We had such a wonderful time on our two holiday weeks together. We did end up having a holiday party at which we celebrated David's birthday. It was fun to put together the menu for it. I had really wanted to have a traditional Posada, but didn't get around to planning it on time.
At the party, we had traditional food that you would normally find at a Posada. I made menudo, a spicy soup made from cow's intestine. It sounds gross, but if you can get past the intestine part, it's actually very good. I also made Mexican rice, borracho beans, shrimp ceviche, and ponche, a traditional hot, spiced fruit punch served at Posadas in Mexico. David made home-made eggnogg. It was SO good!!!! We bought the tamales, the bunuelos, and the ojarascas. Ojarascas are delicious cookies made with lard, plus sugar and cinnamon. They are not the healthiest fare in the world, but they literally melt in your mouth. The only thing I forgot to make was the salsa for the tamales, but we survived without it. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the best part: I made tres leches cake and it turned out pretty good. It could've been a little bit more moist, but it was delicious anyway. We also had a pinata for the kids. We enjoyed ourselves very much.
We left for Brownsville two days later and spent almost a whole week there visiting family and eating -- tacos, more tamales, spicy Mexican turkey, fajitas, you name it. It was all so good and I'm sure it's all going to show up around my hips soon. :) We had planned to go to Mexico after our stay in Brownsville, but I changed my mind --too chicken to drive to Veracruz without an autopista (toll road). We have travelled to Mexico in the past, but always on an autopista. It's safer. I was also afraid that our vacation would end up being too hectic and no one would get a chance to relax. We came back home instead about a week ago and spent the whole time just enjoying being together. We took long walks; we read; we cooked together; we played; and we fixed up a few things around the house.
We typically have a party on New Year's at our house, but this year we decided to keep it low-key. We met up with some friends for the parade downtown on New Year's Eve and came home to cook up steaks and burgers for our New Year's Eve dinner. By the time, we put the kids to bed it was late. Our neighbors came over to celebrate New Year's right around midnight. We drank champagne with them, watched the New York ball drop on TV, and talked for a while. It was a nice way to spend the last night of the year.
Now, David is back at work and it is the kids' last day of vacation. They are off to school tomorrow and it will be back to just IK and me and our daily routines. I am so thankful for the time we spent together. That time will serve as part of the glue that helps keep us together once our hectic lives resume tomorrow...
TTYL.
No comments:
Post a Comment