My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

I Miss That Face

My son, Adam lives in Northern California and I miss him terribly.

But he calls a few times a week and we text each other all the time, which makes me totally happy. (Reason #634 Why I love technology.)

Adam is busy working and going to school, and he's also coaching a junior lacrosse team.

When he was in junior high middle school he used to play lacrosse. I confess I only went to a couple of his games because I could barely stand to watch young boys running full speed at each other with poles. (I know. Bad Cuban mother. He's scarred for life. Blah, blah. Shut up.) 

Anyway, so Adam is coaching the young Red Hawks and he works very hard to get them fired up for their games each week....

And of course, I appreciate that Stephanie is being supportive, too....

The Red Hawks are 5-1.

Nice going, Coach. I miss you!!

(Amy Kikita thinks they should be called The Banana Singing Changos, but that's not important right now.)  =D

For Japan with Love

 

I'm sitting at my breakfast table with Jonathan noisily slurping the last of his cereal and Lucy busily writing out notecards for a school assignment. My life is extraordinary in its ordinariness. (<--Is that a word?)

We're in California. Earthquakes happen here. We usually just "roll with them." And then there was Japan. We've all seen the breathtakingly sad are images from the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.

I picture families at breakfast tables much like our own getting on with their day when the tragedy struck.

And my heart breaks from the devastation and from the feeling of impotence.

What can I do?

We have so, so much.

So I am joining hundreds of other bloggers today in a day of silence, for Japan with love. (Technically, I should have posted this yesterday and been completely silent today, but I'm posting now since I just found out about it, and I'm Cuban. Silence is tough for us, but that's not important right now.)

Bloggers from Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours have organized to raise money for Japan. All donations will go towards emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies via Shelterbox.

From the Shelterbox donation page:

We've all seen the images and videos rolling in of the devastation from the Japan earthquake and tsunamis. While aftershocks and tsunami scares are still happening days later, the nation is in for a long long road of recovery. So far, the death toll is estimated to be 2,800. In just one town, 9,500 are missing. Not only do the survivors have to suffer the loss of loved ones, but as temperatures fall, electricity, water and food are now scarce to none. Many have tried to go back to their homes and to start picking up the pieces, only to find the tsunamis have plowed their homes down and there is literally nothing for them to come home to. Convenience stores have lines hours long and a limit of 10 items to each person. The second crisis has only begun and so many are left helpless.

We are not ones to sit and do nothing. While as much as we'd like to hop on a plane and fly there to help with the search and rescue, the immediate need for help for those in Japan is the dire need for shelter. This fundraising page is specifically geared to help with that. Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours have handpicked ShelterBox as the organization to donate to.

ShelterBox provide emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at the time when they need it the most. Each large green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items. A whole box costs $1,000 (US), so we're hoping to raise enough to send 5 boxes.

Please join us. We know it won't save the nation, but we strongly believe every little helps. Whatever you can contribute, we truly appreciate.

Here’s how you can help:

Donate by clicking on this link to For Japan with love or Shelterbox.

Share this on your own blog.

Go hug your family.

El Bix - A Cuban cure for all that ails you

There's a snotty-hacking-coughing-feverish-fluish thing going around here. It's not just a common cold, either. And the cough seems to hang in and stay for weeks.

My sister, Helen had it on my mom's birthday a few weeks ago. (She's still coughing.) And then Jonathan got it. (He's still coughing.)

[Stylized Cartoon photo of Sick Jon courtesy of the coolest iPhone app ever, but that's not important right now.]

Now, we are slowly passing it around from one family member to another.

Of course, once the first person gets it, there's no amount of hand-washing and avoiding the same airspace that's going to keep the next person from getting it. And so on. And so on....

My mom suggested I use, "El Bix."  That's Vicks VapoRub to you.

So I dutifully head to the drug store and choose the modern NON-GREASY version of Vicks VapoRub. Made by the same company. With the same inimitable eucalyptus fragrance.

 

My mom: "Eso no sirve. Tiene que ser el del pomito azul." (Loose translation: "This is worthless. It has to be the one in the little blue jar.")

I should add right here that my mom regularly purchases the Giant Industrial Size VapoRub and goes through it at an alarming rate. She uses it recreationally, slathering it on her neck and forehead every night before bed.

As a matter of fact, she credits her "Bix" for keeping her alive for all these years. My dad used to joke that she used so much VapoRub so regularly, that when she died, she wouldn't need to be embalmed. But I digress.

When I started coughing and hacking and getting the snotty-hacking-coughing-feverish-fluish thing myself, I used my VapoRub Cream. It's non-greasy, you know.

But the seeds of doubt were planted...

And so, the superstitious-do-what-your-Cuban-mother-tells-you-or-bad-things-will-happen part of my brain sent me back to the store.

I'm still recovering from the snotty-hacking-coughing-feverish-fluish thing. But now, I am using the UBER-GREASY Vicks VapoRub OINTMENT. Even the word "ointment" sounds sticky.

I can barely believe it myself.

I'm not sure it's working at all *cough, cough, hack, sniffle, a-choo!*

But I'm not taking any chances. ;-)

¡Sabor! Hot Giveaway Winners

Congratulations to the 2 lucky winners of the ¡Sabor! Cookbook.

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Ileana said...

If I was a chef, I would be famous for my Everything But the Kitchen Sink-PAELLA baby! And maybe your favorite might be anything with dulce de leche. ;-)

Reply February 28, 2011 at 12:48 PM

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sonia said...

My specialty? Lasagna con platanos maduros of course! Or maybe my jamon in mango sauce? Great contest and glad to see you're feeling better!!!

Reply March 01, 2011 at 06:10 AM

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I chose the winners by entering the number of entries (not the accidental duplicates, of course) into the True Random Number Generator at Random.org.

Congratulations! Please contact me by sending an email with your snail-mail address and put HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! In the subject line.

As for the rest of you: Thanks for entering and please SHARE some of those fabulous recipes!

Buen Provecho!