Well, let's see how talented I am if I can write a decent post and babysit for my two year old and 3 month old grandsons at the same time. The three month old is doing fine, I just fed him a bottle of mom's milk and he's sitting happily in his rocking chair. The two year old is by far the bigger challenge. He's still in potty training mode, half naked, and a threat to the safety and of the entire house. It's very much like housebreaking a puppy.

Happy New Year to all family, friends, and fans in blogistan. (As if wishing them a happy New Year would make them real.) As every holiday, this one was a blend of east and west, Christian and Islamic as I try to interpret the traditions I received from my culture to pass on to my mixed religion and mixed culture family.

Christmas was a cop out this year. No job meant no shopping and no gifts. My feuding sons meant no holiday family dinner, so at the last minute, I went to visit out of town relatives, Mom, Sisters and Brother and all their families. It was very nice seeing them.

I got back in time for the New Year and once again, the day before the holiday found me out shopping in preparation for a holiday meal. The traditional New Year's day meal from my childhood was a throw back to our Irish/ Anglo roots with corned beef and cabbage as the traditional main course to guarantee prosperity throughout the new year. Of course, for my family the corned beef had to be Muslim kosher (Halal) or Jewish Kosher. The corned beef briskets in the Jewish store were costing about $50, way out of my budget, the cooked deli corned beef was $15, per pound, still out of budget, so I started looking for the cheap canned version. I couldn't find any kosher or halal and had to substitute a can of halal tinned chicken/beef luncheon meat with 800 Mg sodium per serving! It was a poor substitute. It was like eating a salt flavored sponge. My daughter in law called the cabbage, corned beef dish, "mushed vegies and mystery meat special," my son called it "halal spam" and refused to eat it. So much for tradition... I ate it and I'll be the only one in the family who will have a year of health and prosperity.

Well, one bout of fussy baby, one poopy diaper change, one successful potty trip, one bubble bath later this letter is finished. Not too many distractions.

Wishing you all a year of health and happiness, which of course will come from Our Lord, not the silly traditions we follow.