The New Year is around the corner and I can’t wait for 2010 to begin! Not that 2009 wasn't a good year, but next year has a huge change in store for us. With a little luck, our oldest son will be vacating his permanent residence and rooming with a total stranger at a college near or far. It is a complex set of emotions that crop up when I try to imagine how life will be like without him around, and so far I’ve chosen not to think about this rite of passage too much.

Denial? Yup, and I’m not ashamed to admit it either.

Getting back to New Year’s Eve. I’ve been recalling some of the superstitions or traditions I’ve grown up with living in Mexico to celebrate the new beginning, and thinking we might adopt one or two this year, you know, just for fun!

Here are a few of them:

1.       Pack a bag and place it by the door. Supposedly, doing this will lead to more travel during the upcoming year. Some people take their packed luggage and go for a walk around the block!

 

2.       Wear red underwear. I can only assume this came from some Oriental belief in the color red bringing prosperity and or love – not sure if this is limited to this area of the body or for your entire being, hm mm.

 

 

3.       Eat twelve grapes for good luck at the stroke of midnight, one per chime symbolizing each of the twelve months of the year. In Mexico, radio stations broadcast the bell chiming precisely at midnight.  I remember I tried chewing and swallowing the little suckers with each bell toll, but I nearly choked to death a few times!

So, which tradition will it be for us this year?

I think I’ll pack a couple of bags and place them by the door. Yes. It’ll be one for my son and the other one for me … and I’ll TIE them together as my way of putting a new twist on an old tradition so fate won’t separate us too much in 2010!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

 

 

TO MY READERS

How do you like the Holiday layout? I decked my blog just for you, so I hope you enjoy the vibrant seasonal colors while you're here.

Ice skating at The Hotel Del Coronado (photos Suzette Valle)

Since it's my turn to host our family celebration, I will be off-line for the next few days.

I am sincerely grateful for each and every one of you for taking the time to read and/or leave a comment; your feedback, whether it's here or at The Wrap.com, mean a lot to me. I only wish I had a Christmas giveaway to give to all of you, but alas I don't.

However, there are a couple of freebies to be had. There are still free memberships available for HOMEDATAGUARD if you'd like to claim one. Just leave your e-mail in the comments and I'll send you your code! Or, you can still take advantage of the ETNIES promotion only available through this blog.

I will miss you, but I expect to emerge from the stacks of dirty dishes and wrapping paper unscathed and ready to share more rants and experiences with you (which might be plentiful with 19 family members coming over!).

I leave you with a few images of Christmas in our city, and I hope your Holidays are full of warmth, love, harmony and health.

The Hotel Del Coronado (photo Bianca Valle)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Hollyblogs / Suzette Valle

 

What Does My Family Do Now, Tiger Woods?

 

December 21, 2009 -- It’s tough to face the very people who put you on a pedestal, but do it By Suzette Valle

As many of you know, and were probably expecting, I had to write about the Tiger Woods saga. Instead of writing two posts, one for my blog and another for TheWrap.com, I decided to do a single post and send it in to see what other people besides my loyal readers, friends and my parents would think.

It took me sometime to dig deep and figure out how I felt about the ugly mess Tiger's put himself and his family in, and the result of my pondering is a polarizing piece!

Go ahead, read and weigh in.

My post at www.TheWrap.com about Tiger Woods: What Does My Family Do Now, Tiger Woods?

 

Though the Christmas spirit is high around our home, the chores related to making the season bright are dulling my inner lights of inspiration. I simply can't muster the energy to focus on a single task; be it making a list, shopping for presents, and much less wrapping them!

Am I turning into Mrs. Scrooge?

Secretly, I wish I were. Perhaps this would give me the excuse I need to just let the whole Merry Holiday happen in front of me, and allow me to enjoy it without participating in the harried preparations for it. I am mentally overwhelmed with card sending, tree trimming, house decorating, guest room conditioning, bathroom cleaning, food preparing, and doing it all with a smile.

I am now the 'last minute' shopper of which I accused my husband of being many times, and can not get energized enough to get a pretty box under the tree!

Perusing my old issues of Martha Stewart Living for inspiration (my secret role model for housekeeping), isn't helping either. I used to get every thing ready weeks ahead of time, even held a family house-lighting ceremony on December 1st when we'd light up the strings on the roof and siding holding Christmas-themed hot-chocolate mugs to indicate the Valle household's start to the season.

Complaining to my friend about this uninvolved feeling, she told me I'm suffering from a mental dump in which I've shut down the thoughts of getting my act together for these special days due to too much going on.

I agree.

My sons college apps. are taking up too much time, and we are all stressing way too much over the loss of control about his future whereabouts.

My daughter's friend drama and sports are far too emotionally demanding for me now.

Husband's job daily uncertainty is eating away at my rock solid support system.

And, Christmas is here and it's my turn to host the family gathering.

HELP!

Is anyone else having this Christmas crisis?

 

Every parent knows that when kids reach the teen years, time with them becomes more valuable and so do the lessons we can impart. Hopefully, we take full advantage of these precious moments to do this any way we can. Last week-end was no exception for me. Before I was finished slurping the foam off my Eggnog Latte, my scheming teen had already perused the newspaper and found a movie and a piece of interesting 'fashion' information she immediately shared with me.

"Mom, it's going to be Mother-Daughter day today, OK?" announced my 14 year-old securing our 'date' so I wouldn't come up with an excuse to take off with my husband or a girlfriend--though it's usually the other way around. I really enjoy our days together because my 'fashionista' manages to teach ME something new at every outing. From the 'cool' movies to fashion trends, she's on top of it and, though I hate to admit this, has saved me from myself and my choice of apparel purchases more than a couple of times (What do you mean I can't wear shorts and Uggs? It's practically our beach town's uniform!).

"What a relief!" she confidently muttered to herself as she read about a French member of Parliament wanting to put warning labels on retouched fashion magazine photos. Valerie Boyer is a mother of two teenage daughters and is aware of the body image problems our 'normal-looking' girls face in today's body-conscious society. Apparently, she wants magazines to let readers to know, especially young teenage girls, that the images on the photo spreads they see are not 'true' to life. Needless to say, the relief was actually mine. For a change, someone other than myself was telling my daughter she is not fat and that magazine photos are not reality.

After talking this over for a bit, she told me the title of the movie we were going to go watch, An Education. I asked if she new what this film was about and she simply answered, "It's filmed in London and Paris, and the outfits look beautiful".

OK, sounds good. I can sit through that.

An hour and forty five minutes later, we very contentedly walked out of the cinema and I congratulated her on an excellent film choice. I also told her I really appreciated the movie's message and how tastefully and realistically it was delivered. In fact, I thought this movie should be required viewing for teen girls. Period.

A small-town teenage girl with hopes of making it to Oxford University is suddenly swept off her feet by an older dotting man who takes her on lavish trips, expensive dinners and clubs. She drops out of school when the man gives her an engagement ring, and her goals of an education are suddenly replaced by dreams of a home, family and a lifestyle she'd never thought she could have--only to find out the man in question is married. In one fell swoop, her fantasy life vanishes and she's left with nothing. In typical teen-rebel behavior, she had gone against the advise of the adults around her, and found herself looking to get back on track encountering closed doors at every step, except for one teacher who helped her regain control of her studies. She finishes school and gets accepted to Oxford. Happy ending.

So, "What did you like best about the movie", I curiously asked my observant teen expecting her to tell me about the point of the film and maybe reminisce a little about having visited all the cities the movie was filmed in this past summer.

"Oh, everything! The clothes, the furniture, the time period. Everything except the message."

"Why?" I asked a bit surprised. 

"I wasn't paying that much attention to it. I was too distracted by the whole 'feeling' of the movie. I wonder if that was how they behaved back in the old days."

I went over the mess the protagonist had gotten herself into, explained it to her, and then got confirming feedback from my attentive young listener.

"Oh, yeah. She was stupid for doing that. I'll never do that."

I hope so, I thought.

We walked into the coffee shop at the corner, bought some hot chocolate, and quite out of the blue she then asked, "Were you alive in the movie's time period?"

After taking a quick mental survey of the movie's era, I realized the 'old days' now included me. In spite of this, I proudly replied, "Of course I was. This movie was set in the 60's. It's not THAT long ago."

We received such a great response on our etnies.com site, that we decided to extend our promotion to your readers. Between now and the end of the year, we want parents to be able to stretch their dollar even more. etnies.com is offering 30% off any purchase, a free stocking stuffer (while supplies last) and free shipping for the holidays! Spread the word and spread some Ollieday Cheer!    more »

Check it out! Vannessa Van Petten of  www.RadicalParenting.com selected my humble blog as Pick Of The Week and posted it at:

Thought you'd like to know

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