Livingthedreamwithdiana.com

It’s 4:38am.

I cannot sleep.

We went to bed hours ago. Neither of us could sleep. WTH?

So may nights we sit here, in front of our computers, watching videos on YouTube, Vimeo, Prime video, something.com. I have become like a reverse toy doll; when I am watching a show my eyes start to close, so I go to bed. As soon as I lie down, I am staring at the ceiling. What is up with that?

So, after staring up for an hour, or so, I get up and start the entire cycle again.

Usually, by 5 am, or so, I can finally fall asleep, only to get up around noon. What a waste of a day. I enjoy the mornings, and I miss having that quiet time to myself. Now, though, with an apartment teeming with people, that isn’t an option at the present.

Who knows what the future holds? I certainly don’t. We are enjoying the company for as long as they are willing to stay. Liz is recovering from the cesarean section she had last week, getting around quite well. Baby Brandon is nursing now, and has gained a bit of weight, though it is hard to tell as he is still engulfed in blankets.

Jesús, Gabi, Alicia, Ivan and I are all clicking along quite well. Time to get moving, and start the day. Have a great one. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

It came, and was gone without a single April fool’s day joke.

No pranks, no nothing. I do believe it was the second year of such a thing happening. It is, sometimes, the little things in our lives that define them. April fool’s day used to be one of those. No longer.

From now on, April 1st will be just that; the 1st day of April, heralding the dawning of Spring. Down here, it means the heat is coming. Yesterday’s high was 28ºC; I tried, unsuccessfully, not to convert it to Fahrenheit. I saw, briefly, the 82º and about stripped naked.

Oh, I wouldn’t do that; not with an apartment full of people. But I did give it serious consideration.

Today, well at the moment, it is only 23º; I am starting to “glow”.

We have to go to Costco in a bit, and I get to drive. Lucky me. It has been about 2 years since I have driven. I can’t wait. Oh, that reminds me; in order to be placed on our bank account, I have to have a drivers license from here in México. Another thing to add to our list of things to do.

In the meantime, you know what to do. So keep doing it. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Lately, I have regained my interest in buying things that can be reused.

While still in the States, most anyone that knew me knew I abhorred the total waste to which we, as a society, have become desensitized. Disposable plastic bags, plastic bottles, cans, boxes, Kleenex, ziplock bags, just to name a few.

So, a few months ago, I ordered close to two dozen pretty, decorative, washable handkerchiefs, online, from EBay and have started using them, just the other day. Reusable silicone sealable bags, reusable BPA free plastic locking containers for food storage, reusable glass bottles, smaller sized for my kombucha. Hopefully, little by little, I can reduce our carbon footprint.

I forgot to mention the reusable, washable “cotton” pads. Each pad can be used and rehashed 1750 times. Incredible. They are pretty stiff when you first pick them up, but once moisture is applied, they act just like the disposable kind. Next up, the reusable cotton swabs.

If you are interested in finding out more about the reusable items just mentioned, I believe I found the website on Instagram, called Last Object. Obviously, you can find them at lastobject.com. Hope you give some of the items a try.

Until you do, please, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

This will be short but undoubtedly sweet.

Just watch.

Isn’t he just the sweetest little guy you have seen lately? He is such a good baby. When he cries, which is rarely, he sounds like a large cat. Pretty funny. Gabi is enjoying him as well. We all are.

He weighed 2.525 kilos at birth, and seems to be doing just fine. He is getting used to his mommy, trying his best to get the hang of nursing from her breast, but is not always successful. I told Liz that he will get the hang of it, given a bit more time. In theory, he had 3 more weeks to go, but the Ob-Gyn at the hospital said she needed to deliver when she did. They are both doing well, and we hope, and pray, that continues.

However, he does have a good pair of lungs on him. In fact, last week, I was asked to give Liz an injection of Dexamethazone 8mg., prescribed by her physician, to strengthen Brandon’s lungs. I do believe it worked. Not to mention the fact that she said it was the most painless injection she had ever had. Once a nurse……

I will keep you all posted as he/they continue to stay here, with us. While we see how he does, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Baby Brandon is doing very well on day 3.

I am going to find out from Liz, or Jesús just how much he weighed, but he looks to be much the same size as our daughter, Elisha, was when she was born. She weighed only 61 ounces, or 1.71 kilos. Brandon looks about the same. Still with all of the small hairs on his face, just like she had. It is like looking back in time.

When he cries, he sounds like a large cat, though he’s really just a wee small bairn. Yes, I am almost finished listening to the entire Outlander series.

He is nursing well, not terrific, but he’s learning. I will post photos as I can, but currently he is deep inside a cocoon of blankets. Down here, that is what they do. I have never seen the like before, but this is what they are used to doing. So be it. Liz’ mom, Alicia, is here, to help her, for the next 3 weeks.

Not much else to tell you, except they, and we, are all doing well at present. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

By the time most of you read this, Brandon will be born.

He is due to come in to the world around 9:20-9:30 today. Now. Right now.

Jesús and Lizbeth told us last evening that she will be admitted to the hospital at 7:00am; that she will give birth by cesarean section at 9:00am. By the time most of you read this, he should be a beautiful healthy baby boy. I will let you know tomorrow his stats. PLEASE! Pray for Jesús and Liz as this, their third baby, comes into the world.

You may recall that last December, Liz delivered a still born baby girl, Lupita. Now, she is going to deliver a beautiful boy, whose name will be Brandon, having nothing whatsoever to do with the pseudonym being give to the current President of the United States: Joseph Biden.

This little guy will be what he will be; and we will help him, and them, in every way possible in the coming years.

When we have a photo of Brandon, I will post it. But, please, say a prayer for Liz and Jesús. The medical facilities here are not the same as in the US. Things are very different here. We can’t go to the hospital to see her, or the baby; only Jesús can go. Liz’s mom, Alicia, will be here tomorrow, at some time. Even she can’t see Liz, her only daughter.

Until we get Liz, and Brandon home, here, with us, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Hi. My name is Diana, and I am an Instagram add freak.

Do not hate me; I am doing this so you don’t have to spend your hard earned money on the things advertised on that particular app.

Recently, I purchased a couple of kitchen “time-saving” devices, which have been delivered in the last few days. I will post just what they are, and how well they function- for me.

The first thing I have a photo of is this little mincer; you turn it, then turn it the other direction, and, it minces your garlic into lovely little pieces; 5 seconds, tops.

Yah. Well, that I am going to give a 4 out of 10, but only for a very small garlic clove. When I use it this weekend, for our pizza weekend, I’ll let you know if I think it worth the money. Here is what a very small piece of garlic looked like, after putting several small pieces back into the apparatus, after being flicked onto the counter.

Is it worth the however much it cost? As I type this, I’ll say Yes. I absolutely hate chopping, or pressing garlic. There are very few things that I do not like to use my burgeoning knife skills on, but garlic is at the top of the list.

Next thing: I bought one of those punching slicers, the one that slices on the angle, collects in a small container underneath, and can change from julienne to slices with the turn of a couple of tabs. Love it.

Lastly, I bought the best handheld slicer, julienne, grater on the market.

Not quite the truth. I haven’t tried the top blade, but the second two have worked fairly well. The middle one sliced semi hard cheese into nice thin slices, and the bottom one grated softer cheese quite nicely.

The top two blades are designed so you are able to go both directions to slice or grate your product, getting things done a little faster, if that’s your need. The bottom one only grates in one direction.

Would I buy any of those things again? Probably. These, however, we will take to our family in Los Altos, and, if they are interested, give them a bit of ease in their food preparations. They prepare everything by hand, and almost nothing from cans, boxes, or bags.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

For the entire time I have been writing on this blog site, since August of 2019, I have not used contractions.

Why? I am not 100% sure, but I believe that I felt it was necessary to convey my thoughts, and insights with respect for whomever would be reading them. It is easier, I must say, to type an entire word versus a contraction of two words. That said, I believe that I may be done with the practice. I am not 100% sure.

I do not talk without contractions, so why have you read what I am thinking without using them? I am curious to know it using contractions would be bothersome to any of you following this blog? Please, let me know one way or the other. I will, if it is decided thus, to use the ‘ more often.

Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Let me know what you think about contractions. Please.

We have found a video on YT that shows exactly how to make a QC pizza: read Harris Pizza.

We kept the Harris Pizza place afloat in Bettendorf, IA the last year, or so, that we lived there. Large sausage and mushroom. Twice a month. Do not get crazy with the ingredients; keep it simple.

Last week, I checked out what we needed to make a decent tempura batter, and found that we only needed a malted barley syrup, so I ordered that. It was delivered the other day. Today we discovered that the QC pizza requires malted barley syrup for the crust. Score!!!

Tomorrow, we are “supposed” to go to Costco, as both of our families need milk, and toilet paper. While we are there, I will check out the fresh(ish) mozzarella, and the tomato purée, as that is all we need to make a real Quad Cities pizza. I can taste the pizza as I watch the video. Amazing.

We cannot get Harris Pizza, or anything close to Harris Pizza here. Heck, we cannot even get pizza with tomato sauce on it. So, next weekend, I am going to make a sausage and mushroom Harris style pizza, here, in our own little kitchen. You will have to come back, and see if I got the deed done. Until then,

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.