Living It and Loving It; A Christmas To Be Thankful For

Christmas 2012 has come and gone, and all I can say is that i’m thankful… thankful that the so-called “End of the World” never really happened and thankful that instead of that, this year closes with friends, family, and most importantly, Peace. Tomorrow I’ll be off to Thailand to celebrate the wedding of dear friends from University and celebrate the incoming year on some beach somewhere.

That said, if you’re reading my blog, that means you’re plugged in, and you must know that the news of the last few weeks leading up to Christmas has not been a good one for many. There’s been plenty of pain and grief from the families of Children who were killed by a shooter in Connecticut and on the same day… a stabber in China. In addition there’s continuous strife in the Middle East, in the weeks leading to Christmas there’s been terrible fighting in Gaza, flooding in New York City, and a rocket launched in North Korea. I’m writing all this not because I want to be a downer, but more importantly to highlight that a supposed “End of the World” is generally what the masses anticipate because consciously or subconsciously, people are willing to see a different reality, a different world from the one that bombards us everyday in the media. And hopefully when the morning of December 22 came around… turning into the same day as it was the day before, rather than be depressed that Armageddon didn’t arrive, I know a few people, me included, were actually happy that the world still existed the way it had always been… and more cognizant of the fact that endings and beginnings actually start from heart and mind.

Ie. The world will always continue to rotate, and we have a chance every morning and every day to start anew and let the past stay in the past. It’s our relationship with the world that makes the difference… not the other way around.

And if Christmas is the celebration of the Birth of the Christ, then lets embrace the renewal it symbolizes. Merry Christmas everyone, and we hope that 2013 will be the kind of year and the kind of world we make it out to be!

I started Christmas celebrations with fellow Brew&Post Bloggers at Jason’s hood.

Secret Santa in full effect. Here Dan of HungryHK checks out his food filled present.

The whole gang… i’m behind the camera. :)

For Christmas Eve, some friends and I checked out the amazing Christmas Menu spread at the Salted Pig, an American Bistro serving pork. I’ve only heard great things…

Everything was family style sampler platters for about 400HKD. It was a steal compared to what the other establishments were charging in the city.

Bernadette was first to show up.

Then Jennifer.

Even though we were all sick.

For appetizers, Parma Ham, Pork and Pistachio Terrine, and Scallop with Pistachio crust.

For mains, the best turkey, pork, and lamb rack. EVER. With corresponding sauces. Everything was just enough and not too much. Even though I was full it made me crave more. (FYI. I can never have another turkey unless I have the Salted Pig turkey again. And sorry for the bad photo, the mains were too amazing, my camera couldn’t focus. It was just THAT Good.)

And finally we spent Christmas Day at my friend Jade’s place, my Italian Mama. And I call her my Italian Mama, because she did all the cooking while I sat around and watched TV like I did when I was young in the Acuna household.