Completely unapologetic about this - I have been documenting the cute and clever things my kids have been saying for years now. And yes, I totally think my four kids say and do the most adorable stuff. I just thought I would have outgrown some of those moments by now, seeing as Amy is almost 24. (!!)But this happened just one week ago. ...
Archives for May 2007
¿Que Pasa, Jessica Rabbit?
Won't bore you with the details of the chest x-rays and the inhaler and the cortisone shot. The only plus to this whole pneumonia thing is that I sound just like Jessica Rabbit. ;-)("I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way.") The fever has finally broken, but I still have to lay low for a while before I'm back to normal.For my ...
57,000 words
If you've been following my blog, you know that Lucy has been busy writing a novel. The original plan was to write it in 30 days, but when the month of April was over, she still had more story in her.So she kept at it and kept at it. I need to just insert here that I was in Miami all last week and that now I have pneumonia, and there are no ...
Be it ever so humble . . .
I thought I was just a little weary from my trip. Perhaps jet-lagged. Or maybe just having caffeine withdrawals after the 12-cafecitos a day habit I developed in Miami. That would explain why I had such low energy, and my joints were aching. But now I"m coughing and the fever is hovering at around 102°. =( I just got out of my bed (with ...
For the love of Bustelo
I don't consider myself a coffee snob. I live in Mission Viejo, California. There are more hip coffee places than police in our fair city. I swear. But I do have friends who would refer to themselves as coffee snobs (you know who you are). But I, am Cuban. And there is nothing (nothing!) like a perfectly made "coladito." I, ...
La Cocinera de Babalú
I have dozens of cookbooks in my kitchen library.Dozens.I have quite a few Cuban cookbooks and countless family recipes on cards. I learned to cook Cuban using Nitza Villapol's book (what self-respecting Cuban woman didn't??) and trying to re-create stuff I had tasted in restaurants.Cooking is just one of my hobbies. And, of course, cooking Cuban ...
It’s in her blood
Blonde hair, blue eyes and a dazzling smile. [heavy sigh] That's Amy, my firstborn, apparently in Cuba, sitting on the wall of the Malecon overlooking Havana Bay and the Castillo del Morro.Notice how she looks right at home. (This fabulous photo op was part of Cuba Nostalgia.) She can cook a mean arroz con pollo.She holds her own bilingually.And ...
Frankly my dear…
We're at the beach still. Not leaving until the last possible second. They'll probably have to drag me kicking and screaming, with a death-grip on my lounge chair, screaming hysterically - "not ready. not ready." That's not exactly true. I'm ready to go home. I miss Eric. I need to be with my other kids - Adam, Lucy, and Jonathan. I ...
It’s my face, isn’t it?
Amy says I just have one of those faces. The kind that makes people comfortable and feel like we are old friends. (I think she means it as a complement.=D) We celebrated my birthday at Lario's on the Beach in South Beach tonight. Yes, of course it's Cuban food. I'm still in Miami and I took a vow. (but that's not important right now.) So we have ...
The Spin Doctor
This face and bio were on display this past weekend at Cuba Nostalgia. I stopped and stared at the familiar face and quickly called Amy over to take a picture. Our relationship began exactly 52 years ago today when he spanked my bottom and announced to my parents that it was another girl. Agustin Castellanos, M.D. was our pediatrician back in Cuba ...
Restrictions? What restrictions?
It starts.Amy and my mom and I are leaving today for Miami. "I always make a bread pudding for Fernando." Fernando is her BIG brother. He's going to be 96 this week. So Amy and I try to dissuade her, in this time of travel restrictions, from bringing the 2 lb. bread pudding for Fernando. But she is undeterred. She ...
Family Tree
I need to warn you that I'm feeling all nostalgic and Cuban this week. Preparing to leave on Wednesday for Miami. There are certain things that are on my mind now that I'd like to share. This is one of them. My grandmother had a "brag book" which included all her 20 grandchildren. One of my aunts brought it from Cuba and gave ...
Cuban Americans. versions 2.0 and 3.0
Mother's Day at Alina's house. I'll save you the trouble of counting. There are nineteen people in this picture. My big, fat Cuban-American nieces and nephews, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews (phew).The oldest (my mom) in the center, is ninety-three. The youngest on her lap, is three months old.Eleven out of sixteen cousins ranging in ages from ...
Labor Day
Even though she is 93, my mom can still describe, in great detail, (as most mothers probably can) exactly how many hours she labored with each one of us.Serious mom memories.I'll just hit the highlights, but here's what I remember (vividly): Amy - 36 hours (back labor). Adam - 18 hours. Lucy - 17 hours. Jonathan - scheduled ...
Leaving a Legacy
My mom taught me how to cook when I was about 8 years old. She taught me how to read a recipe, measure ingredients, grease a pan, boil water - stuff like that. As I got older, the process became a little more complicated. During the summers, my sisters, Miriam and Alina, and I would take turns cooking. We rotated between table setting, ...
