Why Lord why do I have to be such a perfectionist? If y’all only knew how many days I had to wait for the perfect sunlight just to capture this scene! But! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Thank God my cakes are laced with white rum and red wine. See, that’s the beauty about Christmas cakes aka rum cakes. I don’t know about your tradition, but in my Jamaican culture, it is customary to have rum cakes during the Christmas holidays. All that alcohol keeps them oh so rum’luscious and have you oh so tipsy. Not that I enjoy being tipsy. My tolerance is so low for alcohol. I truly can’t hang.
Real talk. A few years ago, I got drunk off a Christmas cake. True True. I was at my Aunt’s house and a friend of hers was kind enough to gift her a cake. My greedy ass took a slice and it was a wrap! How much rum did that woman lace the cake with. I couldn’t even drive home. I had to spend the night. Can you believe that? I personally don’t make it drinking a habit, because I become useless to myself. Wine coolers makes me drunk. Any alcohol that you see in my home are strictly for cooking and baking. Any wine glasses you see me sipping on, are usually filled with natural juices, smoothies, fermented drinks or water. When I do decide to drink some liquor, I’m either going to bed or drinking a ton load of water behind it. Even when I go out to parties (and my friends force me to the bar), I always ask for a bottle of water. I get so excited whenever there are natural food vendors at events. Give me the coconut water man and I’m good to go!
Don’t even try to lure me to the all inclusive bar; cause I still ain’t drinking. Complimentary my ass! No thanks to the pineapple, cranberry juice, sodas, fake energy, heart attack drinks or whatever other poisonous liquids that are poured into the liquor. This is my personal choice. I’m not trying to fit in. Matter of fact, I fit out extremely well and peer pressure doesn’t work on me. Ahem. Except for that one time my little 25 year old niece looked at me crazy cause I asked for water at her mother’s bachelorette party. She was like, “Denise, you’re not gonna drink?” I told her the liquor was gonna go straight to my knees and I would fall asleep in 2.5 seconds. I don’t think anyone believed me. Everyone was still giving me the “look” and were probably thinking: “This bitch! First she don’t want the makeup artist to touch her face, cause she didn’t have any chemical free products; didn’t want her nails done, cause they didn’t have any toxic free products either.” Let me tell you, the hair stylist, had more chemicals than a newly implemented vaccine, so you know how that went. I tried to be as compliant as I possible could and as much as I love the bride, I was not willing to sacrifice all my labor of healthy living. All I could think of was endometriosis and the horrible pain associated with it. On the serious tip, endometriosis has traumatized me into healthy living. Anyhow, my goal was to have as much fun and enjoy the festivities like everyone else.
For crying out loud, I was the maid of honor and I wanted to be sober. My niece gave me the look and I was like “ok ok, I’ll have a Kahlua on the rocks.” She was like, “no milk?” NO MILK. I must have drank a gallon of water with the Kahlua. (Don’t laugh). And we had such a great time, but as soon as we got into the car, headed for the next venue, guess who fell asleep? In the car? And slept in the back seat while they partied? LOL. Your guess is as good as mine. That sleep was so good!!!!! You can talk about me all you want, I don’t care!
I’ve been saving my wedding bouquet (cause it’s kinda sentimental) and thought it might add a special touch to my food photography. I think it looks pretty attractive, if I do say so myself. My Christmas cakes are baked with love and filled with preservative free ingredients. No I don’t use browning with sodium benzoate or those red, green and gold fruit thingies that are filled with food coloring and other nasties that will throw my body out of whack. Being cautious of the ingredients I use, allows for an excellent and pleasurable experience. That way, I don’t have to be concerned about getting sick. I’ve already eaten an entire cake and don’t even feel guilty about it, because food should always be celebrated; and not just during the holidays. I refuse to eat and worry about calories and gaining weight because my raw, live juices and holistic lifestyle never fails.
I wish you a very merry Christmas and a joyous and prosperous life. Eat your food like you mean it and enjoy the festivities, cause it sure is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Be blessed!
How is your tolerance for alcohol?