Amy and I were elected to go to the airport last week to pick up my Cuban uncle.His flight was delayed for over an hour which left us with that much time to people watch (my very, very! favorite spectator sport, but that's not important right now) at John Wayne Airport. I notice a familiar looking gentleman in the baggage claim area and start ...
Archives for March 2008
La Misma Lengua
Que bolá?It's Amy, AGAIN. But my new Cuban nickname is Kikita. (more on that another day) Anyway, my uncle is in town. Ok, he's actually my mom's uncle which makes him my tio abuelo, but we call him Tio Timbiriche. (like I said, more on nicknames another day) So his first night in town, Luza (my abuela) has made congri as part of ...
Excuse me, Mr. Google?
Hello, mi gente! It's Amy again. I'm having issues. I need help. The other day, I was talking with my Mom and I was messing with her a bit when out-of-the-blue and for the first time in my life she exclaimed, "San Apapusio, baja!" Umm . . . what?? who?? Obviously, she was frustrated and asking for a particular Saint to come ...
Señor Google is in da house!
Hello everyone! It's Amy. I've been living with my Abuela for almost 3 years now and she has never had internet. Because, really, what would a 90-something Cuban grandmother need the internet for? (Yes, it's been hard on me, but - when I can no longer live without it - I just go to Mom's house.) Anyway, my Abuela is slowly learning ...
Haikus R Us
My niece Natalie has so much going for her. Ah! To be eighteen! She was so little; I thought she'd be taller now. Happy Birthday, Nat!Aunt Marti's so weird. Her haikus are ...
Fairy Godparents? or Fairly Oddparents?
From left: My sister, Alina, who is my niece Helen's godmother, who is Alina's daughter, Kelley's godmother, who is Helen's daughter, Daisy's godmother. Did you get all that? Here's a fun Cuban Easter tradition we follow: I don't know who decided it, but it's engraved in stone. When you are appointed the high honor of being asked to be ...
Living the dream
I'm so proud of Eric. He was finally able to quit his day job and come home. (Yay!)Wait!Let me say that again . . .HE QUIT HIS DAY JOB! I'm so delighted. We all are.It's just so nice to have him home.And he's got some great clients. I can't even tell you how wonderful this is. (picture me flipping cartwheels . . . umm. . . or not. . . ...
Cuban Spice
This, my dears, is my version of Huevos Habaneros.Habaneros? Isn't that like the spiciest chili pepper known to man?Yes, actually it is, but that's not important right now. Huevos Habaneros refers to an egg dish named after the capital city of Cuba - Havana. Or in Spanish, La Habana. Okay. Let me 'splain: Cuban food is Not Spicy. It is flavorful ...
Making the grade
I don't give out grades in our homeschool. Not in the traditional sense. I don't have a classroom full of kids to "grade" and compare, so we can spend time mastering skills. So technically, Jonathan is a straight A student because we don't have to move on if there's stuff he doesn't understand, umm. . . at least until he understands it - ...
Lucky me?
Lucky me.They all looked sooo cute.All four of them wearing St. Patrick's Day green and all. I need a picture! one. . . two. . . three. . . Lucky for them - they're all so cute. ;-) SIGH. ...
I’m More Cuban Than I Thought!
Hi everyone, it’s Amy. I’m not sure if you know this or not, but my Mom and Dad divorced when I was 3 (which totally worked out because I have a really awesome Dad now! ;-D) Anyway, after the divorce, we (Mom, Adam, & I) moved in with Mom’s parents who lived in Anaheim. Anaheim is still where many Orange County Cubans ...
For Uber-Geeks only
Today is Albert Einstein's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Al! Albert Einstein's name seems to always be connected with the word, "genius." Would it surprise you to learn that Einstein was educated at home? He couldn't make it in public school. He was just (by his own description) "too curious." (I can't help but ...
El gato y la computadora
The computer printer is on my desk and it networks to the rest of the pc's in the house. It will sometimes crank up (seemingly) out of the blue and start printing history pages or marketing files or math printouts (depending on who's doing what around here). I'm kind of used to it now as it starts to make the familiar wind-up noise and I casually ...
Never let ’em see you sweat
I complain a lot about how much I hate to exercise. Okay, I complain, but I still go regularly to the Y and ride the stationary bike, and I don't complain if I've got a good book to read to distract me. (I know. Slacker. Shut up.) But I have been going faithfully and I never love it any more than before. I have no clue where "the zone" ...
Time warp
I know this clock says it's about 11:18, but I can't help thinking it's really 10:18. Or at least it was three days ago. Before Daylight Saving Time. Now when I look at the clock I have to do the mental gymnastics it takes for me to adjust to today's time. SIGH. This whole time change thing makes me crazy. Seriously. Certifiably. Do you know ...
What’s that smell?
Alina, my mom and Me. Miami, Florida. 1963 Havana, Cuba. Late 1960. Word was getting around that the new self-appointed governors of the island, those bearded rebels led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevarra were now planning to take away parents' authority over their own children. The parents would no longer have any say as to where or when their ...
