I missed the telethon this weekend. The first time in forever! The telethon for MDA on Labor Day weekend has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. This year the MDA and Jerry Lewis broke up for reasons I don't know and don't need to know. When I was looking at the Sunday paper I remembered it because the cover of The Parade magazine wasn't about the telethon and I commented. I also remembered reading somewhere that it was going to be shortened to only 6 hours I think. But I missed it completely. I would have called and pledged. I always have even in lean years, I gave $10, something. As a kid my brother and I were each allowed to call and pledge $5 that our parents gave us and whatever we wanted to add from our allowance. I was always broke so sometimes I remember only being able to add a dollar or two. It was a big deal to drop change into the boot of a fireman collecting change at some intersection. One year my brother and I sat outside a local grocery chain, coffee cans decorated a la MDA and then went to the local fish bowl collection spot to be on TV when we dumped our change in. I don't remember how much it was but it was a big deal. I remember always watching the last hour of the telethon, to see how much the final tally was. I would write the amount in my diary and each year compare the grand total to the year before. Each year it was more than the last.
The telethon was a big deal, a major tradition for Labor Day weekend. I never knew that we would call on MDAs services for my grandmother years later when she was diagnosed with ALS.
I guess I will have to make my donation on my own without the telethon to prompt me this year. Its sad because I imagine they will loose quite a bit of fund raising dollars with all the changes.
Showing posts with label tradition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tradition. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Resolution time!
It's the time of year again when we look back and look ahead and think of ways to revamp our lives.
Last year I didn't have a resolution to abandon 2 weeks into the new year. I came up with a theme which was Comfort and Joy. I have been thinking about that a lot the past couple of weeks. It's not that the whole year was just peachy there were plenty of moments when I was in the pits. It's just I tried to focus on the comfort and joy I found in things and that I gave (hopefully) to others. Right now that idea is feeling kinda lame, bland and maybe even cheesy.
This year I think the theme needs to be action oriented. A verb if you will not a noun. I thought of Comfort and Joy as nouns - the comfort and joy I felt or brought to others. I don't think that's going to cut the mustard this year. I need verbs; I realize to joy doesn't work but to comfort does. I'm not sure what the final verb will be but I have decided the theme will be to ??? (insert verb here) not a noun. That's as far as I have come after 2 weeks of mulling it over. If its taking me this long to think of 'the' verb I can't imagine how long its going to take me to actually do it. Thank goodness I have a whole year.
Side note: this is the first time EVER I have run the spell check and it has found no misspellings! Cool way to end the year!
Last year I didn't have a resolution to abandon 2 weeks into the new year. I came up with a theme which was Comfort and Joy. I have been thinking about that a lot the past couple of weeks. It's not that the whole year was just peachy there were plenty of moments when I was in the pits. It's just I tried to focus on the comfort and joy I found in things and that I gave (hopefully) to others. Right now that idea is feeling kinda lame, bland and maybe even cheesy.
This year I think the theme needs to be action oriented. A verb if you will not a noun. I thought of Comfort and Joy as nouns - the comfort and joy I felt or brought to others. I don't think that's going to cut the mustard this year. I need verbs; I realize to joy doesn't work but to comfort does. I'm not sure what the final verb will be but I have decided the theme will be to ??? (insert verb here) not a noun. That's as far as I have come after 2 weeks of mulling it over. If its taking me this long to think of 'the' verb I can't imagine how long its going to take me to actually do it. Thank goodness I have a whole year.
Side note: this is the first time EVER I have run the spell check and it has found no misspellings! Cool way to end the year!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Ornaments
I have already done my annual ornament shopping. Each year I give ornaments to my boys.
They went through the Hallmark Wish Book and initialled next to each ornament they would like and then I go through and pick out what I want from there or not and surprise them. I try to get them each one they picked. I also try to pick an ornament that has a significance, that ties into something they did in the past year or a favorite thing.
Like when the boys loved Power Rangers, they each got a Power Ranger ornament. Or for example 18 graduated high school in May, so it's easy to get him a graduation ornament because there are tons of them. Sometimes it can be related to a vacation, an activity or similar event. Like their first fishing trip, they each have a different ornament for that.
Hubby likes Santa, so his ornaments are usually Santa doing something whether it was playing golf, surfing on a remote control, juggling sports balls etc. Those are some he's received in the past. All 3 of them are also big on Super Heroes. We have a quite a few hanging on the tree as well as athletes or ornaments representing the various teams they support.
I am happy with what I got this year. I was thinking about this last night because tonight I will probably sit and write a note on the boxes and date them with the year to commemorate the reason for the ornament and wrap them. That way, if they find them, they will be wrapped and they can still be surprised.
They went through the Hallmark Wish Book and initialled next to each ornament they would like and then I go through and pick out what I want from there or not and surprise them. I try to get them each one they picked. I also try to pick an ornament that has a significance, that ties into something they did in the past year or a favorite thing.
Like when the boys loved Power Rangers, they each got a Power Ranger ornament. Or for example 18 graduated high school in May, so it's easy to get him a graduation ornament because there are tons of them. Sometimes it can be related to a vacation, an activity or similar event. Like their first fishing trip, they each have a different ornament for that.
Hubby likes Santa, so his ornaments are usually Santa doing something whether it was playing golf, surfing on a remote control, juggling sports balls etc. Those are some he's received in the past. All 3 of them are also big on Super Heroes. We have a quite a few hanging on the tree as well as athletes or ornaments representing the various teams they support.
I am happy with what I got this year. I was thinking about this last night because tonight I will probably sit and write a note on the boxes and date them with the year to commemorate the reason for the ornament and wrap them. That way, if they find them, they will be wrapped and they can still be surprised.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Sunday Dinner
It's Sunday and if you show up at my house for dinner 9.99 times out of 10 you will have Sunday Chicken for dinner. There's really nothing fancy about it. It's just baked chicken breast with some veggies and white rice. It turned into Sunday Chicken because since we used to get home so late during the week with all of the kid's activities there was never enough time to make it for a weekday dinner and so we would have it on Sundays.
It is VERY simple. Cut up whatever vegetables you like and are in season. I always put garlic cloves, onions cut in half and then whatever I have carrots, sweet potato, turnips etc. Lay the chicken breasts skin side up on the veggies. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil sometimes I switch it up and add red pepper flakes or paprika. I put a half a stick of butter on each chicken breast and bake it at 400 for 1/2 hour. Then I add lemon juice and some white wine or vermouth or whatever cooking wine you use. I pour it them over the chicken breasts and it enough to keep the veggies moist and not cook all out so that I have a sauce. I cook for another 1/2 or until the skin is crispy. I serve it with white rice and salad.
That's our Sunday chicken and it's what I'm serving up today to some friends today for dinner. I hope they like it.
It is VERY simple. Cut up whatever vegetables you like and are in season. I always put garlic cloves, onions cut in half and then whatever I have carrots, sweet potato, turnips etc. Lay the chicken breasts skin side up on the veggies. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil sometimes I switch it up and add red pepper flakes or paprika. I put a half a stick of butter on each chicken breast and bake it at 400 for 1/2 hour. Then I add lemon juice and some white wine or vermouth or whatever cooking wine you use. I pour it them over the chicken breasts and it enough to keep the veggies moist and not cook all out so that I have a sauce. I cook for another 1/2 or until the skin is crispy. I serve it with white rice and salad.
That's our Sunday chicken and it's what I'm serving up today to some friends today for dinner. I hope they like it.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Cuban cooking
Not too long ago was the inaugural Cuban cooking class. It's being documented over here.
I have been wanting to do this for years. I have talked about doing this for years with family and friends and it's finally happened. I am so happy about it. It means a lot to me. I don't know if I can put it into words but here goes. I didn't grow up here in Miami. I grew up in Northern Virgina and so my sense of "being Cuban" is VERY different from that of my friends who all grew up here.
In fact, growing up my family didn't talk a lot about Cuba and their life there, their exodus etc. I caught bits and pieces because I learned early on how to sit quietly and listen. Grown ups tend to forget that you are there and you pick up on all kinds of things. In any event, the gist is that Cuba wasn't a part of my upbringing the same way it is if you grow up here in Miami. My parents and grandparents all spoke perfect English. I didn't even study Spanish in high school. I studied French and by the time I graduated high school I spoke that better than Spanish. My Spanish was negligible and I couldn't read or write it all.
My grandparents and parents actually went to school here in the states and therefore acclimated very easily to American life. They had homes in the states, in Cuba, Madrid, Miami and Tampa since the early 30's and travelled back and forth with ease. My parents were very American and brought us up that way. I didn't grow up on the Cuban-American hyphen. My mother was adamant that we were American. I know that was a sore spot between my parents. My grandparents and father were very active in politics (that was why they relocated to Northern Va.) and therefore made many friends and enemies Cubans, Cuban-Americans and Americans alike. My father always put me and my brother in the forefront of any march or protest. I don't remember all the causes but I remember all the arguments. My mother always won only allowing us to participate if we carried American flags not Cuban flags because we are American not Cuban. Period. And so with that as a background, you can understand that meals at my home were meatloaf and mashed potatoes not palomilla and frijoles. My grandmother never cooked anything, it's just not her style. My paternal grandmother was the cook and although she ended up in Elizabeth NJ, working in a factory after her jet-set life, I always thought of her as my only proof of 'being Cuban'. Since she lived so far away, I never shared those things with her but I am always told that I am a lot like her.
I didn't grow up with the Cuban smells, sounds and tastes. I only experienced that in the summers when I would come to visit in Miami. It was a whole other world. Honestly, I never thought I'd live here. I always associated Miami with vacation not life, work and real world stuff. Nevertheless, here I am. For years, I talked about learning to cook the recipes that my husband's grandmothers made for us by heart, with a pinch of this and a little of that. Sadly, it never happened and we have since said good-bye to both of those ladies. And as I am now watching his parents, aunts and uncles get older and a little more tired I am determined to learn these things because I want to be able to pass them on to my grandkids and not have these meals just be a memory that my kids talk about to them but I want to pass them on to them.
I know there are a million restaurants that we can go to and buy the food already made but it's not the same. (I'm the one who makes Thanksgiving completely from scratch-just because.) When one of my kids ends up in Timbuktu and I can make Arroz con Pollo or Carne Asada and Flan, it will bring back a flood of memories and help create new ones for others. I love when 18 walks in the house when I am making Ropa Vieja and says "It smells like abuela's house when I was little." It makes me smile.
The kitchen is the heart of the home and I don't want to loose the Cuban beats. That's why I was so excited about the lesson a few weekends ago and look forward to those to come. We were taught to make ham croquettes. When my husband bit into a freshly fried one he said "I remember these." I later fried a few to take to my GM at the rehab center and when she took the first bit she said they were just like when she was little. It brought tears to my eyes. It took her to such a happy place and that meant so much to me to be able to do that. Memories...more and more I am convinced that's what it's all about...memories. Que siga la tradicion...
Mom, I know I'm American but I think I am much more than that and I embrace it all.
I have been wanting to do this for years. I have talked about doing this for years with family and friends and it's finally happened. I am so happy about it. It means a lot to me. I don't know if I can put it into words but here goes. I didn't grow up here in Miami. I grew up in Northern Virgina and so my sense of "being Cuban" is VERY different from that of my friends who all grew up here.
In fact, growing up my family didn't talk a lot about Cuba and their life there, their exodus etc. I caught bits and pieces because I learned early on how to sit quietly and listen. Grown ups tend to forget that you are there and you pick up on all kinds of things. In any event, the gist is that Cuba wasn't a part of my upbringing the same way it is if you grow up here in Miami. My parents and grandparents all spoke perfect English. I didn't even study Spanish in high school. I studied French and by the time I graduated high school I spoke that better than Spanish. My Spanish was negligible and I couldn't read or write it all.
My grandparents and parents actually went to school here in the states and therefore acclimated very easily to American life. They had homes in the states, in Cuba, Madrid, Miami and Tampa since the early 30's and travelled back and forth with ease. My parents were very American and brought us up that way. I didn't grow up on the Cuban-American hyphen. My mother was adamant that we were American. I know that was a sore spot between my parents. My grandparents and father were very active in politics (that was why they relocated to Northern Va.) and therefore made many friends and enemies Cubans, Cuban-Americans and Americans alike. My father always put me and my brother in the forefront of any march or protest. I don't remember all the causes but I remember all the arguments. My mother always won only allowing us to participate if we carried American flags not Cuban flags because we are American not Cuban. Period. And so with that as a background, you can understand that meals at my home were meatloaf and mashed potatoes not palomilla and frijoles. My grandmother never cooked anything, it's just not her style. My paternal grandmother was the cook and although she ended up in Elizabeth NJ, working in a factory after her jet-set life, I always thought of her as my only proof of 'being Cuban'. Since she lived so far away, I never shared those things with her but I am always told that I am a lot like her.
I didn't grow up with the Cuban smells, sounds and tastes. I only experienced that in the summers when I would come to visit in Miami. It was a whole other world. Honestly, I never thought I'd live here. I always associated Miami with vacation not life, work and real world stuff. Nevertheless, here I am. For years, I talked about learning to cook the recipes that my husband's grandmothers made for us by heart, with a pinch of this and a little of that. Sadly, it never happened and we have since said good-bye to both of those ladies. And as I am now watching his parents, aunts and uncles get older and a little more tired I am determined to learn these things because I want to be able to pass them on to my grandkids and not have these meals just be a memory that my kids talk about to them but I want to pass them on to them.
I know there are a million restaurants that we can go to and buy the food already made but it's not the same. (I'm the one who makes Thanksgiving completely from scratch-just because.) When one of my kids ends up in Timbuktu and I can make Arroz con Pollo or Carne Asada and Flan, it will bring back a flood of memories and help create new ones for others. I love when 18 walks in the house when I am making Ropa Vieja and says "It smells like abuela's house when I was little." It makes me smile.
The kitchen is the heart of the home and I don't want to loose the Cuban beats. That's why I was so excited about the lesson a few weekends ago and look forward to those to come. We were taught to make ham croquettes. When my husband bit into a freshly fried one he said "I remember these." I later fried a few to take to my GM at the rehab center and when she took the first bit she said they were just like when she was little. It brought tears to my eyes. It took her to such a happy place and that meant so much to me to be able to do that. Memories...more and more I am convinced that's what it's all about...memories. Que siga la tradicion...
Mom, I know I'm American but I think I am much more than that and I embrace it all.
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