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Good Food, Good Family & Good Health & a Giveaway
As the year comes to an end this week, I’ve been taking stock of what my life has been up to this point and planning forward to where I want my life to go. I find myself thinking about where I come from and what that all means to me.
Being Latina is about more than the color of your skin or your surname. It’s about the rich culture, the music, the food and the people. It’s a pride that you feel in your heart. It’s not one thing at all; it’s everything.
When I think back to being a child, my mind instantly goes to the smells, flavors and sounds of my parents’ house; the place I grew up. I am grounded in my beginnings because they built the foundation of who I am today.
One thing that instantly transports me to my childhood and is at the core of who I am is food. For better or worse, food has always been a big part of life in our family. Celebrations, milestones and even moments of challenge are always met with the comfort of humble foods that burst with flavors and vibrant colors. Foods that warm your heart, fill your belly and nourish your soul. That is what Mexican food has always been to me.
Taco Bell was something I never even tasted until I was in college and for the record, in Mexico, I never, ever saw a “Mexican pizza” and certainly never ate a hard shelled taco. Well, maybe I did but it was flat and we called it a tostada. There is pride in the way we make our food and there is love in the entire process, that’s why food is such a big part of the Latino culture.
Recently, I was provided Margarita Carrillo Arronte’s new cookbook, Mexico the Cookbook to review. This book is the first truly comprehensive bible of authentic Mexican home cooking. There are over 700 authentic recipes that you can create at home. It will take you on a journey of discovery through the country’s culinary history, ingredients and flavors that have shaped traditional Mexican cuisine.
There are several recipes for enchiladas, one of my favorite Mexican dishes. So many great recipes inspired me to share my own recipe for Chicken enchiladas.
Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. shredded chicken breast ( boil chicken breasts for 45 minutes- 1 hour. Let cool slightly, shred)
- Olive oil, enough to liberally coat a skillet
- 12 flour tortillas
- 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
- Minced onion
- 2 lemons
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 small cans of enchilada sauce
- Sour cream or crème fraîche (optional)
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a skillet, heat olive oil. Once oil is hot, carefully place diced onion in skillet. Sauté the onions until they become soft.
3. Add chicken in skillet, salt and pepper to taste. Add the juice of 2 fresh lemons and 1 tablespoon of garlic powder to the skillet. Sauté until chicken is warm to the touch.
4. Remove skillet from the heat. Place chicken in a bowl; toss chicken with 1-½ cups of cheese.
5. Empty 1 can of enchilada sauce into a shallow bowl.
6. Dip a tortilla in enchilada sauce. Coat both sides. Spoon fill tortilla with chicken and cheese mixture. Roll tortilla closed. Arrange enchiladas in coated casserole dish. Repeat 11 more times.
7. Gently pour remaining can of enchilada sauce over enchiladas, top with remaining cheese evenly and bake until cheese has melted (about 10-15 minutes).
8. Garnish with sour cream, jalapeño slices and guacamole if desired.
Can easily be made into a meal by pairing with black beans, Mexican rice and elote corn casserole ( recipe coming soon).
If you are over 21, I found pairing my enchiladas with a Casa Noble Tequila Cocktail like the Noble Smash can take dinner to the next level. It’s simple to make:
2 oz. Casa Noble Reposado Tequila
2 oz. Fresh Pineapple juice
2 oz. Cranberry Juice
Serve on the rocks with a lemon twist garnish.
This dish is rich and bursting with flavor. It’s more than just a main course; it is a layering of flavors that feels like a hug from your mama. There is comfort in good food eaten and enjoyed with those you love. Here’s to good food, family togetherness, deep love and abounding success in 2015 and for the rest of your life.
I will be giving away one copy of Mexico the Cookbook to one lucky reader. If you live in the United States and would love access to over 700 recipes for authentic Mexican cuisine, enter below. Giveaway ends 1/08/15!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I was provided compensation/ product for this post but all opinions and thoughts are my own.
2014/12/29
Xbox Kinect Fun for the entire family
Xbox Kinect~ Hands Free Fun
What is it? Kinect for Xbox 360. You are the controller. No gadgets. No gizmos, Just you!
Kinect brings games and entertainment to life in extraordinary new ways without using a controller. You can control movies and music with the wave of your hand or the sound of your voice. The new cutting edge gaming technology allows players to be free of cumbersome remotes. With Kinect, technology evaporates, letting the natural magic in all of us shine.
If you don’t have the budget for such gadgets yet, you can still have lots of fun with your smartphone by playing games on sites like 카지노 사이트.
What does it say it will do?
Features of the xbox kinect

Full Body Gaming:
Controller-free gaming means full body play. Kinect responds to how you move. So if you have to kick, then kick. If you have to jump, then jump. You already know how to play. All you have to do now is to get off the couch.
It’s All About You:
Once you wave your hand to activate the sensor, your Kinect will be able to recognize you and access your Avatar. Then you’ll be able to jump in and out of different games, and show off and share your moves.
Use Your Voice:
Kinect uses advanced entertainment technology to respond to the sound of your voice. Just say “Xbox” to reveal a series of voice commands. So you’ll be able to control HD movies with the sound of your voice—no remote required.
Endless Entertainment:
Enjoy HD movies, music and sports through Xbox LIVE without any extra accessories. Just use a wave of your hand or the sound of your voice to enjoy 3,500 games on ESPN, HD movies through Zune, streaming music from Last.fm.
Something for the Entire Family:
Whether you’re a gamer or not, anyone can play and have a blast. And with advanced parental controls and movies for the family, Kinect promises a gaming experience that’s safe, secure and fun for everyone.
Does it do what it says it will do? Yes, the Kinect for the Xbox does exactly what it says. The xbox kinect truly does release the player from the cumbersome use of a controller, allowing the player to spent he time enjoying the game rather than having to worry about working or figuring out how to use a controller. The only issue I had with it was if you were not at the right distance from the console or if there were too many people in it’s line of sight sometimes it would have a hard time recognizing the player. I love to play LoL. When you are buying League of Legends Smurf account from unrankedsmurfs.com then, you can open new challenges.

Do you need to consult a manual or is it “User Friendly”? The Xbox 360 Kinect console was extremely easy to use. All I needed to do was plug it in, connect a couple cords and push the power on button. In a matter of seconds, we were playing World of Warcraft and we also bought wow classic gold at gold 4 vanilla on our Xbox Kinect~hands free.
Xbox Kinect~ Hands Free Fun
2011/06/20
Unemployment and the Family~ How to Survive it
Unemployment makes Beggars of Proud Men
Unemployment is usurper of life. This morning, I woke up feeling a little nauseous in my stomach. Morning sickness, no not likely. It was that nervous feeling you get right before impending doom. As some of you are aware, it has been a hectic year or so for the Truthful Mommy clan. I was counting on a much smoother 2010, but apparently that’s not very likely.
You see in the August of 2008, the Big Guy lost his job. It was absolutely awful and our life was shattered. Within 2 weeks, the very same company who let him go brought him back…reviving our shocked and on life support livelihoods. All was good in the world or so we thought. Poor little unsuspecting, gullible us.
After a miserable autumn of playing financial catch up after the havoc those 2 weeks created, spring arrived. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, friend’s babies were being born and we had a pretty wonderful spring until sometime around mid May. I can’t recollect the exact date because to be honest I sorta blacked out from the shock. Once again, the the Big Guy came home in the middle of the day and gave me the news that he no longer was employed. The company that had done this to us last August was now being sold to a competitor and they were closing the facility. That was that. No job…no warning, no problem. I mean come on, we were somewhat of semi professionals at this by now. We knew the routine..call the credit card companies, cut back the cable and phone bills, tighten the belts, blah, blah, blah, blah, BLAH!!!
So, fool me once shame on me…fool me twice…. We lived life those days in a haze, a fog of uncertainty, not unlike that of lots of people these days. I was angry, he was angry. I cried, he drank. The kids knew something was wrong but weren’t quite sure what. It was awful..absolutely horrible. What were we going to do about our mortgage? Our health insurance? Car payments? Ballet?Preschool?Food? Oh my, it was totally overwhelming.
After a couple weeks of unemployment, a lot of restless nights, quite a bit of getting on one an others nerves, and a big hole in our savings later, the company who bought my husbands company, like a shining knight, came to our rescue. They wanted to interview him, obviously, he accepted. Then, hallelujah, like a miracle he was employed again. It was a great thing indeed but it was not without costs.
In order to accept this position, we had to leave our friends and family behind and relocate ,literally, half way across the country away from all that we knew. But you know, the Big Guy and I are firm believers that as long as we all have our health, are together and love each other..everything else will work itself out. We will be fine. God will provide and put us just where we need to be. With an open mind and a willing heart, we did it. We packed the girls up and moved to Virginia.
It was completely different than anything we knew and we embraced it all. I threw myself into making friends and making things as normal for my girls as it could be. I made wonderful new friends, joined groups, made play dates, found a ballet school, a wonderful preschool, and even became an active room Mother. I was absolutely loving Virginia. For the first time in a long time, things were feeling normal. I was feeling normal and like I belonged, aside from the fact that our house back home hadn’t sold yet and we were paying two mortgages, essentially, all was well.
Unemployment is a sneaky bitch
After the most amazingly beautiful autumn in Richmond, and a lovely pre-holiday season, we headed home to the Midwest for the holidays. WE were greeted by lots of love and warm wishes but blistering cold and lots of snow. By the time we left, after loading a 16 foot u haul in freezing cold blizzard conditions, driving 14 hours with 2 toddlers have simultaneous meltdowns and car sickness in more blizzard conditions, imagine my happiness to be back to Virginia where it was actually above the single digits.
I had come to accept that though I missed family and friends terribly, this was my new life and it was pretty sweet. I was looking forward to my new life in Virginia and a new home, etc. Then 8 days passed and the Big Guy was told he needed to make a appointment with the HR lady. Are you frigging kidding me!! Talk about blindsided. WTF was this nonsense? Were they giving him a special “you are so awesome award’? Because, in my mind, that better had be the only effing reason they would have the audacity to call my husband into the HR. Have I mentioned this was the third time in a little over a year this had happened..essentially at the same company!! My mind was thoroughly blown! So, he scheduled a meeting. The HR lady ran late. He waited an hour and a half, not to mention that he was about to vomit no less,and she never showed..running late. You know busy firing and laying off poor unsuspecting, thinking their lives were great, sons of a bitches:(
Finally this morning, he got his meeting. Guess what? My dear husband has been laid off…again! Seriously, WTF!!!!! I know this economy is hard, for everybody, but seriously does life just want to see how far it can push us until we break? My sanity may truly be in question. Who does this? To be fair, the company is very remorseful but hard facts are that they have too many employees and need to cut heads..its that time of the year.They are putting together a severance, reimbursing us for the Uhaul, paying to break the lease, paying to send us back home with our tails between our legs but what I want to know is who the hell is going to give me back the last 6 months of my life?
Honestly, I kept saying I felt like I was on some bizarro extended vacation..I chalked it up to living in corporate housing and living a pseudo existence but now I think I knew, in my heart, all along that this wasn’t going to last. To recap, I have cut ties with those at home because I had moved, now the friends I made here will slowly distance themselves from me( it is the nature of the beast..nobody likes to be too vested in someone leaving..its hard, I understand..I’ve been here before and once again I am left to pick up the pieces and rebuild my life. It just happens to be that I am rebuilding in a pile of rubble that I am familiar with.Fantastic!
The icing on the cake, this all happens on shark week of the month that you could imagine!Wow! Life is sweet! Thanks life for metaphorically kicking the crap outta me, yet, once again!Life, I don’t know what exactly it was I did to piss you off but I think we’ve been punished enough for awhile. Can you please lay off a bit? My backside is sore from the unemployment induced, stress ass kicking that you’ve been giving me over the past few months. Sincerely, Debi
Unemployment Sucks Balls, Big Sweaty ones
2010/01/12
Why You Should Watch the Haunting of Hill House
I see dead people everywhere. Did you see all the hidden dead people in The Haunting of Hill House? I’m not just talking about the obvious 3 or 4 that everyone saw. If you’re looking for a great horror series to binge watch this Halloween season, Netflix has got you covered with Mike Flanagan’s contemporary horror masterpiece.
Darkness. Dysfunction. Grief and so many ghosts. Some houses aren’t meant to be lived in. With an intro like that, how could I not watch The Haunting of Hill House? I binge watched The Haunting of Hill House in a weekend because one episode in and I was addicted. More than addicted, I was engrossed. It is horror for smart people.
The Haunting of Hill House is a well-written haunting. Flashing back and forth between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it in the middle of the night. It is layered and nuanced so completely that it feels almost familiar to you and in a sense that makes it even creepier. It’s relatable. Not because most of us grew up in a haunted mansion, filled with supernatural ghosts lurking in every corner but most of us grew up in a family. Mine, big and connected in all of its dysfunctional glory.
READ ALSO: How to have the Creepiest House on the Block
The relationship dynamic between the Crain family gives a depth and meaning to the story that leaves you invested in a way that most horror stories do not. The flashbacks between the present-day dysfunctional adulthood of the Crain siblings and the memories of an innocent childhood when their parents moved them into a fixer-up mansion for the summer. The fixer-upper that was supposed to be the way to build their dream home turned out to be full of more ghosts than anyone could have dreamed and altered their family irreparably.
I think most of us can see a bit of ourselves in the Crain family scenario. No one grows up and stays the same. I have 6 brothers and sisters and our dysfunctional childhood, though it bonded us like members of the same platoon in war, is also what made us the adults we are today. As we grew up and tried to outrun our own demons, the distance between us grew and while we share a past, our paths have diverged. That’s life.
The Haunting of Hill House uses genuinely disturbing imagery to set the tone. There is something about wide-eyed, innocent children being terrorized by things that appear and disappear and go bump in the night that is unnerving. I got goosebumps several times watching the series. Upon watching it a second time, it got scarier because I saw more lurking malevolent spirits.
To see Crain siblings grow into damaged adults as a result of the things seen and unseen that happened to them in Hill House left me feeling truly sad for the loss and fracture they had suffered. It was as if they all tried to avoid one another to avoid having to remember that horrible thing that happened to them as children.
READ ALSO: Best Horror Movies to Watch with Your Teens
The show is filled with terrifying sights and sounds – a dead mom trying to drag her adult son into an open grave; a flying man with no face; a half-bodied zombie in the basement attacking a small child in the dark. Each attack, around every corner, something more sinister lurks. By the time you’re done watching, you’ll feel like someone is watching you.
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It’s obvious from the start that Hill House has effectively placed a supernatural curse on the Crain family and that, try as they might, there’s no outrunning it. Far from making matters predictable, this conjures a dread that, punctuated with the occasional boo from beyond, becomes cumulatively suffocating.
The Haunting of Hill House is very scary at face value. But when it holds a mirror up to real life, that is when it truly grabs hold and refuses to let go. It’s that familiar feeling of déjà vu and knowing that if it could happen to this seemingly normal family, it could happen to anyone…even you. This is why I think you should watch the Haunting of Hill House.
Have you seen it yet? What are your thoughts on the Haunting of Hill House?
2018/10/24
The Cruel Reality: ICE Targeting Immigrant Children for Deportation Under the Guise of “Welfare”
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
As the daughter of an immigrant and a mom, watching Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conduct so-called “welfare checks” on unaccompanied immigrant children makes my blood boil. What’s presented as concern for child safety is revealed through internal documents to be something far more sinister: a coordinated effort to deport vulnerable children and criminalize the family members legally caring for them. ICE targeting immigrant children is wrong on every level. They’re children; regardless of color or race, it’s our responsibility to care for children.
The Truth Behind ICE’s “Welfare Checks”
Recent reports have confirmed that ICE is actively seeking out unaccompanied immigrant children in nationwide operations. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims these visits are benevolent “welfare checks” meant to “ensure that they are safe and not being exploited,” an internal ICE document obtained by the National Immigration Project tells a different story.
The document explicitly shows that ICE officials are gathering intelligence to determine whether these children are “flight risks” or “threats to public safety.” Evaluating deportation possibilities, and looking for ways to pursue criminal cases against both the children and their sponsors. This isn’t protection—it’s persecution.
Michelle Méndez, director of legal resources and training for the National Immigration Project, called it what it is: “backdoor family separation.” The government is weaponizing these children’s vulnerability to target entire immigrant communities.
ICE targeting immigrant children for deportation is fucking bullshit. People are not “illegal,” especially in a country stolen from the indigenous and built on the backs of brown and black people.
Let’s be crystal clear about what’s happening: this administration is deliberately traumatizing children who have already endured unimaginable hardships. Many of these kids fled violence, poverty, and persecution, traveling thousands of dangerous miles alone in search of safety. They’ve been processed through our immigration system. Placed with vetted sponsors (often family members), and are working through their legal cases as required by our laws.
Now, ICE agents are showing up at their homes, terrifying them with threats of deportation or criminal charges. A 16-year-old girl in Washington state was so frightened during one of these “welfare checks” that she desperately messaged her legal representative, afraid her life would be “flipped upside down.” This isn’t protecting children—it’s traumatizing them.
Systemic Attacks on Vulnerable Communities
These operations don’t exist in isolation. They’re part of a broader pattern of attacks on immigrant communities:
1. Legal services for unaccompanied minors have been slashed, despite court intervention
2. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has resumed sharing sensitive data about children and their sponsors with ICE
3. The current acting director of ORR is Angie Salazar, a former ICE agent
4. Children with alleged “gang ties” are being targeted using flimsy evidence under the rarely-used 1798 Alien Enemies Act
The concept of “backdoor family separation” is just a way to use immigrant people’s love for their children to threaten them. No Latino is ever leaving their child behind. These are human beings, and the U.S. government is treating them like property, completely dehumanizing these parents and their children in order for fellow Americans to condone this mass deportation of brown people. It’s a crime against humanity. Americans, we need to do what’s right even when its hard.
The Human Impact
For families caring for these children, these operations create an atmosphere of constant fear. Sponsors who went through extensive background checks and vetting processes to legally care for these children now face potential arrest and deportation for doing exactly what the government asked them to do. WTF? It feels like a trap and serves as a threat to others; stand down or you too might get illegally deported.
Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, expressed her distress: “The amount of trauma that this administration seems willing to put kids through is really upsetting.”
Samuel Smith, director of immigrant legal aid at Manzanita House, described the terrified 16-year-old girl who contacted him during an ICE visit: “Both the text messages sent and the tone of communication when talking on the phone, was of a child who was incredibly scared. She had no idea what was going on and was worried that her life would be flipped upside down.”
A Personal Perspective
As someone who grew up watching my immigrant parent navigate this country’s complicated and often hostile systems, I understand the constant fear that comes with being seen as “other.” The worry that a knock on the door might mean your family being torn apart. The vigilance required to survive in a system designed to exclude you. In this political climate, even when you’ve done everything right and are here with proper paperwork, you still carry with you that feeling of being vulnerable and scared.
These children have done nothing wrong. They are following the legal processes established by our own government. Their sponsors—often family members who simply want to provide a safe home—are being criminalized for acts of love.
There’s a particular cruelty in targeting children. They are the most vulnerable and the least able to advocate for themselves. They’re the most likely to suffer lasting trauma from these experiences. ICE is deliberately exploiting this vulnerability.
What This Really Means
Let’s be honest about what’s happening here ICE is targeting immigrant children. This isn’t about protecting children. If it were, we’d be investing in their legal representation and their education. We’d care about their mental health services, and their successful integration into communities.
Instead, this administration has cut legal services and appointed former ICE officials to lead the agency responsible for these children’s care. The intent is clear: to use fear as a deterrent. They want to make examples of these children. Advancing a political agenda that views certain immigrants as inherently undesirable.
As Americans, we must ask ourselves: Is this who we want to be? A nation that terrorizes children? That separates families? That punishes acts of love and compassion?
For the daughter of an immigrant watching this unfold, the answer is a resounding “hell no”. We must be and do better than this. These children deserve better than this. Our shared humanity demands it.
2025/04/29
The Emperor’s New Clothes Giveaway
I love Chicago and anything fun to do with the kids in Chicago is awesome, in my book. If you are looking for something a little different then taking the kids to the beach or the playground , look no further! We all know how hard it is to keep the kids entertained during the summertime. Normally, by about the end of June, I am completely out of ideas. What’s even harder is to find affordable entertainment, especially if it also provides a little education and culture for the girls. I know you all know exactly what I am talking about. With this in mind, The Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) has graciously invited my family to a performance of the new musical based on,Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes. We are thrilled about attending a performance next month. The Chicago Shakespeare Theater is located at Navy Pier, so we plan on making a family day of it.I think it would also make a great play date excursion.The greater news is that CST is also generously providing a Free Family four pack set of tickets to be given away to one of my lucky readers to the performance of their choice.*
I have read that The Emperor’s New Clothes is high energy,chalked full of clever costumes and valuable lessons.If you’d like more information on the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes please click here. Sounds to me, like a great production for the whole family to enjoy. I can’t wait to see it for myself.
Tickets are $18–$23 or as low as $12 per child for parties of 10 or more. Tickets to The Emperor’s New Clothes would make a great family day event and CST Patrons save 40% on parking at Navy Pier as well!
Ways to enter to win the Free Family Four pack
- Mandatory* Follow me via Google Friend Connect.
- Mandatory* Email Subscribe to my blog.+2
- Add me to your blog roll. (Link me to your blog so I can find it!)
- Blog about this giveaway & link me to it. +5
- Like me on Facebook.
- Post about this giveaway on your Facebook wall. +2
- Follow me on Twitter
- Follow Chicago Shakespeare Theater on twitter
- Tweet this giveaway. (You can do this once daily!)Please include @TruthfulMommy and @Chicagoshakes in your tweet!
*Contest open to US readers only, 18 years old and older.Must be in or around the Chicago land area at time of performance. Contest ends 7/3/10 at 9 p.m. EST. Winner will be chosen randomly. Be sure to leave your email address in your comment unless it’s visible on your Blogger profile. (If I can’t contact you, a new winner will be drawn.) Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email. If winner does not claim their prize in the 48 hour period, a new winner will be chosen at random.
*Subject to availability. Valid by phone or in person only. Not valid in combination with other promotions or on previously purchased tickets.
2010/06/22
Celebrating the Holidays Biculturally
Disclosure: This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Hallmark and Latina Bloggers Connect.
This time of year is all about celebrating family. No matter what direction life takes us as we grow into adulthood and have children of our own, our upbringing keeps us grounded in the roots of our culture. Family is still everything.
As a child in a biracial home, the one thing I looked forward to every December was Christmas eve and celebrating Nochebuena. To be honest, I didn't even realize it was a Latino custom until I was in university. It was just how we had always celebrated.
Most people look forward to Christmas morning but not in our house; in our house it was all about Nochebuena. Every year I looked forward to decorating the tree, eating sweet and savory tamales, buñuelos, attending the posadas celebrations and mostly being together with my parents and my brothers and sisters during the holiday celebrating.
We grew up fairly poor and to be honest, I don’t ever remember believing in Santa Claus... ever. I’m sure when I was very small that I did but I couldn’t have been older than 4. I know, it’s sad. That’s probably why I try so hard to maintain the magic for my own girls, as long as possible. It’s probably the reason the gifts spill out from under the tree and out into the middle of the living room floor every year. This is why we have 5 elfs on the shelf and watch every single holiday classic. I’m trying to preserve their childhood magic for as long as I possibly can. So please, if your kid doesn’t believe in Santa…keep them away from my children.
On Christmas Eve before midnight mass, we would eat and drink and have a blast listening to Christmas music. It was always very exciting. My dad videotaped every Christmas Eve. It was the one night of the year where we all felt happy and things like money and possessions didn’t mean anything. We just enjoyed being together.
After all of the eating, drinking, dancing and laughing, we’d venture out into the cold winter night and attend mass. I have very fond memories of those ethereal nights attending church on Christmas Eve. I was there every Sunday but somehow on Nochebuena, it was like God and the angels themselves were in the building or maybe it was just the weary eyes of a small child, half dreaming my way through the celebration.
After mass was done, as a family, we’d go home and were allowed to open one present. That was a huge deal because we only ever got to ask for ONE present… the rest were socks and underwear because that’s how it works in a home when you are struggling financially. You were allowed to ask for ONE gift that you wanted, everything else was what you needed and even then it wasn’t much, basically just something to open.
We knew my mom bought us our “BIG” Gift because she asked us what we wanted. When we opened it, we were grateful. We knew there was no Santa because if there was we wouldn’t be opening socks and underwear on Christmas morning but we didn't care.
Every year of my childhood and still now, I look forward to Christmas Eve because, for us, it is the best night of the year. My celebration with my children may look a little different than it did back then because, just as I was biracial child, so are my children. There are not 6 children and we don't make it to midnight mass because our girls aren't old enough to stay up that late yet. We go to the 6 p.m. mass, then to celebrate with family and then we come home and put on our matching pajamas to wake up early the next morning to open presents together. My children still have the luxury of believing in Santa Claus. Even though the celebration might not look exactly the same, the sentiment is...family is the most important thing on Nochebuena.

This holiday season Hallmark helps Latinos celebrate and connect with family and friends. Hallmark’s assortment of cards in English and Spanish cultivate traditions with loved ones, both during the holidays and every day. Hallmark’s beautiful, hand-designed cards offer something for everyone on your list.
Some cards are funny, lighthearted, religious and heartfelt. All are perfect for the holiday season. Hallmark cards speak to the language that everyone understands — the heart, whether it’s for mama, papa, los abuelos, brother/sisters the kids and/or a significant other.
Visit Hallmark.com or a participating store to find the perfect holiday (or every day) cards for those you love.
Giveaway:
I will be giving one lucky reader an assortment of five Hallmark Holiday and Everyday cards in a set (3 holiday and 2 everyday) and a $25 Hallmark Gift Card.
The giveaway is open to readers over the age of 18 that live in the contiguous U.S. No Puerto Rico. The giveaway will end December 20, 2015 t 11:59 p.m. EST.

Mandatory entry: What is your favorite holiday tradition?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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2015/12/13
How Loss Puts Life in Perspective
It’s been a week of life perspective and reevaluation; loss does that to you. My Aunt Erma died a week ago today. I haven’t been able to escape the name this week, it’s all over the news and every time I hear it, it’s like a cruel reminder that she’s gone. Like some cosmic joke, as if the universe thinks we’d forget.
Losing someone is never easy. Even if you prepared for it and expected it, the abrupt force of letting go hits you like a mac truck. We weren’t prepared or expecting it, to be clear. It knocks the wind out of you and leaves you feeling like a shell of a person with nothing to fill you up but more pain. In all honesty, the moments of emptiness are preferable to feeling anything at all, especially in those first hours.
We’d lost touch over the years as a by product of growing up and moving away; starting our own families. But she was still my aunt and even when we hadn’t spoken in years, she showed up when it mattered, my bridal shower, wedding and baby shower. She’s been there since my first birthday.
Even when years passed that I hadn’t seen her face, I’d cling to the memories of my childhood. I was the lone niece in a sea of nephews. I was the little girl in the family and we shared special moments, my aunt Erma and I. She was my aunt I loved her, no amount of time can change that.
I was a child, even as an adult, in our relationship. I would always be her first niece. She never intruded or forced her way in, but she was always there and now she’s not. I guess we take for granted that people won’t always be there. There won’t always be time for reconciliation and homecomings. Sometimes people die and things go unsaid. We have to live with that.
I’m still trying to wrap my brain around what my uncle, cousins, and her grandchildren are going through. She was a true matriarch and loved her boys beyond anything else and it was reciprocated fully. She is gone and they remain, broken shells of who they were the day before. Fragile and empty, with pain filling up every nook and cranny of space of where she once resided.
My heart breaks for them. I know the look of loss. I’ve tasted it myself. I wanted to crawl into my own body and curl up and die. The world went on around me and it was unfathomable how people could continue to carry on with their lives when the unthinkable had just happened. But that is the way it goes. Loss is personal and profound and no two people feel it the same way.
I watched helplessly this past week as my family had to let go too soon. I saw the blank stares and confusion on the faces of those who loved her as the realization that she is no longer here, swept over them. I saw the wind almost knock them to their knees with that realization.
I learned another valuable lesson this week, funerals and mourning are for the living. When I was a child, funerals scared me to death. I hated them. The loss of a loved one, seeing those I love in such excruciating pain, seeing my relative dead in a casket but now, I know, it’s part of the letting go process. Without it, we would have no closure. Without it, the pain would be insurmountable.
We need this ceremony to let those left behind be comforted, coddled and loved to get through it. It’s hard. It can almost break you and you never fully recover from such a huge loss but you learn to survive it.
I watched my uncle and cousins ( grown men) brought to their knees from this loss. Our entire family rallied around them to lift them up with love and support because that is what family does. You put aside any petty qualms or past hurts and you just be there. Moments of normalcy began to seep through and in the next, the weight of the loss would be bearing down on all of us so heavily that we felt as if we all might be crushed by it.
It was a horrible situation but it served a purpose to remind us all just how important family is to all of us. There’s been check ins and phone calls and texts between all of us because if my aunt Erma’s death has taught us anything, it taught us that life is brief and we have to make the time to love those around us; to show them, not just think it.
You’ve heard the saying to one person you are the world? Well, while our lives may not feel as if they amount to much in the grand scheme of things…to one person, they could amount to everything. I think we take that for granted.
A life well lived and a life well loved is all any of us can hope for. The brokenness that remains behind is a testament to how we loved while we were alive.
That’s the way I survive loss, by remembering that it was a privilege to be able to love these people; to see them smile, hear them laugh, see the twinkle in their eyes when they were happy, hold their hand when they were sad. Life is fleeting and loss lingers so love so full on that it borders on crazy because there is no such thing as showing someone you love them too much.
2017/09/11
The Winner of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Macbeth family 4 pack Giveaway
The winner of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater family 4 pack to Macbeth is ….
comment # 2, Bertha “OMG, I LOVE Shakespeare! I have always wanted to see one of his plays and have never had the opportunity! I also am within 20 min of Chicago, so to be able to enjoy a Full day of festivities in Downtown Chicago is also something I don’t get to do very often, But would love the chance to! English was one of My Strong points in school, and Macbeth was one of My favorite plays, so please consider me when giving these tickets away! Thank You so Much!”
Congratulations and I hope that you have a wonderful time at the play. You will have a blast.Please email me at truthfulmommy@gmail.com so I can get your information to get you your tickets!For the rest of you, I hope you will still go see the production. It is always a fabulous time and stay tuned, there is usually a production every couple of months.
2011/02/19
A Dog’s Way Home
Are you a dog person? Is your furbaby showered with love and adoration? Do you have a special voice you use to greet your four-legged friend when you get home? No shame in our game, we definitely do. We love our Lola. She truly is one of the family. I don’t know what we’d do without her and all the joy she brings with her happy tail wagging and dog kisses.
Lola was a Christmas gift for our family to ourselves after a particularly hard year. In 2012, we suffered a miscarriage and lost our first fur baby, Saffaron. We were gutted. There was so much upheaval in our lives from the losses and so much love in our hearts that needed to be given and had no place to go.
The girls had been begging for a pet to fill our dog-sized hole in our hearts. It feels weird now to think that one goes to a place to “buy” a pet, especially since they are so much an integral part of our family’s story.
Lola was like salve to our hearts. She is our constant companion and loves our daughters as fiercely as we do. When I work at my desk (or on the couch or from my bed), Lola is always beside me. When the girls are sick, she sits by them until they are well. When the Big Guy has had a particularly bad day, she knows and she lays her head in his lap and soothes his soul.
I can’t even imagine a world without Lola in it. Who knew you could love a four-legged friend as much as you love human family? But how could you not, they are always there to make the world a better place.
Gabi wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up and she has a particularly special relationship with Lola. She calls her, “my sister” and she means it. In a lot of ways, Lola has healed us as a family and there is nothing we will ever be able to do to repay her for that. For now, we love her with all that we’ve got and she does the same in return.
Gabs painted a canvas of Lola to put on her wall in her bedroom and it is adorable. I think this is a great activity for all kids to do. It gave Gabs some one-on-one time with Lola and now, she has this sweet memory of the day her and Lola sat together for an hour as she tried to get her sweet face just right. I love it. I want one for the wall in my office.
A Dog’s Way Home chronicles the heartwarming family adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human. A Dog’s Way Home is based on the book by W. Bruce Cameron with an all-star cast including Ashley Judd, Jonah Hauer-King, Edward James Olmos, Alexandra Shipp, Wes Studi and Bryce Dallas Howard. Its safe to say that the dog in the movie was treated with cbd treats from Observer to reduce the anxiety of being in a film studio.
“Finding Bella” takes us on the journey of a dog trying to get back to her owner. Bryce Dallas Howard, the voice of Bella, shares the story of how Shelby the dog was rescued and goes on a journey of her own. Discover Shelby’s epic adventure as she finds her forever home and new life purpose as a therapy dog.
A Dog’s Way Home In Theaters January 11, 2019

2019/01/09