Fall and Thanksgiving 2011

I don't have a of lot of words for the masses still. It's been a hard few months for me, and I haven't really felt like blogging, in the sense of writing about my life.

I'd still like to share some photos with you all, just to show that I'm still alive if nothing else.

My good friend Shaza and I hung out in San Juan Capistrano a few times in the past month or so. We had delicious coffee, Greek food and met a llama. Oh, and I'm trying to hook her into photography, which isn't hard, since all of the exceptional photos below were taken by her!

Dad recently made a trip down to sign his book, The Automobile and American Life, at the Peterson Automobile Museum in LA. Tony and I ventured up there with him (HATE LA TRAFFIC. UGH.), moseyed around the museum and ventured to the LA Farmer's Market. Most of my photos in the museum were, much to my husband and father's chagrin, of details that I liked. 

I've also spent some time embracing the spirit of my most favorite season. Whether that be crafting or decorating my house, the result is usually pretty ridiculous.

Tony and I traveled to Ohio for the Thanksgiving holiday. Being home after living in a different climate/state/universe for the past 7 (!?!?!!!) years threw me for a loop. Mom and I went to my old elementary school, which used to have the most awesome playground EVER. They've now torn it down and constructed a safer, less cool "Tiger's Turf II". Mom and I took the opportunity to horse around, and I present below photographic evidence why my Mom is the coolest ever.

Honeysuckle berries = quintessential winter sprigs

It wouldn't be the holidays without a grumpy picture of my husband:

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday!

Winter In Ohio

I went home to Ohio for a few days, sans Tony thanks to a new job (yeah!) and few leave hours.

It was a good trip, all in all, though not as relaxing as I had initially planned--though things rarely are. Apparently it's unacceptable to be 25 and stay in your pajamas all day for 5 days straight, though Lord knows I wanted to.

It was very snowy and VERY cold the entire time I was there. I've become a total wimp living in south Texas and southern California for over 6 years now. Sigh.

We celebrated an early Christmas as a family by putting up the tree, exchanging some gifts and having a proper Christmas supper.

This is my mom's favorite ornament. The tree is utterly incomplete without it.

This is my favorite ornament, my mom made it way back in the day.

Our creche completes the holiday decor--built by my grandfather back in the 70s.

Oh yes, it was a joyous time on Meadowview Dr!

I got to spend some time with my granny too, which is always never enough.

Dad got some good napping in...and yes, this really is how he sleeps. Like a corpse.

I finished my stay in Ohio by attending a cocktail party and visiting some old, dear friends.

Deer in headlights :).

Happy Holidays!

Hello, Ohio

Song to listen to "Ohio" by Over the Rhine

"Hello, Ohio

The back roads

I know Ohio

Like the back of my hand

Alone Ohio

Where the river bends

And it strange to see your story end."

This Thanksgiving marks the first time I've been to Ohio in TWO YEARS, which is far too long. I spent an unholy amount of time marveling at things that had changed, including the giant honkin' Wal-Mart that popped up on 675.

I was so quick to move away from Ohio when I went to college. I thought that any place was better than gray, old, chilly Ohio. I'm glad I went to school in Texas. Had I not, I would not have grown up so much, made the excellent friends I did, or meet the love of my life. Now that I'm in San Diego, however, I feel much differently about Ohio and the Midwest. Every time we travel home for the holidays to either Ohio or Missouri, we desire to move back.

Well, at any rate, we did have a good time while we were there. We spent some much needed time with family and friends, worked in the kitchen and in the garage and tried to relax a little bit. Enjoy the photos!

Dad and Tony had a great time working on Dad's car together! They successfully fixed a hand brake problem and managed to get his car to go even faster.

There was a lot of fall "BLAMMO" in the house. I will explain this in the future. Just know that there were handmade centerpieces and lots of fall spirit.

Give me a moment of weirdness here: I really missed this chandelier. It makes home, home.

Thanksgiving day was a whirlwind, but lots of fun! Mom and I cooked most of the meal (except I left the room gagging when she took the "stuff" out of the inside of the turkey to clean it. Pansy.), while Dad and Tony worked on the car. Typical. :)

I guess I'll keep 'em around though, since they clean up pretty well.

Granny was there! Man, did I ever miss her. She made me pound cake for my birthday, which is the best present I could have asked for! She's so little compared to me. Dang it, what happened to those petite genes when I came around?

We decided to take a multi-generational photo, but Dad kept making faces and Granny couldn't focus. That's my family in a nutshell.

Friday, instead of going to my stupid high school reunion, I opted to visit with a few friends. In between the meetings I decided to go to my old elementary school, John Hole, to take some photos of the OUTSTANDING playground they have. They really haven't changed much since I was enrolled there, 13 years ago.

We were the John Hole Tigers!

Too much editing?

Here are some super cool slides...

The towers still seemed tall!

Thankfully, the monkey bars weren't as challenging as when I was 7...

The paint may be fading, but this place has held up for over 2 decades.

This is the slide everyone always fought over. Good thing you had to weave through some tight crevices to get to the top, that made getting back in line more fun!

There were mazes and bridges and castles galore!

I did, however, feel a bit like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.

I did have a chance to (briefly) hang out with my best girlfriend in Ohio, Crissi-bear, at her super cute apartment.

Can I attempt to be artistic and nostalgic, for a moment?

Thank you. Now that's over with, here's what I came back home to:

She likes snuggling, and I don't plan on stopping her anytime soon.