on it’s own and I don’t want to talk about it right now, but best believe I will later.

 

What I’m talking about right now is that each and every one of my sons, whether they “pass” for white and the “white privilege” that comes along with it or not, they will be thought to be potential rapists who need to be told not to rape.

 

What I’m talking about right now is that my sons could have a very valid and thoughtful opinion and be spit on and yelled at simply for being male.

 

What I’m talking about right now is this thought that men are oppressing women every single time they dare act in a position of power or otherwise and they are all bad for even wanting to succeed ahead of a woman.

 

It takes such nerve to have this kind of line drawn in the sand mentality that it makes me sick.

 

I will instill in my sons pride and the knowledge that they can do anything they want if they have the drive, just like I would any daughter of mine. I was raised in a very traditional home but I never felt hindered or stifled in the height my goals could reach. Were things handed to me on a silver platter? No! But if I wanted them, I knew I had to work for them and that is what I did, repeatedly, because I knew who I was and I didn’t need to feel intimidated by a man or feel like things were unfair unless I allowed them to be that way. That is something I never did.

 

So for my boys, I want that same drive and I will teach them what I think they need to keep themselves on whatever path they choose in life.

 

What else will I teach my sons?

 

I WILL teach my sons how to respect women.

 

I WILL teach my sons right and wrong.

 

I WILL  expect them to be thoughtful, intelligent young men.

 

But will I just nod my head and say “you’re right” to anyone who says that all men are misogynists and that they all want to lord over women and they the are all just terrible people who sit with their legs too wide and talk too loud and think they know everything because of the genitals they were born with?

 

NO I WON’T.

 

I find it gross and distasteful.

 

Are there awful people in this world who do awful things.

 

Yes.

 

Are there generalities because of some overbearing social experience. In a lot of cases yes.

 

Are there cases where women might rightfully have a reason to say they are being discriminated against? Sure!

 

But I don’t think rape is something you can generalize. I don’t think disrespect and mistreatment of women is something you can just pin on every single man “with exceptions”. I don’t think that all men are enraged when a woman is rising to power and wants to drag her down.

 

No, I think it’s the exact opposite.

 

Maybe that’s just me. I’ve surrounded myself with too many good men so I don’t believe they are all bad.

 

Have I been hurt and experienced injustice and terrible cruel things at the hands of men? YES… but do I then let it fester into some boiling hatred that I tint my entire world view on? No.

 

Do I hate men in power and think they have an agenda to keep women down? No.

 

I have also surrounded myself with some amazing strong powerful women that exceeded every single stereo type of what a woman is “allowed to do” and shown me that no, there is nothing that I can’t do. If it’s more work and trial, why does that automatically make it bad? Why does applying yourself and really showcasing how amazing you are a bad thing? Why do people want things handed to them simply because of what they are packing in their pants?

 

It’s ridiculous.

 

I’m a proud mother of sons. I will not have them ashamed of who they are, cowed into a corner trying to appease an angry massive blitz of people who want to shun them. I don’t want them to be ashamed of their skin color or how they grew up.

Life’s blessings are something I say thank you for every single day. My children are receiving things I am very grateful to be able to provide for them.

 

 

But does that mean we don’t care about anyone else because they may not have the same type of life? No! Should they be ashamed? No! Should they have to give things up to equalize the entire world into one level playing field? Nope!

 

Great people have risen from all sorts of circumstances, whether they started at the very bottom or the very top, they have made it. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but to say that my children should feel bad because of something they don’t have any control over, is just ridiculous and I refuse.

 

I want them to stand tall.

 

If they want to explain something because they are excited to impart their knowledge, I hope they do it no matter what stupid new word someone wants to label them with. If they want to be the man of their house, they will find a woman who agrees with that view point and they do not have to change their dreams and goals because it doesn’t fit the narrative of the “progressive world”. Heck, if they want to stay home and raise children and they have a woman who would rather put in all the myriad of hours it takes to raise a family, then so be it, as long as that is what they and their partner want. If they want to give up everything and go live in an impoverished country to give their time and energy to those in need, then they can do that too. If they want to strive to run a business and make millions of dollars, then I hope they do just that.

 

All I’m saying is that I’m sick and tired of this line of thought being touted as the “right” way and the “only way” you can think if you are on the cutting edge of what is right in the world.

 

News Flash: Not everyone who doesn’t agree with you is wrong.

Not everyone who doesn’t believe the way you do are bad.

Not everyone has to be the same in order to be good people.

Cut it out.

 

(This topic isn’t over *Edit: Including that I want my sons to be very proud of every aspect of their heritage, the black part, the latin part AND THE WHITE PART… but I have a four year old who REALLY wants me to sit with him so he can go to sleep. He must think he runs everything because he’s a boy and I’m a girl… just kidding. He’s four… he does run the world.)

Trolls need love too

| Monique Torres

So I was recently verbally attacked by someone on a private “blogging” site that I frequent. It is basically a place to write in a journal type form and you can use it for almost anything. A lot of people use it for writing about their life and the community there is really nice for the most part. We all know there are always those who have to ruin things, and that nasty little element stopped by my own section of the site and left a steaming pile of poop for me step in.

As it stands right now, I’m not sure if I will ever go back there to write again.

Ya see, this particular troll was sliding into my most private of posts posing as a friend. They proceeded to come to my most recent entries where I talked about some particularly heart breaking and difficult things and call me some of the most ugly, hateful, venomous things that a person could ever say. They did this under a different account than the one I know of, so at this point I’m still not sure which of my “friends” is betraying me. I know that they are doing this because they used things against me that only my close friends would have known about.  (You can choose to share things with only a select group of people on this site, and things they used as bullets came directly from those passages.)

So there I sat, my world feeling like it was in shambles and some hideous person was calling me names, tearing me down in every way they could think of, and basically being a disgusting ugly troll.

I snapped.

 

I raged at them in a way that I am NOT proud of. I tried to laugh it off but it was like a boiling pot and when I lost it, I lost it in the worst way possible. Anyone that knows me should realize my temper can be large and my tongue sharp. I held nothing back on this person. I was gross in every way. I had fed the troll.

In the end, I blocked them and deleted the entire exchange (on this site, when you block someone, every comment you make to each other is deleted) and try as I might I still can’t get over how absolutely vile this person was. It was as if they had not a single shred of human decency in their body. They didn’t even know the whole story, accusing me of allowing the state to take my child, when that didn’t even happen. My child was in the hospital for a serious issue… but even that wouldn’t have stopped this filth from vomiting out of them.

 

 

I think they wanted attention and in a sick sad way, enjoyed taking out their frustration and anger at whatever is going on in their lives on me. I didn’t know that person at all and to have them say those things to me is akin to walking down the street and having someone just punch you in the face repeatedly and spit on you and then walk away.

 

After I exploded I felt very sad. I don’t like to lower myself to that level, but I had been through a lot of hell and my ability to tolerate idiots was at a negative. So replying in kind was something that I almost had no control over except to say,

“Yes, devil inside me, have your way.”

 

I realize that the person who raged at me without really any provocation was probably a very sad and pathetic person. They are obviously missing something in their lives, that they have to go after someone when they are at a low point and slam their face in the dirt for no reason.

 

I know some people will say,

“Well, you put it out on the internet, you should expect this!”

 

However, this place I write is not some editorial, open forum for blithering idiots. It is a place where you talk about your darkest and lightest moments, where you reveal your secrets and your dreams, where you make friends and learn to open up to people, even if you never see them. It was a safe place. Granted, I knew I was open for some critique, and would even have reacted differently to a strangers voice if they came respectfully and with some sort of knowledge to back up their statement. This was just pure unadulterated hatred. They even went so far as to bash my ethnic make up, which was so ridiculous it was then that I knew this person just wanted someone to notice them.

 

They obviously couldn’t understand how a person could be comforted and cared about in a tough situation because they probably don’t receive that same type of support. They probably wanted to lash out because it didn’t make sense how anyone could not see what they so obviously saw as my flaws. They might have had a terrible childhood or a really bad week, or who knows. Their only coping mechanism was to find someone they considered prey and then go at their throat and rip it out. They felt satisfied to bathe in the blood of someone else for a change instead of looking in the mirror at their own self apocalypse.

 

 

I feel sorry for them.

 

I will never talk to them again and I don’t feel that I need to apologize. I gave them what they wanted and I’m sure the sick twisted face of their trolly soul smiled when I fed them my anger and rage. It’s what they live on, how they breathe.

 

 

 

It’s not the first time I’ve come up against people who have nothing better to do than trash others. Their lives are sad pits of black and their only reprieve is to try and drag others down with them. I know the internet is not a safe place and I know if I continue to write here, at the journal / blogging website, or anywhere else, there are bound to be more trolls.

 

What I have to remember is that those trolls are just looking for some love. They interpret love in a very twisted and warped way, but that is all they want.

 

Next time a troll saunters up and poops on my doorstep… I will clean it up, invite them in for a warm meal and hug them.

Ok, so maybe I’ll just block them and move on my merry way.

 

But I’ll do my best to keep my own trolly shadow demon locked securely in their cage so that all that is left is the rosy cheeked cherub with a box of chocolates to share.

 

 

 

Ba-Bo Mommy Comics

| Monique Torres

It’s been a pretty terrible day.

 

But I wanted to post my comic.

 

Something has to go as planned.

 

I’ll be doing a series, so this is like one of the “title cards” I will use. I didn’t finish the actual comic for today, as you can see my afternoon was a bit of a mess.

 

Anyway, the comic is titled Ba-Bo Mommy, because that is what my 2 yr old calls me. Ba-bo. It’s adorable.

 

 

It’s not super great, but ya know, first try and all that. lol.

Riots are gross!

| Monique Torres

I sat for a while today pondering which issue I would state my unasked for opinion on, and I decided to start out with an easy one:

Violent Riots.

They are, quite simply, uncalled for madness and should be disavowed and criticized by everyone on both sides.

I am fully aware that at a lot of these marches and protests lately, the violence is not necessarily incited and empowered by either side, per say, but by a particular group that thrives on the anarchy and chaos and rely on it to feed some weird desire to watch the establishment fall.

 

Not only does it detract from whatever message the main body might be trying to convey but it pollutes the view of whatever side might be trying to represent and makes their message void and lost in a cloud of literal smoke, flames, and destruction.

Now there have been some events that have been peaceful, and for that, I applaud. Others? Not so much.

On the other side, if there is violence perpetrated by those who are trying to be heard, they are disgusting. Destroying the property of others is the most ridiculous excuse for trying to make a point I have ever heard. Hurting your common fellow citizens who may work or live there in the name of destruction is gross and they should be ashamed.

Granted, I haven’t done much foot work to bring examples to this rant and the reason is that I am just tired right now. I don’t want to! Since this my blog, it’s perfectly allowed. Ha ha!

 

Also, I am perfectly aware that the media likes to highlight the worst parts of these things because it brings in those ratings… but honestly, it doesn’t matter. If the majority is peaceful and getting a purposeful message across, then those little squeaky wheels will get drowned out by the roar of silence. I haven’t seen that happen yet. It’s sad really, but maybe people should consider different ways to make a stand instead of setting the table for the looters and idiots.

 

Anyway, this is short and sweet.

Riots and looting and destruction is gross. 

Cut it out!

Sweet Red Chili Shrimp Stir Fry (Yes, I like to make Stir Fry!)

| Monique Torres

Hello!

Welcome to my weekly recipe / food post!

Today I’m going to go over a shrimp stir fry that I have experimented with two times now. The second time was definitely better than the first, so I’m hoping it just keeps getting more yummy!

Before I begin I’d like to start with some insight into my food budgeting and preperation methods. I haven’t picked a cute name yet, so for now I’ll call it…

Weekly Food Budget Blip

 

Yes… a blip.

 

Anyway, so shrimp, for my family is a premium item. I rarely buy seafood because it is so expensive. For my new years goals I told myself that I would try to experiment with new foods and recipes, so, my first attempt was shrimp. I purchased a bag of frozen shrimp from our big box store and omitted a package of one of the other proteins that I normally buy.  In this case it was hot sausages, which I was able to pick up a smaller package for less in a regular grocery store so I could make a different recipe (which may be featured one day!) but still try something new.

 

Also! I chopped up some onions and bell peppers in this recipe and saved a portion which I will save and use in a different recipe later. This helps me to use my fresh produce without waste and also get these items on sale in larger numbers and preserve them for a longer time.

Freezing them pre-chopped makes it super easy to do things like spaghetti sauce, stir fry, soups, and crock pot recipes.

Onward!

Recipe Time

Ingredients:

Shrimp (I’m not sure how much… fail)

1 Medium Sized White Onion

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

1/3 Green Bell Pepper *

3-4 Cloves Garlic

Jasmine Rice

Jalapenos **

 

Seasonings:

Soy Sauce

Red Chili Paste

Teriyaki Sauce

Italian Dressing (I’ll explain!)

Sweet Red Chili Sauce

Brown Sugar

Ground Ginger

*You can add any type of bell peppers to this dish, all colors or just the ones you like or have on hand

** Jalapenos are optional!

 

Preparation:

Dice up veggies

Hello veggies!

Rinse and pat dry shrimp. I have found that my shrimp need to be really dried because they get watery when I’m trying to sear them.

(Patting dry with a paper towel)

After this attempt I would probably do it again until the paper towel doesn’t get that wet anymore. I still got watery shrimp, but it isn’t so bad, it still tasted great!

 

 

Cook!

First I sauteed the shrimp in a little bit of canola oil. I want to use olive oil next time.

I added a little bit of garlic near the end, and as you can see it still had some water to it, but, I used that in my sauce so it worked out. Make sure to remove the shrimp when it is allllmost done so that you don’t over cook it.

Next I sauteed the veggies until slightly translucent.

While that cooked I made my special stir fry sauce. I can’t tell you exact measurements. I just know how much by eye. I always taste it to make sure it’s balanced and add whatever I think it needs to make it right.

As you can see, I have a secret ingredient... Italian dressing. I know! Weird! But one day I did not have lemon juice (which I think stir fry really needs to keep it from being too heavy) so I used that and it was so tasty I just kept using it.

The other ingredients are soy sauce, red chili paste (if you don’t like spicy food, you can omit this), brown sugar, and Panda Express Sweet Red Chili Sauce. You might find another brand or know how to make it yourself. You can make this without that, but it really is deeeelicious!

Remember to taste it and make sure you like it! You have to take into account it will be slightly muted once it’s in the dish, so don’t worry if it seems sweet or spicy, it works out!

After the veggies are done, I add the shrimp back in and pour my sauce on top.

I let this simmer for a few minutes to incorporate the flavors.

I did not add any thickening agent to this dish. It was already pretty reduced by the time I was ready to serve.

I served it over rice with a little more of the red chili sauce and yes jalapenos!

It was really tasty and I know the next time I make it, it will be even more yummy!

If you try this recipe, leave me a comment on how it came out, what you changed, and whatever else you like!

 

 

 

Blog Schedule!

| Monique Torres

So I’m sitting here thinking about the direction I want to take this little bloggy blog.

So, my first plan is to try out a schedule. I want to post most days of the week.

Let’s see how it goes!

Posting Schedule and Topics:

 

Monday: Food and Recipe post! I plan to start taking photos of my “original” recipes and other fun things that I cook and sharing with you all.

 

Tuesday: Political Rant! Fitting, since Tuesday is a yucky day of the week nobody likes to think about, so too is the topic of politics.

 

Wednesday: Comic Day! I will be debuting my comic this upcoming week and posting a weekly offering from said comic. Should be fun!

 

Thursday: Rant Day! I will post a rant about anything I feel like. Probably about how much I hate people. Yay!

 

Friday: Fun Day! I will post something fun, like a video game review, videos, photos and stuff like that from around the web. I may also choose to post about a fun or silly thing that has happened during the week with my kids.

 

Saturday and Sunday: Free days! I can post or not post, but usually just whatever I feel.

 

Lets see how this works out! See you tomorrow with a yummy recipe!

Boycotts… are sorta dumb.

| Monique Torres

So, there are two big boycotts that I’ve seen a lot of posts and news about that I want to address.

My opinion: They are sorta dumb.

Boycott 1: Uber

Ummmm… so… they didn’t participate in some sort of “strike” of cab companies and suddenly they are the worst thing evarrrr.

Cut it out.

The only people that get hurt by not doing Uber are the normal every day people who need the money. The head of the company could care less. People are going to use the service and the head of the company is going to feel little to nothing from the boycott.

Meanwhile, if they had participated in the strike, normal people would have to go without money for issues they may or may  not feel that passionate about. I konw, I know, it’s hard to think of people NOT being passionate about everything the same, but it happens.

So… really.

Cut it out.

 

Boycott 2: Starbucks.

Honestly, this is so ridiculous I can’t even begin to articulate how flabbergasted I am by the utter ridiculous that is boycotting a coffee shop because they want to hire refugees.

Did they say they wouldn’t hire anyone else? Did they even say WHERE they’d hire them. Starbucks is international, there are plenty of places they could be doing it.

I can only shake my head and wonder why anyone thinks that’s even a reason to boycott them, let alone believe they will have a huge impact.

 

So here I sit, watching these “grown” people act like little children.

Cut it out.

I say it all the time to my toddlers… so I guess it fits this situation too.

I think it would make a lot more sense to focus all that energy into doing something that will actually make an impact, instead of being mad at a business because they want to actually stay… a business.

 

S

Facebook Rant. Rawr!

| Monique Torres

*Disclaimer:

If you think this is about you, it probably is. But don’t think I’m judging your or actually really mad at you. I just want it to be known that just because I, and others, aren’t the Facebook warrior type, it doesn’t mean we are silent or that we don’t care. <3 you!

 

I keep seeing posts on my Facebook from numerous people, basically calling out people like me, who are not posting political things, who don’t want to see political things, and who are not getting into long drawn out discussions about political things.

Because we are not doing this, we must not care, we must be oblivious, we must be hiding our heads under the sand or ignoring things and being terrible people who want to sit inside of our castles of privilege and not pay attention to anything but ourselves.

I just wanted to write that, at least in my case,  YOU ARE WRONG. I don’t want to do that on Facebook. It’s not the place for it in my life. It is like being physically slapped every time someone says something like that and I have to hold back my thoughts because I simply just DO NOT want to talk about it on stupid FACEBOOK.

Where else would I talk about things like this with people that I care about?

Good question.

I dunno. Most people on that site are not people I interact with anywhere else, and I suppose that is why they use that place so vehemently, because they know they can reach people who otherwise wouldn’t see it. I get that, sure go ahead. I suppose if I really felt the need to talk to someone I could private message them and talk there, but I haven’t felt the need to do that and therefore, I have not.

The point of my little rant is that I have opinions and thoughts and cares and beliefs about a lot of things…

I just don’t want to talk about it on that site.

As I get more information and more comfortable, I’ll post more of my opinions here. Nobody has interacted with me here, and that’s fine. It probably means they don’t give two craps about my opinions and that is most certainly fine as well.

 

But for me… Facebook is just isn’t a soap box (Please see this post for more detail on what I want Facebook to be in my life), and while I don’t deny others the right to talk about it all they want (and that’s why I choose not to comment and to just move on)… It doesn’t mean I don’t care because I’m not talking about it on Facebook. Seriously… stop that. You’re hurting more than just my feelings.

 

It’s like saying if you don’t eat at this restaurant for dinner, then you don’t really like food. Excuse me? I love food. I just don’t eat there for dinner.

 

Clear enough?

 

I love my Facebook peeps, they are generally some of the most amazing people I know. I just don’t always agree with them and that is just okie dokie artichokie.

 

Meanwhile, in order to keep my sanity I have started to post a cute picture of a baby animal for every post that makes me want to punch a wall. It’s quite therapeutic. I am even more glad to know that it has been helping other people to smile, so I’ll keep doing it.

 

Use Facebook for whatever you want, just don’t categorize Facebook activism as the only way a person can show that they care.

 

Thanks 🙂

Registration Fixed!

| Monique Torres

Hello!

 

If you’ve come to the site and tried to register but weren’t able to … I’ve fixed it!

If you scroll to the bottom and look under “Meta”, you will find a link to register.

You’re all welcome to join discussions with me, whether you like recipes and cooking, family life, politics and world events (groooossss XD ), video games, humor and more!

 

I plan to really fill this place up and even if it’s just for me, I’d love to have you along for the ride.

 

<3

Recipe: Steak Taco Stir Fry!

| Monique Torres

Welcome to my first recipe!

A tip about my cooking style… I don’t measure, everything is determined by sight, touch, smell, and most importantly taste. Most of my “original” recipes are downright experimental and require 2-3 more preperations to get things perfect.

This first dish I am presenting is on it’s very rough draft. It was good, but it could definitely be better. I hope that you try this yourself and tell me what you add to it and how it comes out!

Ingredients!

*1.5 ish pounds of flank steak (Any thing cheap cut will do)

*1 large onion

*1 red bell pepper

*1 green bell pepper

*Jasmine Rice (Any rice will do, that’s just what I used)

*1 pkg of taco seasoning

*3-4 cloves minced garlic

*Corn starch

*Water

*Jalapeno and Salsa for garnish (You can choose all kinds of taco friendly options, so get creative!)

Prep:

Slice onions and peppers into thin strips.

Slice steak into thin bite sized pieces. Pour package of taco seasoning on top to coat the meat.

I used this seasoning:

Mix 1 cup water with a table spoon of corn starch and set aside. It should look like milk

 

Cooking time!

Heat wok with olive or vegetable oil.

Saute onions and peppers until slightly translucent.

Add garlic and saute for about 2 more minutes.

Remove from wok into a bowl and place on the side.

Add a little more oil to the hot wok and add steak.

Cook meat until it is browned on all sides.

Add in veggies and saute for a few minutes

Add in corn starch water to make a thick gravy like sauce. I found that I needed to add another 3/4 cup of water to loosen it up a bit. Use your cooking skills to make the perfect sauce!

Cook for just a few more minutes so you don’t over cook your meat and veggies.

It is best to taste it at this stage and add salt if you need it. I found that I had to add a few pinches to bring out the flavors since the taco seasoning just wasn’t enough. I’d like to try it with some Worcestershire sauce in my marinade to add more flavor to the meat as well.

 

Plate it!

So you can eat this in a bowl or on a plate, whatever you like.

Start with your rice and place heaping delicious spoon fulls of your taco stir fry on top.

Garnish with salsa, jalapenos, taco sauce, sour cream (if you like it, yuck), guacamole (more yuck lol), and even cheese ( I did not try cheese, but I plan to next time). You can even eat this dish with tortilla’s if you want since the filling is a lot like a fajita.

My garnish options were fresh jalapeno and jarred salsa. I would like to try to make a fresh salsa next time, I think it will work really well with this.

Here is my finished dish!

It came out really good and had a good spicy bite with the jalapenos. I think adding some taco sauce and fresh tomatoes as well as some cheese will really put this dish over the top. I’ll report back when I make it again.

 

If you do try this out, PLEASE let me know what you think and if you changed or added anything.

As I write this, I want to try a corn salsa with this as well. Yum yum yum!

Why I’m disenchanted with Facebook

| Monique Torres

Well, it’s about time I do a little rant on why I am not liking Facebook very much these days.

I get it, people use that space as a way to communicate their ideas and passionate causes. I’m guilty of that, even as early as yesterday. I get it, I do.

 

But I realize that is not the way I want a place like Facebook to resonate in my life. I like it to be a place to say “Hi” to my friends and their families, sorta like a fun community center or a coffee shop. It’s shallow, yes, and quite rose tinted… but that is my desire for a site like Facebook to be.

 

I peruse news websites all over the internet very day. I like to keep informed so that I know what is going on. If I feel strongly about something, I will pursue avenues to state my opinion, make my voice heard, and do whatever else I think needs to be done.

 

Facebook feels like a war zone. It is not welcoming and fun. It’s like walking into a room full of needles with a shower of rubbing alcohol at the exit.

I don’t enjoy it.

I’m hiding posts, unfollowing people, frowning, sighing, face palming, screaming, typing and deleting, pressing x and walking away.

 

That is not fun.

 

That is not a comforting reprieve from the onslaught of madness that is life and looking at world events in general.

 

Facebook USED TO provide that for me. I have people I truly love and adore on that site. They have great families and awesome experiences and I love sharing that with them. Now it’s not so much. People I used to really look forward to catching up with every day are now avoided like the plague. I find myself disliking really amazing friends and I don’t like that feeling.

 

My feed is basically reduced to about 12 people who don’t post political things very often, cooking videos, and advertisements.

 

That’s sad.

 

I like to post there. I like to post pictures and anecdotes of my family. I like to whine a little and talk about personal things happening in my life. I will continue to do this because it’s a great place for record keeping and there might be 2 or 3 people who enjoy it.

 

But as for all my friends there. I’m probably saying good bye. I can’t do it anymore. And it’s not even because they are wrong or terrible or bad to want to post whatever it is they want to post. They have every right and I do hope that it helps them to reach the people they want and get their messages out. As for me? I don’t want to participate. I will write those things here in my void where nobody will read them (yes I will link my blog on Facebook, because I can! muahaha!). This is a place where I would welcome that dialogue, just like I talk with others on their blogs to discuss topics that are more enflamed and less peaceful. I welcome anyone to give me their own personal websites, if they have them, and I’d love to talk there.

 

But Facebook is not the place I want to run from. I want to keep it like a weird shaped comfy blanket that I hide under randomly when I need a break.

So that means, unfollowing half my friends list. I love you people, but good god… I can’t take it anymore.

 

 

Taking a Stand

| Monique Torres

A few days ago I actively announced that I am Pro Life.

A lot of people that knew me already knew that, but I felt it was time that I actually actively claimed it.

Today is the March for Life 2017. I support it. I have been watching their speech presentations live all morning and I agree with 99% of what they have been saying .

My sister in law made a comment on Facebook that she is Pro-Birth Control (Conception Control) and Pro Adoption. That says EXACTLY how I feel.

Do I think there are exceptions… OF COURSE THERE ARE.

But I do believe that if more thought was put into not conceiving a baby in the first place, then abortion would cease to be an issue. Yes, this might mean making access to birth control and the Day After pill a lot easier, but I agree with that. If all the money that was put into abortions was diverted there, think of the difference that could be made. Nobody is telling anyone what to do with their body, but instead of making a choice to abort a baby, make the choice to not even have to go there in the first place.

I’d really like to know what is wrong with that way of thinking.

 

Of course, nobody will probably read this, or reply. But I wanted to write about my thoughts anyway. I don’t want to keep posting things on Facebook, because I personally want to keep that place a more happy uplifting place where I can connect with people I enjoy in my life, not a place to argue and feel like punching a wall because I visited there.

So in order to keep in pace with what I want my FB experience to be, I’ve decided to carve a little corner of this website (which I wanted to make for recipes, family blogging, and general taco and cookie related love) for my own rants that require a little more thought and courage on my part.

 

Oh wow, so they are starting the Pro Life march and it looks amazing. It makes me feel really good to see so many people who want to march for something that I believe in just as much.

Beautiful.

 

I chose to have my kids, and maybe that isn’t a choice for everyone. But if you don’t HAVE to make that choice because you are active in preventing pregnancy in the first place… it is a wonderful wonderful thing.

I judge no one. I hate no one. I put down no one.

But I hope to lift up someone. Love someone. Show someone that yes, there is another way.

 

 

About Me!

| Monique Torres

Hello!

Welcome to my little taco shell of the internet. It might be small and made of corn, but it’s DELICIOUS.

If you can’t tell, I’m a little weird, but I’m totally fine with that.

I sit here with the hopes of filling up a few pages with my rants and raves and all the other things that I ponder in my side show mind.

I will also be posting recipes, family stuff, and anything else my random heart desires here!

If you find yourself here you have either taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque, or you followed my link

You are welcome!

Please sign up if you want to leave a comment and as long as you are respectful, I will be respectful back.

 

Thank you and see ya around!

Grab a cookie before you go!

But you can’t have a taco, all the tacos are MINE.