Superstitions...

Tomorrow is New Year's Day.  A brand new year - a new canvas that we all get that is clean and ready for us to make our marks.  I cannot speak for everyone, but there are certain traditions that I follow to make sure I have good luck for the upcoming year.

For as long as I can remember, my mother was very specific about having the following for good luck:

Ham
Boiled cabbage with hog jowls
Black-eyed Peas
Cornbread

In that mix, she would make her potato salad and sometimes, have deviled eggs.

Yesterday, I had a pretty easy time of getting ham, black-eyed peas, and stuff to make cornbread.  However, the hog jowls were a bit trickier.  My usual Kroger only had salt pork.  I was not happy because the grocery store carries the hog jowls all year long and the day before New Year's Eve, the store is out.

I run to the next Kroger in search of the hog jowls.  No go there, either.  I had not been to the Tom Thumb near my apartment in quite awhile, but I made the decision to run by there.  I think mom and God were watching after me because, lo and behold, there was hog jowls.

I actually thanked God and my mom for helping me find that elusive item.  I remembered how upset my mom would get if I brought home salt pork.  There was an obvious difference and, oddly enough, it proved to be true.  Eating the hog jowls made a difference on how my year went.

So, today, I only went out to get some ice, water, and breakfast.  The rest of the day, I plan to stay at home.  I am going to play video games, watch movies, listen to the radio, and cheer the Dallas Stars onto a win, and just relax.  The party season is about to wrap up for the year and I am pretty exhausted.  I suppose I am a wimp, but this party animal just wants to find a warm spot and hunker down for some rest.  I know two little dogs that will be happy that I chose to stay home.

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!