Goodbye 2017... Hello 2018

Location: Home Sweet Home, Grampound Road, Cornwall

We want to welcome the New Year 2018 with a bang!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY FAMILY, RELATIVES and FRIENDS!!! 

Everyday is a new opportunity to have a fresh start. Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow. Wishing you a New Year filled with new hopes, new joy and new beginnings. May the New Year bring joy, peace and happiness to you and your entire family. Happy New Year 2018! Greetings from Rob and Rowena Nicholls

I cannot believe it, but it’s now my 8th year celebrating Christmas and New Year in Cornwall away from my family. Oh how I miss them so much most especially this time of the year. Christmas and New Year is a family celebration (in Philippine culture). I’m a bit nostalgic at the moment. I have been browsing and looking at our family photos. I have been remembering all those precious moments with my parents mommy Angie and daddy Leon, brother Russel, sis-in-law Myla, nephew Gabriel Angelo and Miguel Angelo and sister Rachel. And I told myself, ROWENA, you’re one lucky girl. You have such a loving, caring, thoughtful and amazing family. I have everything any person could ever want. I am so lucky and blessed that God almighty have given them to me. My family is the source of my happiness, the reason I enjoy living my life. Although they are miles away, they make sure that I always feel their presence plus the always sent me presents too. Hahahaha… See how lucky I am? They never fail to send me money and loads of goodies. I am very thankful indeed. To my parents, mommy Angie and daddy Leon, thank you for making me the person I am now. You thought me to be happy and content on what I have but at the same time to achieve my goals and do my best in everything I do. To my brother ]Russel and my sister Rachel, thank you for always being there for me. For always sharing your blessings to me. For always sharing your success and achievements to me. You’re really the best brother and sister in the whole wide world. I love you to the moon and back. 

And of course having a husband like Rob Nicholls is such an added bonus from God. Not only have I got a husband, I got a bestfriend too who encourages me to always follow my heart and do what I love to do. Rob had always beenmy number 1 fan, my staunch supporter, my loyal ally, and most of all, the one and only love of my life.

As per my own personal yearly tradition, I have 13 different kinds of ROUND-SHAPED FRUIT on my fruits tray. In the Philippines, 13 round fruits are traditionally are eaten on New Year’s Day since 13 is considered a lucky numbers. The best part is that fruits are filled with lots of vitamins and nutrients and can also protect against certain types of cancer. LENTIL is for luck. With their coin-like appearance, lentils are a natural symbol for luck. BLACK-EYED PEAS is for success. Black-eyed peas represent success because each pea represents a coin and a whole serving equals prosperity. PORK is for progress. Eating pork on New Year's Day symbolizes progress in several countries, as the pig is known for pushing forward. NOODLES is for longevity. A long noodle represents a long life. CABBAGE is for prosperity. Greens of any sort symbolize the almighty dollar. Have some cabbage and prosper in the New Year. POMEGRANATE is for good health. With so many delicious seeds inside a pomegranate, it's easy to understand how it represents an abundance of health, fertility and prosperity. ORANGES is for abundance. The Chinese culture considers oranges to represent good fortune, wealth and gold. In addition, oranges naturally ripen this time of the year, so you'll also enjoy an abundance of vitamin C. GRAPES is for happiness. Try the Spanish and Portuguese tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve - sweet ones supposedly lead to 12 happy months. 

2018 is a Year of the Dog. In Chinese astrology, each year is related to a Chinese zodiac animal according to the 12-year cycle. 2018 is an Earth Dog Year. The Dog occupies the eleventh position in the Chinese zodiac, after the Rooster, and before the Pig.

This year’s lucky colors are: earthy tones, brown, yellow, beige, green and blue.

Brown and beige are the colours of earth. They represent stability, safety and loyalty. Brown can be used by those who have a scattered or volatile attention, but used excessively, it can become restrictive and constraining. Warm or cold tones of beige can induce a state of relaxation, but also of boredom. 

Yellow is the colour of joy, happiness and creativity. It’s energizing, stimulative and it brings forward optimism, clarity in ideas, intelligence. It keeps at bay depression and anxiety. It is recommended for lazy people, for people lacking energy.