Tag Archives: Atlanta

Feb 14 2013

PEOPLE MAKE A PLACE

Did you think I forgot to tell you about my trip to Atlanta ? Well, no I didn’t! For starters it was interesting going to a place I called home 12 years ago. As the Delta jet I was on, descended on Atlanta I looked out of my window to see the plethora of church steeples dotting the rolling hills of this beautiful southern city. I smiled thinking,Yup,you’re back in the Bible Belt alright!’

My 2 book signings were interesting . I met some very cool people who were warm and hospitable. I sold some books, I made some new friends, reunited with some dear old friends and family and I ‘m glad I went!

Going back to places you once knew can be disappointing; I  leave a place and if I  come back to it later, I find I left it for good because I took my heart with me. My hearts is always where I am making my home.

My heart is not in any of these places I’ve left throughout my life: Cali-Colombia, Medellin-Colombia, Bogota-Colombia, Fort Meyers,Panama City, Spangdahlem-Germany, Bitburg-Germany, Herrforst-Germany, San Antonio, Beaufort, Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Lithonia, Tucson, Michigan, Kissimmee, Macon, Las Vegas. My heart is in Henderson, NV. All the aforementioned places used to be where my heart dwelt;   where good and bad memories inter crossed to weave the fabric of my life;much like the warp and weft  fibers meet to make a fabric’s design. So too are these places I once knew so well; now they are the rich texture and hand of the cloth my soul wears.

What makes a place amazing? Is it the landscapes? Is it the shops and restaurants? Is it the flora and fauna of the region?Is it the scents, sights or sounds? Maybe these are all vital; but none so important as the people you spent your time with while you were there. People make a place worthwhile, habitable, vibrant and one worth re-visiting.

-Eva Santiago copyright 2013

Hodge Podge Coffee House-Atlanta,GA

Hodge Podge Coffee House-Atlanta,GA

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Hodge Podge Coffee House

Hodge Podge Coffee House

Hodge-Podge Coffee House

Hodge-Podge Coffee House

Hodge Podge Coffee House

Hodge Podge Coffee House

Java Vino Coffee House Atlanta-GA

Java Vino Coffee House Atlanta-GA

Java Vino Coffee House

Java Vino Coffee House

Civil War Period Dress

Civil War Period Dress

ACVB friendly Host, Mary Ann Hearn and Good Friend

ACVB friendly Host, Mary Ann Hearn and Good Friend

Atlanta Got its Start with the Rail Road

Atlanta Got its Start with the Rail Road

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Home of Coca Cola-Atlanta, GA

Home of Coca Cola-Atlanta, GA

Gone with The WInd

Gone with The WInd

Feb 4 2013

SALSA! at the BOOK BOUTIQUE

Hello everyone! My week stay in Atlanta was wonderful! I have photos to post up from my 2 book signings for SALSA!. They will be up soon. Now, I am happy to announce I’ll be having another book signing at the Book Boutique located on 19 W. Pacific Ave. Henderson, NV. So please mark Saturday, February 23rd on your calendar because I want to see you there from 12 to 2pm.

Salsa high res cover

Jan 8 2013

Salsa!: Coming to ATLANTA GA SOON!

I just wanted to give you a heads up on my next book event for Salsa! the Taste of Life. Come see me in Atlanta on January 24th.I will be signing ‘SALSA’  at the Hodge Podge Coffee House and Cafe at 720 Moreland Ave SW on  from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. I was formerly a resident of Atlanta so I can’t wait to be back!!

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May 17 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 138

Yay! It’s Pinterest Thursday..yeah right, it’s I got nothing but these pics for you if truth be told :) It’s 100 degrees out here in the grand Mojave Desert and folks, we’re just in pre-heat! Back into my cave I go ’til this goes away end of September or so! Aye, todo lo que  converso me sale en verso…that was the Spanish version of, I’m a poet and I know it :) Enjoy these quotes!

May 15 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 136

FORCED to FIND MY FAMILY…

I was certain I would never know the love of a mother for myself. God has a wonderful way of completing us when we least expect it and with the most unlikely people. I have been friends with Margaret for 20 years. We met back in Atlanta at a time when I would not allow myself to peek into my damaged,trauma filled past. Margaret came into my life back then with arms opened.

She would look at me with such warmth,enough to begin the process of melting the glacier that was taking over my heart in those days. She knew what I needed emotionally and freely gave it;for the first time in my early 20′s I experienced a mother’s unconditional love and I craved for more.Much like a new-born in dire need at feeding time.

My heart broke when a few years after meeting her our lives changed,sending both of us in different directions temporarily. Like everything else in my life,I embraced the new changes ,still clinging to Margaret even from afar.

A few years ago I reconnected with her and I felt great to have been able to become re-acquainted with another member of my family. Ever since then I have chosen to call her Mamacita because she  embodies  everything I have ever imagined about having my mother.

Have you been ostracized by your own blood relatives as I have been? We all have choices to make. We can stay bitter in our isolation or the alternative is to open our hearts to the people who God sends into our lives to give us the family we need. I chose to forgive and stay open to what God has for me. People get blessed with good looks,good genes,talents wealth and strong family ties. I was not one of the fortunate who comes from a loving family;this set
me on a course that forced me to search out and find a family of my own. And I have,through my friends.

Fear will hold some of us bound ,keeping us from opening our hearts to those who offer to love us.We all come into this world in dire need of love;yet few of us are brave enough to admit our need to ourselves and to others.

Mamacita,thank you for offering me your cup! It was you who offered a drink from your over flowing vessel;to this dusty,weary,thirsty traveler. Cheers to you and I will forever be thankful that you did! Had you not offered, I would not have had the courage to ask you for a drink!
Te amo…tu hija

-Eva Santiago copyright 2012

Oct 30 2011

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 4

Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense. :)

Day 4 Question #4: What is the greatest compliment you’ve ever been paid?

Answer: In the early ’90′s I worked at a museum in Atlanta. The museum director, Lillian and I got along great. One day she asked me to do something extra in order to promote the museum. She told me I had the option to say no and that would be fine too. Lillian asked me if I would make an exhibit using flowers to enter in the Atlanta Flower Show.

Midtown Atlanta, Piedmont Park

Image via Wikipedia

I was taken aback at first since I didn’t consider myself a “pro” at working with flowers. Then I thought about how I had worked with flower arrangements at home so I figured I’d give it a try. The job was to make  an arrangement that resembled the burning of Atlanta during the Civil War. Once I accepted the challenge Lillian stood back and looked at me then she said,” Wow! You’re simply amazing!” I laughed as I asked her,” What do you mean?” The comment caught me by surprise. Then my boss said,” I have never met someone who exudes so much self confidence. It’s almost as if you can do anything that comes your way, because you never let anything or anyone get in your way.” THAT, blew me away because at the time I didn’t think much of myself. I thanked her as we hugged and I went off to plan the exhibit. Words like that stay with a person :)

Jul 26 2011

MONEY: It Doesn’t Make The World Spin on its Axis

The other day my youngest child came to me and said, ” Mom, I NEED money!” Her best friend’s birthday is right around the corner and she wants to do something extra special for her. Even though I’ve taught my kids form when they were very young, that you don’t always need $$ money$$ to be a blessing to others, they still feel the pull from society; the voice that yells at all of us incessantly,day in and day out: Money = True success.
 
I can think back to a lesson I learned several years ago when money was tight and I felt as if I had no resources. Christmas was coming up and I wanted to do for others. I was sad until one day I heard God say, ” Use what you have.” So I started looking around my home and I got busy; I hand made cards and I included my kids in the fun; these we sent out to friends and family. We made banana bread and took it to friends and neighbors. We even invited people over to our house for dinner and I began to see how the lack of money had been blinding me.

So I took my youngest daughter and I told her about one of my favorite birthday memories I’ve had as an adult. Way before I had any kids, I was working in Atlanta while putting myself through college. Lucy, my co-worker asked me a few weeks before my birthday to name a few things that I like. I named several things including home made pound cake. When my birthday rolled around, that morning when I arrived at the museum where we both worked I found a package on my desk. It had a little note attached to it. Lucy was right behind me and I turned around and gave her a big hug; then she told me to open it and once I did, I could smell the most delicious scent coming from the aluminum foil. Lucy had made a pound cake all for me! Let me tell you I felt so loved that day; I had received similar gifts like that in the past, but this one topped them all because someone thought enough of me to MAKE me my favorite cake. Hence I’ve never forgotten Lucy!

I could see my daughter’s gears turning and then she asked me at the end of my story,” What can I make for Tara?” We explored different possibilities and then she remembered Tara LOVES pie. So off we went to find her a recipe for pumpkin pie.
 
 We must teach our kids that money can be seductive; the lack of it can lure you into a state of quiet, helpless desperation. When you DO have it, you think you’re invincible and the world is yours. I have prayed this many times in the past: “God please give me enough bread to satisfy my needs and those of my house; don’t leave me without, that I have to resort to stealing and don’t give me too much that I end up turning my back on you.” We must tell our kids that even though money IS important, it DOESN’T make the world go around!
 
I still tell my kids that when God blesses you, take care of your needs first and if you have extra well then, that abundance is not for you; it’s to be a blessing to others. When you teach your kids about how to handle money early in their childhood you’ll be amazed.My husband and I give our kids a small monetary allowance every 2 weeks when he gets paid. If they aren’t keeping up with their house chores and someone is sloughing off in their work,they forfeit their allowance to the person that picked up the slack. I taught them this one rule I learned from the book RICH DAD, POOR DAD : Spend a little, give a little and save a little. In this way they will never be broke; the ones that live by this rule always have what they want, the ones who don’t go without.
 

1 Timothy 6:7-10
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

 
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
 
Eva Santiago Copyright 2011