Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Hope everyone had a wonderful and turkey filling Thanksgiving! A great excuse to eat all you want . . . and of course be with family to reflect what we grateful for.  And since most of our family is in Hawaii - phone calls are the closest thing we have to them. Bobby's parents are in Honolulu having a traditional Thanksgiving with Nicole and Anna. My parents had Thanksgiving with my sister Marie's family and my sister Erna's family. It was nice talking to mom who said she still made her pancit, and Dad who still had to make adobo as part of their dinner. Growing up we never had one of those american turkey dinners - its nice to know that it hasn't changed - its mom and dads filipino turkey tradition. 

We had a simple and quiet dinner at home with Bobby making our turkey, ham, candied yams, and mash potatoes (as tradition as you can get). We had a few friends come over which was great to have. Wish i had taken more pictures...

What was left of our 8 lb. turkey.

This is what happened after dinner. ... (yes, thats Jadeline's bright pink pj's that my mom bought for her - she practically lives in that!)

On 11/25 Jade had a mini thanksgiving concert at her school. It was so cute! Her dad says that she was one of the 2 who was really in the beat - and of course he says, "she gets that from me!"

 Yes, we tackled the stores on Black Friday. As Bobby says, "we need to support this desperate economy and spend $$$" Didn't exactly get up at 5am as I hoped but found myself at Walmart at 10am. Didn't find the greatest deals. But when I overheard other customers saying they price match if you have the other stores deals, they will honor it!  So I pulled out my Fred Meyer's ad which offered 20% off all games and accessories. My only problem was that they didn't have all the games I was looking for. And of course we had to stop by and visit Santa. Ashton is not into Santa anymore, but Jadeline still believes!! And let me tell you, Santa is the greatest when we seek 'good behavior.'

 

November .. lots of pictures

Wow, its been a week since i've posted something. I try to keep up and tell myself, blog something and then i put it off. Grr.. sometimes work can get in the way. Go figure - i work just 3 nights a week; really thats just 12 nights in a month!! But i can get so preoccupied and actually be productive! Take a look:

This is an exception . . and something about me. I really don't like laundry. (And thank goodness I have a husband who is very willing to keep this as his chore.) Anyhow, when he asked me to throw the clothes in the dryer when he went to work, i thought, "sure, i can do that." Easy enough right? Well, I don't have the habit of checking pockets - all he asked was to throw it in the dryer! And i thought i was being considerate to at least fold the clothes when it was done. But to my surprise, when i opened the dryer was a pen - my black pen - the pen that i used at work which i thought.. auggh, it was in my scrub pocket!! A black pen leaving black stains on all our clothes.! what a waste! I'm told to leave the clothes alone from now on. ;)

Blanket/quilt #2 done!!

Momi! isn't she so cute??

Jade coming home from school! Back to all the rain!!

Hunter.. is it normal that he finds his kennel comfortable?

Remember that post about  waiting for Jade's tooth to come out? Check her out!! The tooth fairy made it to Jade's room on 11/21. Jade says, "But how do i brush my teeth? i don't have a tooth!" Cute huh? And by the way, I'm not sure what the going rate is for the tooth fairy. But I was stuck with a $5 bill and a $20 bill in my wallet. The tooth fairy left her $5. ;)

Yes, went to Goodwill to donate/purge a few things. That meant i was cleaning - my craft area, closet, and Jade's room. I make it a point to clean out Jade's room before Santa comes to visit in December.

Did you know that I love salmon? and i mean love salmon! Everytime i go to a restaurant, i have to try their salmon. I've had it grilled, had it on pasta, had it with mash potatoes, had it in sushi, had it broiled, seasoned in many different ways, and i've also had an eggs benedict with smoked salmon which is really good. Well, this weekend, Bobby hanged out with his friends in Port Orford for hunting and fishing!! His friend Justin, got a buck, but they also went fishing and got a whole lot of chinook salmon!! The above picture is just one fillet of 3 that Bobby came home with tonight!!! Do you how many times I can make a salmon dinner with what he brought home - it was 3 huge pieces of fillet!!  9 times!!  yummy!! Besides desserts, Bobby sure knows  his way into my heart!

Here's my little treasure i found on craigslist for $20!! It now holds my scrapbook albums and now holds our couch blankets! 

This is a quilt I'm making for my niece upon request for Christmas. I  thought I'd have it done tonight or at least this weekend. Hence the reason I'm blogging right now. This is what i get for miscalculating my binding (see below - see the safetypin??). I'm short just 8inches of fabric !! Now I have to hunt for that fabric!! Can't believe that!!

CREATING STUFF...

That bag that i use to make? Here's one that i just finished. I'm making more again . . . anyone interested in purchasing any? Get your order in before Christmas!!

Finally organized my scrapbook layouts. They are in albums.  Hmm.. 2 albums for the family, 1 for Troy, 1 for Ashton, and 2 for Jade? A bit unequal you think??

This is Jade's new caterpillar quilt. Now each of my children has a quilt made by  me. She loved it. It put her right to sleep . . . .

I met a lady from Planet beads who showed me how to make some rings - it was fun. A bit not my style except that green one. I really like that ring. Now i need to modify it a bit so i can make it my own....

I've been keeping myself busy. But its more like trying to get things done that I've put off. Now that Jade is in school, that means i have time in the morning for myself.. so that means lots of crafting time!! Great huh?

My oldest child

You'd think i had just one child when in fact i have 3 children - besides Jadeline there is Troy and there is Ashton. Who probably don't get enough blog time here...

Let's start with Troy, my oldest child, the one i will always call my baby. (C'mon, he was the first one out of my body and the first one to show me what its like to be a mother.)

Troy is about 5'4" now. And a whole lot of weight to love. As much as I see his father in him, I know he is my child. He has many features of me in him. For one thing - as much as he struggles in English right now like me, he's a straight A student in Math like me.  He's great with his hands - yes he's my little crafter in his own way. He mods and rebuild his xbox controller, he draws out names in this fancy graffiti,  and will quickly make me what i ask (key chain or artwork). Troy has his own dress style - as much as he likes skinny jean, I have to remind myself to bite my tongue and accept what he chooses.  Right now, he loves electronic devices - his favorite right now is his ITouch that he won for $1.00 playing stacks. This is my oldest child. . . . my baby.

Veteran's day

Been working on some quilts. I have 3 quilts I'm working on right now. Didn't quite realize that I never made Jadeline a quilt! So since her brothers got one, I really owe her a quilt! She requested a caterpillar quilt.

Jadeline brought home a family project. It was a turkey which we needed to use things that we have around the house. This was a 'craft project'. Something that really revolved around what I love to do. BUT look who got more into it??? ;)

To all the men who represent our country -- Happy Veteran's Day!! But most of all, thank you to my son's Grandpa Edward and our good friend Preston who has retired serving our country.

For Veteran's day, I borrowed my sister Marie's idea to take my children to watch High School Musical 3. I personally liked it. I guess after following HSM and HSM2, you get into it.. and i'm such a softie - i teared.

I've been fighting the stinkin' cold. Its kicking my butt! But I'm so tired of lying around here and just crafting, that I felt to guilty to not take the kids out on their day off. I rarely get sick. I even made it through allergy season for the first time this year! And now i have this cold. Aughh!! Tired of the cough and sure tired of the muscle aches!!

a week off

Went to the Aveda Institute to put some color in my hair. This picture doesn't serve any justice! I really do have color in my hair. Did get it trimmed as well. For a haircut and highlights - $40. Not bad to have students work on your hair.

Dropped by Krispy Kremes. I think about once a month, we get out to treat ourselves to some type of 'dessert'. I love the custard filled doughnut!!

Went to pottery barn kids to get some ideas for christmas - that is decoration and stuff. Trying to figure out what color we'lll use to decorate our tree. We're thinking silver and baby blue, but Jade wants pink and silver.

Since I'm off for a week, I'm trying to do more cooking for the family. I was inspired by my brother in law who made banana and mac nut pancakes one morning. Well, so i had no bananas and no mac nuts. So i settled for strawberries.

Our dinner menu:

Saturday: chicken and bak choy soup

Sunday: spaghetti

Monday: pork and squash

Tuesday: baked crispy chicken

Wednesday: curry

Miss Jade . . . dance class.

Every Thursday Jadeline has ballet and hip hop classes.  For awhile I thought I was living my childhood placing her in dance classes - although i took jazz.  But watching her dance today - that was all her own!! She is alive and dances with so much spirit. And i have to admit she has more rhythm than i do. Below is a picture i took of Jade during our coast trip. Don't you just love that smile!! By the way, for awhile, she won't be smiling a whole lot with her mouth open. She has a loose bottom tooth. The tooth fairy is waiting patiently... I'm so tempted to just pull it!

similarities

I still find it amazing when i find things in common with someone. Its a no brainer when you are related, but  I always find it interesting....

Jadeline and Dedric - I'm proud to have a nephew who can read to Jadeline. He's a first grader who reads at a second grade level. They have a lot in common. They love strawberries, they enjoy reading, they are into their Nintendo DS right now, they are inseperable.

My older sister Marie - when i went back to Hawaii, we were makeup shopping at the Clinique booth. While we were getting our makeup done - we chose the exact same shade of lipstick color!! The color was : after party. She also introduced me to armani jeans and let me tell you, they are very forgiving!! And my younger sister - Erna. While I was back in Hawaii, we have a great sweet tooth in cupcakes. We hunted high and low for cupcakes only to find that each shop was closed. ( I know its a little silly but i do spend the money for a good cupcake.). It was nice that we could spend time at the new food and product show, and have drinks at Ryan's.

And Troy and Jadeline. My oldest child and youngest child. They both love drawing. They enjoy listening to music. They constantly need to be fed. When Troy was Jades age - they have a love for legos. They are great with their hands (ahem the crafting thing....) - i wonder who they got that from?? - we enjoy creating.

Family Time

We headed to the coast today - to have some family time out of this Portland rain! Normally when its cold and wet here in town, ironically - the coast is beautiful and warm. I was actually hot because i layered so much! (jeans/tights/tank top/ tshirt and jacket). Crazy huh? And wouldn't you know it, it was really warm and actually sunny. We went to our favorite restaurant there - MO's. I love the fried oyster burgers!! And its only good when you're out there. Its just not the same anywhere else.

Driving to the coast reminds a lot of what my parents and i did when i was little. We would drive around the island of Oahu - site see, and just enjoy the day. I grew up realizing that it was something you're suppose to do - it was normal. So we're doing the same - not just around Oregon. More like drive to the coast, enjoy site seeing other towns, seeing deer on the road, admiring all the trees change color. Thats what i see for a moment until i fall asleep - it never fails. I just can't seem to keep my eyes open long enough.

** no pictures - decided to enjoy the moment and leave the clicking of the camera in my bag.**