Spring is here and we've been spending a lot of our afternoons outside - going to the playground, gardening or just hanging out on the porch. I'm an afternoon iced coffee drinker, so I like to sit on my rocking chair on the porch and relax with my cafecito. I found something at the grocery store today that I can give to K to enjoy on our porch-sitting afternoon: Horchatita! That means little horchata, which is a cinammon rice beverage that is just heavenly. I try to just drink it on occasion, otherwise I'd be drowning myself in the stuff every day. I usually don't buy juice boxes for the toddler, but opt for just filling up her sippy cups with milk, water or juice. But these are a special treat, and a good way to introduce her to the world of horchatas. And a good way to cool down as we welcome the warm afternoons.

I've never attempted to make homemade horchata, but this Horchata de Plátano recipe from Nibbles and Feasts blog looks easy enough, and delicious with the banana twist. I've got everything I need to make it, so gonna attempt this weekend. Can't wait to try it!

We went out as a family tonight to get tacos. It was a new spot that some friends recommended. It was totally in the boonies on some narrow, hidden street, so we figured it must be good. When we got there, the parking lot was full. No, it must be awesome.

And then we walked in, and the first thing I see is this huge lighted picture menu that shows the different kinds of tacos they sell. Similar to the picture menus that are ubiquitous at Chinese carry-out places. But with this one, well, take a look at the photo above.  I wanted to die laughing when I saw it, because every single picture looked exactly the same. Well, a little texturing difference in the meat, but to the uninitiated? It totally reminded me of that moment in the movie Lost in Translation when Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray are at a Japanese restaurant looking at a menu, and one of them says just that, that they all look exactly the same. Man, I love that movie.

So anyway, with this menu, I guarantee that a newbie woud not be so happy with a taco de lengua. Or taco de cachete. Or de cabeza.  I'd bet money on it. Even I can only stomach so much, and I do consider myself an adventurous eater.

We ordered our usual, tacos de pastor and carnitas. And they were delicious, perfect with cilantro and onion on top and a squirt of lime. The salsas were pretty picosos and tasty too, especially the chipotle one. Which, even after washing my hands five times, I was reminded of as I took off my contact lenses tonight. I'll never learn my lesson.

We usually eat at home for lunch, but my stomach was rumbling when we were out and the child had it on repeat asking for chocolate cake, chocolate cake, chocolate cake -- an obsession since I bought one for my husband's birthday two weeks ago. She really just means frosting. Or frosting-like substances like Nutella.

So we went to Whole Foods and I got her a chocolate cupcake, got myself some sushi, and some noodles for her. She ate the cupcake first, por supuesto, then put down her fork and asked for chopsticks. She saw me eating with them and she wanted in. She always does this when we eat at Noodles & Company.

So I gave her a pair, and lo and behold, my finicky child ate! You have to play Jedi Mind Tricks as a parent sometimes to get your way.

The toddler K took swimming lessons this summer, and all she could talk about for three months (besides her birthday, which is apparently every day) was swimming, swimming, and more swimming. But in a pool. When we got to Miami Beach last week I'm not sure that she remembered it from last year, because as soon as we tried to put her down to walk her feet would shoot up so that the first thing to touch the sand was her butt. Maybe she's a little like me -- I like the beach, but I much prefer watching it from a beachside pool surrounded by concrete. The thing is, I really hate sand. Weeks later you still find it in the crevices of your bags or shoes or car. Como una chismosa, metida en todo menos misa.

Still, we had fun:

removeAs anyone could predict, I had a cortadito or two every single day of my visit. In case you're wondering what a cortadito is, it's sweetened espresso topped with s

teamed milk. Versus a cafe con leche, which is a LOT of milk, and of course, a lot of sugar. Or a colada, which is uber-sweetened espresso, or otherwise known as liquid speed.

So of course, when we got back home I had to bust out the cafetera I bought last year in Madrid. Mmmmm, homemade cortadito isn't so bad, especially when paired with crisp Fall weather.

 

All I heard today on the news here in DC today was how friggin hot it was going to get and be careful and stay indoors and keep hydrated, blah, blah, blah. It got up to 99, and yeah, it was hot and it doesn't feel so awesome to have the backs of your thighs sticking to the bus stop bench or to have sweaty pits or melting skin foundation, because that's real sexy, right? But it was tolerable, and when I compare it to the days when it snows or ices and the temperature dips below 20, well, I'll take the heat ANY DAY over the cold. I'm originally from South Texas where it gets really, really hot. I was in Laredo two weeks ago, in fact, and every time the wind blew through the 110, yes, 110 degree temperature, it felt like someone had turned on a hot blow dry in my face.

The way I see it, you can't complain about the cold and hot weather. You gotta pick a team, because otherwise you're just a complainer. I'm team Caliente. Even if I'm uncomfortable, I suck it up and sit there with my sweaty pits and sticky arms and legs. Better than the cold, I remind myself. I don't like the cold because when it's really cold, it physically hurts and I wanna cry because I feel like I'm going to freeze to death.

So, being that we are Team Caliente in my house, we got some paletas de coco from the little Latino grocery store near our house to help cool us down. Oh, and speaking of hot Laredo, Texas, whenever I go shopping in downtown Laredo the first thing I do is go searching for a paletero to buy my favorite paleta of all: paleta de arroz con leche. Oh, its heavenly and will make any 100+ day melt away.

I totally wish I had paletero man passing by the front of my house honking the little horn on their carrito.

So they have something to unwrap :)

It's a joke, but we sure did have ourselves a lot of tamales today. And they were delish, and indeed, best thing I unwrapped all week. Feliz Navidad a todos!

There are basically three frames of mind that I live in.

Negative. Sometimes, I'm gripey and whiney and complainey. I like hearing myself complain because its cathartic and it makes me feel better and clears my head. I actually really enjoy going to happy hour with other whiners because the conversation -- dripping with conflict -- is much more interesting.

Sometimes, I back into my whining. I know that if I ask my husband one more time, "Am I as big as her?" -- her being some random, clueless commuter standing next to us on the metro, he's going to claw his fingers through the train doors and throw me under the tracks because he knows where this conversation is headed. I know, there are things where I really need to build a bridge and get over it and just not talk about anymore.

Positive. Sometimes, I do yoga and I get all yogi and start sending "positive vibes" to people when I message them. What the hell does that even mean? I totally picked that up from other people and started using it myself, apparently. But point is, I start aspiring to better things in everything in my life. And I get all Walter Mercado on people and start wishing them good things, too.

Sometimes, I decide I want to do bigger things in life and I do them. I push forward, with the help and support of good friends and family, and somehow I get to where I want to be. I am determined and undaunted. Sometimes.

Thankful. Many times, I'm just thankful for what I have right now, at this moment. I can spend my day bitching about this thing that happened, or aspiring toward that, but Tomorrow is promised to no one. That is a truth that haunts me, but also reminds me to to relish every second of the now. It reminds me to stop and be thankful for all that I do have.

I am thankful for my family and friends above all. For being married to the most interesting, kindest, most wonderful person I know. For having a child that is sweetness incarnate, and who fills my life with happiness.

Happy Sangivin. Feliz Dia del Pavo. Or as we say in South Texas, Feliz Dia del Guajolote!

Not that I do that much cooking anyway -- just whatever I can throw together after work with minimal prep. But this is definitely going to be a take-out or eat out weekend. I'm tired, and I need to hit up the grocery store. With the toddler we don't even bother to go to nice restaurants anymore. We stick to Baja Fresh, Qdoba and Chipotle, mostly. Better known as, Bueno y Barato. The toddler K loooooves her some rice and beans and guacamole so it works out for all of us.

On another note and for the random food story of the month, we went to a Mexican/Salvadoran restaurant (which means they don't really serve real Mexican food) a few weeks ago and this drunk dude at the table next to us kept trying to pet my child and tell us about his own child that he left back home. You know the story, and I can totally empathize. He obviously felt like platicating (that's our Spanglish way of saying platicando/talking) but I just didn't want to engage because not only was he drunk, but piss drunk, so I just kept my answers short and mostly tried to ignore.

Next thing I know, he walks out the front door of the restaurant and the owner follows him, they exchange words and soon the owner is walking back inside trying his best to hide this HUGE KITCHEN KNIFE that was basically a machete.

A machete! WTF? So the dude trying to pet my child had that on him while he was trying to platicate with us. I just wanted a friggin burrito, not all that drama. Cops came, did nothing because drunk dude who had machete was gone, and we left quick as we could.

**Scurry**

What would you do if that happened to you?

It was either the boxed milk off the store shelf,  or this one -- the only one in the refrigerator section in the supermarket we went to in Bilbao today. Refrigerated equals fresh, or it should, and that's what children from the U.S. drown themselves in every day.

The pic on the box has a cow grazing in the pasture, so that's a start, right? And the word leche is in there, I think. But its written in Euskara, as are many things in Bilbao (which is part of the Pais Vasco) so I couldn't be sure. I took it because something in the toddler K's bottle is better than nothing once the grouchiness comes a knocking.

The toddler K chugged it down without a complaint, so guess we're good. I admit, I didn't try it because I don't like milk on its own -- never have -- so I can't even judge what the real thing tastes like.

This is parenting at its best! Let me tell you, when you travel especially international, your standards definitely shift. Which brings me to dinner tonight, in which we let the toddler K eat a bag of chips. That's it, just a bag of potato chips because that's what she wanted and I was too tired to care anymore.

She loved it, probably thinks I'm a goddess because of it, too. I should've just gone and topped it off with some Fanta Limon in her bottle.

Right now, there's a baby gate that bars baby K from the kitchen. It's so sad when I'm cooking and there she is, hanging on to the bars crying and trying to get to me. Or to the dog's water and food bowls. Probably the latter.

Once baby K gets a little older I'm going to get her a little apron and put her to work. Like my sister-in-law tells my nephew -- earn your keep! This Dora and Diego Let's Cook cookbook just came out, and you can order it from Amazon. According to the product description its for ages 4 to 8. Perfect for me.

Here's more on the description:

Guided by Dora and Diego, kids will help measure, stir, shape, and decorate 50 exciting and super-tasty recipes like Pirate Adventure Pizza Coins and Incan Quinoa Pudding-all while learning Spanish words and phrases.

But seriously, I really, really enjoy cooking, but over the past year I have been on a downward spiral away from Martha Stewart-worthy experimenting to more of the randomly thrown-together Rachael Ray-type dinners. You know, the burger mac and cheese artichoke dip drenched in EVOO with a pinch of salt hot mess kinda meals. Sigh.

I need new cookbooks. Actually, what am I talking about? I've been using the Whole Foods recipe iPhone app a lot over the past year. Maybe Dora will get her own app, too! It's not beyond reason. There really is an app for everything. Everything -- when I was pregolicious, I had an iContraction app. Because when you're cringing in pain, the last thing you want to do is look at a clock and jot it down. C'mon Dora, help a mama out.