Feliz Día de los Muertos!

Today is Day of the Dead, a two-day holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Mexican ancestry, and it focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. On this day, people go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars with the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of their departed loved ones. These celebrations are meant to be happy and reverent instead of spooky or sad because they are, essentially, a celebration of life. I must admit I’m a little jealous of my colleagues in our Mexico office because they have today and tomorrow off from work!

Sugar skulls  Photo source

The items that families leave on their altars include sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar), often with the person’s name inscribed on the top; pan de Muertos, a special bread that is made especially for the season; and cempasuchil (marigolds) which bloom at this time of year and lend a special fragrance to the celebration. I have a fond memory of taking a Spanish class in middle school where we made pan de muertos that we covered in cinnamon and sugar. Yum!

Decorated altar Photo source

Nick is of partial Mexican (and Haitian) descent but he didn’t grow up celebrating any Mexican customs. I’ve always had a love for Hispanic culture, as I studied it for several decades and always wanted to be a part of it. I would love for us to embrace that part of Nick’s heritage, especially after we have our baby and are starting our own traditions. It’s definitely something to think about!

If you’re interested in appreciating and celebrating Día de los Muertos, here are some sensitive ways to do so:
-Visit your family’s graves in the cemetery and take some time to honor their memory/spirit
-Visit a local museum or art exhibit that is honoring the holiday
-Decorate your home with marigolds
-Try baking some pan de muertos
-Wear some appropriately-themed jewelry. For example, today I’m wearing a sugar skull necklace.

However…

*The most critical thing to remember when celebrating another culture’s customs is the importance of understanding and respecting the significance of the symbols and actions you’re taking. Above all, consider context and be respectful*

Hasta luego,
Nikki <3

Happy Halloween! If you’re like me, you love this time of year. Really, I love all of fall with its hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin everything, and of course Halloween activities. This year, we attended the Halloween Phantasmagoria at Duke Homestead. This is actually the second time we’ve spent Halloween at the homestead; the first was during the Widows and Wakes event they held in 2013.

Duke Homestead | Photo from DukeHomestead.org

Phantasmagoria means ‘a bizarre or fantastic combination, collection or assemblage; a dreamlike state where real and imagined elements blur together.’ During the event, we explored historical concepts of Spiritualism and wonder from the 19th century at Duke Homestead, as costumed actors helped to set the stage and answer any questions we might have had about life during that time. With our flashlights, we wandered the historic property to witness several aspects that our ancestors in the 19th century would have participated in during this time of year. It was fun! I apologize for the quality of my photos; we were running late and I forgot my good camera so I had to rely on my phone. A lot of the photos were taken in the dark with candlelight being the only light available. But hopefully you’ll get a good idea of what the event was like.

First, we stopped to take some photos in historic costumes. Hopefully the photos of us will be available this week and I can share. I wore a straw hat with an old-timey dress. Nick wore an old vest with gold bottons and an old bolo-type hat. We looked pretty dapper.  The next stop was to listen to a costumed actor read an excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. It was way too dark there for photos, so you can just use your imagination.

Then we attended a magic lantern light show. A magic lantern was an early type of image projector employing painted pictures or photographs of sheets of glass, a lens and a bright light source. The actors showed us primitive photos of geography like Egyptian pyramids and the Taj Mahal, photos of the moon’s surface, and then told us two little stories. In the photo below, you can see where the actor was telling us the story of Old Mother Hubbard.

We moved to the back of the main house and watched these three adorable little girls play games that helped them predict who they would marry when they were older. In this particular game, one girl is blindfolded and has to reach out and touch one of three bowls; if her hand touched the bow filled with water, it meant she would marry someone very handsome but poor, the bowl with water and soap meant she would marry someone rich but ugly, and the empty bowl meant she would not marry at all. They offered to let a volunteer try, and she ended up reaching into the empty bowl. Whomp, whomp. She was a good sport about it 🙂

Finally, we attended a seance. This was the final and most entertaining part of the entire event. The costumed actors gathered around and attempted to convince the skeptic actor that the medium was real. The medium said the dead would communicate with them through a series of knocking — three knocks meant yes — and then she asked the spirit several questions to which it would either knock of not. They also asked for a volunteer in the audience to join them, which was really amusing until we found out at the end that he had been planted there for the show.

All of the events I’ve attended that the Duke Homestead have been a lot of fun, and would be really captivating for those who enjoy seeing a little bit of our history brought to life. The next event they have planned is Christmas by Candlelight where guests can enjoy traditional story telling, hot cider, and cookies, as well as join costumed interpreters in live music and historic dancing, and help decorate a Christmas tree in true Victorian style.  Who wouldn’t want to join their carolers for songs around a fire? I can’t wait for this event.

*This post was originally published on 10/23/13 but has been reposted below with a few updates.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I’m sure it has to do with loving everything spooky and getting to be creative and dress up in costumes. But mostly it’s the scary part! I’m ready for Halloween so I’m sharing my favorite horror movies, in no particular order. I really had trouble narrowing down this list down into something manageable. When I looked at the original list I’d made, I realized that a lot of my favorites are foreign films; I included them at the bottom in case you’re like me and understand Spanish or don’t mind subtitles. If you love horror movies and haven’t seen any of these, I highly recommend you watch them as soon as humanly (or supernaturally, mwahahaha) possible. I don’t want to give too much away about each movie for those who haven’t seen them, but if you do watch one or all of them, I hope you enjoy!

1.  Trick ‘r Treat 

Synopsis from IMDB: Five interwoven stories that occur on the same block, on the same night. A couple finds what happens when they blow a jack o’ lantern out before midnight, a high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer, a college virgin might have met the right guy for her, a group of mean teens play a prank that they take too far, and a hermit is visited by a special trick-or-treater.

This is probably my favorite Halloween movie of all time. I like that its stories are interwoven; it’s scary, funny, sad, and exciting all at the same time; it’s well acted; it gives you some surprises; and it’s Halloween themed. All of those make a great combination for a great movie.

2. High Tension (Haute Tension, French)

Synopsis from IMDB: Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa’s parents’ country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway.

This one STILL haunts me, especially when I enter a gas station restroom or sleep in a secluded cabin in the woods. The name of this film is basically how you feel the entire time you’re watching it. It’s an awesome psychological thriller that will leave you both terrified and shocked at the end.

3. Session 9

Synopsis from Wikipedia: The plot focuses on the growing tension within an asbestos removal crew working at an abandoned mental asylum, which is paralleled by the gradual revelation of a former patient’s disturbed past through recorded audio tapes of the patient’s hypnotherapy sessions. The film takes place in and around the Danvers State Mental Hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Psychological thrillers are my absolute favorite. Probably because I have a Psychology degree and enjoy picking out what movies get right and what they get wrong. And this one gets it right, all the way. It’s creepy, it’s scary, and it’s one of the best.

4. The Descent

Synopsis from IMDB: A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.

I love that this one has an all-female cast and is scary as all get out. Tight, claustrophobic spaces in the bottom of a dark cave? No, thank you! It was most definitely in the back of my mind as we were cave exploring on our honeymoon in Puerto Rico. Luckily, we only encountered murciélagos (bats) and not creepy, mutated predators.

5. Sinister

Synopsis from IMDB: A true-crime writer finds a cache of 8mm home movies films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates back to the 1960s.

Holy crap, the footage of those 8mm home films is the creepiest thing you will EVER SEE IN YOUR LIFE. I’m not even kidding. While most of this film is truly horrifying, the ending could have been much better, but I’ve found this is true with most horror movies these days. But the majority of it being so scary totally makes up for the not-so-great ending and it definitely worth a watch.

BONUS!

The Pumpkin Karver

Synopsis from IMDB: A feature film based on a story in which a young man is stabbed to death on the evening of October 31, 2003. One year later, at a Halloween party, six people were brutally butchered in a remote location. The victims faces were carved and mutilated beyond recognition. The crime is still unsolved and is currently under investigation.

One of my favorite Halloween traditions that I share with my little brother is to watch the “they’re-so-awful-they’re-good” B-movies on SyFy. This is one of those, and it used to air every single year. I look forward to watching it every Halloween and have ever since I watched it for the first time in 2006 while studying for an exam at my parents’ house and it came on TV. I was hooked!

Honorable Mentions

Creep

Synopsis from IMDB: When a videographer answers a Craigslist ad for a one-day job in a remote mountain town, he finds his client is not at all what he initially seems.

I watched this one this past weekend and it was CREEPY! It stars Mark Duplass, who I really like as an actor, as a creepy man who claims he’s dying from a terminal illness and hired a videographer to create a movie for his unborn child since he will be dead before the baby is born. Sounds *kind of* legit, right? But the more time they spend together, the weirder Mark Duplass’ character becomes. It isn’t really that scary, but it’s creepy enough to make you think twice about meeting people from the internet, as if we needed another reason for that!

Tucker and Dale Vs Evil

Synopsis from IMDB: Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are attacked by a group of preppy college kids.

Okay, so this one isn’t a horror movie, it’s a comedy. But it’s sooo good! The main characters are a pair of well-meaning hillbillies who are mistaken for killers by a group of clueless college students. I think it gives you a story in the point-of-view of the possibly misunderstood horror movie killer with lots of laughs.

Foreign Films I love:

El Orphanato (The Orphanage)

A Tale of Two Sisters (Korean version) | The Uninvited (American version)

The Devil’s Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo)

Rec (Spanish version) | Quarantine (American version)

Let the Right One In | The original, not the remake!

~*~*~*~

I could probably go on and on about horror movies that I really like but I’ll leave you with this.

What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed film?

Photo source

While I don’t want this space to start centering around my pregnancy and the coming baby, it is an integral part of my life — of our NCsquared Life, if you will — so I can’t ignore it. One aspect that I’m really excited about is the Centering Pregnancy classes that Nick and I decided to join. Centering Pregnancy is prenatal care that happens in a small group of expectant mothers and their partners/companions and follows the recommended schedule of prenatal visits, but each visit is about 90 minutes hours long, giving women 10 times more time with their provider. Women are empowered  in their prenatal care by taking their own weight and blood pressure and recording their own health data with private time with their provider for belly check. Then everyone in the group (there are 2-3 other couples in mine) circle up where a healthcare provider leads discussions and interactive activities that address important and timely health topics. I think one of the coolest aspects about this form of care is that it brings 8-10 women who are all due at the same time together for care. I’ve only been to one class so far but I really like it. My particular class (there are several classes that meet at different times) is very diverse with lots of different ages, ethnicities, races, etc. and I’m really looking forward to getting to know everyone and creating a bond with these other expecting mothers.

In our class, we talked a lot about nutrition and what we should and shouldn’t eat. Here are the lifesavers that my provider approved:

• Lunch meat. Because food standards are so high in the U.S., there’s almost nothing to worry about when eating turkey, ham, bologna, etc. In fact, she said we’re more likely to get sick from spoiled mayo from leaving the sandwich out too long, if, for example, you make a sandwich in the morning for your lunch later that day and you don’t properly refrigerate it.
• Sushi and smoked salmon. Same as above! She also said that if you ate a lot of sushi pre-pregnancy then your body is already used to that bacteria so you’re going to be fine. She did advise to use your nose: because of pregnant ladies’ super-heightened sense of smell, we’d be able to smell if something wasn’t right. If it smells off, don’t eat it. And that goes for everything! But look, this girl loves her sushi.
• Soft cheeses, from the grocery store. Again, same as above regarding the high food standards in the U.S. Just make sure the cheese was made with pasteurized milk and you’re good to go.
• Soft or runny eggs. My favorite part of the egg has long been the runny, gooey yolk. Dipping toast in yolk to me is like breakfast heaven. So I was really excited to hear my doctor say it’s perfectly fine to eat runny eggs.
• Coffee/caffeine. Most recommendations say you can have up to 200 mg per day, which is about one cup. My doc said we could have more than that and we’d be fine, but these days my heart will let me know if I’ve had too much because it will start beating so fast or feel fluttery. One cup is enough for me right now, for sure.
• Alcohol.* Controversial, I know, but hear me out. My doctor said that having the occasional glass of wine (the key word here being occasional, obviously) will not give your baby Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Examples she gave as ‘occasional’ was having one glass of wine with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, or having one glass of champagne on New Year’s. I think this is reasonable. After all, you hear of European women drinking wine all the time during their pregnancies and their kids turn out fine.

*Listen, I’m not a healthcare provider so I’m not claiming that I know best and I’m definitely NOT trying to give you medical advice so please don’t try to sue me. I’m simply sharing the information that my provider gave to me. Obviously, every person has to make their own decisions and if they choose to avoid every single one of these things, then more power to them. I applaud their decisions. My decision, however, was to drive straight to Bruegger’s Bagels after this appointment and scarf down a smoked salmon bagel. And so far, I’ve been just fine!

I can’t wait for class next month when we discuss body changes and the common discomforts of pregnancy, and how to take care of yourself. I’ll be sure to share any interesting information we receive!

Until next time,
Nikki

Hi readers!

This is my first post in about six months. My previous posts became sporadic and were unreliable so I decided to take a break to figure out what blogging meant for me while I balanced everything else in my life. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought lately, which prompted me to write this post. I have a lot of ideas (and outfits) for this space, so I think I’m ready to come back. In the meantime, let’s play catch up. I might create fuller, more detailed posts on each event at a later time, but here’s what life has been like in a nutshell for NCsquared.

Travel
-In May, Nick and I attended my friend’s wedding over Memorial Day weekend in Charleston, SC. It was held at the aquarium and was the first time I’d ever been to a wedding in an aquarium, and it was absolutely beautiful.

Hominy Grill in Charleston, SC. Delicious food! I would highly recommend you check it out if you’re ever there.

-In July, we visited my best friend, Karissa, in Los Angeles. I’ve been to see her there once before, but this was the first time Nick and I went together and we had a blast. I met Karissa when I first moved to Durham and she moved to LA about five years ago to pursue her PhD at USC. I miss her like crazy so getting to spend almost a week with her was the best.

NCsquared in Santa Monica. You can see the Santa Monica pier behind us!

The bad news
At the end of August, our beautiful dog and light of our lives, Chico, suddenly passed away from cancer after 10 years of providing us with so much love and happiness. We’re still so heartbroken. I would like to do a memorial post in the future when it gets a little easier to write about him.

Chico Antonio, 2006-2016. RIP little man

The good news
NCsquared is becoming NCcubed (NC3) as I’m currently 18 weeks pregnant! Everyone who has known me for a long time (in real life) was super shocked to find out we’re having a baby… on purpose… because all through our 20s, we had no desire to have children. Things change, though, and life plans get re-evaluated, and one day you may realize that, actually, you do want a little mini-me (or mini-him) running around in your life. And that’s okay. I’m due in March and we are thrilled.

NCsquared is having a baby!

As you can imagine, the last few months have been an emotional rollercoaster for me, but I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of writing about my life. I hope you find it entertaining, educational, and informational! It feels good to be back.

Nikki of NCsquared Life

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