I’ve always thought of jealousy as a useless, toxic thing. It is damaging and negative. This I know and yet I am not immune to it. Although the Universe is abundant, there are times when I feel a tightening in my chest and doubt coursing through my veins. When this happens, I face my jealousy straight on, examine it, and reason with it.

Absolutely! Jealousy is a symptom of insecurity and I’ve been known to be neurotic. Do I want to celebrate my neurotic insecurity? No, of course not.

Why focus on what you don’t want, when focusing on what you do want is so much more pleasurable and beneficial?

Fortunately, you are the cure. You need not succumb to the disease.

Thoughts?

This Sunday, I happen to find myself in New York.

This Sunday also happens to be my birthday.
Happy birthday to me!

I showed you mine, now show me yours.

Share your city/town/suburb/you name it! If you link up, please link back or post the Sundays In My City button either in your post or sidebar to let people know that other bloggers are sharing their communities too. Happy trails!

Grab the code from my sidebar.

Up before the sun, setting myself up for comfort and success on a flight to New York where I’ll be watching What To Expect When You’re Expecting with my buddies from @SafeConBritax.

The reason that I get to go is that I am a Britax Latina Advisory Board Member and Britax and their wonderful products (i.e. car seats, strollers, carriers) are making their Hollywood debut in the movie.

Do you know how rare it is for me to actually see a movie in a movie theater? About as rare an occurrence as a Halley’s Comet sighting. So excited.

Now excuse me while I get a little sentimental, mushy, and grateful…

I started blogging because I desperately needed to express my creativity. I like to think of myself as an artist with my life being my medium. For many years my creativity manifested itself via acting. Acting has been a beautiful thing to me. It has helped me commune with others, express myself, and tune into the Universal that is within us all. Then I became a mami (pronounced mah-mee, not mammy) and acting could no longer be the emphasis in my life at least not for the foreseeable future.

I felt lost, drained, isolated. Being a parent is great, but it is not all of me; it does not fulfill my every need, nor should it. I found myself on Facebook more than ever, but that certainly wasn’t enough, then one morning I woke up and started a blog.

Whatever, whoever, put that idea into my head without me ever having read a blog: THANK YOU!!! All I wanted was a creative outlet. Aside: I’m on the plane right now sitting next to a stranger and typing this out while trying to keep myself from crying because that is how mushy I feel. What I got: a creative outlet, connections, friends, a whole new world, a career, and I became a writer. I became a WRITER! I never ever dreamed of becoming a writer. I dreamed of being immortalized in writing by someone else, but how much better is it to write my own truths?

So this trip to New York is about so much more than just a “blogging-business trip”. It is about opening myself up to the possibilities the Universe sends my way; it is about Unknown Papi’s constant support and encouragement (thank you honey, you have ALWAYS had my back as an partner, actor, mother, and human being); it’s about my little ones sacrificing the familiarity and comfort of having their mami with them (Put Pie, I’m going to miss you very much too. Luna Pie, I remembered to bring the entire breast pump this time!); it’s about my friends sharing their love with my family (Momo and Jessa thank you so much for spending time with and taking care of my children while I’m gone.); it’s about people that started off as strangers reading my words and changing my life forever.

If the stranger next to me asks why I am crying, I will tell him that it is because I am so unbelievably grateful, happy, and loving my life right now. I wish the same for you.

And now your Friday Fortune Cookie
(don’t forget to add “in bed” at the end, if you are so inclined):

Sometimes the dreams that come true are better than the ones you dreamt.

Hosted by Mrs. 4444

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post.

For my Tía.

Tía, I loved you, still love you, will always love you. I miss you and miss you and miss you, mi tía querida.

As a child I feared cancer. I’m not sure why. I was very young and I didn’t know anyone with cancer, but I was terrified by it. I would wish for a cure. I would worry about it. I would think about it before going to bed.

Many, many years later I got a call from my mom and I remember exactly where I was (in my kitchen), my mother’s voice did not sound good, but she is prone to what we call escandalosa. She has made many mountains out of molehills. When she said she had bad news, I wasn’t too worried. Then she told me my Tía had cancer…and time just stopped. I had to sit, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe. How do I explain what my Tía means to me?

My Tía is laughter and love, celebration and joy, warm homemade tortillas, my childhood, a source of comfort and security. My Tía, this Tía was just special to me and I knew I was special to her, she made me feel like I was wonder and magic.

My Tía did not survive her battle with cancer. I lost her way too soon, before she could ever see me act in a play, or meet the man I married, or hold my children in her arms.

I jokingly call myself the Useless Psychic because I’m psychic about things that don’t really benefit me. Somehow I think I feared cancer as a child because I knew that one day it would cause me much pain and it has.

My childhood wish for a cure has not become a reality, but I have not given up hope because there has been much progress made thanks to organizations like the American Cancer Society that is fighting for more birthdays and less cancer.

I am all for more birthdays and less cancer.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. All statements and opinions are mine.

As a Lowe’s Creative Ideas Network Member, I am being provided with a monthly challenge or Mission Possible and being supplied with a gift card to help me accomplish my mission and I also get to giveaway a Lowe’s gift card to one of my readers.

May’s Mission Possible, which I chose to accept:

Transform your entry, front yard, or in my case stoop, with some fresh and simple ideas. Show how small changes can maximize curb appeal.

Excellent! My curb was not looking too appealing.

Pretty plain and boring, right?

So armed with a Lowe’s $100 gift card I headed to their Garden Center.

And just a couple of hours later these lovely clay planters and succulent plants were ready to adorn the entrance of our home.

So adding these plants was a little thing and took very little effort, but we love the difference. They just add a bit of happiness to your day as you are coming and going from our home.

And just to make sure the place was truly inviting we also got this welcome mat.

Wanna improve your curb appealwith Lowe’s DIY magic? Visit Lowe’s Creative Ideas for inspiration, but before you go enter to win a $100 Lowe’s gift card below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a $100 Lowe’s gift card to facilitate this stoop makeover and $100 Lowe’s gift card is being provided to the winner of the giveaway. All statements and opinions are mine.

I’m want to believe that the following text conversation is due to auto-correct and not a Freudian slip.

Unknown Papi’s texts are in white, mine are in blue.

Friggin’ auto correct is trying to drive a wedge between my husband and me.

My love affair with avocados started when I was a child. I remember coming home from elementary school and snacking on avocados. I would scoop them into a bowl, sprinkle them with salt, and squeeze some lemon on them. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Avocados are one of the few foods that I feel like I could happily eat EVERY SINGLE DAY, I love them that much.

Did you know that Mexico is the world leader in growing avocados? The best part is that avocados from Mexico are available year round.

Avocados From Mexico is sponsoring the Aguacate Lindo y Querido Recipe Contest for a chance to win $500 and a trip to Houston in September for private cooking classes with Mexico’s Celebrity Chef Aquiles Chavez, at his critically acclaimed restaurant The Fisheria. All you and I have to do is create a an original Mexican-inspired recipe using rich and creamy avocados from Mexico, snap a picture, and enter our recipe any time between 9:00 am ET on Monday, May 14th through 11:59 pm ET on Friday, May 25th.

Okay, I am not a recipe developer by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn’t have to think about this for 5 minutes before I came up with an idea. Two of my favorite treats that use avocado are guacamole and B.L.A.T. sandwiches. Why not combine the two?! Picture it:

I’m telling you my BLT Guacamole was a big hit with Unknown Papi and that is saying a lot.

Wanna make it? Here’s how I did it…

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe avocados
• slice of lemon
• dash of salt
• 12 ounce package of bacon (cooked and crumbled ahead of time)
• 6 leaves of shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 diced roma tomatoes
• pan birote or baguette of your choice (sliced and slightly toasted)

Directions:

Halve and pit 4 avocados.

When salting, remember you will be adding bacon which tends to be salty so go easy.

Try not to snack on the bacon before adding it to the guacamole. You will be tempted to, but the more bacon makes it into the finished product the better.

Add the L & T part of the BLT.

Add a spoon to make it easy to spread on the toasted bread.

At this point, all that is left to do is enjoy and share this deliciousness!

I encourage you to come up with an original Mexican-inspired recipe using delicious avocados from Mexico and enter the Aquacate Querido y Lindo Recipe Contest. If you do enter please be sure to share your recipe with me.

This is part of a sponsored campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and Avocados From Mexico. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Happy Mother’s Day from San Francisco, CA.
Be nice to a mother today.

Need help? Here are some “your momma” compliment ideas…

• Your momma’s so stylish she makes wearing baby spit up and puke look like the new black.
• Your momma’s so bad-a$$ she can put you in your place with just a look and never utter a word.
• Your momma’s so forgiving she loves you even when you are misbehaving.

Click here for more your mom compliments and to create a customizable video for a mom in your life.

I showed you mine, now show me yours.

Share your city/town/suburb/you name it! If you link up, please link back or post the Sundays In My City button either in your post or sidebar to let people know that other bloggers are sharing their communities too. Happy trails!

Grab the code from my sidebar.

So far May has been fantastic to me! Maybe the Universe is aware that it is my birthday month.

I got to go to Parc 55 for National Mom’s Nite Out hosted by Women On Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide. Had so much fun. The best part was hanging out with all the wonderful women there. In particular my guest and friend Marcia, Carol from NYCity Mama, Alexandria from Mommy Beta, and Lauren from Mommy and Baby Food.

I might have gotten a little silly.

I don’t get out much, what can I say?

More wonderful things coming my way in May. I get to spend my birthday weekend in New York as a Britax Latina Advisory Board Member in honor of the opening of the movie, What To Expect When You’re Expecting.  Many thanks to my husband without whose help I’d be staying home. It’s amazing the kind of cooperation you get when you look at the one you love, bat your eyelashes, and say, “But it’s my birthday!”

I’m tired so I’ll leave you with a few pictures I took in downtown SF. I never get to go downtown anymore and I rarely go anywhere without my kids so it almost felt like I was on vacation.

And now your Friday Fortune Cookie
(don’t forget to add “in bed” at the end, if you are so inclined):

You gotta be in it, to win it.

Hosted by Mrs. 4444

I’m co-hosting a Twitter party and would love for you to join me, Transitions Optical, and Latina Mom Bloggers on May 16^th for the “Preparense para el Sol” Summer Safety Twitter Party. We’ll be chatting about our summer plans, summer safety, and the importance of taking care of our eyes year round. It’s going to be a really fun and informative party with lots of great prizes!

Transitions® lenses are the #1 recommended adaptive lenses worldwide and are an ideal choice for healthy sight. Transitions lenses block 100 percent of harmful UVA and UVB rays – helping to protect the health and wellness of your eyes – so you can see better.

Transitions Optical understands that vision problems can affect anyone, but certain ethnics groups are more likely to develop eye- and overall-health issues that can take a serious toll on their vision and quality of life. Through its various web platforms and programs, Transitions Optical is helping to educate and motivate consumers nationwide, particularly in ethnics groups such as Hispanics, African American and Asian American, to visit an eye doctor regularly for comprehensive eye exams, helping with the early detection of vision conditions, such as diabetic retinopathy.

There are things you can do today to protect your sight for tomorrow. Transitions Optical supports the Hispanic community by providing bilingual tools and services to demonstrate its pledge, such as:

•  www.transitions.com
• The Transitions Healthy Sight for Life Fund: http://www.healthysightforlife.org and http://visionsaludableparatodalavida.com/
• Bilingual children’s site: http://www.yonosabiaeso.com
• Bilingual Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LentesTransitions
• Bilingual “how to choose your eyewear resource: www.aprendasobreanteojos.com

Party Details:
When: Wednesday, May 16, from 9 PM to 10:30 PM EST
Where: Twitter
Hashtag: #TransitionsLens

Who to Follow:
Panelists: @NaturalmentMama @Cuponeando @RockinMama @elianatardio @UnknownMami
Moderators: @Eva_Smith @JollyMom @latinamomblogs @latinomarketing
Brand: @Transitions

Prizes:

• Two (2) pairs of Transitions Eyewear (frame and lenses valued up to $500 each)
• One (1) $100 gift card
• Two (2) $50 gift cards

Rules: For the official rules, please click HERE.

RSVP: To be eligible to win prizes, you must RSVP at Latina Mom Bloggers. Click HERE to RSVP.

What: “Preparense para el Sol” Summer Safety Twitter Party

This is part of a sponsored campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and Transitions Optical.

I’m excited about the movie What To Expect When You’re Expecting for a variety of reasons, such as…

• It speaks to where I am in life and is bound to provide some much needed laughter.
• It includes a male perspective which my husband being a very hands on dad will appreciate.
• The cast includes: Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Rock, Dennis Quaid, & Matthew Morrison to name a few.
• It features some of my favorite BRITAX/BOB products.
• Thanks to BRITAX I get to see it for free.
• Again thanks to BRITAX, I get to give one of you two passes to see the movie for free as well.

Inspired by the best selling book, the movie What To Expect When You’re Expecting opens May 18th. Take a peek…

Surrounding the release of the film, Britax is celebrating its Hollywood debut with a tour and sweepstakes. You can join the party as the BRITAX Expect Greatness Tour travels from city to city, in specially branded BRITAX and What To Expect When You’re Expecting mini-vans.   Can’t join the tour in person? There is an online promotion as well.

And now for the giveaway: Thanks to Britax one lucky reader will win two passes to see What To Expect When You’re Expecting.

To enter just follow the instructions in the widget below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am able to share this information and giveaway because I am a Britax Latina Advisory Board Member and Blogger. All opinions and statements are my own.

There are all kinds of love stories, but the ones that I’m partial to have happy endings and the lovers ride off into the sunset either metaphorically or sometimes literally. I know of one such story that is close to my heart because it involves two people I love that just seem perfect together. It goes something like this…

There was a man, an actual man, not a boy. He was living a full and adventurous life and accomplishing many things. He found himself single for quite some time and had perhaps given up on actively looking for “the one”. Still a life should be lived and he lived his indulging his passions, one of which happens to be collecting and riding Schwinn bikes. Here are some of his bikes:

One day this man went to a yearly group bike ride and there happened to be a woman there…a woman, not a girl. This man and this woman hit it off while riding their bikes. Fast forward to the present and these two find themselves living together as man and wife with many bikes.

I was inspired to tell you of this love story because of the love story depicted in this video by Schwinn.

I love a good love story and I love a Schwinn (I’m partial to the cruiser styles). I did not meet my husband while riding a bike, but whenever we go for bike rides together I swear I fall a little more in love with him.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored posts. All statements and opinions are my own.

Put Pie: Papa?

Unknown Papi: Yes?

Put Pie: You can play rough with me?

Unknown Papi smiles and some rough-housing ensues.

Put Pie: Papa?

Unknown Papi: Yes?

Put Pie: Not that rough!

Moral: Be careful what you wish for…

The Castro Theater, built in 1922, is a beautiful movie theater located in the Castro district of San Francisco.
May it live long and prosper.

I showed you mine, now show me yours.

Share your city/town/suburb/you name it! If you link up, please link back or post the Sundays In My City button either in your post or sidebar to let people know that other bloggers are sharing their communities too. Happy trails!

Grab the code from my sidebar.

It has been a crazy busy week for me as a blogger. I finally showed The Face Behind the Paper Bag (thank you all for the kind reception, I was very nervous) and I flew to Charlotte, NC to visit Britax headquarters in my role as a Britax Hispanic Digital and Social Media Outreach Blogger.

Now that what I look like is no longer a secret, I can show you a pick of me with my now in-real-life friend Helena from Pink Guayoyo. Such a treat to meet her on this trip.

When I was invited to join Britax, I was excited. Britax is a company that is synonymous with child safety and I was sure that I could stand behind them. I’m very careful about the companies that I choose to work with and many times I turn down offers because I don’t feel like they are a good fit in terms of my lifestyle and beliefs. Britax and their commitment to child safety seemed like a great fit, but I had no idea that I would completely fall in love with the company, their employees, and their products.

I learned so much and feel like I was embraced as a family member and partner. My fellow blogueras and I were treated excellently, engaged, embraced, and shown the operation up close and personal.

I feel proud and excited to be able to share what I learn with you now and in the future because although Britax is a for-profit company and therefore in the business of making money, they are also in the business of saving children’s lives and they take their business SERIOUSLY. No joke. My eyes were opened to my own negligent practices. I found myself texting my husband and telling him that we needed to replace our current car seats and until we got new ones we had to reinstall the ones we have because they weren’t tethered. I didn’t even know you were supposed to tether your child’s car seat. You know what they say…

Once you know better, you do better.

I highly recommend that you watch this video, even if you don’t have kids. Watch it! You will be amazed and you will need a tissue.

I have lots to tell you, but I’m on the plane back from Charlotte (yup, I’m blogging on the plane baby), so I’ll just give you a few highlights.

This was my first trip away from my kids since becoming a mom.

• Best part: SLEEPING!
• Worst part: I forgot my breast pump and I’m still nursing #BREASTFEEDINGFAIL. I ended up having to hand express into a cup. Not so much fun. I can’t wait to get home and get some help from Luna Pie.

And now your Friday Fortune Cookie
(don’t forget to add “in bed” at the end, if you are so inclined):

Safety first.

Hosted by Mrs. 4444

The time has come to properly introduce myself to you. I started this blog in 2009 and had no idea what it would grow into. To say that I am pleasantly surprised is an understatement.

When I first started blogging I donned a paper bag to keep myself honest. I believed that a certain sense of anonymity would allow me to in a way be more transparent and it worked. I did feel like I could be more open, more myself, and not worry about El Qué Dirán. I would reveal my true identity to a few people here and there, but for the most part I was happy to be the blogger behind the paper bag. It felt safe.

As the blog has grown, it has become harder and harder to keep my identity a secret and if you really wanted to know you could have figured it out. I’ve left clues. I Facebook “like” my own page under my real name. I’ve “accidentally” sent emails and blog subscriptions from my personal account.

The paper bag has served me well, but it no longer feels like it is keeping me honest. It is starting to feel like I am hiding behind it and I don’t want to hide. I am ready to just be me. Even The Unknown Comic eventually revealed himself. So here goes…

This is me with a paper bag over my head. The idea of Unknown Mami was inspired by The Unknown Comic. I fancy myself funny on occasion and I am unknown to many.

This is me without the paper bag…

My name is Claudya with a “Y”. I’ll tell you the story behind that some other day. The picture above was taken 7 months into being a mami. I was desperate to connect and to have a sense of community. I missed acting and I missed making people laugh, my 7 month old did not get my jokes at all. I made the paper bag with clip art and PowerPoint.

This is me in black and white. I wear glasses full-time because I have iritis and some corneal scarring. When I started blogging, I mostly wore contacts.

This is me in technicolor in my kitchen. That is a partially eaten quesadilla in the background. Help yourself.

You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Just ask Unknown Papi, he doesn’t like me when I’m angry.

This is me on the day that I got married. I’m looking at Unknown Papi in this picture. I love the way I’m looking at him, like I know that he is as awesome as he is.

My future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades…

I’m just keepin’ it real in this one. I’m a busy Mami with a blog and I don’t always get to groom the way I should.

I know it’s weird, right? The drapes don’t match the ‘stache.

This is me on a good day…

This headshot was taken by my friend Ashley Forrette.

So there you have me. You now know my name (it’s Claudya, don’t worry I’m terrible at remembering names too) and you know what I look like. What does it mean for this blog? Not much.

I’ll still keep blogging the way I’ve been blogging, but if you “accidentally” catch a glimpse of me in a picture or I “slip” and sign an email with my real name it won’t be a big deal because I willingly took off the paper bag.

And don’t worry about the paper bag, I’ll still use it. I’ve become so fond of that paper bag, I almost don’t recognize myself without it.

Thank you so much for the support you’ve shown me as a blogger, a mother, and a fellow human being. Thank you for making me feel that it is okay to show the face behind the paper bag.

5/02/2012

Be here.

You never know what you might see.

I was so excited to be invited to become a Lowe’s Creative Ideas Network Member because it means that I will be provided with monthly challenges, a gift card from Lowe’s to help facilitate those challenges, and a Lowe’s gift card to give away to one of my readers.

The challenge (or Mission Possible as I like to think of it) that I received for April was to pick a room, any room, and use a $300 Lowe’s gift card to give that room a makeover/facelift. I immediately knew that I wanted to re-do Put Pie’s room.

Put Pie, my 3-year-old, has a very tiny room that is prone towards clutter. Her room is very difficult to photograph since it is so small, so I took a video to show you what we started out with…

We headed to Lowe’s and with Put Pie’s help we chose a great shade of “Plink” to repaint her wall and a few other items.

We really wanted to go with a no VOC emissions paint and primer and were very happy to be able to find them at Lowe’s.

The item I was most excited to find via Lowe’s was this Sauder Shoal Creek Soft White Twin Bedframe:

I saw this item available on the Lowe’s website. They didn’t have it in the store, but a very helpful salesperson ordered it for me and it was shipped to my home at no extra cost. Score!

We also got this great ClosetMaid Cube Storage Unit and bought 9 ClosetMaid Fuschia Fabric Drawers to go with it:

Other items we used to fix up her room were things we already owned and repurposed.

• A small wooden shelf that we painted plink.
• A small dresser we painted plink.
• Curtains that I added ribbons to the top of so that they would hang evenly.
• Artwork and posters that we already had.

Ready to see the results? Tada!

The best part of this challenge is that it showed me that you don’t need to invest a lot of money to redo a room and see a significant difference. The paint alone lightened up the small space and made it seem roomier.

Wanna try your hand at a little Lowe’s DIY magic? Visit Lowe’s Creative Ideas for inspiration, but before you go enter to win a $100 Lowe’s gift card below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a $300 Lowe’s gift card to facilitate this room makeover and $100 Lowe’s gift card is being provided to the winner of the giveaway. All statements and opinions are mine.

Bath time.
San Francisco, CA.

I showed you mine, now show me yours.

Share your city/town/suburb/you name it! If you link up, please link back or post the Sundays In My City button either in your post or sidebar to let people know that other bloggers are sharing their communities too. Happy trails!

Grab the code from my sidebar.

I am taking the day off because I’m tired. The other day I came home from work and put Luna Pie (my 1-year-old) and myself to bed at 7:00 pm and you know what? It rocked! I woke up the next morning at 5am because I’d already been in bed for 10 hours. I need to let myself rest more instead of always trying to get something done.

So I’m gonna rest. I’ll catch up with you later.

But I want to let you know that something pretty exciting will be happening here next week. Something that might perhaps involve a certain paper bag that I have been dutifully wearing for 3 years. I’m just saying you might wanna keep a look-out ’cause you never know what you might see.

And now your Friday Fortune Cookie
(don’t forget to add “in bed” at the end, if you are so inclined):

People who say, “I’ll rest when I’m dead” don’t know what they are talking about.

Hosted by Mrs. 4444