Christmas Day!

Santa was good to us this year, he came with two beach cruisers and they're awesome. We've been all over the neighborhood and have enjoyed every minute.

My parents, brother, and grandpa came over on Christmas day. We cooked goose and ham, which was a real treat and everyone enjoyed trying the goose.

Although it was a learning experience trying to carve it!

We all enjoyed dinner and had a nice and relaxing day. Christmas was pretty amazing this year. We enjoyed being in our house and starting new traditions. We still have a few days off and the New Year to look forward to!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always spent at the Saldana House. This year was no different. Unfortunately, Steve was home sick and Mike and Terra canceled at the last minute. For those of us who were there, it was a great evening with some amazing food and great company.

The gracious hosts!

And their beautiful children =>

Minji, Milissa, and Theresa

Jon and Chris

Anthony and his new girl Laura ;)

Three generations of Saldana's.

And the Griffin's with their crowns. More X-mas photo's to come!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone =>

Heritage Square

Saturday we drove to Pasadena to go and see the Heritage Square Museum. It's basically a collection of turn of the century buildings that have been saved and moved to this location. Luckily, in California everything is mostly made out of wood which makes relocation possible. Otherwise, who knows how many additional buildings we would have lost over the last hundred years.

This is the Hale House, a Victorian era mansion built in 1885 in the Highland Park section of northeast Los Angeles. It cost less than $4,000 to build and was done in the Queen Anne, Eastlake and Gothic styles. It was moved to Heritage Square in 1972.

Built circa 1887, the Palms Depot became part of the Pacific Electric Railway in 1911 and continued to provide service until 1953. It has been in several movies including Laurel and Hardy, The Little Rascals, and Abbott and Costello.



The houses were all decorated for Christmas by local Interior Designers. The majority of the houses were done in the Victorian era but this one had an Art Deco theme inside.

This is the Richard Shaw House, it has a French Mansard styled roof which is unusual for a working-middle class home on the West coast.

The houses were beautiful and I'm glad they were saved from demolition!

Rain, Christmas and More Rain...

Last Saturday was a pretty busy day. The first of three storms hit Friday but Saturday was significantly heavier. We were on our way home after going to Corner Bakery and decided to stop by the bridge on Flower to see what the creek looked like. It's alway been dry, but it was pretty full and moving fast.

We've never seen it if full of water, of course, we rarely make it a point to go see it when it's raining!

If you look really, really closely you can see the rain coming down =>

Later in the day, we came home to see our street looking like this. The water was starting to come over the sidewalk. We've never scene it this bad and it continued to rain and rain and rain.

Despite the rain, we still spent most of the day out and even managed to pick out our Christmas tree. Of course, right after we got there it started raining even harder. This was the second one we looked at but we thought it was perfect. So we brought it home and let it dry for a few hours while we went to our neighborhood Christmas party and a Christmas concert at the church next to the park. The Christmas party was wet and they had brought in snow for the kids but with all the rain it was a bit slushly. The kids loved it though. The concert was really good, complete with an orchestra to accompany the singers.


After the concert, we had dinner and decorated our tree. It's our first tree in our house (last year we went to England for Christmas). It's a Noble Fir and is over 6ft tall. It was so much fun to unwrap all of our ornaments from Chiswick and remember where and when we bought them. So far this Christmas season has been amazing and Christmas is still a week away =>

Puppies

Well, back in October my parents found some puppies that they fell in love with. At first it started with getting just one but after a couple of weeks decided on getting two little girls. The puppies arrived from Washington on Thursday and are only 8 weeks old. They are half St. Bernard, a quarter Boxer and a quarter Sharpei. So without further ado, let me introduce Dot and Dollie.

Although it rained all day Friday and Saturday, they loved the backyard. They even took a nap together in the flowerbed in the rain. They both are both so cute.

They go everywhere together and are happy to be with each other.

Here's Dollie with Anthony...just look at that cute face.

My parents are really happy with them...I think it's going to be a fun Christmas!

It's Cold Outside...

No really it is. Last night the temperatures dropped down to 36F / 2C. It was only 38 when I got in my car to drive to work. My car had ice on it and I actually had to warm it up before I could start driving. A lot of houses were dusted with ice.So this picture isn't our house but it was posted on the OC Register and our house pretty much looked the same. The heater came on this morning but it was still cold in the house. We had our first winter storm hit yesterday. It rained all day long. Jamie and I had taken the day off to get our Christmas shopping done (And we are about 90% complete, yeah!) we went to three different malls and it rained all day. Which made driving the freeways a bit of a challenge but at the same time it was fun, especially since we didn't have to really be anywhere important. Here is another picture from the OC Register of the local mountains.

I love it when the mountains are full of snow. It makes such an amazing view. So apart from the rain and cold weather we had a really great weekend. Friday was exciting because we found out the U.S. and England are in the same group in the World Cup. It's definitely going to be interesting in the Griffin house. They play on a Saturday just before lunch so it should be a lot of fun!

We had our outdoor Christmas tree delivered. Our neighborhood offers everyone the chance to purchase a tree to put in their front yard. We'll get our indoor Christmas tree this Saturday. We also made tamales on Saturday. They came out so good, my Dad's red chile came out amazing. It's just not Christmas without tamales. Two more weekends till Christmas, I can't wait :)

Oak Glen

On Saturday, we drove about 1 & 1/2 hrs inland to the foothills, to an area known for it's apple growing, Oak Glen in Yucaipa. There are a dozen or more ranches and farms that specialize in apples but also grow berries, pumpkins, corn, and other vegetables throughout the year. As it happens a storm came through the night before and it snowed there. When we first arrived this is what it looked like. It was cold but beautiful. The trees were mostly oranges and reds with a few evergreens scattered throughout the landscape. It snowed for the first half hour or so and then it was just cloudy until after lunch.
We packed our jackets, scarves, gloves, and boots just in case and they came in handy. Here I am in the apple orchard.

The clouds were beautiful all day. We got some amazing pictures and it was difficult to just choose a few to post.

Thankfully, a lady offered to take our picture while we were hiking around one of the farms.

We stopped at Los Rios for lunch and had some delicious hot apple cider. It really hit the spot after being out in the cold.

Later, we stopped at another farm called Colonial Chesterfield, that went with a colonial style theme. We decided it was time for desert and ate in their colonial pub. It was only lit by candlelight and all the waiters were dressed in colonial clothing. It was pretty fun.

Here I am in the giant booth.

They even served us in old style mugs. Jamie had hot chocolate (of course) while I opted for coffee.

We both had a piece of their apple crumble pie and later realized we could have easily shared a piece. The pie was delicious but they gave a whole new meaning to deep dish. I'm happy to say we both finished all the crumble topping though!

We had a great day out. It really got us in the holiday spirit with all the snow on the ground and the wonderful fall colors. We may not have dramatic season changes in the OC but you don't have to go far to see it first hand. Jamie took some fantastic pictures and there weren't too many people around either. I think this may become a holiday tradition.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving dinner was perfect. Jamie and I cooked for most of the day and only made it outside for a brief walk around the park and watched the football pick up games going on. My parents, brother, Grandpa, Aunt Milissa, Val, Aaron, and their foreign exchange student, Minji from Korea, joined us for Thanksgiving. The turkey came out amazing, it was so moist and fell apart when you cut it with a fork. Jamie and I were pretty impressed with ourselves.

Desert was amazing as well. Both the pumpkin and cherry were so good and they taste so good together. It's not Thanksgiving without them.

Here we are, all sitting at the table, a difficult picture to take. We all had a great holiday together. This was our third year cooking Thanksgiving dinner and I think we've finally got it down. We had plenty of food and plenty of left-overs. We had turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwiches all weekend. It was fantastic!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving and we'll be cooking up a feast for this afternoon. While we have Turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, veggies, dinner rolls, and desert of pumpkin pie and my mom's famous cherry pie, the holiday is really about more than just food. According to here it all started in 1621:

"In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America."

It was more than 200 years later that President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving and Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941.

As food is plentiful and the winters aren't really that harsh (especially in California) here is what I am thankful for:

I'm thankful for shelter. I still come home every night and can't believe our house is really ours.

I'm thankul for work. Jamie and I are so lucky not just to be employed but to really enjoy what we do, where we work, and who we work with.

I'm thankful for friends. We have such a diverse group of friends who are all different and great in their own ways. They've shown us so many different perspectives and are always there for us.

I'm thankful for my amazing husband. He is far too good to me and life is so much better when he is around :)

I'm thankful for family. It's been a happy year with two new babies coming into the family and yet a difficult year for both sides of our families, having lost loved ones. I'm happy we don't have to go through it alone and can count on each other for support, guidance, and friendship.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This Week's Update...

There's not a whole lot to report this week. I was sick last weekend, nearly the whole weekend, which was not very nice. I stayed home from work on Monday and then made it through the rest of the week on cold/flu medicine. Luckily, it was just a fever and a tired and achy body. I did manage to go to my Mom's Birthday party at Z-Tejas on Saturday night. Lot's of fun and great food.

This last weekend we bought a new 46" LCD TV. The living room is finally coming together and looking amazing. It's still spacious but doesn't feel as empty as it did before.

We also saw A Christmas Carol in 3D at the IMAX - Irvine Spectrum. It was pretty amazing, the theater alone was unbelievable. It was a good movie but the 3D effects made it even better.

My cousin also had their baby on Sunday, Morning. Carter Michael Carrillo was 9lbs 2oz and a week early. Both Mama and Baby are doing well and Nana Nancy is absolutely thrilled.

With Thanksgiving just over a week away we will be preparing to have it at our house for the first time. It should be fun and the 4 day weekend will be much appreciated! Hope everyone has a great week =>

Halloween

Well, Halloween was last Saturday and it was busy as usual. That morning, my amazing husband surprised me with a Halloween gift. To my surprise it was a Peanuts puzzle in the shape of a pumpkin! My parents came over for dinner and helped give out candy (they don't have as many trick-or-treaters in their neighborhood). So we had a fantastic dinner, watched the World Series game, gave out a ton of candy to both young and far to old to be asking for candy, and my Mom and I worked on the puzzle. It's A LOT harder when it's in the shape of a pumpkin. There were so many curved pieces and oddly shaped ones it was really difficult to get used to. But after a while your conventional wisdom of how a puzzle should work dies down and you learn how to adapt to a curved world.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Botero

Sunday, we went to the Bowers Museum to see the Fernando Botero exhibit. As it was the first Sunday of the Month we were able to get in free, Thank You Target! We got there just as the museum opened, thanks to the time change it really wasn't much effort to get there by 10am :), and we beat the crowd so we got to see the pieces at our leisure.

Colombian artist Fernando Botero is known for his unique style. He is recognized and renowned world-wide for the voluminous forms and sensuous figures found within his painting, sculpture and works on paper. He is very adamant that his figures are not fat but voluptuous or voluminous. He has been painting since the 1950s and at 77 years old he is still creating unique paintings and sculptures.

The exhibit is pretty impressive and is compiled from his own personal collections. There are so many amazing and amusing pieces but this one of course stuck out. It's called the 'English Ambassador' (complete with bola hat and of course a British flag!!). If you get a chance to see the exhibit it's well worth it.

Baby Carter

Sunday, I left Jamie to work on the house and I went to Terra's baby shower. She's due on the 21st of November and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like we just found out a few months ago. She's definitely ready for the baby to come. It's a boy and his name is Carter Michael Carrillo. Mike and Terra have already decorated the baby's room with a sports theme and with all the gifts they've received Carter will have a pretty good wardrobe to pick from.

The party was just for the ladies and it consisted mostly of Terra's family and friends but we represented ourside. Here is Nana Nancy, Aunt Chris, and my Mom =>

Mike was out golfing with the boys during the party so we could play fun baby games and ooh and aah over all the cute, little gifts. I have to say though, women can be brutal when it comes to games and prizes even at a cute little baby shower, lol.

Fun things to do at Philadelphia airport

On my recent trip to England, I had several hours (each way) to spend at Philadelphia airport. I have to say that it is certainly a nice airport and far superior to Chicago O’Hare (my usual connection). Plus none of my flights were delayed, which is inevitable when flying via Chicago. I have now decided to never fly via Chicago again.

Below are a couple of things that I found on my exploration of PHI:

Residents of Philadelphia like to collect Smurfs

By far the best Smurf was the "Chief Smurf"

Along with Political cartoons and Bacon, Denmark's other most famous export is Lego. Apparently Philadelphians (???) like to make giant Lego models. I don’t think that Philadelphians are known for their bell castings as this lego one has a big crack in it. An interesting fact, the original "Liberty Bell" was actually made in White Chapel (London).