Picture, if you will, the following chaotic scene: I'm delighted to report that my kitchen appliances were delivered a few days ago. The refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and microwave all match. (What?) This is a first for me in my lifetime. And I'm very happy, but I'm still not quite sure how to act. However, I couldn't stall ...
Lifestyle
Posts about everything going on in my life. Enjoy!
Dear Desi… (A birthday love letter.)
A few years ago, thanks to the magic of the internets and because of a series of happy accidents, I got to meet one of my Cuban childhood crushes. In fact, you can read about My Adventures with Desi in the Blog Category that has his name, Desi Arnaz Jr. (I know I could change the category name to "My Adventures with Desi." I don't, ...
The Best of MBFCF in 2011
It's that time of year when I look back and see what has transpired in my life this past year. And it's moments like this when I realize how grateful I am that I started blogging. Here's a time capsule look back at 2011 - MBFCF style. I also did this for 2010 and 2009 and I'm so glad I did. It's quite a compilation of ...
Everything I wished for…
Happy New Year, everyone! I know some of you are wondering what happened with the Dark Christmas Tree. Here's the story: My son, Adam flew in from the Bay Area at the crack of dawn, landing at around 7:30 AM on Christmas eve. Lucy and Jonathan went to pick him up at the airport while Eric and I finished up the last minute touches around ...
12 Days of Cucufate
Every year at Christmastime, I make it a point to find a really fun live show to enjoy with my girls. It's one of our favorite traditions and it has become kind of a big thing. We start searching for shows and tickets early in the fall. And we fret and argue and try to choose a really fun show. This is what happened the year when Amy ...
Marta’s Christmas Gift Guide #2 – It’s all about the image
As long and as far back as I can remember, everyone in my family has had an old school "cafetera" sitting on the stove. There might have been a few years (waaay back in the day) where my parents used a sock-thingy to make Cuban coffee. But for the most part, the stovetop cafetera has always been the must-have Cuban coffee making ...
Giving Thanks. A lo Cubano.
Our Thanksgiving was a simple and lovely affair where everyone pitched it to bring food and drinks and desserts. There were only 28 of us for dinner and I wanted to keep everything simple, because as you know, my house is freakishly small. (As simple as is possible when those 28 people are Cubans.) So I pulled out my favorite Fiesta dishes ...
Teaching Generosity?
As you know if you've been reading this blog for a while, we have homeschooled our kids. I often say that one of the reasons we have chosen to homeschool is that we're not as concerned about their academics as we are concerned about their character. We have attempted to teach them kindness, thoughtfulness, hospitality, and generosity - ...
Operation Pedro Pan. It’s been 50 years and the pain is still present.
When I mention to someone that I've just met that I'm Cuban, the first thing they do is recall the only other Cuban person they've ever met. Then next thing that happens is that they ask me if I know them. Most of the time I don't, but being Cuban, we do manage to find connections in the oddest places. See this story. Just ...
Giving back to our Veterans – Cooking With the Troops
In July of this year, my family and I were privileged to take part in a wonderful event in San Antonio, Texas where we got to provide a great, big, home-cooked, Cuban feast to wounded veterans at the Warrior Family Support Center at Brooke Army Medical Center.When I share the story of how wonderful it was to be able to serve our ...
