LUCK, FORTUNE, LOVE, HAPPINESS... bring it 2012! Bring it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR and HAPPY ONE YEAR "BLOG" ANNIVERSARY!

Wow!  Can you believe I've actually been blogging for one whole year?   Geez... I had a lot to say... and it appears, I'm still full of it!  (Yes, I am sure that got a great big giggle from some of you and for others... you are now rolling on the floor with belly aching laughter!)  Let me just say thank you to all of you who continue to come back post after post...and read my blog.  I've hit over 3000 views,  which to me... is astounding!  3000 in one year.... for an unknown blogger... well, I will gladly take it and smile all the way to the next post!  (woo hoo!  woo hoo!)  

So.. here we go... 2012... a brand new year... new opportunities... new resolutions... new relationships...new diet..... new goals and challenges....  new everything, right?  Clean the slate and start anew!    So... in honor of a new year...... I've given the blog a new look, some updates and hopefully this year will provide some fresh perspectives and inspiration.    Aren't we blessed to have the chance to "undo", "redo", and "whatever do" at the beginning of every new year.   This year is LEAP year, so we even get an extra day to do it.    So, let's kick 2012 off right... well, let's kick it off with something that was a MUST in my house... and probably yours.   

I'm not sure about you... but every year.. on January 1st... TRADITION takes over in my house.   It's something that I have done for ... as long as I was able to eat solid food.   When my mother was alive, she would ensure that this particular tradition was one.. that was not to be missed or messed with in any way.   If I was going to be out of town on January 1st, she would always call me and make sure that I had not messed with tradition.  (Now.... some might say, these are old wivestales, superstitions, folklores... just stories that have been told and passed down from generation to generation... but, whatever they are... I am not one to mess with it!)  

So.. what is it?   Being from the South, we have a tradition that on New Year's Day... you MUST eat black-eyed peas, cabbage and ham jowls/ hocks or pork chops.... whatever portion but some type of pork.    (Now, I'm not sure about other parts of the country...but I know that anywhere you go in the deep south... on new year's day... this is the MEAL you're going to get.   Why? 

Well... as history goes... according to my number one go to source for ALL answers to any inquiring questions -- wikipedia.... the suggested origin of the tradition dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they could not carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and did not steal or destroy these humble foods. 

So...what is the meal?   The traditional meal that has been passed down from generation to generation is black eyed peas, turnip greens or mustard greens or cabbage and ham or any pork item.   The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.  Cornbread often accompanies this meal which is sometimes meant to represent gold.

This year... for extra good measure... my New Year's Day meal consisted of black eyed peas (cooked with bacon), cabbage (cooked with bacon) , ham, ... turnip greens, butterbeans, cornbread and rice.    Yes... I wanted to make sure that we were EXTRA covered.   I also insisted that my family, not only eat it for lunch.... but, also for supper!  (yes, in the south... we do call the evening meal... supper!)   The result... a very ful-filling start on the first day of the year with the knowledge that we have carried on not only a family tradition, but one that is buried deep in our southern heritage.   

Now..... tomorrow... we all have to start with our new year diet and begin the 14 day cleanse to get all those toxins out from all of the holiday traditions... but for now, we will be quite satisfied that we've ensured our good luck, our good fortune, our happiness, success and whatever other blessings are sure to come our way in the brand new year.  

I'm looking forward to 2012 and have promised myself... to enjoy the simple pleasures of life and to simply live as one of my resolutions.  I've promised to put myself first more often because... there comes a certain age, when... you deserve it.   As I begin my new journey into the new year, most of all I'm looking forward to sharing it with everyone of you.   


Happy New Year!

Ring out the old, ring in the new, 

Ring happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go; 

Ring out the false, ring in the true - 

Lord Alfred Tennyson

Something new for the very end of every blog - some of my favorite quotes.  Hope they'll inspire you as they have me at one time or another.      

"I don't think anything is unrealistic IF you believe you can do it"  - Mike Ditka

Why, the Duchess?

well... it finally happened.   Me and a Blog.  Not two things that I would have ever put together, then again, maybe so.   I am not sure that I even know the "correct" way to blog or what you're supposed to blog about... but, with the new year...  here goes.

First, I guess we should get acquainted so that you might get to know the person behind the pen or in this case, the keypad.   I am from the South, Mississippi, in fact.   Born and as a friend of mine would say, reared here.   You'll find as you continue to read my blog, that I am a genuine person.  I speak, or in this case write,  from the heart and there are definitely a lot of things that I am passionate about in life.  You won't always agree with me and that's okay too.    I don't like fake people.  I don't like people who use others to get what they want, although, I've been told... it's just the way it is in life.  I love to laugh and through my own experiences, I hope that I can share some of life's little joys with you.    I am 46 and probably in the midst of my fourth mid-life crisis...but, I'm real.

I've been fortunate to have had two great career opportunities that allowed me to expand my world beyond Mississippi.  I am the kind of person who enjoys life, but most of all, I enjoy the people who make up life.

So... why, the Duchess.





For the past 10 plus years, my career has been in the hospitality industry.  Two years ago, I found myself making a decision where I had resigned from a top executive position and was trying to determine what to do with my life.   I knew that whatever it was... I wanted to stay connected. People... relationships were my passion.   I had talked to a number of my friends and colleagues who had told me that consulting was the way to go.  So... I decided why not give it a try, but I needed a name - a way to brand myself outside of what I had been known for during the past 10 years, so... being from the south... one thing that people always told me was never lose the southern hospitality that I had always shown others.   With that thought in mind, The Pineapple Group LLC came to exist.   The pineapple is the international symbol of hospitality and although, I am the only person in my company, I decided to go with group because I felt like if there was something that I couldn't consult on, I had the relationships to facilitate an introduction to the right person and... it's a known fact for those who know me... I love being with people.    During the past two years, I have been fortunate to have worked with  a small circle of companies that I do projects for and we became a family... the pineapple family as I like to refer to them.   We were in Puerto Rico for a venue visit for a project,  enjoying a nice dinner and a great bottle of wine and one of my friends became hysterical with laughter.  Of course, we all wanted in on it... and he pointed above my head, because he couldn't speak... and hanging above my head.. was a picture of a huge pineapple with the head of a royal.    Huge Pineapple head and all... and under the photo... it said "The Duchess".   After the laughter subsided, the i-phone photos taken... we toasted it as a sign..something that was simply meant to be.  From that point, I  became affectionately  known as "the duchess of pineapple".   It was a symbol of great times with great friends enjoying what life has to offer. 

So, you're asking, why...start a blog out this way?  To me, everything has to have a beginning... so, why not?  Hopefully along the way, there will be something of interest and maybe something helpful too.   Maybe a hotel or restaurant you might want to check out after reading my blog, a wine or cocktail...or maybe a life experience that you can relate to that... brings a chuckle or giggle or maybe a shared irritation.  Most of all, I hope that you find my blog real... genuine and from the heart. 

As we say in the south....ya'll come back now... ya hear.

Jen Robinson

Duchess of Pineapple