Hello, my name is Amy . . .

HI AMY.

Here's when I knew I'd hit rock bottom . . . It was early morning.  That afternoon was when I would be going to mom's house to begin my house-sitting job.

This is what I woke up to:

AY CARAMBA!! 

QUE HORROR!!

SADNESS!!

After about an hour . . . the craving sets in . . . the shaking . . . I haven't had my morning fix.

I suck it up and tell myself, "Mom's house will definitely have some"  and that helps me survive until I arrive.

GREAT GLORY AND SPLENDOR!!  GRACIAS A DIOS!!

In the door of the fridge was gold . . . 

But upon closer inspection . . .

TALK ABOUT DEPRESSO!!

So I did what any self-respecting Cubana would do, I went to the store and got what I had been craving.

When I first cracked it open . . . and the smell came wafting up to meet me . . . HEAVEN.

AAAAHHHHHH.  HAPPY . . . until tomorrow that is . . . :-)

Como Mi Mama

My whole family is on vacation so I'm staying at Mom's house to take care of the cats.

That means the cook is not in and I can't afford to eat out every night . . .

So what did I do?

I found one of my favorite recipes here.

And I made it.  IT.  WAS.  PERFECT.

See?

And now I can eat for the rest of the week. :-)

I'm sure they are having a great time on vacation . . . but I'm having a great time cocinando como mi mama.

We ordered pizza . . .

Don't tell Mom but . . .

Peppino's cooked dinner tonight.

The cook is in Utah.

Here's why.

An MTV Generation

There is no way I can possibly come close to describing our trip to New York in September of 2001 with the same eloquence that Mom did, so I won't even try.

What I can tell you is how it affected me.

Being in New York at that time and then transitioning back to reality was a moment in my life when I felt genuine purpose.  I knew that God had made me to be right there, right then.

I was in my first semester of college, and I knew I had a gift, but I had no idea what to do with it.  At that moment, on that trip, I knew how to use my gift.

At the same time as the politics of a terrorist attack on U.S soil were raging, there was a new band making it big, and they had a new hit single.  I knew I loved them because they were Christians making it in the secular realm.  The band was Lifehouse, and I was drawn to them because they didn't compromise who they were simply to get air time on MTV.

Our pastor was doing a conference called The Father Loves You.  And we went to NYC as part of the ministry team.  But it was my first time there, so we had to do touristy things too.  We walked through Times Square, right past the TRL studio.  There were American flags EVERYWHERE.

It was like the only thing that really mattered was that we were all Americans, and we were all in this together.

So I did the only thing I knew to do.  I prayed, and I filmed.  I shot everything I could.  I even got a couple shots of the wreckage that was the Twin Towers . . . then the marines threatened to confiscate my camera, so I put it away.

When I got home, I had to find a way to put it all together.  To capture the essence of the trip and the spirit that I'd felt while there.

Yes, it was a trip with a Christian emphasis, but it was also an American moment.

So I made a music video, because I was raised on MTV.  I'm part of the MTV generation.

But it was that moment when I was able to combine all parts of myself to create this one thing.

This video is very close to my heart for all those reasons, I hope you enjoy it.

The Tails That Bring Us Together

Amy here.  Mom cooked a gourmet dinner for Dad last night and is also making Fricasé de Pollo over at Babalú today so I figured I could take over the blog for a day.

But what to write about?

My Mom's (& Dad's) Anniversary yesterday?  My sister's birthday party tomorrow?  Man, what were my parents thinking having my sister just a couple days after their anniversary??  Who knows . . . but I digress.

When Mom first got married, it was a big change because up until then (with the exception of the first couple years of my life) it was just her, Adam, and me.  Then we added someone (and I adore him), but she and I still had that same special “just girls” relationship. 

And just as we were getting used to saying “the four of us,” the “replacement” daughter comes along.

Oh yes, the replacement daughter . . . Lucy.

Beautiful.

Talented.

Funny.

Shoot, I'm just a rough draft compared to that gorgeous final copy.  I will freely admit that I compared myself to Lucy (even though she is 10 years younger than me) and found myself lacking in every department.

I became gripped by the (ridiculous) fear that Mom would love this little pink baby more than she loved me and we would lose our “exclusive” status.

The problem is, Lucy is too lovable to really be worthy of sibling rivalry or any other type of jealousy.  She is just amazing and a gift from God. 

Can you guess what happened?

For a time, Lucy and I were the ones with “exclusive” status.  Suddenly, I had a SISTER.  It was foreign to me, since all I ever had was Adam . . . who is cute in his own way, but he's no sister (thank God!)

It gets better.

Now this “Exclusive Girl Circle” includes the three of us.  Meaning, I decided to let Lucy into mom's and my secret club.  We have finally found that balance where the three of us can go and be together and enjoy ourselves.  Now when people say “those girls” they are usually referring to the three of us.

Within this “Circle of Three,” we also do things by twos. Mom and I went to Miami together.  Mom and Lucy go get pedicures together.  Lucy and I went to the Angel game together.

But we all share a love for music and the theater.  And one night, we were having a grand old time singing a song from “Hairspray.” (the only reason I know it's from the "old school" Hairspray is because that is what my mom told me - and you get extra points if you can get to Kevin Bacon from there!!) 

We were laughing so hard we were crying.  And now, every time someone starts that song, we all line up and dance and sing the chorus.  We really are a sight to see.

The minute we heard "Hairspray" was coming to theaters, we made a pact to go together.  What an awesome movie!  How much fun did we have!!  How sad that our song wasn't there . . . SOOOOO SAD!!

But, we went through it together.  And if you ask me who my favorite people to spend time with are, I would have to say, "Bob & Juicy." 

(I had a horrible head cold and was incapable of saying "Mom" without it sounding like "Bob" so I eventually gave in and the name stuck.  As far as calling Lucy "Juicy" is concerned, it rhymes and now there is a cool song about it.)

Wait!!

Amy!!

Stop!!

WHAT WAS THE SONG!?!?!

I thought you'd never ask . . .