Hot Tamale!

Every year the women in my family (and sometimes a fella or two) get together to make Christmas Tamales.  This tradition comes from the Perez side of the family and we have been doing it for as far back as I can remember.


We gather volunteers, set a date and make as many tamales as we can until we are tired or the ingredients run out.  But it's usually just us 4 girls: Mom, Grandma, Jamie and myself.  Over the years we have adjusted the recipe, tried different versions, different meats, and even sweet tamales.  But it seems that we have come back to the tried and true favorites: chicken in a red chili sauce, pork in a similar sauce and cheese/jalapeno.  Every time we make them they taste better, so all of our tinkering has made improvements over the years.

Since it's only a once-a-year event, so we always forget how to assemble them, but a few minutes in to the process we all remember.   We get into the groove of things; Jamie washes the corn husks, we spread masa on the rough side of the husk (an annual argument; rough or smooth side?), Grandma likes to spread the masa and pile up those corn husks for us to fill with meat, pile the made tamales in groups together, olive with pork, tie a string around the cheese ones (or was it chicken - ha!).  We gab and eat lunch.  We talk Christmas presents and what's happening on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.


Like all traditions, it's much more than just making tamales - it's bonding, it's 3 generations of women coming together to keep a family custom alive, to remember family that is no longer around to partake in the days events, to look towards future Christmases teaching another generation how to make a delicious tamale.  And to me that's the best thing about Christmas Tamales.


Let's eat!

San Jose Tradition - Christmas in the Park

A few pictures of our trip to Downtown San Jose.  Christmas in the Park was in full swing and we had a fun adventure out.  It was great to see how Noah & Julian reacted to the different displays and trees.  The especially loved displays with elves and all the displays that moved.  Noah liked the trees with pirate ornaments and a Mario Bros tree.  Julian liked the skydiving penguins.  Noah danced to the music we could hear throughout the park.  But the highlight of the trip was riding the light rail there and back.  The boys loved the "train."  Guess I'll have to take them somewhere else on the "train" again soon.

Merry Christmas Month

It's finally here!  DECEMBER!  The month all us kids wait for because we were all so "nice" we plan on getting loads of gifts from Santa.  Ok, so I'm still a kid at heart and love getting presents.  But now that I'm older, I love giving presents equally as much as receiving them.  There's nothing better than seeing the joy in someone's face when they open your gift and it's perfect...exactly what they wanted (even if they didn't know it).  In fact I love and am so gifted at shopping that there are times I think I should get me a job as a personal shopper.  But that's another blog for another day.


I like to say my favorite season is Fall and my favorite holiday is Halloween.  But this year I have more of a heart-swelling excitement for Christmas.  I couldn't wait to get my decorations up and start playing Christmas music.  I'm looking forward to finishing up my shopping list.  I can't wait to start baking cookies and wrapping presents.  But deep down I know it's more than gifts, decorations, and desserts.  It's a feeling of awe as I see my kids excited for celebrations this year.  A sentimental feeling towards family and friends.  A gratefulness for all that I have.  You'll likely see me trying to shake a lump out of my throat or hold back a tear when some silly holiday commercial or song is on....because I'm really thinking about someone special to me. 

Here are my little Who's with Santa.