It's not that we didn't know it was coming. I'm talking about my mom, Luza. She was, after all, 102 years old - going on 103, mind you. My sisters and I had often discussed things like, "this might be her last - *Birthday, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas." *(__________) fill in the blank* We started throwing her birthday parties when ...
My Big, Fat, Cuban Family
Family is everything to me. I love them more than words can describe.
19 Stories I’m Excited to Tell
As I dip my toe back into the world of OverSharing, I have some Really Big Thoughts, but that’s not important right now. It all began the other day when I was talking to Lucy and she began filming my frustration without my knowledge. She basically inspired me to go ahead and fearlessly write about my own extraordinarily ordinary life. Don't ...
I’m Loving It
As you probably know by now, my son Jonathan is an actor. He also works for Eric (day job), but he's been slowly and steadily building up his IMDb resume, and we're quite proud of what a hard worker he is. He gets auditions all the time. Gratefully, they're self-tapes, which means he is able to just send them in to casting when they ask. He's ...
The Desires of My Heart – A Birthday Story
There’s a little park we go to often on weekends. 🪴 It’s hidden in a residential neighborhood in Laguna Beach and overlooks one of our favorite beaches, Crescent Bay. ⛱We’ve been going to Crescent Bay for years. In fact, when I was homeschooling Lucy & Jon, we were there at least once a week. It was always so great. 😊 If the waves were ...
The Lily – A Luza Story
The Lily: A Luza Story Years ago when my mom, Luza was still with us, she gifted me a beautiful lily. The same type that she carried in her wedding bouquet. ❤️💕❤️The lily faithfully grows every year and blooms on her birthday at the end of February. That’s just like her to give me a beautiful way to remember her. We put bricks down in this ...
Hogwarts Halloween
I always say that "Halloween is the friendliest holiday." (You may quote me.) It's the one time of the year when everyone opens their doors and greets their neighbors. I think it's a beautiful thing to see the parade of tiny princesses and superheroes coming up the sidewalk. Makes me totally happy. Since we became grandparents, and the boys have ...
Thirteen
It just so happens that this day, October 1st, 2019 marks the 13th year that I've called myself a Blogger and have inhabited this space on the internet. I think this makes me The Oldest Living Blogger, but that's not important right now. Thirteen years! That's like a cute, but smart-mouthed teenager! Or perhaps, out here in the Blogosphere ...
Saying Yes To the Dress
When my husband, Eric proposed to me back in 1992, the first thing I did was go out and buy a couple of those big, fat bridal magazines. I pored over the perfection of the gowns that promised to fulfill every blushing bride's dream. *sigh* The styles back then were both the poufy ballgown type and the closer fitting "mermaid" look. Fitted through ...
Born to Be Wild
{This post is a review of the superMOPI Toddler Motorbike (there's no motor). I was not compensated in any way for writing this. I received a toddler size superMOPI for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.} My grandson, Sebastian - you may call him Bash - is a super-active, high energy kid. He's been walking since before his 8th ...
Mami Always Knows
For years - many more years than I'd care to admit to - I would call my mom with cooking questions. I remember my first attempt at Arroz con Pollo. "Do I have to use the pressure cooker?" (I got over my fear of pressure cooking pretty quickly, but that's not important right now.) "Canned asparagus. Really?" and "Is the beer at the end really ...
Celebrating a Life
I realize I've spent a bit of time now writing about how losing my mom, Luza has affected me. I'm not saying that apologetically. She was a tremendous part of my life and for so many years. And I have a lot to say on this particular subject, but today I want to share how we went about organizing a Celebration of Life.How do you go about ...
