Tag: family

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Happy Holidays

October-December is literally my favorite time of year. It’s harvest/ holiday season and a time to be grateful for all that I have. I also enjoy family time- I have the best family ever!

This year, it felt so warm, and almost like an escape from all the darkness in the world. Laughter, delicious food, competitive games, fellowship, and great conversation. Absolutely nothing beats that. 

Thanksgiving was so precious, as always. 

Thanksgiving Fit

This is what my family eats for Thanksgiving as a Trini family: 

RICE: fried, yellow, and white

MEAT: ribs, stewed pork, stewed chicken, duck, jerk pork, jerk fried turkey, ham

SIDES: macaroni pie, lasagna, shepherd’s pie, potato salad

BEANS: pigeon peas and red beans

We also have salad.(thank God)

My mom always makes her sponge cake, sweet bread, black cake, and pone for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I requested that my sister get us a cheesecake from Juniors in which she got an apple crumble cheesecake, twas heavenly.

We played fun games and enjoyed each other’s company.

I have to be a little honest. During these settings, my introverted side be coming out, because at some points, I found myself feeling OVERSTIMULATED and needing a pause in between games, and all of the energy. My family is super full of energy which I love, and I mean, I laugh the hardest with them. Because of how competitive we are, there is yelling, screaming, and you could imagine. HAHA.

I needed to take a little break LOL, but I love it.

Christmas

I love watching Christmas movies, wrapping presents, listening to Christmas jams and being festive. I made sure to partake in those activities this season.

For the first time I saw The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. A dream! I remember seeing commercials as a young girl and always wanting to go. It was spectacular- the dancers are so skilled with their tap shoes- the music from the orchestra was so beautiful, and I love that they included the nativity scene of Jesus.

Of course, we had to stop by the infamous Rockefeller Center tree.

Christmas in NYC is top tier. There were santas ridings on bikes playing Feliz Navidad. Random light shows while walking the streets. Beautiful Christmas decor on store front windows, decorated and lighted up christmas trees everywhere, and cheerful people. LOVE IT.

Traditionally my family opens presents on Christmas morning. No matter how old I get, I still get excited on Christmas morning, and there is this joy and magic that I always feel.

Christmas is the same as Thanksgiving, but the only difference is we give each other gifts, and added some roti and curry to the menu. And of course, PARANG music playing in the background. 

We also for the first time had a ginger bread house making contest. We were in pairs, and the best house won a money prize.

I found it to be very soothing, and also challenging. We had 45 minutes and only used what was in the box(at least most of us did). There was not much to work with so it forced some creativity. I was paired with my mom and we started off on the same page, but then all of a sudden,she started changing the designs, and, yeah from there, it was over for us. LOL, it requires strategy and team work for sure.

This was the winning house. They used other candies around the house (since there was no rule that they couldn’t) and won. I can’t lie they did a fire job, but the rest of us felt a little cheated as we stuck to what was inside the box, HAHA. So now we know next time. 

Overall, my heart was full by the end of the night. I love this season. Till next year.

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Mother’s Day

This Mother’s Day, my siblings and cousins decided to throw a little brunch for our mothers.

Just a little about my mom and her sisters: they are strong Trinidadian women. Growing up, I used to think my mother was a mixture of caring and strict. While she cared deeply for me and my siblings, she also did not play! I did not get everything I wanted and my mother did not hesitate to let us know what we sometimes needed to hear. As an adult, I am so grateful. My aunts are very similar. There is no such thing as “spoiled” in my family. We got lix, pinches, and you name it. But I can happily say, I had an involved, loving, and prayerful mother in my life, and it has impacted me tremendously as an adult. I am eternally blessed.

As I look at me and my cousins in our adulthood, they did not do a bad job! We are all thriving and finding our ways, thanks to them! 

My sister cooked fried rice, ribs, macaroni pie, and jerk pork. My dad made his popular potato salad and red beans. My cousins brought other dishes that included BBQ wings, baked chicken, and lasagna. I bought a cookies-and-cream cake from Whole Foods. My aunt bought a red velvet and carrot cake. My cousin made these delicious chocolate chip cookies. We also bought these yummy macaroons from Costco, so you can say I gained a pound or two, because WHO CAN RESIST THAT?

This is a picture of our table spread. Flowers were bought from Lidl, and we went for a floral theme.

It was such a beautiful time of laughter, fellowship, and reminiscing of times past. I have the best family ever. Hope we can do more events like this in the future! See you next time!