Hello 2009! Please be good to me

New Year's Meal

2008 was rough in so many different ways.  That is not to say that there were not some magical moments along the way, a few that I will cherish my entire life.  Those wonderful highlights would include…

1. A week with Second City in LA (truly wonderful experience, people, and way to look at life)
2. Scuba Diving Komodo National Park in Indonesia
3. Being with old friends and making new friends at my old college buddies wedding in Bal
4. Traveling Bhutan with my sweetie

Thank the gods for these experiences, because alot of 2008 seriously SUCKED!  Those moments need to be considered, learned from, and then move on.

So as 2009 begins I return to some of the old superstitions of my childhood.  My mother, bless her heart, had always been a bit superstitious.  Every New Years Day the family could count on some pork and sauerkraut for either lunch or dinner.  Whether you were a guest, friend, or distant cousin it was a required part of your daily intake, even if only the tiniest nibble, to guarantee good luck in the new year.

You had better believe I’m cooking pork and sauerkraut as this post is being written, and in minutes I’ll be sitting down to eat a healthy dose of positive 2009 Karma.  To increase my offering to the good karma gods and goddesses I included a bite of pickled herring at midnight (errr… not so yummy) and there will be some black eyed peas with dinner.  I was literally doing one google search after another yesterday just to make sure I had my facts straight, no taking uninformed risks this year.  Yes, I have adopted a bit more superstition this year… let me have my idiosynchricies . This year I learned that in Austria they believe that the New Year (Sylvesterabend is the word for their New Year’s Day) meal should include pig (more pork) because it is an animal that burrows forward, and forward is good.  Their unlucky meals would include lobster, crab, or other crustaceans because they move backwards.  You don’t want to go backwards in 2009 do you?  Hey, there is too much in life I don’t understand to mess with all these superstitions that seem to have a common thread from continent to continent.

Which brings me to my question for you.  What are your New Year Superstitions AND your new year resolutions for this promising 2009?  One of my resolutions involves eating better and getting in the best shape of my life.  This is why the pork in my New Year’s dish is a lean pork chop and not the usual sausage.  Every little bit helps.

Happy New Year to you and may all your New Year’s goals and dreams come true in a year filled with laughter and happiness!!