December 28, 2011

Christmas Craziness, Candies & Cariños

Seems BB was a good girl this year and got lots of goodies!  JU SO FONII!!!  You can lift your jaw from the floor now.  Ok, Si, bueno, we'll be grateful for Mr. Kringle's oversights and failing memory and thank him for the gifts allright?  Apparently the dear man in red saw my Merry Christmas Mambo (aka locura shopping/shipping) and found it in his heart to award me.  The bounty was beautiful and plenty this year.


Caramelos from my Sweetie, my children, and a contest from Little Debbie's.  
Proof I'm loved just as I am.  
 ; P~~~~



A Babushka Doll w/lavender and jewelry inside from my friend Phoebe.
How great, perfect and aprobo is that?
: )


And speaking of dolls- for my Pocahontas Collection (yes, I collect Disney's Pocahontas)
Sweetie outdid himself by recordando my giddiness when I saw this on the DisneyStore site


Oh yes he did!  And she sings!!  Oh yes she does!!!

♪♫♪  : D  ♪♫♪


And then, because I couldn't be with them in Miami this year, my children gave me the best present of all.  They made sure I had pictures, many pictures of my grandbabies. 


Being Sweet
La Tata, Rinquincaya y PicaPica


My 4 Little Loves

La Princesa, El Dr., PicaPica y Rinquincaya



Making Sweets


 

El Dr.'s 1st Gingerbread house.


Being Silly

 




Singing Silly






Being Precious






Hoping that the season brought you cheer and above all- Amor.




Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.




December 21, 2011

Songs of the Season/ Canciones de Crisma

♪♫ Si-i-lent Night, Ho-o-ly Night. All is calm, All is bright ♪♫

As a child I remember being enchanted and entranced by the haunting music of Silent Night. Not only was the melody so peaceful and calming, but the lyrics spoke of a dreamlike world, one that could only live in my imagination. Silent? Calm? In a Cuban household?     JU SO FONII !!! 

Bueno, we did get the “bright” part of it right. Ok, ok, si, I know, I found out years later that this song is also in Spanish, but bb (that’s BB as a child) didn’t know that and thought it must be a school song because it definitely didn’t reflect any Christmas she ever knew. And how about “White Christmas” or the ever popular, “Winter Wonderland”? Being a niña from Miami, bb knew these had to be make-believe- kinda like Frosty the Snowman. Now, the Little Drummer Boy- at least that one had a drum in it and she could relate.

As an adult I of course enjoy a slew of holiday songs, with topics from sleighbells to sentimental. However, my first Christmas song I heard in Spanish will always be my favorite, Mi Burrito Sabanero. The original version of this song is the one we played in our fiestas Navideñas, and everyone danced, young and old, when this was on. ♫♪ tuqui, tuqui, tuqui, tuqui, tuqui, tuqui, tuqui, tu ♫♪ Isn’t this the perfect Christmas song? It tells the story of Christ’s birth, es bailable, the voice of the little boy pulls at the heart strings, and it’s even a bit comical if you visualize it. The Little Drummer Boy a lo latino. Come on now, can’t you just see that burrito trotting hurriedly to see the King while the claymation Little Drummer Boy is being jostled up and down? Now you know the real reason he was so serious in that show…


Esta bien, it’s true, I’m a child of the sixties, but you have to admit, the visual will get you smiling. And isn’t that what the songs of the season should have you do? So be it for glorifying or gratitude, joy or joyful memories, sing and celebrate from the heart your true reasons for the season.




Babushka Besos a todos. Cuidensen.



P.S.  This post was originally written for the TikiTiki Blog and updated for Babushka's Baile. Can you believe BB was asked to guest post? The honor! The shaking nerves!! hehe 
But I think BB did ok- que creen? 

Here's the link to the original and look around the Tiki Tiki Blog- you'll be most impressed. BB2U



The YouTube video of "Mi Burrito Sabanero"






December 13, 2011

Letters to Santa

'Tis the season for letter writing to Santa, or as they say en la Little Havana- carticas a Santi Clo. Ok, si, there may not be snow or sleighbells in Florida, but that doesn't mean the little fingers here don't write as furious as the ones up north. I'd even say that there are MORE letters to that jolly soul from here (not because they behave better, it's just that their tiny fingers aren't frozen).


But before the letters go out we must get into the holiday spirit- South Florida style.


Christmas time in Miami.
There are no Christmas tree farms down here so off to the stores we go.....



and then come the lights and decoration.

The only proof that it's winter in this part of the country.


Of course there's a lot more preparation for the grown ups, but for the kiddies only one more task is needed- the ever important letter to good ol' Saint Nick.


And what did my grandbabies ask of Dear Santa?





The eldest, el Dr., asked for 3 items. He's in need of Legos and the villians Shredder and Dekker. When asked why he wanted villians he said he needed them so his superheroes had a reason to defend the city he was going to build with his Legos. Genio- Genius, that's him- pure genius.

And his sister La Princesa you ask? What's on her list? JU SO FONII !!! She's La Princesa and already has everything she wants. Besides, whatever comes into the house she knows is hers, so why bother with a list?


As for Rinquincaya y PicaPica- hanky alert.




When PicaPica, 5 year old grown up that he is, was asked what he wanted he said,
"I want a flower for mommy, and my family happy."

::eyes tearing::


With faces brimming with joy and love, and while exclamations of awwww were heard throughout the room, we then turned to Rinquincaya. Knowing he always wants to be like his older brother, we awaited with anticipation the precious words to come. So, what do you want from Santa ?


Without hesitation he looked at all the adults in the room and said,

" Toys".




I didn't say you needed a big hankie....





Babushka Besos a todos. Cuidensen.



December 07, 2011

Fall Part 2

OK, so I continue my discurso on Fall. In case you didn't gather from the last post, this is my favorite time of year. The temperature starts dropping (of course that's up here in North Florida, in Miami? JU SO FONII !!! ), there's pumpkin pie and caramel apples in the grocery stores, the fashions are fabulous, and the holiday lights are beginning to twinkle in the darker crisp nights. Si, yo se, I didn't state the obvious, the reason Fall is called Fall. The leaves, they are a changin' colors and faaalllliiinnnggg, but that's not the only thing that's falling.

Let us go back to fashions shall we? Even though BB adooores fall fashions, I do concede there are possible drawbacks. Last week, BB went to apoyar-support- a performance given by fellow actors of the TWAM- Theatre With A Mission troupe, and of course had to look every bit the distinguished diva that she is. The nightime temperatures were going to drop into the low 40's so out came the box of winter clothing and I picked my ensemble. My divine divaness decided on the flowered black fan, my BB headscarf, my black cape, a lime green turtleneck, a black background flowered see through long sleeved shirt, black dress slacks, black tights and black high heeled boots. I should have left the last two items in the box. Apparently the tights and the boots, as well as BB, had aged in the last year and the proof of that would be apparent before the end of the evening.

Now, I did notice the tights were not quite as snug as they should be- at least not in the right places. Oh they were tight enough up to the upper thighs and then it seemed the elastic powers of the poor dears could take no more. They just hung there, mid thigh. Running behind schedule (Cubana remember?) I rationalized that my pants would keep them up, so off my daughter and I went. Arriving at the location, I jump out of the car only to have my smarty 19 year old ask why I'm walking funny. She's sooooo lucky I had my hands in my pockets trying to hold up the tights and couldn't give her a good ::BOPASO::  with my fan...

I quickly found the nearest ladies' room and did what any self respecting nifty, almost 50, diva abuela would do. I undressed, put my granny panties on top of the now midthigh "tights" and put my slacks and boots back on before they became knee highs. If you're female I know you've felt my pain.

Bueno, para no cansarte, we watched the brilliant performance of our actors and in the glow of their well deserved applause they asked the rest of the troupe to join them on stage. A little background info here- my daughter asked why I was going if I wasn't going to be acting. I informed her that BB didn't always have to be the center of attention- to which she laughed/choked. "Mom, you can't help yourself- it's who you are, what you do." And y'all wonder why puberty ::shudder:: has left me shell shocked.

Continuing. I go towards the other actors and finding no steps attempt to climb onto the stage. Notice I wrote attempt. Between the high heels, the midthighs-almost-knee-highs tights and my age, you can forget about it. My right foot was on the stage, with me trying to get momentum by pushing off the ground repeatedly with the left foot while sputtering "Ahem,hem,hem" to cover any creaks or cries from my joints and bones.
It was not a diva moment.

In all fairness, my 19 year old showed self control. She did not say anything until the ride home. Then the hysterical laughter shook the car windows.




"See? You can't help yourself- it's who you are, what you do."





Babushka Besos a todos. Cuidensen.