Happy Mother’s Day! A tribute to my mom

Mom and I…Happy Mother’s Day

It’s Mother’s Day and I hope you’re having a sweet day with your mom. I honor my mom everyday –especially when I am sick and want her soup, I call her and of course she makes it for me…(yes, even at this age), but today is Mother’s Day and I am very much so looking forward to sharing this day with my mom and my sisters (both moms too)! However way you’re celebrating, I hope your day is just perfect! I wanted to take a few minutes to share a little bit about my mom. I know you think your mom is the best, and I am sure she is. I’m certain my mom’s the best mom for me and for this, I am truly grateful.

Family Photo: Mom, Dad and my siblings in North Carolina (1979). I was in her belly at this time.

Farmer’s daughter, sister, cousin, niece, aunt, wife, daughter-in-law, mom, refugee, immigrant, widow, seamstress, student, entrepreneur, grandmother, she’s been many things, but of all things, she’s the one I get to call my mom. Consistent, kind, fierce, reliable, strong, resilient, dedicated, self-less, she’s all of these things and she’s taught me this through the example she leads. I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t share that she’s also damn crazy!

“Teacher, if Sammy no listen to you, you hit her!!!” Every year she’d always say this to my grade school teachers at each and every parent conference. Yes, every conference. Even my teachers would make fun of me. Yes, really! It was embarrassing and she didn’t care. I told her that if she kept saying that, someone would end up calling Child Protective Services…again, she didn’t care. I later asked why she’d do that and it made sense. She explained that she wanted me to know who is in charge when she was not around. A bit extreme, but I get it. She’s a strong personality and I’ve come to embrace this about her.

1985 – Mom, my siblings and I at Almansor Park. We couldn’t get the tripod to work, so my brother had to take the photo. Mom wanted us to have a family photo.

When I am tested and have a bad day and pushed beyond my limits, I often think about my mom and I quickly get over it. By the time my mom was my current age of thirty-five, she’d left her home country, had five kids, and was a young widow. She never remarried and as a matter of fact, my paternal grandparents lived with us and she took care of them until the day they died. It wasn’t so much that it was her filial duties to “obey her father at birth, husband at marriage, and in-laws when a widow,” rather she wanted to ensure that her kids would be raised in a consistent, stable and safe upbringing; and we definitely had all of this. Though we didn’t have many fancy toys or clothes, we did have consistency and plenty of love to go around.

Mom’s proudest title is Grandma. She’s got 7 grandchildren. Here she is with five of them.

Just the girls. We love mom.

To make ends meet, she would sing us to sleep with her sewing machine. That machine was on 12-14 hours a day. She was a seamstress and later an entrepreneur, only to lose her business to the LA Riots. A true Opportunist and survivor, she was resourceful and the common theme of her journey is that she’s relentless, keeps going and just does. And as she keeps going, she goes with all heart. Her English is limited, but she’s got a few phrases down. These are her most common: “Hello,” “Please,” “Eat,” “Thank You,” and “I am Sorry” –I’ve seen first hand how these phrases go a long way. She’s always instilled the importance of acknowledging others, showing manners, expressing gratitude, and being accountable and saying sorry when you’re wrong. I am forever grateful for all that she’s taught me and for how she continues to teach me.

My mom, she’s the best mom for me and for this, I am truly grateful.

Thank you Mom!

 

 

Cinco de Mayo Carnitas y Margaritas por favor!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! The perfect holiday excuse to celebrate and party, also known as day where amatuers rage.

Cinco de Mayo calls for Carnitas and Margaritas! And today that’s what we’re talking about…carnitas and margaritas! I am so excited to share with my one and only go to, fail proof Carnita recipe.  This is the only carnita recipe I’ve ever used (gracias Cyndi for sharing your recipe with me) and did I also mention? It’s baked, paleo and whole 30 approved, and no oil required! (yup…none of that deep friend oil splattering stuff!) AND it only requires 4 ingredient items!

But first, let’s our drink game on….I am leaving this to the pro, my friend Deborah. Not only is she clever, she’s an amazing host and quite the cocktail maker (can I call you that, Deb?)…check out her muy delicisoso recipes aqui: Clever Little Madam’s Margarita Bar All of her concoctions are always a hit!

To absorb the tequila, these carnitas can be served with tortillas, rice, beans, or in a salad (my preference).
Here’s the recipe:

Carnitas

• 4 limes, juiced
• 6-8 garlic cloves (1/2 head of garlic)
• 5 lbs. of pork butt roast or pork shoulder, cut into large chunks (I prefer to get this from Costco or my local Sprouts)
• Kosher salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a blender, combine lime juice, garlic and salt.
3. Place pork and garlic/lime marinade in roasting pan.  Allow to sit for 30 mins.
4. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 2 – 2.5 hours (until pork is tender).
5. Remove foil and pan juices from roasting pan.
6. Return to oven for an additional 30 minutes to brown, turning pork, half way through
7. You for additional caramelization, add a can of coke or juice of two oranges.

Buen Provecho.

Running into the Ex!!!

image source: CNN

Oh, you know…that moment. That moment where you run into your ex and you need to immediately make some executive decisions. Have you ever run into the ex? What’d you do? “Run, Forrest, RUN!!!” OR hurry up, get your disheveled self together, quickly apply the lip gloss and concealer, double check that the brows are on fleek, work that plastic smile, put on a show and subtly let him know that since your break up, you were on last month’s cover of Sports Illustrated, discovered the cure for cancer, traveled the world and are working on your 4^th start up.  What do you do? Well, it depends.

My roll dog and I were out, minding our own business, having fun, and then it happened. Right there…as we were ready to complete our weekend hike. Are you effin’ serious? Right when almost reached the peak of the hike, he and his wife were right there. Yeah, apparently, there was no other place to hike that day. He had to choose the same place as us.

My sweet puppy Ace knows a thing or two about hiding in shrubs. Ace, where are you? What are great hider you are.

The trail was narrow and there was no avoiding and the shrubs were too bare to hide behind in, so…we did what our instincts said, we avoided him like the plague and bolted down that mountain faster than a rolling boulder! We ran so fast, I was going to puke but it was all worth it because they never knew that we were there and we avoided each other. PHEW!

As you may have guessed, they ended on terrible terms and as to prevent any unnecessary drama, we did what we did. Have you ever thought about what you’d do if you ran into an ex? What have you done or what would you do? I got to thinking…here are my three simple rules:

1. Plan Ahead. Anticipate the unexpected. Plan ahead and know your response. Think of the worst case scenario and how you’d react so that you can be as composed as possible. You may have a run in. So how would you react? Think about it. If things ended badly where he stalked you, smeared you, and if there was some restraining order involved and he just was not nice, yes…avoid him. No need to be mean and give any slanted stares, just move on.However if things ended amicably, there’s no need to bolt.Other times running into an ex can be a bit more expected (say if you both still share mutual friends) and are invited to a wedding. If this is the case, don’t be surprised. Know your response, and oh…Avoid the alcohol (even if it’s an open bar)!
2. KISS -not as in kiss, but…Keep It Short & Simple. Yes, you’re likely wondering how your once shared Fido is doing, but don’t ask. You don’t have shared custody anymore and there’s no sense in revisiting the given. Or you may feel compelled to let him know that you’re now an Olympic athlete and won the gold. There’s no need to upsell yourself or pretend like you care. Don’t reminisce.  Oh, and speaking of KISS, there’s no need to do that awkward handshake (you’re not business partners), or that cold 3 hand pats on the back I- don’t -want- to -hug -you- hug. Keep things short and simple and end conversation as quick as possible.
3. Respectful and Courteous – Yes, you may harbor resentment and you never got the closure you wanted, but that’s all in the past now. No need to bring it up and revisit the past, it’s done. Act nice (just for these two minutes–remember tip #2). It’s not hard.