Sweet Gift

Saturday marked the beginning of my summer swim session with my nephew and his little buddies. For the most part scheduling all my lessons outside of my regular job has been a challenge. However, he and his buddies have had their swim schedule blocked out months in advance and now that it's here I can hardly wait!

It was so amazing to see the difference that one year makes in the life of a toddler. They did well last year, they had fun, they learned, but they were so itty bitty. This year...man, oh man!! They are 100% ready to go and 100% engaged! I'll try to get some video of them in the next few weeks. Swimming is gonna get extra super duper fun from here on out!

My sister surprised me with this photo collage. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! (click on the photo for an enlarged view)

Isn't he the coolest kid ever!?!?

Family fun

This is the kinda naked fun we have when I'm babysitting little dude! If I could get away with walking and dancing around in my undies...I would!! Oh wait! I already do!! LOL!


He recently got a new big boy bed. I decided that the huge cardboard box that it came in needed to be put to good use. We initially used it to break dance and do some fancy spins, then I got bored and decided to use him as my outline muse him. He's so cool like that!


I loooove this video!

Just a glimpse

Unfortunately, more often than not the Spirit nudges my heart to spend time with the Father and I fail to listen or bend in obedience. I can easily drown out the invitation with pretty much anything. It's pretty sad how proficient I am at ignoring His still small voice. At this particular time my most recent obsession is watching Friday Night Lights. ;)

When He calls and I listen there are a few things that normally happen. I'll crawl over to my bed, grab my bible, journal and pen or I'll crawl on the floor near my closet, roll on my back and wait for Him. A few nights ago I waited and listened for Him. The photo below is a view of what I see when I'm down there.

I have no idea why I'm sharing this post with you as this is an incredibly personal space for me, but perhaps my unorthodox way of praying will encourage you to find your 'place' with Him. It's not so much about where you're physically located, but 'where' your heart is in relation to your showing up to be with Him.

No matter how much you may feel like a failure for not being the most ideal Christian, know that it's never too late to show up. He's always willing to hear from us. I'm a repeat offender and speak from so much experience.

Save our Schools

If you're interested in attending either of these shows let me know. I'll most likely be at both. I've heard a few of the bands on the roster and they're pretty cool. I'm certain you'll enjoy.

Texas Flour Tortillas - tested

Sooooo, I tried the recipe I was tellin' y'all about in my last post and........

this is how it went.

Rollin' it out.

Here's a tip:

Much like rollin' out pie crust you gotta make sure that you're rollin' pin & 'area' are lightly dusted with flour. This'll keep the tortillas from sticking.

Once, you've rolled them out (ultra thinly) place them on super hot comal (cast iron griddle). I tried the on my electric griddle and it just wasn't the same. :(

30 seconds on each side.

If you've done it right you'll see some bubbling action within a few seconds

Here's a video to let you know how it officially went down!

As you can tell I was a bit excited! =)

Ren, it worked! No lard. No Shortening!

Another quick tip. Do NOT try to roll them out and cook them at the same time! It wont be pretty. I speak from experience!

See how this tortilla is lightly burned? There's an actual name for that and it's called "Charlie Brown". When my dad orders his breakfast tacos He'll usually order like this "Dame un taco de barbacoa. Pero lo quiero medio Charlie Brown." LOL! How's that for Spanglish! Any good south Texan server will know that he's asking for a a lightly toasted barbacoa taco. I bet I just learned ya something, huh? :) My dad is also one of those weirdos who can't stand his flour tortillas chewy and soft. psh! He just don't know!

If you're chompin' at the bit to try this recipe you'll be able to find it here on the HomesickTexan blog!

I'm so excited!! I'm thinking tortillas #2 is in order!

New Fav!

I don't know if it's the weather or what, but I've been a cookin'/bakin' mess lately! For the last two nights I've attempted to make soft, chewy homemade tortillas and each attempt has SUCKED! They've turned out dense, 'unfoldable', and yucky. They smell like tortillas and sorta look like tortillas, but they ain't no tortilla!

After tonights recent failure I decided to do some research and compare other recipes to the one I've been attempting to tweak. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for, but I did know that I wanted to avoid using lard (manteca) at all costs. In case y'all didn't know...Lard is what usually makes those bad ass tortillas that make you go belly up at a restaurant before your meal ever hits the table. (Just thought you should know. :) haha)

While perusing the 'net I came across a super-really-cool blog, it's called HomeSickTexan. I don't know about you, but the blog title alone makes me love it! :) She has this post about Texas Flour tortillas that I'm going to try tomorrow. AND IT DOESN'T require shortening or lard! Keep your fingers crossed! I have a good feeling about this one! I'll let you know how it turns out.

oh man!!!

There are tears streaming down my face from watching this video! I just love, LOVE children!

Thanks to my sister shared this video with me, *gets* me and just knows what'll crack me up to pieces!

(Ren I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!)

Saturday Night

Tonight was the perfect night to stay in, cook, bake and relax. There's a Texas sized storm brewin' outside and I didn't need a better excuse to bake up something new and yummy.

Here's my first attempt to homemade cinnamon rolls!!

Very proud that they came out lookin' so cute!!!

One can only hope at this point that they'll be tasty!

Success! They were great indeed!

I know that cinnamon rolls are consider 'sweets', but (without this being an excuse) I felt that it was more than ok considering that my heart was in the good and right place. I've learned so much about myself these last few months in regards to sugar and men. I'll fill you in soon enough.

This has been my mediation for the day. I hope you'll consider this with me as you read.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

(Psalm 119:11)

Goat Stampede!!! — Cute Overload

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!! I can't stand the cuteness of these pygmy goaties! Old road dog kills me, but I'm certain he's lived a good one. I NEED THESE!!!

Goat Stampede!!! — Cute Overload

Uppercut

The preschool where I teach a few times a week had a an Easter egg hunt today. It's apparent that the competitive spirit starts earrrrrly.

Anyhow, after the hunting was had a particularly excited little boy comes running toward me with a pretty plastic egg in hand and screaming "Miss Maaaahcy, Miss Maaaahcy, wook at my eggs!" I'm smiling in his direction, but conversing with another teacher when suddenly, in what I can only imagine is his overwhelming sense of excitement, he uppercuts me (plastic egg in hand) right into my girlie business. I can't remember if it was the surprise or the slight pain that caused me to double over so quickly but rather suddenly I was just inches from his chubby 3 year old face. He then looks down at his egg and said "Oh!!.... thank you for opening my egg!"

.........glad I could help him with that! :/

I guess it was best that it was me and not one of the male pastors on staff. haha!

Summer Swimming

It's that time again! My schedule is overwhelmed with families who need and want swim lessons. It's certainly a great problem to have, but not having my own pool complicates scheduling quite a bit. If anyone out there reading had an available pool (mostly in the Denton area) please let me know!

(above is a photo of my Euless swimmers! I can't hardly wait to see how they do this summer. Daevin and his little buddies are going to rock this session! I just know it!)

Betweens lessons at the Nat, previous swimmers and referrals I seriously don't know how I'm going to get all this done! :) i'm excited to see what awaits me in the near future.

In other news...I recently purchased new swim gear. I can hardly wait to try it on! In an attempt to save my skin I've decided to swim in UV rash guards and UV jackets this summer as well as boy shorts. I've considered wearing swim capris that look like leggings, but I'm not sure how I feel about being nearly fully clothed while swimming. I always love the feel of water against my skin.

Anyhow, here's the jacket that I just purchased
I actually smirked when I saw this....

I get the usefulness, but it's a bit extreme. I'm sure my face would thank me, but the kids wouldn't understand a lick of what I'm trying to say. Complicated to say the least!!

So, I'm forever harping on safety. The kids that swim with me know the importance of walking on deck or waiting for permission to entire the pool. Once while some of my rambunctious boys were running on deck, I stopped them and said "Hey!! What are you doing?!?! You know better than that! Are you supposed to run on deck??" Each shook his head in understanding. I then proceeded to ask "Why aren't you supposed to run on deck?" In unison they all replied "Because, we could fall, crack our heads open and our guts will fall out!" I laughed out loud when I realized that they were quoting me verbatim but mostly laughed when I realized that a new set of proud grandparents were there watching their swimmers for the first time. =) I can only imagine what they must've thought.

Speaking of swimming...I need to suit up and get a mile or so in before my lessons start at 4. After a yummy Hannah's lunch with my friend Leilani I seriously don't feel like moving right now.

Go, Marcy! Go!!

Msg to single men

Although, this is a msg to single men from Matt Chadler. I can't help, but see myself in this pattern of destruction. I've played an active role on both sides, but as of late I'm the one he references to "quit that crap".

Click here to view.

The New American Reality

This video was brought to my attention and I loved it!

It reminded me of who I once was....I haven't always loved the fact that I'm bicultural. Somewhere between my freshman and sophomore year in college it dawned on me that God, in his infinite sovereignty chose to make me exactly who I am. He chose every minor detail of the physical body that makes me, Marcy, from the the lone dimple on my left cheek, to the hot mess of curly hair on my head, the love dots (beauty marks/moles whatever you wanna call them) that certain parts of my body all the way down to my piglets. It also blows my mind that He would've chosen such an amazing family to raise us Infante's in. We didn't have much money growing up, but we never-ever-never-never-ever lacked love. I can't imagine life with another sister or brother or even parents...

Since that realization I like to believe that I'm a different person. I have learned to love and embrace my bi(+multi)culturalism. It makes me smile when I think about the fact that I always choke up while singing the Star Spangled Banner, or while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, or while listening to a good Mariachi group and even while watching a folklorico performance.

I'm a hot messy mixture of a lot of different things, but the one that matters the most to me is who I am as a believer. Being a Christian isn't a part of who I am. It is who I am.

on another note! today is glorious! It feels just like California. Sun is shining, wind is blowing and the temps are perfect! It's a dang good day to be a Texan! :)

A new favorite song!

Something you may not know about me, when I dig a new song I listen to it endlessly! Like, it'll literally be on repeat for hours maybe even days. It drives my roommate/sister absolutely bananas! I sometimes have to wear headphone in order to prevent her from loathing a once loved song. Creative compromise, I'm ok with it!

Anyhow, this is Francesca Battistelli's - This is The Stuff

I hope you love it, it's catchy and sweet and totally makes me wanna dance with God. Do you think He's a good dancer? I wonder if He'd twirl with me. =) precious unimagined thought until now. I like it!

In recent news

I've royally sucked with fasting. I haven't actually taken a nose dive into eating ice cream or actually going on a date, but I've been flirting with disaster and failure these last two weeks. It's so funny how the Holy Spirit ever so subtly and consistently nudges our hearts in the right direction. My friend, Leilani, who is currently vacationing in Florida, sent me a sweet email wanting to know how I was doing and right as she was ending her email she asks "Hey, how is the fast going?" I couldn't help smile at the sweetness in her question and at the realization that a genuine friend keeps you accountable.

On that note.... I was recently spiritually slammed (in a good way) by a genuine friend. this particular 'slammage' made me literally say "oooohhhhhh..man! what a stud!!!" My childhood friend, Josiah, recently posted something on fb that caught my attention and without a second thought I responded. (see below)

• 
  
  
• 

  Marcy Infante Sorry, friend. that's never fun. I've been thinking about you lately. How are you?

  April 5 at 4:03pm ·
• 

  Josiah now now..you still have almost three whole months to go. Stay true to your decisions.

  April 5 at 5:49pm ·

For as long as I can remember him I've always admired his walk with Christ. He and his older brother, Josh, were certainly two of the few guys/people in school that I knew without a doubt that were the 'real deal'! Admirable men to say the least. Anyhow, back to his response....it cut to the quick and was an instant reminder that this quest wasn't over despite my short comings. I can't help but feel so much admiration for a man, friend, fellow believer who keeps it real and lovingly keeps their friends in line. Total hotness factor, regardless of gender!

to all my friends (family included) that keep me in check, I couldn't do this life without you.

My-ee & Mimi

Daevin (the one & only nephew) calls me "My-eee" & calls his Auntie Margarita "Mimi", but on occasion when asked who we are he'll reply "MINE!" =) haha! gotta love it!He's downright delicious!

We: Build/destroy/fight over mega blocks, cook & rough house together.

They: Giggle in his tent, talk, sing and color together.

Evidence of the sweet time he gets to spend with, Mine (Mimi).

Ramen Republic

One of my absolute favorite things to do on this earth.....

Share a good meal with great friends.

Dedicated to...

...all my single chicas!

I hoping and praying for the him that will be gifted by HIM just for YOU!

Colbie Caillat - I Do

Sweet & Painful

My sister send this link to me earlier today. Her subject line read "Wow". She wasn't kidding.

I hope this video will inspire and stir your affections as it has mine. I've recently had some idols revealed and removed from my life. It hasn't been pretty. It hasn't been comfortable. I have to admit that I haven't been all together gracious in receiving these lessons either. I'm a bit bratty, that's also an understatement of a lifetime. Anyhow, this video has brought it all back into prospective.

Sweetness!

This is how I spent a portion of my saturday night.

Post dinner I sat him on the couch with his sippie cup, blanket and favorite show while I cleaned up the kitchen. A few moments later I heard "My-eeeee". I stopped and wondered what he was doing until I heard it again "My-eeee!" I then realized HE WAS CALLING ME!!!! My heart nearly melted into a puddle!

While rocking him to sleep that night I was so overwhelmed with God's loving kindness. I started remembering how I instantly fell in love with this child the moment I learned of his existence. Love is such an amazing gift. It wears many hats and shares many faces, but all of it is a gift from Him.

Surrender

It feels like each time something in my life is handed over it's only a matter of time before I start playing with it again, make it my own, tighten my grip on it and struggle to (re)release it.

*sigh* will I EVER learn?!

I desperately crave sugar. I even dream about it... seriously! who dreams about kit kats?!?! who?!

A confession is in order...I haven't done as well as I hoped I would do with the man fast. I haven't gone head first and started dating anyone or anything, but I've certainly tip toped with flirtations and played with more fire than I know should've been permissible.

It's late and I'm both physically and emotionally tired. I have 4 months left of on this fast and i'm scared that when July rolls around I'll be the same person, junk still intact and heart still festering with 'ewwwwness'.

sorry for the wah post.... I'm going to bed now.