The smell of pernil woke me up this morning. Immediately I thought to myself, “Are Latinos the only people who cook pernil, turkey and chicken on Thanksgiving?” We must be really hungry people, or simply creative when it comes to food!

As I laid in bed I thought about making the most out of today, considering it was a holiday and I was going to be with my family. Here are some thoughts:

1. Have some quiet time. Thank God for taking the time to create such a beautiful and gifted creature like yourself! If you love to write, spend some time journaling or even blogging!

2. Be thankful for your mother, even if she woke you up at 6am just so you can witness the pernil entering the oven.

3. Send out all text messages and make all calls in the morning. That way you will receive responses all days and feel cherished at every moment.

4. Bake or cook something different. Typically, Latinos have the usual rice, pernil, turkey, potato salad, flan, and some weird mix of vegetables. Make an exotic dish for a change. Pastelon de platano? Mofongo? Pumpkin Pie? A cultural dish?

5. Forgive and forget. What is the point of being thankful for life and still holding grudges? The truth is that we are all humans and therefore are bound to make mistakes. Get the courage to call that person. “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

6. Eat, Eat, and continue eating. Today is the day to not worry about your figure or calories. We are all created different for a reason. Indulge in food, embrace yourself and be jolly.

7. Talk to the strange ones. How well do you know your family members? Spend time talking to them and catching up with their life. It’s so easy to get caught up with the busyness of our life that we forget others. Listen to them and feel refreshed.

8. Sing along. How many of your aunts and uncles play that old school bolero? They start talking and reminiscing about the good ol’ days? Sing along and laugh with them.

9. Take pictures. Its always fun to see pictures of what the style was for the year, how everyone had their hair done, what games you played, etc… Make moments and capture them.

10. Hug everyone! Hugs are so refreshing and intimate. Take time to just hug your loved ones and tell them how grateful you are for them.

11. Live the moment. Don’t allow your mind to be at work or thinking about all your projects. Let your mind be with your family enjoying every minute. If necessary turn your phone off after a certain time.

12. Save the leftovers! Make sure to have tupperware. Get a little bit of everything that was left and have fun heating it up in the morning!

History will remember the election of 2008 – when Barack Obama was chosen to be our President – as a groundbreaking, unifying and uplifting moment for our nation. This is the stuff of history books, and it is a sign that the country we love is poised to head in a new direction.

In those same history books, I believe it will also be written that this was the time when the sleeping giant of the American political process – the Latino community – finally awoke.

Over the past year, I have been invited to speak in front of various groups to predict the Latino influence in the election. The message I delivered to those audiences was a simple one: Ya es hora. The road to the White House would come through the Latino community. This would be the time when the combination of a booming Latino population, a mass of Latino youths coming of age and ever-increasing registration and civic engagement within the Latino community promised to make the Latino vote a deciding factor. This is would be the political awakening many observers had long been waiting to see.

On November 4, Latinos did deliver in record numbers (a 25 percent turnout increase from 2004), and swung decisively for President-elect Obama (by a two to one margin). He was able to win in no small part because he parlayed Latino support in several key states into Electoral College votes. Because of Latinos, he broke the one-party rule over the Southwest and took the critical state of Florida. It’s a roadmap to the White House that future candidates will have to follow as the scope and influence of the Latino community continues to grow.

Latinos went overwhelmingly for President-elect Obama not because has was a Democrat, but because his policies and values are reflective of the values shared by many in the Latino community. His economic plan made sense to Latinos, who have the highest rate of unemployment. His health care plan showed promise to Latinos, who comprise the largest group of uninsured Americans. Even the rallying cry “Yes we can” spoke to Latinos who were familiar with the message behind Cesar Chavez’s Si se peude.

Of course, the point of turning out for a candidate and helping shape an election is not to have a blog post written about it – the point is to make sure your government is working for you. Now is the time for the Latino community to realize the power of its votes.

With Latinos having formed such a strong part of the coalition that carried President-elect Obama to the White House, I would hope that the Obama administration feels an obligation to include Latinos in all levels of the government, starting with the Cabinet . And it is our duty to assist and remind the administration of that obligation. The Latino community and its leaders will be watching.

I do believe that this administration and the countless other lawmakers elected on the strength of a forceful Latino turnout will be working hard to make sure they earned those votes.

That means greater attention to unemployment, health care and education in our community. It means dealing with the immigration problem in a way that doesn’t demean or demonize an entire segment of the population.

Ya es hora. Now more than ever, the Latino community has helped shaped the government. Now more than ever, Washington has a stake in the Latino community. The possibilities are endless.

Today was my first time voting. It was emotional, confusing, slightly exciting, but overall it was real. I woke up feeling calm, but as I walked closer and closer to the booth, all types of thoughts and emotions were in my head.

Is it even worth voting if I am not in favor of the candidates? Does my vote really count? If so, how much of a difference does it make?

I signed my name and was instructed to enter the booth. Standing inside that small space was so intimate, and still I felt so many eyes look at me. It was such a long moment. I stood there, closed my eyes, sighed and then I went for it. I pushed the button. I pushed it so hard it felt like I was smashing a cucaracha on the floor. At last, it was over.

What is interesting are the feelings I felt afterwards. As I walked to work, I was disturbed. I did not feel peace with my vote at all. I felt as if I was suffocating. I thought I would be more excited or at least peaceful, but I was not. I was really bothered and could not understand why.

Did I really vote for who I wanted or did I let myself be influenced? I wonder how I would have felt if I was African American or Caucasian? How about if one of the candidates were Latino? Would I have been more excited?

After having various conversations with myself I settled it in my heart that it is going to be alright. Tomorrow I will wake up with a new president, and the truth is that what is meant to happen, will happen regardless of who is in office. I know what my duties are as a citizen and I will stay focused in making this community better in any way I can.

Let’s stay tuned and see America reveal a new color.

For many years at the 8 PM time slot, “The O’Reilly Factor” hosted by Bill O’Reilly has consistently been the ratings winner over MSNBC. It is widely recognized and understood that O’Reilly is a conservative commentator who embraces Republican ideologies. It is also well-understood that O’Reilly’s network, FOX News Network, is a conservative-leaning news agency.

It is that reason that we find a very interesting development that has arisen recently. For the first time, MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” show has been beating the “O’Reilly Factor” for the 25-54 year-old group, according to Nielsen Media Research, which tracks television viewership. The recent success of Olbermann at the 8 PM time slot has caught O’Reilly by surprise. In fact, O’Reilly is so upset at his recent ratings losses in the Nielsen ratings, that he has even made Nielsen Media Research a target of his daily rhetoric and, further, is calling for an unrealistic government investigation into Nielsen. (Nielsen’s President & CEO Susan Whiting made relatively small personal donations to Democrats).

Here is what I think is really happening. You have Lou Dobbs on CNN giving his conservative commentary. You have Bill O’Reilly giving his conservative commentary. You have Sean Hannity on MSNBC giving his conservative commentary. The fact of the matter is that the competition for conservative commentary has grown increasingly fierce. MSNBC made a calculated decision to promote “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” as a balancing act between Republican-leaning and Democratic-leaning news shows. The strategy appears to be working.

There may be a correlation between the recent successes of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” over “The O’Reilly Factor” that could be linked to what may be a big victory for Democrats on Election Day. The sentiment around the nation is that the Republican strategy has not worked and is partly to blame for the recent economic crisis. Given that many of these voters know that they are not going to get unbiased opinions from the conservative commentators about Republican mistakes, they are switching channels to Keith Olbermann at the 8 PM time slot.

Olbermann and O’Reilly have a long-standing feud that has gotten very nasty at times. However, regardless of the winner when it comes to these two men, their news networks remains #2 and #3 in overall ratings respectively compared to CNN, which is at #1. CNN has seen record high viewership due to its unbiased coverage of the elections and the strength of “Larry King Live”, “Anderson Cooper 360″, and “Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull”.

I’m sure that CNN will be happy to see the feud continue between MSNBC’s “Countdown with Olbermann” and FOX’s “The O’Reilly Factor.”