I'm sure there are lots of obedient people who, when the photographer says, “say cheese!” do so without any problems. My big, fat, Cuban family? Not so much. Please enjoy. My son, Adam and his fiancee, Stephanie. My son, Adam. My daughter, Amy Kikita. My niece, Katie. My sister, Helen and her two grandchildren, Daisy and Ben. My sister, ...
Archives for December 2012
This guy.
I measure the passing of time and events by the ages of my kids. Maybe most mothers do that. I remember where I was and what year it was because what I remember is that "Amy was still in high school." Or "Adam had already moved away." Sometimes it's "that's when Lucy cut her hair short." The end of the year ...
Nochebuena in the O.C. (¡Oh, Sí!)
I'm just now recovering from the Food Coma that has ensued since our fabulous Nochebuena celebration. Once again it fell to me to host My Big, Fat, Cuban Family for our big Cuban feast on December the 24th. Cubans celebrate Christmas Eve more so than Christmas Day. It's a fall-back, I think, to the days when we actually celebrated the 12 ...
Turron? Or not Turron? THAT is the question.
Sometimes when I'm describing to friends or acquaintances how my big, fat Cuban family celebrates Christmas, I feel a little odd. You know we Cubans just do our Nochebuena thing without giving it much thought. But to someone who is not versed in our "Cubanisms" (<-- is that a word?), all this pig-eating and rum-in-the-eggnog-drinking may come ...
Starting our Nochebuena right – Thank you, Avocados from Mexico.
Nochebuena preparations are in full swing around here. The pig is happily marinating in the Mojo Criollo I told you about a few days ago. The Matervas are chilling in the fridge. Lucy is out in the world on a hunt for Turrones. Every time the phone rings or there is a text, it is Christmas related. My sister, Helen, calls: "We need an ...
El Wiwichu
There's so much that I love about the holidays. My earliest Christmas memories are all filled with abundance and magic. I think one of my favorites happened as we were learning the language and the customs of our new adopted country. Our default greeting was always "Feliz Navidad." But here in the U.S. things were a little ...
It’s beginning to look a lot like…
I often say that the best part of Christmas for me is being Cuban. Our traditional Nochebuena celebration begins with the fabulousness that is Lechón Asado. A roasted pig. Or, if you don't have 50 of your closest relatives coming for dinner on Christmas Eve, then a 20 lb. pork shoulder will do. If you're a cheater, like me, you can also ...
My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Cubiche Christmas Gift Guide
Christmas shopping. I am so not the get-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn-to-snap-up-deals-on-Black-Friday type of person. I am much more the online-shopper-in-my-pjs type. (However, if you tell anyone about the PJ thing, I'll most certainly deny it, but that's not important right now.) It's just a matter of covering more territory while ...
Bodies and Shadows – Getting to know Caravaggio at LACMA
I am often invited to see and experience so many interesting and fun exhibits and shows that are specific to my general geographic location. For those of you who are geographically challenged by Southern California (no judgement, since you don't really know our state), we live in Orange County (The O.C.) about an hour south of Los Angeles and ...
Nochebuena is coming and everyone’s invited!
We Cubans celebrate December the 24th. It's our BIG Christmas celebration with the extended family. And when I say celebrate, I mean we pull out all the stops. It's a PARTY. The meal is usually roast pork (lechón asado), white rice, black beans, plantains, yuca con mojo. And a great big flan (and assorted sweets) for dessert. It's ...
“The Hobbit Book” Family Giveaway – A Winner
Thanks to all of you who entered The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Giveaway over the weekend. The correct answer to the "How many dwarves?" question is "13." They are: Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Thorin Oakenshield. The two youngest are Fili and Kili. Thorin Oakenshield is ...
“The Hobbit Book” Family Giveaway
It's no secret that we are über-nerds here at my house. Serious über-nerds. When the kids were all little, I used to love to read aloud to them. They always preferred for me to read to them because "Mom does the voices." (But that's not important right now.) And because we have homeschooled for years, we all spent a lot of time ...
