Carrots, Eggs & Coffee

This is NOT MINE-- but I thought I would share....

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water , they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

If u didn't know

If u didn't knowthis is just a FYI I did not spend 4 years in undergrad + 2 years in graduate school achieving my masters + about a decade at a job
 to sit at a fluckin cubicle.
I am just saying...

Cause if you don't know your worth then who will?

Fish on FIRE!

SO I have been craving some Salmon in the worst way recently (thinking it is a healthier option than a Big Mac or other dealings...) specifically been craving some Rum Painted Jerk Salmon from a lil restaurant called Negril Village, but with the $22 price tag, I cannot afford that on a regular basis..hence my cooking.
Now, I can cook. Let me just put that out there. I am no Emeril Lagasse or Down home with the Neely's..but trust me a sista doesn't get this size with out knowing how to cook a meal or 2 or 3...
So I gather my ingredients:

• Fresh salmon (about 2 cuts)
• Scallion (2 stalks?)
• Onion (1 medium)
• garlic (about 1 Tbs)
• Rum (I choose Cruzan rum-151 proof)
• Butter (about 2 Tbs)

SO yeah I lay out all the ingredients and chop onion/ combine with garlic and wash fish and throw it in the pan, steaming it and sippin on some (rum hey why not)...

after the fish is about 1/2 way done (with my special seasonings) time to add the rum... so I pour about a 1/2 cup on (i like some inebriated fish) and put down the bottle (thankfully)

I go to shift the fish in the pan & did YOU know that rum is EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE???

EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE
yeah so apparently i am having salmon flambe or something like that...

fast forward 2 minutes and now i have 2 options, call 911 and get the sexy firemen here OR call the brother (chef bean) to see what he thinks...

i figure since i am not properly dressed (or not?) for the sexy firemen I should call the brother.

Chef: hey Tash, What's up?

me: oh, nothing..just..if you put alcohol on something on the stove, like fish, about how long should it burn before you get concerned?

Chef: Well, since typically you put about a teaspoon or tablespoon of alcohol on something it should burn off in like 30 seconds to a minute...

me: (gasp) 30 seconds huh? so I guess if I put more rum than 2 tablespoons on it...it would take longer to burn off?

Chef: Naturally...so how much rum did you put on the salmon?

me: about a 1/2 cup give or take...

Chef: OF RUM??? on how much fish? were you trying to drown it? give it a hangover??

me: what can i say? I like a lil rum

Chef: (LAUGHING) So how long has it been burning?

me: about 6 minutes..kinda

Chef: (LAUGHING MORE< thanks) well OK, you can cover it with a top to stop the oxygen from feeding the flames & you should be able to eat the fish afterwards; it should not be all burnt up and Cajun like. Next time Tash,...just don't.

me: right right...thanks dude..later

Yeah, another 3 minutes later.. it finally burns off and viola PERFECTLY cooked salmon...part 1...now I have to make the jerk seasoning...

wish me luck!

things we lost in the fire (part II)

last night another fire happened upon Jackson Ave. this time 2 doors down (Mrs. Braithwaite's house) from Grandma's house. flames and fire shooting out the building and while she was getting out her building some debris was falling and got her on the arm. she is currently in the hospital recovering; hopefully not hurt too bad. this fire was a 3 alarm fire that took over 130 firefighters & took almost 2 hours to put out. the building is completely gutted & the 2 buildings attached were compromised via the roof.
See link: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6628146

we were out there in the cold, my car being blocked by the truck for a bit so we (meaning grandma) could at least sit and be in warmth.
i am fascinated by the where with all & actions of some things:

• i am skeptical about the origins of this fire and our safety.
• this makes me question what are the motives of other folks out there? safety of others?the elderly who all live around there? the kids that go there...
• grandma was out there with her slippers & coat and refusing to take a scarf or a blanket to keep warm (and it was cold)- when she does this and refuses any assistance from me it makes me feel inadequate as a human being & to unable to care for her or whatever for anyone else.
• i got reprimanded for the order of calls made to family. hello i was getting people out, sorry!!!- this also made me feel like hey there cant you do anything right?
• the grab & go case that i have that i didn't even think to grab & go. I just went. no important papers, no nothing other than myself & family. at least mike had the good sense to grab his clean laundry.
  

after an hour outside we got to go back in... back to a smoke smelling filled house to resume our normal lives. is anything every really normal again?

things we lost in the fire...

Last night as I was on the train reading this book motherless daughters by Hope Edelman and feeling all sorts of ways continually going thru this grieving process, in the midst of trying to figure out what to have for dinner and hoping that my car is on the right side of the street for NY alternate side parking rules, I get this phone call as I get out the subway station:

“Tash, there is a fire at the neighbors house, it is everywhere!!!
The neighbor’s house is completely gone!!!
They have evacuated the buildings grandma is outside here, everyone is outside, and no one is allowed back inside.
They have 3 trucks battling the blaze so I just wanted to let you know”

Yes this is the message I get from the brother as I get off the train already an emotional wreck (in his defense I am sure he didn’t know I was an emotional wreck already)

As my heart is racing and my eyesight is blurry and my hands are shaking and various crazy thoughts are racing thru my head (see: panic attacks) and I just had to pray.
As I got on the MTA (that is never going my way) it seemed as everything was moving in extra slow motion.
Like I know it typically takes 20 minutes to get home from train to door- but it seemed like an eternity and we appeared to catch every red light.
The bus was unusually cold, but I felt nothing (I know it was cold due to the complaints of the passengers on the bus).
Got off the bus to the throngs of people, mass of fire trucks (at least 12) and just the craziness of seeing it all were truly frightening.

Just thinking about the possibility of being without a place to live…

Everyone in that building is OK. Very distraught about the loss of everything, but thankfully their lives were ok.

I watched the end result of this:

• The news camera trying to get a glimpse of the persons who were clearly upset about their homes, possessions, safety and security all gone. The foolish kids being kids trying to get on camera, jumping around and thinking it is cool.
• My grandmother, who was born in Chicago, has this great fear/respect for fire sneaking back into the house, her comfort zone.
• People who lived on this block for 2 or more years finally being neighborly with each other.
• A few firefighters injured due to the breaking out of windows and smoke inhalation, but thankfully they will be ok.
• Weary firefighters doing a job they love to benefit and save others, I thanked them in person while I could think about it.

and thru all this

I thank God.