Its that time again...

 

~

 

Bonne Annee..........

Another year has come and gone.  Bring it on 2019!!!!

You can read more New Years facts and trivia blog posts here and here. 

In Argentina at exactly 12:00, everyone takes one step forward with their right foot so they can get the year started off "on the right foot."

They also eat beans, a lot of beans with the belief of a prosperous new year.

In Chile at midnight, they eat one spoonful of lentils so the year will be filled with money.

They also grab brooms and sweep out their homes to rid the house of bad energy.

They are especially fond
of  burning Spongebob in
Ecuador.

Ecuadorians make a doll thing of sorts that usually resembles politicians, pop stars, and/or other famous people and burn them in the streets at midnight.  This burns away the old year for a fresh new year to begin.

When the clock strikes midnight, they eat 12 grapes before 12:01 which is said to be harder than it sounds to do.

In England, they believe the first person to come through your door will bring you good luck in the new year but it should be a young handsome man carrying salt, coal, money, and bread but beware of any person with red hair.  They refer to this as "first-footer."

They eat a lot of bread and drink an excessive amount of beer.

The French eat escargot, oysters, and foie gras, which is liver from a duck or a goose (besides eating anything from an animal being gross and unnecessary, the French take it one step further.  They literally force-feed the ducks and geese with a feeding tube shoved down their throat to fatten up their livers.  What a bunch of saccades!).
Side note, never tell a French person Happy New Year until it is actually the new year.  They are sensitive about that.

In the Netherlands, they eat big oily balls of dough (gross) called oliebollen.  I guess basically it is like a donut hole which sounds better than big oily balls of dough!


They burn their Christmas trees and have bonfires to celebrate.

In the Philippines, they open all the windows, doors, and cabinets and turn off all the lights and just after midnight, they race around shutting them all back.  This is to ward off evil spirits in the new year.  Not sure how that works but okay, whatever. 

They also eat foods that are round again for a prosperous new year. 

Russians write down a wish on a piece of paper and at midnight set the paper on fire and put it in a glass of champagne and drink it before 12:01.

They fancy eating sweets for the new year.

The Spaniards eat 12 grapes exactly when the clock strikes 12 and must have them all eaten before 12:01.
They celebrate with red undergarments and lots of lottery tickets.

We have gone with the black-eyed peas, cornbread, and greens over the last few years, and we have been lucky.  We were going to shake up the menu this year but decided to just add rice pilaf, vegan Italian sausage, and spiced up lentils.  Yum!

New Year's Eve party at our place tonight.....

It seems like it always rains on New Year's Eve in the ATL but that will not stop the party.  Somehow we always get nominated to host and somehow we love it!!!!!  We are the designated party family!  !!Happy New Year!!

New Year's Day dinner.........

Homemade cornbread, over-night black-eyed peas, sauteed green beans, spinach, and MorningStar Spicy Buffalo veggie nuggets.  I probably should have had more greens.

~

It is almost a brand new year........

We had a great New Year's Eve despite the cold, freezing rain......

We had donuts and sparkling cider New Year's Eve and Black-eyed peas,
lentils, cornbread, spinach, and veggie ribs for New Year's dinner.

Swoon......this just happened! Can't wait to see Panic! At the Disco again at the Death of a Bachelor Tour 2017.

Did you know that back in 2000 B.C., they were celebrating New Years?

Yep!  The Mesopotamians were ringing in the New Year, probably a little differently than we do but nevertheless....You can check out my other blog posts about New Years here if you care to read more random facts about New Years celebrations and traditions.

Here are a few more cool facts about New Year celebrations.

International:


~Russia celebrates with Grandfather Frost, a.k.a. spirit of winter.  Grandfather Frost leaves gifts under the New Year Tree.  Read more here.

~Happy Hogmanay to the folks in Scotland.  Celebrations include fireball swinging and first footing;  the first foot in the house after midnight will ensure good luck for the house as long as the first foot belongs to a dark male and said dark male is bringing pieces of coal, salt, a black bun, shortbread, and a shot of whisky.

~There is a small neighborhood in Johannesburg, South Africa, who take appliances to the rooftops of buildings and throw them down to the streets below.

~In order to start the New Year off right in a town in Peru, they celebrate Takanakuy which is a tradition for men, women, and children to settle grudges with fistfights.  After that, its all good, and they celebrate their clean slates by drinking with each other.

~How about a multi-day water fight in Thailand to celebrate the new year?

~Icestock, a music festival, is how they celebrate in the Antarctic.

~In Akita, Japan, men dress as mountain demons, drink too much, and terrorize children who are disobedient to their parents.

A little more local:

~Did you know some people in Time Square wear adult diapers because of the lack of toilets?  UGH!

~If you are going to be in Mobile, Alabama, look for a 12-foot tall mechanical Moon Pie with lights.

~In Brasstown, North Carolina, they ring in the new year with a Possum Drop.

~A long time ago in Hawaii, the New Year's celebration was four years long.  People stopped working and war was not allowed.  This was a time of feasting and dancing.

No matter how you celebrate, a new year is a great time for more new beginnings.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!

Starts now.....

Best moment of 2015...........

used to be finally getting the support that my children deserve even though it took a trip to court to do so but that changed today on the way home.  The girls and I were talking about the new year ahead, and then I heard them both say this was their best year ever!  And they listed off all the things that we were able to do and accomplish.  There is just nothing better than that!

Looking forward to a new year, a new residence, and more amazing adventures with my kiddos.........

Cheers to new beginnings............

Finally able to get out from underneath this suffocating past and move into our own new place to start making memories that will last a lifetime.

New Year + new place = AWESOME!

~

2015, BRING IT ON!

Another year has come and gone by so very fast.  I am so ready to start this new year that is on its way.  What a difference a year can make.  I am more confident than I have ever been.  Being confident has so many benefits, and I am embracing every one of them.  I am stronger than I have ever been both mentally and physically.  I am happier than I have ever been, and I am not taking any crap from anyone (life is too short for that)! I am grateful for my girls, my family, and my amazing friends and neighbors.  I know 2015 will be filled with great things for my girls and I, and I am READY!!!

Random New Year's facts/trivia.

A little bit of randomness about the New Year's celebration.

~Happy New Year, Julius Caesar!  Thanks for creating this celebration 4,000 years ago making this the oldest holiday.  Yep, he gets credit for yet another major event.  Caesar made Janus (January) 1st, a national holiday to celebrate the new year.  Background:  Janus was an interesting Roman god.  He was the god of doors and gates.  He also had two faces, one was the face of the future and the other, the face of the past.

~If you are in New York for New Year's Eve, you can check out the dropping of the ball which signifies the new year has begun.  New York has hosted this event since 1907 with the exception of 1942 and 1943 due to World War II.  This massive ball currently weighs in at almost 12,000 pounds and has more than 2,500 Waterford crystals (made in Waterford, Ireland) attached to it.  It is a whopping 12 feet in diameter.  The original ball was over 700 pounds and 5 feet in diameter.  Here is a peek of the ball for 2015 from USA Today.

~In Sydney, Australia, you can watch the more than 80,000 fireworks set off from the Sydney Harbour bridge.

~If you just happen to be in Japan, you will find homes decorated with bamboo stalks for prosperity, a plum blossom to show nobility, and pine branches which symbolize longevity.

~Of course, we have all heard the song Time Goes By for Auld Lang Syne (Time Goes By) a million times.  The song was written by a Scottish poet named Robert Burns in 1788.

~When the clock strikes midnight in Britain, people gather around and sing Auld Lang Syne.

~In Norway, a whole almond is added to rice pudding, the one who gets the serving with the almond is guaranteed to be wealthy for the year.

~In Greece, a coin is baked inside a loaf of bread.  When the loaf is cut and if the almond is in the third slice of bread, spring will come early.

~If you are in Sicily, you will be served lasagna for good luck.  Other types of pastas are considered to bring bad luck.

~More black-eyed peas are eaten on January 1st, than any other day of the year.

~It is thought that the reason for the noise/noise makers is to ward off any bad spirits at the beginning of the new year.

My previous blog post about New Year's can be found here and here.

Starting the new year off on the right foot!

Another year has come and gone.  Time really does just go by so fast.  As it turns out, the majority of the year 2013 was not a lot of fun but I learned a lot and for that, I am grateful!  I have great faith that this new year will bring nothing but the best for me and my girls.

Being a single full-time mom means I need to be strong, healthy, and able to accomplish all the things that have to be done and have enough energy to do it all.

One of the first things we will do as a family for sure this year, is cut back on sugar and junk!  Being vegetarians does not guarantee always eating healthy.

I have been searching all over Pinterest, the internet, and the library for new things to try.  There is a great new book called Pandora's Lunchbox.  The book outlines how processed foods took over mealtimes.  If you eat crap, you feel like crap.  We have tried a few healthier options and swapped out some of the foods we love but made with better ingredients.  I will add more as we go.  We started with infused water.  They are delicious!

The ingredients are just water, cucumber, blueberry, and lemon.  If you cannot buy organic, clean your fresh fruits or vegetables with a mixture of half water and half vinegar.

Slice everything up and add to the water.

All done!  It tastes better if you leave it to "infuse" in the refrigerator overnight.

You can find links to more of these awesome waters below:
key ingredient
Kristie Joiner's Pinterest page
Monica Marie's Pinterest page

Things I learned last year, 2013.

The year 2013 was a year of challenges and obstacles for me pretty much from the beginning but it was also an amazing year for me to learn a few things that I did not know.

So here is what I now know.
~My kids absolutely come first with me no matter what.  I actually already knew this but now, I am certain of it.
~I am stronger than I knew I could be.
~I am not going to put up with anyone for any reason.  I do not have to.
~I am smarter than I gave myself credit for but now that I know..................watch out!
~I really enjoy being single.  I did not think I would because I am a firm believer in marriage and family but now that I am single, everything and everyone looks different.  I like it!  I do not have to answer to anyone for any reason.  I do what I want to do, and it is awesome!  Being independent is the greatest thing ever!
~I also learned that it is not fair to judge all men by the same standard.  They are not all monsters, and not all men are bogus, sinister, self-centered, cowardly pigs.
~I also learned not to ever give anyone enough power to destroy you.  Never completely rely on anyone, you have to always rely on yourself.

When you get knocked down, get back up fast and come back swinging.  I originally thought that 2013 was the worst year of my life but now that I look back, it was actually a year full of lessons that I can use and my girls can use in the future.  The best part of 2013 is that my girls and I are closer than we were even though we have always been close since we spend a lot of time together, and I would not have it any other way.

Looking forward to 2014, a new beginning-a fresh start!

New Year's around the world.

My girls were a little more interested in traditions and celebrations for the new year and how it is celebrated around the world so we looked it up and found a lot of really interesting traditions and a few things we found odd but since they do not apply to us, that is okay by me.

We started in Australia since that is our current country of study.

An estimated 1.6 million Aussies will watch a fireworks display over the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor. The fireworks are a symbol of crossing over to the new year and marks the end of the old year.

In Denmark, the New Year is greeted by Danes throwing old plates and glasses against the doors of friends' or relatives' houses. They also stand on chairs and jump off of them together at midnight as they are "leaping" into January.  They believe it helps to banish bad spirits and bring them good luck.  I tried this so we will see.

In Panama, they make Effigies which simply means they fashion a sculpture or dummy (like a scarecrow) that resembles a person they hate and then, they burn them in a bonfire.  This one I like.  They also burn old photographs.

In Spain, they eat 12 grapes, one grape for each stroke on the clock as the clock strikes midnight.  Each grape is supposed to signify good luck for each month of the new year.  They also wear red underwear for good luck.

In Chile, people spend the night in graveyards at the site of loved ones.

The Irish will strike the walls with bread to ward off evils spirits.

In Scotland, they believe the first person who crosses over the threshold of their home should basically bring them a gift for good luck.  The gift usually is a bottle of whiskey.

In Estonia, the people try to eat seven meals that day to ensure an abundance of food for the coming year.

In Thailand, they hold a three day water fight.

In South Africa if you are out in downtown Johannesburg, make sure to keep your head up as many South Africans toss out their old appliances, toss them right out of their windows that is. OUCH!

In Romania, the people try to hear an animal speak (like an animal whisperer).  If they do, it is a bad omen.

In Italy, they also wear red underwear for good luck, and in Venice, they hold a mass kissing session.

In Siberia, Russia, people jump into frozen lakes while carrying a tree trunk in with them.  The point is to go to the bottom and plant the tree for the new year.

We brought in the new year with the traditional black-eyed peas, green leafy vegetables, and cornbread.  We did not wear red underwear, throw appliances out the window, or break all of our dishes afterwards.  I am confident that we can go ahead and cross sleeping in a cemetery off our list too.

Happy New Year!

Read more:
CBC world news
Huffington Post