Hola Chulas y Chulos! How you doin’? Ready for my favorite time of the year? Now, you can call the season “wintertime” or “the holidays,” but those of us in the know call it peak tamal season.

Continue reading "Tamal Memes Because ‘Tis the Season for Tamales" at By Claudya.

Last year in honor of my husband’s birthday, I wrote a blog post called 42 Great Things About My Husband. This year has taught me to appreciate all the many mundane things in life that I took for granted pre-pandemic, so I thought it would be appropriate to share some totally mundane things about my husband.

Continue reading "43 Mundane Things About My Husband" at By Claudya.

A couple of weekends ago, we got up early-ish and headed to Farmer John’s Pumpkin Farm. We also invited friends to join us so that we could do some socially distanced socializing while picking out a variety of pumpkins to bring home.

Continue reading "Our Visit to Farmer John’s Pumpkin Farm" at By Claudya.

Have I mentioned that my husband is a professional gardener and passionate about horticulture even when he’s not working? Well, he is and it’s a wonderful thing because his passion for horticulture means that we go on family outings to places like Shelldance Orchid Gardens.

Continue reading "Our Visit to Shelldance Orchid Gardens" at By Claudya.

A lot of things happened in 2008, but for me, the most significant thing that happened that year is that I became a mother. A mother to an extraordinary human being that is turning 12 this year.

Continue reading "12 Wishes for My 12-Year-Old" at By Claudya.

(UPDATE: My beloved Dill passed away on August 30, while lying on my chest.)

My Dearest Dill,

How could I have ever imagined that I would come to love you as much as I do?

Continue reading "A Letter to My Dying Hamster" at By Claudya.

Although I love living in California because it’s on the coast, I can’t say that I’ve ever considered myself a beach enthusiast. I like knowing that the beach is there and waiting for me if I choose to go, but most of my life I haven’t chosen to go.

Continue reading "The Beach Has Become Our Pandemic Go-To Outing" at By Claudya.

There are many, many varieties of Mexican pan dulce, but conchas are undoubtably one of the most popular and recognizable varieties. They are sweet delicious balls of bread with a sweeter kind of sugar cookie topping in designs that make the whole thing look like a concha.

Continue reading "We Made Pan Dulce Conchas at Home" at By Claudya.

This weekend, my family and I spent some time playing in the sand at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. While at the beach, I went for a walk and had some thoughts on why even though the world is clearly falling apart, I should continue to represent myself by sharing my perspective and the seemingly unimportant everyday adventures that I have in real life online via my blog, social media and as a freelance writer.

Continue reading "Why Representing Myself Matters Even When the World Is Falling Apart" at By Claudya.

It’s hard to keep track of how many days/weeks we’ve been staying home to help slow the spread of coronavirus. If I am counting correctly, we are on week nine.

Continue reading "Week 9 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

I’m writing this while in bed with a belly full of yummy food that was served to me by my loving family because it’s Mother’s Day and I’m a mother!

Continue reading "Week 8 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

San Francisco first asked residents to shelter in place starting on March 17. My daughters and I had already unofficially been doing so for five days prior to that request.

Continue reading "Week 7 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

We have been sheltering in place in San Francisco for 6-ish weeks now. During this time of staying at home to help slow the spread of coronavirus, I’ve been doing what I call shelter in place travels.

Continue reading "Week 6 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

Greetings from San Francisco where we have been sheltering in place for over a month now. Schools here are closed for the rest of the school year and my daughters have started their distance learning routines.

Continue reading "Week 5 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

My family and I are going on week 4 of sheltering in place and I am beginning to lose all concept of time. I use humor as a coping mechanism, which is why when we were first asked to shelter in place by the mayor of San Francisco, I thought I would start what I call shelter in place travels to help pass the time and add a bit of funny to the situation.

Continue reading "Week 4 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

Let me start out by saying that wherever you are, I hope that you are safe and healthy. I can report that my family and I are safe and healthy in San Francisco as we continue to shelter in place.

Continue reading "Week 3 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

Greetings from San Francisco! How are you holding up? A year ago could you have imagined that we’d end up here? In the midst of a pandemic?

Continue reading "Week 2 of My Shelter In Place Travels" at By Claudya.

On March 17, San Francisco residents were asked to shelter in place to help slow the spread of coronavirus. My daughters were already home from school because SFUSD schools shut down for at least three weeks starting on March 16.

Continue reading "Week 1 of My Shelter in Place Travels" at By Claudya.

Coronavirus is messing with me big time and not because I have it or anyone that I know has it. It’s messing with me because I have anxiety disorder and as someone with anxiety disorder, I am always and I mean ALWAYS on the lookout for disaster.

Continue reading "Managing My Anxiety During the Coronavirus Pandemic" at By Claudya.

Some love stories are complicated and I’m not trying to say that our love story hasn’t had a complication here and there, but when you get right down to how it is that we fell in love, our love story is simple.

Continue reading "Our Love Story Is Simple" at By Claudya.