Old Ladies in Hats and Royal Weddings

If I were to write about The Royal Wedding, I’m sure you’d be (rightly) thinking about the wedding that took place just yesterday, April 29, 2011 in England between Prince William and his lovely bride, Kate Middleton.

Back in the day.... July 29, 1981, the Royal Wedding was all about the young (19!) and beautiful Diana marrying Prince Charles.

Back then, I lived in a tiny apartment that was a block from the beach in San Clemente, California and it was July and everyone loved coming to the beach and so, The Royal Wedding (televised live starting at 2 am) became A Reason to Have a Slumber Party at Marta's.

My mom and sisters all came over and we opened up the hide-a-bed and unrolled sleeping bags and made copious amounts of food that included a homemade wedding cake to watch the festivities - “Wasn't her dress just amazing? Is it really only 5am?" *yawn*- from across The Pond in the middle of the night.

Wedding Malfunction 1981: Remember when the archbishop said, "Charles Philip Arthur George," and Diana flubbed the name, "Philip Charles Arthur George?"  No? Well, I do. That was the highlight of the ceremony. ;-)

Here's a commemorative box (do you know that I collect boxes?) from the Big Event that I got in London. There was obviously no online shopping in 1981:

*momentarily wonders what Commemorative 1981 Royal Wedding souvenir would fetch on ebay in 2011*
My mom was 67 then and Queen Elizabeth II was 55.

Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Wedding 1981:

I remember my mother proclaiming (in the authoritative manner that an older Cuban woman possesses):

“I look much better than she does. And I would definitely never wear that stupid blue hat.”

I don’t even have photos of our original Royal Slumber Party because well, we didn’t document everything. Photos still had to be developed and we just didn’t take as many. (I’m sad about this.)

Remember that this was 1981. The notion that every home would have multiple or portable (!) computers, cordless mobile phones with built-in camera and video recording capabilities would have seemed absurd to us.

The words internet, laptop, and Google didn’t even exist.

So, the idea that thirty years later, in 2011, there would be another Royal Wedding and that I’d be watching it with my 97 year old mother, and my teenage daughter, and that 85 year old Queen Elizabeth would still be reigning (and that I'd be writing about it for public consumption), well, the whole scenario seemed completely absurd.

And yet... there we were.

Wedding Malfunction 2011: Remember the moment when Wills is struggling to slide the ring onto Kate's finger? Of course you do. It was only yesterday. =D

So, I’m hanging with my mom, and she and Lucy and I are watching what we will now refer to as The New Royal Wedding, (Or La Boda Real on Univision - with commentary from Luza's favorite, El Gordo, of course. And no, we didn’t do the Royal Slumber Party this time - it’s been 30 years, people. We are all 30 years older, but that’s not important right now...) when suddenly she spots QE2 entering Westminster Abbey.

Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Wedding 2011:

My mom, Luza: "¿Quien es esa vieja en el sombreron?" Translation:“Who’s that old lady in the big hat?” (I have to interject here that my mom is 97 years old. I don’t want to have to point out the obvious, so I decide to just answer the question.)
Me: “The Queen. She’s 85.”
Luza: “I look much better than she does.....and I would definitely never wear that stupid yellow hat.”

For Japan with Love

 

I'm sitting at my breakfast table with Jonathan noisily slurping the last of his cereal and Lucy busily writing out notecards for a school assignment. My life is extraordinary in its ordinariness. (<--Is that a word?)

We're in California. Earthquakes happen here. We usually just "roll with them." And then there was Japan. We've all seen the breathtakingly sad are images from the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.

I picture families at breakfast tables much like our own getting on with their day when the tragedy struck.

And my heart breaks from the devastation and from the feeling of impotence.

What can I do?

We have so, so much.

So I am joining hundreds of other bloggers today in a day of silence, for Japan with love. (Technically, I should have posted this yesterday and been completely silent today, but I'm posting now since I just found out about it, and I'm Cuban. Silence is tough for us, but that's not important right now.)

Bloggers from Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours have organized to raise money for Japan. All donations will go towards emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies via Shelterbox.

From the Shelterbox donation page:

We've all seen the images and videos rolling in of the devastation from the Japan earthquake and tsunamis. While aftershocks and tsunami scares are still happening days later, the nation is in for a long long road of recovery. So far, the death toll is estimated to be 2,800. In just one town, 9,500 are missing. Not only do the survivors have to suffer the loss of loved ones, but as temperatures fall, electricity, water and food are now scarce to none. Many have tried to go back to their homes and to start picking up the pieces, only to find the tsunamis have plowed their homes down and there is literally nothing for them to come home to. Convenience stores have lines hours long and a limit of 10 items to each person. The second crisis has only begun and so many are left helpless.

We are not ones to sit and do nothing. While as much as we'd like to hop on a plane and fly there to help with the search and rescue, the immediate need for help for those in Japan is the dire need for shelter. This fundraising page is specifically geared to help with that. Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours have handpicked ShelterBox as the organization to donate to.

ShelterBox provide emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at the time when they need it the most. Each large green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items. A whole box costs $1,000 (US), so we're hoping to raise enough to send 5 boxes.

Please join us. We know it won't save the nation, but we strongly believe every little helps. Whatever you can contribute, we truly appreciate.

Here’s how you can help:

Donate by clicking on this link to For Japan with love or Shelterbox.

Share this on your own blog.

Go hug your family.

Sabor! Cuban Cookbook - A Hot Giveaway

My beautiful friend, Ana Quincoces, has authored an equally beautiful Cuban cookbook. (I say equally, only because the pages are filled with fabulous photos of both her and her food, and I can't think of which is more gorgeous, but that's not important right now.)

Just recently, Ana was voted Miami's Hottest Chef over on Eater Miami.

I know what you're thinking. And yes, she is even more lovely in person. She also happens to be an amazing woman and a good friend. So when this Hottest Chef contest began and Ana asked me, I was eager to help.

So I quickly jumped on Facebook and asked a thousand of my closest friends (=D) to please vote for her.

Ana easily won the competition in Miami and came in second in the Nationals. Felicidades, mi vida!

I'd like to think it was the "embullo" of all the voting MBFCF readers that secured her win. Either way, true to her word, she sent me some of her autographed cookbooks as a Thank You to give away here. I know! Generous, right?

Of course, for those of you that don't know, Our relationship goes back to the day she found My Big, Fat, Cuban Torrejas recipe and asked if she could include it in this very same cookbook. ("Claro que sí!")

Very cool, right?

For those of you who don't know torrejas, they are a Cuban version of stuffed French Toast. (I have a sudden craving for Guava and Creme Cheese....)

So, I have, not one, but two cookbooks to give away today. (Thanks, Ana!)

In order to enter the drawing for a chance to win this gorgeous Cuban cookbook, please leave a comment on this post answering the question below:

• If I was a chef, I would be famous for my _____________. (Fill in the blank.) Your answer can be a fantasy or an actuality, but please remember this is a family blog. 

Leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Thursday, March 3rd at 11:00 am Pacific Time.

Can you guess what my answer would be? =D

Also, if you're not already a fan of My Big, Fat, Cuban Family on Facebook, please click this link or the one up at the top right of this site and LIKE it. That way, you won't miss any of the relajo!

Focusing on the Important Stuff

I started this new year with great hopes just like everyone else. I don't usually make resolutions, but I do choose one word that I think helps me clarify my intentions for the year.

For this new year, I've chosen the word, FOCUS.

I can sometimes be Felony A.D.D.*    (*So easily distracted that it should be against the law. =D)

I'm working on documenting my word along with Ali Edwards and am taking her online class as I work out how this word will apply to my life this year.

Then, 2011 actually began....

And I have started out the year with some personal health challenges. (No, I'm not going to blog about this stuff. I don't particularly want to write about it and you don't want to read about it. Just trust me.)

So, I am forced to spend the next few weeks FOCUSING on my health which leaves me to blog sporadically, if at all....

Once I am able to FOCUS on my health and get myself back on track, I won't be as distracted and I will be able to FOCUS on blogging and telling my stories once again.

Thanks for understanding.

(If you don't already do this, you are welcome to subscribe to my RSS feed so that you can see when I post again, or you're welcome to peruse my extensive archives and amuse yourself until I'm feeling better.)

I've got lots of great plans and things I am looking forward to sharing, so, please don't go away.....I'll be right back. ;-)

W. Unplugged.

My husband, Eric and I had the wonderful opportunity to see and hear George W. Bush at the Saddleback Civil Forum last night. (We regularly attend Saddleback Church, but that's not important right now.)

He was there, by his own admission, to "shamelessly peddle my book," Decision Points.

What was wonderful about the entire evening was that the format was very casual and Pastor Rick asked him some personal questions about what it takes to be a successful leader. He came off as smart, articulate and passionate. Words that are not often used to describe George W. Bush.

He was completely comfortable in his own skin and it showed. He spoke of his father's unconditional love for him and about his personal faith in God and how those things definitely affected his decision making during those 8 years of crisis and wartime when he was in the White House. He spoke candidly about how his alcohol abuse was destroying his life. He referred to himself as a sinner saved by grace. I loved that.

The evening was tarnished by a few Code Pinko types who attempted to disrupt the atmosphere by shouting at him from the audience. W deadpanned to the crowd about how these people needed to get a sense of humor. The shouting was drowned out by thunderous cheers and the disruptive attendees were quickly escorted out of the building.

There was lots of joking and fist-bumping between Pastor Rick and W. And there was lots of sustained applause and a couple of standing ovations. Say what you will about him, but there's no denying the man is a true patriot.

I loved his self-deprecating wit and that he began the evening by joking about people's reaction to the book, saying it has been "a slight shock.… A lot of people didn't think I could read, much less write."

He spoke of his wonderful parents. Of the uncertainty of leading this nation in grief after 9/11. Leading being the operative word.

My first takeaway, was that here was a man who was a True Leader. I didn't always agree with his decisions, but I never doubted his Character. He just wanted to do the right thing and made those tough decisions humbly and fearlessly.

My second takeaway, was an autographed copy of his book. ;-)

I'm not a professional journalist and this post is not about politics. It's about how I was personally impressed by a decent man doing his best to trust God and effectively do the most difficult job on the planet.

(cross-posted on Babalú Blog.)

So Help Me, God.

I've spent the last week serving on a jury for a criminal trial at the County Courthouse in Santa Ana, here in California. (If I tell you any more, I'd have to kill you, but that's not important right now.)

I'll be honest with you: I'm not enjoying it.

I have been sitting through hours of testimony and evidence and exhibits one through twelve. But I'm not happy about it.

I may not discuss the details of the trial with anyone. Which makes me feel a little crazed.

I have to sit completely still. And be quiet. And listen attentively. For hours.

For a chatty and friendly and active Cuban woman such as myself, all of this adds up to cruel and unusual punishment.

But I remember this....

It was in this very courthouse that I was sworn in as an American citizen in 1974. I was 19 years old and very proud and sober and serious about the oath I was taking in this same courthouse:

"I hereby declare, on oath,

that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;

that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;

so help me God."

That's right. I took An Oath. And I said, "So help me God." And I meant it.

So, while I'm not happy to be serving on a jury because of my own selfish, personal discomfort, I feel extremely proud and privileged to do so.

In Cuba, as in many other socialist nations, there is no such thing as "being innocent until proven guilty."

There is no such thing as a "jury of your peers."

Simply stated, there is no such thing as freedom.

I voted today. In free elections. Because I live in a Representative Republic and I have a voice.

I know that I happen to be using that voice to complain (loudly!) about having to do my civic duty. And that's part of the beauty of this: it's my right to complain if I want to.

But ultimately, it's my joy to serve, because I remember that it's not that I have to serve in the judicial process....it's that I get to.

Go Vote. It's your privilege as an American citizen. In other words, you get to.

(cross-posted at Babalú blog)

I Parranda and I Do Laundry - Multi-tasking the Cuban Way

I'm still recovering from my The Traumatic Thwarting of My Trip Home by the POTUS.

Thank you all for your concern. I'm definitely home now and back to my real life which includes laundry and laundry and more laundry and I have some videos I have to edit - in between loads of laundry.

I'll tell you all about Blogalicious Weekend and what I did and the cool places I got to stay in and my visit to the Palacio de Los Jugos....next week.

Remember my ¡Parranda! shoes? I totally got to wear them at the Que Rica Vida sponsored ¡Parranda! Party and I wrote all about that over at the Tiki Tiki today. Click here to read that story and watch the video.

Carrie & Me at the !Parranda! Party

In my mind I am still in Parranda mode, so while I'll be doing my best to scale Mt. Washmore* I'll definitely be moving my Cuban butt self to the delicious sounds of Celia Cruz.

You can take the Cuban girl out of Miami.... ;-)

(*H/T Flylady)

The POTUS and the Frita - or Why It Took Me 18 Hours to Get Home

As I type this, I'm flying at 38,000 feet.

I should technically be waking up in my own bed right now (sleeping-in would be more accurate, but that's not important right now). Instead I am groggy from a difficult night and anxious for the next 2 hours to fly by. (No pun intended.)

Yesterday I woke up in my penthouse room at the Ritz-Carlton with a panoramic view of Miami Beach.

After a quick, but extremely satisfying breakfast of pastelito and a cafecito,

I headed out to the beach, to a waiting chaise, where I was able to stretch out and soak in the sun. Of course, I went in the water and just floated and pondered how lovely and charmed my life was.

My blog-partner and friend, Carrie brought me lunch, we had a fabulous brainstorming session and then she graciously agreed to give me a ride to the airport.

Remember that I had been in a conference for the entire weekend. I had no idea what was happening out in the real world, let alone in Miami.  (No, I don't think the world revolves around me, I was just busy with conference stuff. Don't judge me.)

So I arrived a little early at MIA (that's Miami International Airport for those of you who are not wannabe-jet-setters like me), I managed to get through security with relative ease, and I stocked up on provisions for my flight. ;-)

I was completely content with my iPad and internet access and I was happy to be alone and soaking up the airport ambiance. (I'm convinced that MIA is the best airport for people watching.)

That's when the craziness began.

Announcement after announcement of delayed flights and changed gates. I started wondering who was in charge. "Que desorganizados!" How could you run an airport like this? More announcements. More gate changes. More delays.

Then came the most dreaded announcement. My flight was going to be delayed. Not only that, but it looked like because of this, I was going to miss my connecting flight in Dallas, which meant that I was going to miss my flight home!

Nooooo!

Deep breaths. The situation was out of my control. Best to relax and not stress about it. No need to create more drama. It was best to just Embrace the Pain. (<--okay, so maybe I got a little dramatic.)

Even after we boarded our already delayed flight, with the assurance that "You might make your connections," we were still on the tarmac two hours later. *sigh*

They started the movie before we even took off. And while it was entertaining and I was grateful, it was not a good sign.

So finally we flew. And we arrived in Dallas late. And there was a guy waiting to give the 83 of us who had missed our connections, vouchers for the flights we missed and the promise of a shuttle bus to take us to a hotel for the night. Embrace the pain.

And so it was that when I thought I would be just getting home to my own comfortable bed and my own sweet family (that I was missing terribly) I was checking into my room at The Psycho Motel in Dallas. (No, not the real name of the place, of course. Just my vivid and exhausted imagination making an Alfred Hitchcock reference, but that's not important right now.)

It was really more of a lair than a room. 

And I began to wonder (not for the last time): what had happened to my idyllic semi-vacation?

This is the view from my Psycho Room:

Seriously, what happened?

Well, the POTUS was in Miami. And he stopped at El Mago de las Fritas to indulge in some Cuban food. (Here's the article.)

Photo credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

This decision to stop for a frita by the POTUS began the chain of events that led to flight cancellations, gate changes and numerous passenger delays and had a very specific and personal impact on me and my life.

And while I have to commend him for his good taste - a genuine Cuban frita is to die for - I could not excuse the fact that his personal "antojo" (translation: "craving") so adversely impacted so many people.

The Frita Stop has now become a metaphor for a bigger problem. It's a good thing he didn't taste my fritas (My Cuban Frita Recipe can be found here).

Because then, the country might be in all kinds of chaos. Oh wait....  ;-)

"With great power comes great responsibility." ~Spiderman

Abre que voy!

I'm having one of those accidentally cool things happening that happens to me occasionally because I live in a fun bloggy world.

I am traveling to Miami for Blogalicious Weekend 2010. Celebrating Diversity in Social Media. (The words celebrating and social seem like they describe me perfectly. Am I right?)

My trip is being sponsored in full by the lovely folks at General Mills and Que Rica Vida. (This is the 2nd time they send me to Miami and I'm really loving them for it.Thanks GM & QRV!)

I have some fun stuff that I get to do and there will be conferency things and events and dinners and even a parranda. (<--Puerto Rican speak for party!)

But for now, just know that I'll be spending the weekend hanging with some of my favorite blog friends and hopefully making some new connections. And of course, there will be the mandatory pilgrimage with my Cuban peeps to The Palacio de Los Jugos in Little Havana.

I'm looking forward to the Parranda Party (also sponsored by Que Rica Vida <-- Do you see why I love these people?).

I get to wear my new parranda shoes (with a comfort sole in preparation for dancing all night).

I have great intentions of blogging from Miami. (I know about the road to hell being paved with those, but that's not important right now.)

Here's the recap of why I'm feeling sooo accidentally cool:

• I get to go to one of my favorite cities.
• I get to hang with some of my favorite people.
• I get to eat Cuban food.
• I get to wear my new parranda shoes. (<--I think everyone should start calling their party shoes parranda shoes from now on.)
• I get to share it with you via my new iPad. (I know Shut up.)

Now, if I God would just answer my prayer and I could run into Andy Garcia somewhere on Calle Ocho, my life would be complete. *sigh*

(A big thank you to General Mills & Que Rica Vida for making me feel sooo accidentally cool.) =D

"Abre que voy. Cuida'o con los cayos!"