Ready or not...It's Christmas!!

 Santa's been here already...so glad to be done with shopping and wrapping!!

 I love bringing out my Santa collection...my Oma gave me this one and just love him!

 The table is all set!  I try to do as much ahead of time so that I can enjoy the company too!

 My wedding china Lenox "Tyler."  Hey, gotta pull out the good stuff once in awhile!!

 And the St. Nicholas my late mother-in-law painted in her ceramics class...beautiful piece!

 I can't wait until we sit around the table for our feast of turkey and prime rib...it will be a tight fit with 8...not able to attend is my daughter Kara who is working hard at her job at Stanford University hospital...sure will miss her!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!!  And a Happy New Year in 2012!!!

Happy Hanukkah!

Child's Play

 I work as a substitute instructional assistant in a classroom of 32 children.  It's been a gratifying experience, and this week, we were treated to a field trip the the Gardens of the World nearby in Thousand Oaks...no pictures of that, but we had a great time!!!  But the next day, we had our Christmas Park party where we had food provided by generous parents, and the kids could relax and have fun with each other...look at the pals above!!

 And, of course, these stylish young ladies!!  We had foods from a variety of cultures to taste.

 And we also had a kids' favorite...PIZZA!

 Quite a few kiddos tried out the new "snake" equipment in the playground.  This went up and down like a serpent with our gleeful passengers laughing and occasionally falling off!!

 Then on to the chopstick contest!!  The one who picked up the most dried beans in the time allotted would win a very nice pair of chopsticks!!!

 It's not as easy as it looks!!!!

 Takes a bit of concentration!!!

 And a little tricky holding those sticks!!!

 But it can be done!!!

And the winner is...what a happy boy with an even happier teacher looking on!!!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit!

 Last weekend, I joined up with Disney friends for the Boat Parade on Huntington Harbor!

 Just two of the beautiful examples of decorated boats that sailed by...

 And a very full and lovely moon!!!

 We sure had a good time with good ol' friends...

 Silliness and laughter abounded along with conversations and sharing memories!

 Oh, and let's not forget about the food...there was dinner and dessert too!

 Our hostess with the mostest is Marquise to the right!!!

 Great smiles...well, hey, we are ex-Disneyland employees, after all!

Everyone had a great time, for sure!!!  Already can't wait until next year!!

Family Togetherness

 We hope everyone had as nice a Thanksgiving as we did!!  It was also Frank's birthday, so we did the festivities for him first with presents and a card...he looks pretty happy!

 Peter and his girlfriend Catherine...

 William...

 My beautiful mom was glowing with her entire family around her...

 Kara with her Oma...

 Kara with her Opa...

 Frank and me...

 And the turkey...

 Frank carving the turkey with a hopeful Maggi doggy that something will drop...

 Peter, Kara's boyfriend Ben, Kara and Will enjoying the feast...

 More than enough food to go around, and the turkey that Will brined was so tender and delicious...

After dinner, the kids decided to play a game, while the rest of us relaxed in the living room...after a bit of break, we ate homemade pumpkin pie made by Catherine and Peter...then we were stuffed for sure!!  Such a nice Thanksgiving had by us all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whether you need to travel far or near, here's hoping you share the day with family and friends and be thankful for one another.

You Have to Have One of These...

From coffee house It's A Grind, the new Tea Latte Press!!!  So delicious that I can't wait to go back and try another one!!  Flavors are Black tea, Green tea, and Chai tea.  I had the Chai, and it was so aromatic!!  The cup acts like a coffee press...after about 3 or 4 minutes, depending how strong you like it, you push in the plunger until it "clicks" into the lid.  Then WITHOUT taking the lid off, enjoy!!!  The best Chai tea I've ever had!!!