THANKSGIVING & CURRENT PROJECTS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2012

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

We had such a wonderful time in Los Angeles, I can't wait to share!

That will come right after this short pause

 for my holiday season "epiphany"....

 The year is almost over,

DECEMBER

 is a "day" away,

we've been playing Christmas music way before Thanksgiving,

household changes have begun again,

I've been "itching" to get Christmas decor going

and now its literally HOURS 'till,

which is SO different from last year's sentiments.

I don't know what my problem was.

I love Christmas,

 celebrating the birth of Jesus,

family,

ect

 but my enthusiasm was gone.

Hubby, kids & MS

did ALL the decorating.

BUT NOT THIS YEAR

Oh no,

I'm heading up the biggest,

cheapest,

home & Christmas decor

effort ever,

in my history of decorating.

:)

Yes, you can all clap for me as I "release my wiggles"Nacho Libre

for the upcoming Holy Day.

So, After today's post I'll ONLY be working on Christmas decor,

other household changes,

 and these

for ANGELS OF EAST AFRICA

the children that Sam Childer's rescues

and shared about here.

Phew....

its all out.

Now you know what my brain has been fervently dealing with.

I mean there's so much to do,

so much I've started and never finished

AND

the very reason why I DON'T DO PINTEREST

GASP

at least not until I can learn to control myself.

NEW IDEAS,

hundreds and hundreds of new ideas

=

no sleep.

I NEED sleep.

I'll share everything I do as I go along.

DEAL?

DEAL

 NOW, onto our regularly scheduled blah blah blah

November 22nd
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We did some sight seeing before the big dinner,
helped build our appetite

CANDY BOOTH-both American & Mexican candies.

 We took MS and the kids to Olvera Street.

MS had never been so it was time to "broaden" her horizons

The Avila Adobe was closed :(

 Plaza Methodist Church

Olvera street has colorful guests, not just literal lol

I'm not making fun, by any means.
This cute grama was wearing all pink except for her shoes.
She just reminded me of my women's pastor & friend, PC
who like this little lady, LOVES pink.
Her WHOLE office is in this exact color
and regularly wears PINK.
Hubby and I jokingly said........."PC in the future" lol

 Kiddos!

BEAUTIFUL colors.

 I LOOOVE the feathers!

 Famous  Mexican film actor, singer, producer and screenwriter.

Most of hubby's family use to live in Chinatown.
Only 2 of his siblings are in the area now.

 We always feel tall when in Chinatown lol

Dinner was awesome and always a group effort.

 Hubby's family.

They are crazy, funny, loud, loyal, respectful, loving, generous,

and continually growing!

My mom n law originally had 12 children

but 4 passed early on.

Each one is married and has a family of their own.....

but none that beats Mama T's record hahaha.

They took in MS with open arms and treated her like FAMILY :)

///////////////////

November 23rd

LEFTOVERS part1 & family game time at the park.

My kids, nephews, nieces & sis n law

There was lots of talking,
volleyball & basketball.
Oh and snacking before dinner :()

////////////////////

November 24th
LEFTOVERS part 2

 Some of my nephews & nieces

ALL the nephews & nieces posing
minus 2 girls & 2 boys
TOTAL of 22!
The babies are the newest additions :)

So that's 2 parents + 8 kids
+ 8 spouses
+22 grand kids
+ 1 MS
=41 at dinner, lunch...

After this, more exploring!

 A group of us walked to GRAND PARK
Our first time ever.

Let the kids test the water

Hubby & I
bro-n-law A & hubby's sis R
I went to school with R!

They hosted Thanksgiving this year and did an awesome job.

 Oh Chris...can you point me to the nearest Starbucks?
Oh that's right, it's right next to the fountain!
How convenient, right!?
We HAD to get coffee/hot chocolate it was chilly outside.


 Across the way,  PEACE ON EARTH fountain
at the LA music center

 Christmas came early!

My nephew A & sis V and my baby girl N.B.

Then off to the
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Although I am not Catholic,
I can truly appreciate the beauty & detail of this worship center.

found online

And the last stop for the day,

Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts

MS with the kids.

My nephew was going to town on this piano!

We were "pooped" by the end of the day
and relaxed with family until dinner.

DINNER was a traditional mole with turkey,
Mexican rice & homemade corn torts!
SO delicious.
Have I mentioned that all the ladies are great cooks?
EVERYTHING we've ever eaten is wonderful.

The evening wound down with coffee & cookies,
laughter & an impromptu dance session for my in-laws.
The family turned up the music
and we all watched as the couple who started it all,
danced :)

It was beyond sweet!
I wish I had some pics but this will have to do....

ML with his Mama T, dancing.

THIS was our last night,
 the best way to end the day
and bring our visit to a close.

////////////////////

November 25th
Day to go home.
We left at 6am to avoid the traffic
which we mostly did.

Got home, unpacked, started to wash
and this is how ML entertained himself

lol

He found dad's weight lifting gloves, headband, his old Mater knee pads in the garage
and showed me some moves.
It kind of reminded me of Apollo Ohno.

This is also the day I was just going to "try" a new look in the living room,
which ended up being a complete rearrangement.
Thanks hubby!