Agotada in August.

 From BB's August column in Conexion. https://conexionflorida.com/agotada-en-august/

Hola ,Hola, Hola Beautifuls! 

Has this been a summer o que??!?!???  Oye, between the calores, record breaking heat waves, the torrential rains, and a year that flew by, is flying by in a BLEEP.  Wow and Woah.

Of course heat isn’t just physical. And it’s been a heck of a year for that too. 

Pero Remember and Believe Beautifuls, we will survive this. 

Difficult  times seem like darkness

In difficult times, it is like walking on thorns.

In difficult times, it is like walking on splinters.

In difficult times, it is like walking in the heat.

How can one see the light without experiencing a little discomfort

arising from the heat of the light?

The light is an energy.

The light has heat.

When you pray, but you still feel it’s hard…

When you pray, but you still feel it’s tough…

It is the heat.

Is is the heat that you are feeling.

Let me assure you, every prayer of yours is deeply received.

Let me assure you, every prayer of yours is heard.

The Universe wants you as much as you want it.

So, whenever you feel difficult, even after a prayer…

Remind yourself, that it is the heat that is warming you.

It is the heat that is getting you ready to enter the light of higher awakening.

It is the heat from the light that awaits to awaken you.

No heat, no inner strength.

No heat, no positive change.

No heat, no light in life.

Heat from the Light by Dharan M.

Si Beautifuls, Be Gentle with Yourselves. And know that You Are Loved.

Babushka Besos a Todos. Cuidensen.

BB2U

Mother May I? A Mother's Day/Everyday Post

May's article in @ConexionFlorida . 

 A trilingual newspaper covering FL,AL, GA 

and anywhere else a subscriber can have it sent to.

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!

It’s May already. This month we in the US celebrate Mother’s Day. A day one typically thinks of Mom, nuestra madre.  As well we should. First, she gave us life. Segundo, she gave us amor.  Thirdly, she gave us the best she knew, the best she had, both materially and spiritually. So si, most definitely Mother’s should be celebrated and thanked. And emulated. To Ourselves.

Beautifuls, let’s realize this. Aunque we will always be our Mama’s bebe, we are, for the most part, adultos. Tiempo to do for ourselves.  This month, let’s surround ourselves with Mothering, Mother Love, Self Love. It truly isn’t hard. Here, let BB give you some ejemplos.

1)  We’ve all seen babies who just smile with all their beings when seing their mom. Let’s start doing that when we first look into the mirror each dia. Amor, Happy to be Alive. 

2) Musica. What brings joy to your soul when you hear it? PLAY IT. 

If it leads to dance, Dance. If it leads to song, Sing. LET IT FILL YOU.

3) Joy of just Being.  Be in the sun, feel it’s warmth and know the Universe is hugging you.

Sit in Silence and know YOU are watched and being loved. 

JUST AS YOU ARE. ALWAYS being wished the Best for you. 

Beautifuls, this is the TRUENESS, TRUTH of Mother Love. And this Babushka wishes for ALL this Dia de Las Madres.

Cuidensen.

Babushka Besos a Todos.

Must We Love?

From the February edition of Conexion, BB's column.

Hola, Hola, Hola Beautifuls!

Febrero, February. El mes del Amor, the month of love. 

Oh Beautifuls, this is year dos without Sweetie, but not without love. 

 Quee?? BB ya con novio? JU SO FONII!! 

No Beautifuls, without romance, pero nunca without amor. 

Not to say the physical isn’t necessary or painful when lacking. Babushka always has Sweetie’s side of the bed con cosas. Partly because she’s messy, but mainly because it fills up that empty espacio. The void is felt, but it can be filled, to only come in surprising spurts and sometimes wicked waves. Pero love has so many levels, so many ways to manifest, to enjoy and partake of.  

Sin duda, without a doubt is the love of familia. BB doesn’t know where she’d be without The Trio and The Grands. It’s nice to be needed and loved. Family, this is a given. Hope you are Blessed to feel the same.

La Vida, Life is to be Loved. Good, Bad, and todo in between. It’s why we’re here, the reason to Be. To Learn and to Love. This is our tarea. Si, we must love. Now, What you love, How you love, is your choice, your challenge. Hopefully you love life and cherish every moment, every chance of Being. Because you are worthy of the chances, the choices, the Love of Life, and the Love of YOU.

Mucho, MUCHO Amor & Besos to All.

Cuidensen.

Year of the Water Tiger 2022- BB's Year!

This post was originally written in 2012 for BB’s blog, Babushka’s Baile.  Considering the word for the year is SELF, Babushka thinks it’s more than shear coincidence that this is the Year of The Tiger. In Chinese Zodiac this is BB’s year, and in Babushka’s mente, this is her year.

BTW Chinese New Year Celebrations last 15 dias, so NO, BB isn’t running Cubantime. 😉

So enjoy what a true New Year is when one is truthful to SELF.

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!

Don't you just love the Chinese New Year?  The festivities, the history, the colors, the pageantry, the chance to catch up and do a New Year right!  Que Que??  You actually thought January 1 was the real new year?  JU SO FONI !!!  Maybe it's because my mother was 3/4 Chinese, but in BB's mind this is when the reality of the New Year comes in.  Bueno, truth be known I think it's more because of my Cuban side... si, further in the year is better because we're always running late.  Whaaaaaatttt??  I'm only now taking down the Christmas lights... well, I will take them down now that the true New Year has come.

No me miren asi- don't look at me like that.  Really people, think about it.  For 8 days there's a whirlwind of activities- Christmas Eve to New Year's- most people don't come out of the stupor until at least a week  into the new year and then they go into shock when they see the scale and the bills of that holiday hip hop. By the second week of January most will have abandoned their resolutions and are slumping into disappointment from their lack of determination. But should this be? I say Nay!! Nada de eso mi gente!!!  Chinese New Year is the perfect time to make more realistic petitions of ourselves.  We've now seen what we're capable (or not capable) of doing and can go ahead with expectations we can fullfill!  Let me help you with some examples.

January 1 Resolutions                                        Chinese New Year Resolution

No more junk food.                                               No more junk food on Mondays.

Exercise everyday.                                                        Exercise on Mondays. 

                                                          Go ahead, w/out junk food it's a bad day anyway.

Call loved ones more often.                            Ever heard of Feibu? How about Escaip?

Spend less money.                                     52 Mondays w/out junk food = saved $$.

Lose weight.                                                      Learn to walk in higher heels. 

                                                                  You'll either sweat from fear of falling

                                                                   or look thinner because you're taller.

Be nicer to my fellow man.                                               Hide on Mondays.

https://twitter.com/MSuppasitTrends/status/1486640760200269824?s=20&t=hX2zCAG66eXPVh59GrQtow

Once every 60 years. Si, definitely Babushka’s year.

If you’re curioso about the year and your Chinese sign, go to:

https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/tiger.htm

💥💥💥

Whatever your signo Beautifuls, may you find and be true to SELF.

. Al final, that’s all we have verdad? Happy New Year to All.

Babushka Besos a Todos. Cuidensen.

2022- The Year of SELF #TBT Conexion Florida

A very special year this one. For BB, time to prioritize and follow bucket lists. 

Starting 2022 with this article written for Conexion.

Porque this is gonna be some año...

 

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!

 Have you decided on your word for 2022?  Seems the latest trend is to pick one word that encompasses what your goals (because “resolutions” is sooo ayer) are for the upcoming year.  Thinking of what she’d like to accomplish in her upcoming 60th year de vida, BB realized that it was time to focus, to step back and away from perceived obligations. Es hora to focus on Self.

 SELF- as in: SELF LOVE, SELF APPRECIATION, SELF WORTH. It has been said that we radiate what we feel, what we are, and if we’re not one with ourselves, not aligned, then how could we possibly be so for others?  And that Beautifuls is what BB believes is our mission here. To make the planet better, to raise the vibes of SELF so it will radiate to others, because you never know who you might be touching.  Who you might touch, who you might influence.  Hopefully it will be with good. Pero there can be no verdadera good if you don’t feel good about yourself and your life choices. Being true to SELF is the ultimate Truth y Strength.  How strong are you Beautiful? Will you make time for yourself a priority? Will 2022 be the year you follow your heart and the knowing you’ve pushed aside for so long? 

 

  This is BB’s wish.  That we all raise ourselves, each other, and the planeta. In Good, for the Good of All.  Find your Truth and Live It Beautifuls. If there is one thing Babushka learned from 2021 and the cursed Covid, it’s that mañana isn’t promised. Don’t live for the future if it means faking the present. Find yourself, YOURSELF. Believe and Love who you are and you’ll be able to do the same for others. And in this heartfelt mindset and vision, we will find the maravillas of this mundo. 

  Here’s to 2022 and the wonders it will bring.

 Babushka Besos a Todos. Cuidensen.

Showcasing Love with HeART of Haiti

HolaHolaHola My Beautifuls!  It's February, the month of love- and for BB there's no greater love than mother love. Quee?  JU SO FONII!!!  Ok si, el café and chocolate come very close, especially during ::shudder:: puberty, but all in all, Babushka must say my trio have been and are the greatest loves of my vida.

Heart of Haiti Frame and Paperweight

river stone paperweight

 The S Sisters once again blessed BB with such symbolic gifts.  The frame pictured above is encompassing my loves by the same sentiment I've shared with them throughout their lives.  To give fully of oneself- in all one does, and to do it authentically. And like these hand chiseled paperweights, we shape and form our children with love, while they in turn become our grounding treasures.  

For those of you who've been following BB for awhile, you may remember my Mother's Day post  where I've always told my trio to "do everything with heart, from the heart."  I sincerely live by this motto and as you've seen by the last couple of posts, Babushka believes in the power of giving, helping and loving.  Thanks to the wonderful Heart of Haiti initiative my trio is being showcased with love, because each original piece of art is made by a Haitian artisan who gives of themselves fully.  I can think of no better way to show off my trio, and no better way to show global love than to help those who give of themselves. 

"Haitian artisans create beautiful one-of-a kind pieces for sale at Macys.com. This is an initiative Macy’s launched with the Clinton Bush Haiti fund and Willa Shalit – a philanthropic entrepreneur. Macy’s Heart of Haiti upholds the belief that “trade not aid” is a powerful way to create sustainable work and much needed financial opportunities."

Babushka hopes you go to their website, not just to see the wonderful creations, but to watch a video BB fell in love with.  The music, the colors, but most of all the sharing of the people. Their love of their art, their country, and of themselves.  Si, self love, self sufficiency-  the greatest lesson a mother can give her children. And the greatest love we can give to all.  

Love to you My Beautifuls, during the month of Amor and Always.

♥

Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.

P.S.  Although this post was in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Heart of Haiti, 

BB received no monetary compensation, just the above shown items and the satisfaction of knowing the cause is worthy of highlighting.  

Opinions and beliefs as always are mine, and as always, shared from the heart. 

BB's an Original, but Ms Olivia is the Real Thing.

Saw her at the bus terminal and knew right away I was seeing my future self.  Older but oh so stylish, she meshed the retro past with the boldness of today and gave it a flair of her own.  She was marvelous.

Traveling with her two daughters and her granddaughter, you could see she had loved and lived and continued to do both with grace and a natural air.  I was all excited with plans and strategy for the Hispanicize 2012 conference and was in my own little world- and then I saw Ms. Olivia who reminded me what my real world should be.

Here was a woman who had found her way a long time ago, was comfortable in her skin, whose very essence exuded "this is my style, this is my life, this is me- and I like me".  Her beauty - inner and outer brought tears to my eyes.  Have you ever sensed the presence of true beauty?  The knowledge of self worth and the radiance of self acceptance- THIS is true beauty  and Ms Olivia embodied it.

I had to take a picture of her, to remind myself of what is possible, to remember what I aspire to be,  and so I shyly approached my new idol to ask her permission.  Ok si, I hear you- "BB, You- Shy?!?  JU SO FONII!!!"  And you'd be right 99% of the time to doubt, but this was the 1% of our human race who had actually attained self love and BB was in awe and humbled. 

She graciously heard my petition, smiled, and told me she'd discuss it with her daughter.  Her daughter of course wanted to be assured of my sincerity and asked why I wanted to photograph her mother.  I explained how I wanted to capture her mother's style and love of self.   Apparently she believed me because she came looking for me when we had a stop over and I didn't give her a chance to change her mind.

Ms. Olivia was pure joy when she posed for the camera as was I that she had allowed me the honor. I believe her daughter had known her mother was exceptional and thanked me profoundly for noticing.  But how can one not notice?  It would be like not noticing the Lady Moon as she shines and shimmers, not noticing her beauty naturally escaping and filling our nights. No, I'm the one who is thankful to Ms. Olivia for her example and hope this does her justice as she inspires us all to embrace our lives and ourselves. 

Babushka Besos a todos.  Cuidensen.