We have words on the walls.Not every wall. But in lots of places in our home. It started off as a sort of rebellious thing when we bought our house: "I own this house and I will write on the walls if I want to!" But it has become a way to express our uniqueness as a family. I think everyone should have words on their walls. ...
Archives for November 2006
Bird Girls with Maracas
I received an email earlier today. The subject line read as follows: THE BENSONS HAVE MARACAS FOR ALL BIRD GIRLS I'm a little embarrassed to report that I didn't bat an eye when I read it. It makes perfect sense in the weird world I inhabit. I'm in charge of costumes for the spring musical the kids are performing, Seussical the Musical. As I ...
Bet you didn’t know…
I've got my mom with me this weekend. That means, of course, that I'm cooking Cuban. Preparing for Thanksgiving next week and looking forward to Noche Buena next month got me thinking of pork. (That last statement totally makes sense to Cuban Americans.) So I've got pork chops in the crock-pot slow cooking in mojo. As they cook, ...
Pretty Fly for a White Guy
He took the salsa lessons because he knows how much I love to dance - it was his idea. Not only did he take the lessons, he took me to dinner (Cuban food, what else?) and then dancing. Like a real "old school" date. This particular Cuban restaurant is in Huntington Beach. It's called Habana Cabana. On Fridays & Saturdays ...
Keep away from Runaround Sue…
Adam is looking for the guitar tabs for a song he heard earlier. So, he asks this question: "Mom, have you ever heard this song?" Usually it's an older rock and roll song. I refrain from saying what I'm thinking out loud, which is, "Adam, I'm a card-carrying Baby Boomer. If it's from the last 50 years, it's part of the soundtrack of ...
ABC…easy as…1,2,3….
Cubans are superstitious people. This must be more of a cultural phenomenon. Because my mom is a devout Christian. Until something comes up involving numbers. I'm willing to bet most Cuban-Americans know this in some form or other. I don't think I dwell too much on it. But every now and then I have a conversation with my mom who pulls out a ...
Making a Good Impression
We homeschool our children. I know this sounds like a mysterious thing to most people. But really, it's simply our lifestyle. Our days go something like this: We leisurely get up and make our beds. We come downstairs and each one makes their own breakfast. Unless Lucy is anxious to try out a new muffin recipe. In which case, we are all willing ...
Must. Have. Cuban. Food.
There are 3 Cuban restaurants in Orange County.THREE.I might have mentioned this before. This is one of the reasons we cook Cuban so much. Mission Viejo is so NOT Miami. But we have adapted. Travel time to each one is at least 45 minutes to an hour for us, not counting traffic. And there is always traffic. I know. That sounded a little whiny. Our ...
Be it ever so humble…
Yes. It's a fire. Yes. I'm aware we live in Southern California. No. We don't really "do" weather here. But the temperature dipped below 60 (!) last night. We've been waiting for even the slightest hint of a cool breeze so we could light the fire. No. It's not a real fire. It's a gas log. It doesn't even really heat up the room, but ...
Language Barrier
I am "dug in" in so many ways. I like things just a certain way. I know my preferences. I know what I want to do and for the most part, I do things my way. But today I encountered a language barrier. It didn't start that way. I was just trying to be efficient and then sort of hit a wall. When I was growing up and learning to read and ...
