overdubbed curler: Family. Food. Pets. Photography. Confetti? Hello, 2012!

New Year?s Eve was family day. It always is. And while we don?t do traditional stuff that are associated with superstitious beliefs, there are some traditional activities that we take part in. Like attending an annual reunion of Speedy?s clan (on his mother?s side) for lunch. While it?s always good to see the same old faces, it is even better to see new additions ? new spouses, new babies? every year, the clan grows.

After enjoying a home cooked buffet that included roast turkey, kare-kare, ham, laing, embutido and sinigang na ulo ng isda, there was a lot of chatting and catching up. A niece-in-law who was about eight when I first met her is now a lawyer and she brought her boyfriend to the reunion. Another niece-in-law who was about seven when I went to the annual reunion for the first time will be getting married next year. My, how time flies.

We passed by Tiendesitas on the way home where Sam and Alex got themselves some new lovable pets. Back home, we rested for a while until it was time to prepare the food for the evening meal. Per Sam?s request, we were having an all-grilled meal. I thawed a slab of pork and a tray of chicken thigh fillets. By six in the evening, I was slicing the chicken and pork. I marinated them in two different mixes then put them in the fridge. With the meat soaking up the flavors of the marinades, I started making dessert.

Tres leches cupcakes, per Alex?s request.

By 9.30 p.m., I started threading the pork and chicken on bamboo skewers. Meanwhile, Speedy fired up the grill.

The pork, marinated in a mixture of mayo, mustard, rosemary, lots of garlic and hot sauce, went on the grill first.

Then, the chicken which had been marinated in a mixture of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, lemongrass and chili flakes.

New Year?s Eve dinner is served late in our house. Somewhere between ten and eleven. Then, we wait for the fireworks display. We always get a free show from our garden.

We had our meal in the garden. Before 11.00 o?clock, I was having my tres leches cupcake.

After the food and plates had been cleared, it was time to set up the cameras.

Sam brought out her equipment and started testing different settings.

I thought it was a good time to take photos of our new kitten whom Sam and Alex had named Bunny.

She?s a Persian. And she?s gorgeous.

Sam also got a pair of guinea pigs.

That?s the male inside the glass. I have lots of photos of the guinea pigs but I?ll post them later. They?re so cute when they?re eating veggies!

At midnight, fireworks lit up the skies. Sam took photos. I didn?t. I had very good fireworks photos from the previous New Year?s Eve. I was more interested in succeeding where I had failed last year ? take photos of confetti in mid-air.