Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I just love this poem...

I happened across this poem on someone else's blog today and it just reminded me how very much I LOVE this poem. I thought I'd share with any of you who have not been so fortunate to have read this before. It's from one of my favorite collections of poetry by Sandra Cisneros, her book Loose Woman. If you've never read it, pick it up!

"You Bring Out The Mexican In Me"
by Sandra Cisneros

You bring out the Mexican in me.
The hunkered thick dark spiral.
The core of a heart howl.
The bitter bile.
The tequila lágrimas on Saturday all through next weekend Sunday.

You are the one I'd let go the other loves for,
surrender my one-woman house.
Allow you red wine in bed,
even with my vintage lace linens.
Maybe.

Maybe.
For you.
You bring out the Dolores del Río in me.
The Mexican spitfire in me.
The raw navajas, glint and passion in me.
The raise Cain and dance with the rooster-footed devil in me.
The spangled sequin in me.
The eagle and serpent in me.
The mariachi trumpets of the blood in me.
The Aztec love of war in me.
The fierce obsidian of the tongue in me.
The berrinchuda, bien-cabrona in me.
The Pandora's curiosity in me.
The pre-Columbian death and destruction in me.
The rainforest disaster, nuclear threat in me.
The fear of fascists in me.Yes, you do.

Yes, you do.
You bring out the colonizer in me.
The holocaust of desire in me.
The Mexico City '85 earthquake in me.
The Popocatepetl/Ixtacchuatl in me.
The tidal wave of recession in me.
The Agustín Lara hopeless romantic in me.
The barbacoa taquitos on Sunday in me.
The cover the mirrors with cloth in me.

Sweet twin.
My wicked other,
I am the memory that circles your bed nights,
that tugs you taut as moon tugs ocean.
I claim you all mine,
arrogant as Manifest Destiny.
I want to rattle and rent you in two.
I want to defile you and raise hell.
I want to pull out the kitchen knives,
dull and sharp,
and whisk the air with crosses.

Me sacas lo mexicana en mi,
like it or not, honey.
You bring out the Uled-Nayl in me.
The stand-back-white-bitch-in me.
The switchblade in the boot in me.
The Acapulco cliff diver in me.
The Flecha Roja mountain disaster in me.
The dengue fever in me.
The ¡Alarma! murderess in me.
I could kill in the name of you and thinkit worth it.
Brandish a fork and terrorize rivals,
female and male,
who loiter and look at you,languid in you light.

Oh,I am evil.
I am the filth goddess Tlazoltol.
I am the swallower of sins.
The lust goddess without guilt.
The delicious debauchery.
You bring out the primordial exquisiteness in me.
The nasty obsession in me.
The corporal and venial sin in me.
The original transgression in me.

Red ocher. Yellow ocher. Indigo. Cochineal.
Piñon Copal.
Sweetgrass.
Myrrh.

All you saints,
blessed and terrible,
Virgen de Guadalupe,
diosa Coatlicue,
I invoke you.

Quiero ser tuya.
Only yours.
Only you.
Quiero amarte.
Atarte.
Amarrarte.
Love the way a Mexican woman loves.
Let me show you.
Love the only way I know how.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Sophie Katz is Back!

I've talked about Sophie Katz before. She's the creation of the talented Kyra Davis. She has a new book coming out that sounds great. Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate.


I hadn't read a good mystery writer since my Nancy Drew days. And I'm talking about the classic Nancy Drew, not this new one Hollywood thought up. I'd love a collection of the original books. Sophie Katz reminds me of an adult Nancy Drew. She even has 2 good friends like Nancy had Bess and George (a girl) but she has a great gay hairdresser friend too.

Well there's a new and third Sophie Katz book coming out soon. If you haven't read Sex Murder and a Double Latte and Passion Betrayal and Killer Highlights, you should so you can catch up before this third book in the series.

New Adventures

My cousin said some very wise words to me today. Something I know, but it's good to be reminded.

"In the last couple of years I've come to realize that there are no mistakes in life. There are just things that work out the way you hoped they would, things that don't and things that work out better than you could have ever thought up yourself. But the latter doesn't happen unless you put yourself out there."

That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm moving out my comfort zone and I'm putting myself out there. I need to know my worth. It's time.

Sorry to sound so cryptic, but I don't want to talk about it until something concrete is in the works. So stay tuned!

Parenthood Adventures

I asked my husband the other day if 1 p.m. was too early to start drinking and his reply was, "We have children, it's never too early to start drinking." I laughed but I agreed.

Yesterday I worked from home so I felt like I was doing double-duty. I was taking care of them and working at the same time. And no, I didn't drink!

My husband has been really busy for the last few days because his company has been at this big dog show that's in town. He works for a holistic pet food company. Yes, quite interesting. So he's working today and I'm here at home hoping he's coming home before 7 p.m. so I can go get a pedicure and just get away for a little bit.

I just finished cleaning up a huge mess of paint off my kitchen table, floor and wall. My daughter helped me clean some of it since it was her mess.

I always feel like painting is going to be a bad idea but I convince myself that they really should do it because 1. It keeps them buys instead of wanting to watch TV 2. It's artistic and good for them 3. I love seeing what they painted when they're finished.

Of course no matter what precautions I take something always happens. The baby had a big old towel under his painting and my daughter had a big plastic garbage bag under her painting. The funny part of today was that it wasn't my 3 year old son who made the mess, it was my 6 year old daughter.

In the process of cleaning up, I dropped one of the tops of a paint tube down my restroom drain (which I know needs a cover!) My fault, so I just told the kids, "Don't use the sink til your Dad comes home." Fun!

Now you understand why I need a pedicure and a drink. I think I'm going to get a manicure too while I'm at it.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Galveston

The beach house was fun. Not quite what I expected but it was nice. We went with my in-laws and their 2 grandchildren they are raising and my 2 kids. Let's just put it this way, I told my mother-in-law that next time I'd like to go with just the 2 of them and no kids. I'll leave mine with my sister and she can leave hers with their father. The kids all together made it a bit challenging.

The wedding was beautiful! The reception was at the Galvez and very elegant. It was nice. It's always good to see uncles, aunts, cousins and to catch up. I did a lot of that too.

Loving the Blackberry Pearl



My older Blackberry died a week ago. The scrolling wheel on the side broke. I was sad. I was prepared to buy The Dash. I called TMobile and they said that the broken part was a known Blackberry problem and that they would send me a replacement. Imagine my surprise when I received the Blackberry Pearl in the mail. I am so loving it!! It has a camera and I can listen to downloaded music. Yay! I'm still learning all the features.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Conversation With a Three Year Old

Son- "Where are you going Mommy?
Me- "Somewhere. A meeting." (I wasn't technically lying. I was meeting girlfriends for lunch.
Son- "Can I go?"
Me- "No sweetie, no kids are allowed."
Son- "I won't be loud! I'll be very quiet."

My precious boy! It's when they say things like this that I just crack up.

Today was his potty party for being a big boy. He took longer to potty train than my daughter(really only 4 months longer) but he was faster at learning the concept. For example, he's already going all night without wetting his pull up. It took my daughter a whole year longer to get that part right.

The party was at Chuck E Cheese and the theme was Scooby Doo. The table decorations were adorable and my mother-in-law made him the cutest Scooby cake. She drew Scooby's face right on the cake and it was delicious as usual. She makes the best cakes and she can make anything. She made my wedding cake and Rey's groom's cake too.

The kids had a grand time. There were 8 of them. Not too big and not too small. I had around 4 kid no-shows from people who RSVPd. Two were sick and two didn't call so I'm not sure what happened. Maybe they forgot because it was also a holiday. That's OK. We had a good time and my son was none the wiser. All he cared about was that his favorite boy cousin was there and that they played lots of games and played on the slide. And of course they had pizza and cake. Who could ask for more?? Isn't three a great age?

As I put on his shoes and he sat on a table looking across at his party table with a pensive look he said to me and my husband, "Thank you for my party." All on his own without any coaxing. Now that makes a mama proud!

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Saigon 40 Years Later

One of my Casares cousins, who is a Vietnam vet, went back with some of his platoon to visit Saigon a few weeks ago. They visited the spot where his good friend died with many other soldiers. They also buried a time capsule on the spot. Read more about it here on my cousin Cindy's blog and there's also a link to the story about him in the Brownsville paper.

http://abigfatwasteoftime.blogs.com/vietnam_2007_40_years_lat/

New Book by Catalina Editor

I recently found out about this book and it sounds like it would be a great read. Latino Wisdom: Celebrity Stories of Hope, Inspiration, and Success to Recharge Your Mind, Body, and Soul. The line up of people who contributed their experiences sounds great.

Cathy Areu, the editor and publisher of Catalina Magazine is the author. She'll be in Houston the last weekend in September for the Edward James Olmos Latino Book and Family Festival at the George R. Brown convention center. I hope to see you all there. I’ll be there as a volunteer again. This is an event that is near and dear to my heart.