Hey y'all! I am so excited to say I'll be traveling next week, I'm going south of the border for the holidays. I am so grateful and thankful that I can go see all of my extended family, especially in such a special time of the year. I have been to Europe twice and the Arabian Peninsula twice (I'm being extra/pretentious with the peninsula talk but I just hate "Middle East") since the last time I've gone to Mexico (three and a half years ago). So it didn't feel right going anywhere else until I saw my family. (Added to the fact that my parents and siblings have been a few times since I have). Pretty much my entire family, but my aunt and her family, are in Mexico so I really miss them and miss out.

I've started packing (terribly) and will finish up in the coming days. I have a few things left on the to-do list, but I am ready to hop on the plane Tuesday afternoon. We'll land at night, so we'll be arriving to our town the next morning or early afternoon. We'll be in town for about a month, so I am definitely looking forward to a lot of quality time and memories to be made. This time around it will be only my younger sister and I, so this will be different and 100% fun.

Christmas, New Years, and Dia de Los Reyes (three kings day/epiphany which lands on Jan 6th) will be celebrated while we're there. The epiphany is a much greater deal in Mexico than it is in the U.S. If you're not familiar, this holiday is in remembrance of the Three Wise Men/Magi visiting baby Jesus and bearing gifts: gold, frankincense (Omani King? 😉), and myrrh. It is mostly practiced/recognized in the Hispanic world as it is originally Spanish. The night before the morning of the 6th, children will put their shoes under the Christmas tree and wake up to gifts. This makes more sense to me than Santa if you want to follow a more Jesus-centered Christmas narrative.

The point is simple: food. I am more into food than your regular *I love food person*, because isn't that really the majority? I seriously love food.