The real 100th post and our second visitor!

I just added up my actual posts on my sidebar and it appears that this is the actual 100th post. Just in case people were wondering how I did that math! There are a couple of drafts that I haven't published, for one reason or another and they counted when I was making a new post on my blogger account, but they don't count as actual posts. Crystal clear, right?!

Anyways, back to New Years. I know it's a little late, but this is mostly for our family memories. For our "Year of the Holiday" I wanted to serve a traditional New Years Dinner. Turns out I was sick on New Years day and didn't end up making the traditional dinner until the next day. Same difference though, right?!

Matt's family always had a big breakfast New Years morning so he requested that we do the same. Here is our delicious breakfast. Among other things, I made donuts because many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle.



On to dinner! Everything I made had some significance. I read that if you eat poor on the first day of the year (or the second in our case) then you'll eat rich for the rest of the year. I made Hoppin' Johns with black-eyed peas, ham, and rice. Hog is considered lucky for prosperity and I also read that in some parts of the world rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.



Collard greens are lucky because they are green, like money. And they are my new favorite veggie! I boiled these with water, bacon, and pepper and then we squeezed lime on it. Yum! I can't wait to make some more! I'm sure cooking it with the bacon takes away a little bit of the nutritional value, but it gives a really good flavor!




Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency.


That same day we also got our second visitor! Matt's dad drove in from Seattle to spend a few days with us. Hooray for visitors! We just love 'em! He also, along with a friend of Lexi's and Chris', got to enjoy our traditional feast. The kids friends ate most everything (even though I told them they didn't have to!) but I think they thought it was pretty strange!


Grandpa Ray had some fun games up his sleeve! He brought Bingo and a box of presents for the winner to choose from which the kids thought was so much fun!




We all went to bed early because we had an adventure planned for the next day... stay tuned for more of those fun Rays Days!