Volume 1; Issue 8: June 2025 Hola, Do you ever celebrate when you're stressed out? I do. Recently I've had a lot of celebrations and it got me thinking about all the times I celebrated when things weren't so great. I believe I do this to give myself a break from the grief, the struggle and the confusion. The truth is that good and bad things are always happening simultaneously. This is what makes life so complicated and difficult. One of my default ways to celebrate is to write, and in doing...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Volume 1; Issue 7: May 2025 "Mal de Ojo" Drawing Ever blame superstition on something that's a mere coincidence? I have. This month, I've had so many coincidences that I can't help but be a bit superstitious about it. Even though I know my luck won't change by relying on superstitious phrases like "knock on wood" or "never put a purse on the floor", coincidences are sometimes hard to accept as just random events. This got me thinking about why I'm sometimes superstitious in the first place....
2 months ago • 1 min read
Volume 1; Issue 6: April 2025 Hola, Do you make excuses? I do. Last month, I couldn't get this newsletter out, because I was too busy learning about the mythical creature, the chupacabra- well, not exactly. My "chupacabra" story is similar to the cliche, "my dog ate my homework". In other words, "learning about chupacabras" is my version of a fantastical made-up excuse. This got me thinking. Why do I make excuses? The truth is that excuses temporarily make me feel better. It's hard to admit...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Volume 1; Issue 5: February 2025 Hola! Do you say "yes" a lot? I do. In this ongoing month, synonymous with love, I said "yes"- from taking a vacation to tackling work projects, from pursuing my hobbies to running errands, from replying to simple texts to managing an ever-growing "to do" list, and as always, I made saying "yes" to family and friends my top priority. This got me thinking. Although I pride myself in my tendency to say "yes, it's not always the right answer for myself or others....
5 months ago • 2 min read
Volume 1; Issue 4: January 2025 Hola and Happy New Year! Do you make New Year's resolutions? I do. Earlier this month, I made a list of New Year's resolutions, a tradition I've kept for many years. But like most people (let's be honest), I break most of them. It got me thinking. Resolutions tend to be broad, overarching goals and limiting them to a one-year timeframe adds unnecessary pressure, leaving me disappointed. It's a confusing dilemma, since I'm the one that created the resolutions in...
6 months ago • 1 min read
Volume 1; Issue 3 -December 2024 Hola, Do you give away stuff? I do. Last week, I gave away a variety of items- some were newly bought and delivered, some were gently used and packed in black bags, and some were intended for others to purchase new gifts. These items ranged from household essentials to things that would simply bring joy to a child during the holidays. When I was growing up, my family bought much of our stuff from second-hand stores. More about that in my latest blogpost, How I...
8 months ago • 1 min read
Forwarded from a friend? Subscribe to the monthly Bodega Botanica Tales Newsletter Maria with her avocado plant Maria's Avocado Plant Hola! Do you ever grow? I do. This month, my mother gifted me an avocado plant (pictured above) and it got me thinking about trying to grow, but in the wrong environment. After all, this plant needed tropical heat and I live in an area where the first chill of the Northeastern Fall has just set in. Avocado plants aren't exactly native to these parts. Besides,...
8 months ago • 2 min read
Hola! Do you believe in signs? I do. As I’ve prepared to launch this very first issue, I’ve been telling many of my friends and family that I've had a shift in my life. Like the moon cycles, I'm in a new phase. I've had more time to pause, reflect, and discover. This process has been an invitation to dig deeper and reconnect with parts of myself that, in the busyness of life, went overlooked. On my recent visit to Spain, I came across an old business sign that read La "Bodega" Bohemia. Many...
9 months ago • 1 min read