I was supposed to do the continuation of my little Stuffed Turkey series.  In the next 24 hours na lang ulit. 

I was chatting with my Mom this morning and she asked me if I already knew about the stand-off at the Peninsula Manila in Makati.  I immediately went to the website of GMA News.  I was aghast, to say the least.  *sigh* As I was reading the news stories on-line, I felt sadness.  It was, after all, sad news.  *sigh*  I decided to just talk to my mom (thru YM) so she can give me the details of the event.  The things that people do to save their faces!  Grrrr!  *sigh*

When I attended one of Jimmy Licauco’s seminars a few years ago, something he said struck me…that karma also affect people as a nation…collectively.  So, if we were to believe that we are reincarnated over and over again until we reach perfection, I wonder, what did we ever do as a nation, in one of our past lives that was sooo bad, so much so that the country is experiencing such bad karma…for sooo long a time already!

God have mercy on my country…the only one I know and the only one I have.

And I’m not referring to the bird.  Hee hee!  We all felt like stuffed turkeys almost everyday from Wednesday last week upto the end of the long weekend.  I thought Thanksgiving was one of ‘em American holidays that will not affect me.  I am Filipina after all and relatively alien to American holidays, traiditions and celebrations.  But if one looks beyond the turkeys, the feastings and the promise of Black Friday discounts, and delve deeper into the real meaning of Thanksgiving, there’s no way a person can’t get caught up in the spirit of the holiday.  There’s just soooo much to be thankful for.  And that’s another blog entry in itself.  For now, I will focus on what many would consider the superficialities of the holiday. :D  Get ready for a long read.  Hee hee!

Wednesday, 21 November

Our tree is up just as I had hoped and planned.  I started putting it together on Tuesday afternoon with Abby as my eager helper and finished at 3am on Wednesday. ;)  I would have finished earlier if I didn’t have to do all the other stuff listed in my, er, job description. Hee hee!

The tree is located at one corner of what has become Abby’s play area instead of the formal dining room that it should really be.  ;)  Since we didn’t have presents yet, I decided to let some of Abby’s stuffed toys camp out under the tree, at least for now. :D  There are still some decorations waiting to be hung.  I hope to finish putting up the holiday decorations by the end of this week.

The first of our Thanksgiving feastings was at my friend Bet’s house.  It was a double celebration…the 12th birthday of her niece Winona and an advanced Thanksgiving dinner.  I’ll let the pics speak for themselves…

Bet and her sister, Ate Aileen, prepared a very impressive dinner spread of baked turkey, spaghetti and meat balls and loads of side dishes…fried rice, mashed potato, sweet potato and rolls.  It was carbo-loading night!  Bawal ang nagsa-South Beach Diet!  Hahaha! :D  Hungry yet?

Here we are, getting ready to dig in. :D  Bet’s and Ate Aileen’s hubbies are always on the road taking care of the family’s fastfood business.  It would have been so much more fun if they were with us.

The star of the Thanksgiving feast…before and after.  Hee hee!

Winona blew a total of 24 candles…12 on the oh-so-yummy chocolate cake with coffe frosting and filling baked specially for her by her Tita Bet and 12 on the white choco choco chip brownie cups I baked for her. ;)  She loves baked goodies…cookies, cupcakes, brownies, everything! :D  My kind of girl!  Hahaha!

End of Feast No. 1.

Thursday, 22 November

In honor of Thanksgiving Day, we went to church and were surprised that only a few people heard mass that day.  I know it’s not a holy day of obligation.  I just thought hearing mass is the highest form of giving thanks.  :)  Thursday was also a double celebration…Thanksgiving Day and hubby’s advance birthday dinner.  This time, it was our turn to host the dinner. 

I did not prepare an elaborate dinner spread…just food I’ve already had “experience” cooking before: kare-kare, steamed shrimps, ooey gooey chicken drumsticks and pancit canton.  Bet brought green mango and corn muffins.  I also had to borrow her ricecooker because ours is only good for 3-cups of uncooked rice.  Kahiya! :D 

Since our dining room can only fit “a few” people, we had to use Abby’s work table for the little ones.  Clockwise from Abby:  Abby, Milo Ren and Jezzie.

The older kids… (L-R) Mommy Aileen, Miyo, Winona and Mico…

…and even older kids (us parents!)  had dinner at our tiny dining room.  It was cozy, really.  Hahaha!  L-R:  Ate Aileen, hubby, me, Winona and Bet

For dessert, I thought we needed something holiday-ish, so I made pumpkin cheesecake…

…here’s another shot :D…

…and pumpkin flan. 

At least something new came out of my little kitchen stadium.  Oh yeah, we also had two kinds of ice cream.  :D 

Siyempre, the birthday boy was sung to and had a chance to make a wish and blow his candle.

We’re very thankful to have very good friends…our extended family…to celebrate with! 

After the table was cleared and the dishes washed, we ladies got together for group study.  Hee hee!  We poured over pages upon pages of after Thanksgiving ads. ;)  We meant business!  Hahaha!

After hanging out for about 5 hours, we left the house at 11:30pm and headed to the Round Rock Premium Outlets.  Traffic and parking wasn’t bad at all.  The weather, however, was another story.  Mother nature threw a cold front our way…right on Thanksgiving.  The temperature was between the upper 30s and lower 40s.  But that didn’t stop us from going through with our plans.  Dressed in Everest worthy clothing, we braved the cold weather, 7 kids in tow, 3 of whom were in strollers.  Hee hee!

End of Feast No. 2.

How are you doing so far?  I’ll let you go for now and bore you some more tomorrow.  Hehe!  Bukas ulit!  Class dismissed! 

Hi!  I’m still here, trying so desperately to get back into the groove of things after the long Thanksgiving holiday.  I had to will myself to get out of bed at 6am yesterday morning as I had to get Abby’s lunch ready.  I haggled for time and got up at 6:30.  Hee hee!  Abby had a hard time getting up as well.  She ended up taking her breakfast in the car for the first time ever since she started school in August.

I have a ton of kuwento and about 2 tons of photos!  Promise!  Tomorrow, I hope to bore you with all the details.
For now, I leave you with this question and pic…

“Can you make a knot with a cherry stem?…in your mouth?”

I can! :D  The things I do to entertain myself. ;)  Hahaha!

I hope everyone’s having a good week thus far!  God bless y’all!  Bukas ulit!

…Happy Birthday, Munchkin!

You make Thanksgiving so much more meaningful.  We love you more than you’ll ever know and more than we’ll ever be able to express! 

May God continue showering you with blessings.  Mmmmwah!

Love,

Munchkin and Little Porkchop

oOo

Today also marks the 14th year to the day I said “Yes” to hubby and we officially became a couple.  Hee hee!  That was in 1993, and we were in 2nd year college.  What a wonderful 18th birthday present ‘no?…if I may say so myself.   

Happy Anniversary, Munchkin!  Mmmmwah!

p.s.  What do you say we drop Abby off at Bet’s house.  ;)  Nyahaha!  

oOo

I’ll post a more cohesive Thanksgiving entry soon.  Promise!  It’s Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend is far from over.  I still have some serious shopping to do.  :D  There’s still plenty of names to tick off my holiay gift giving list.  Have a great weekend, y’all!

Just a quick greeting to everyone…

There’s sooooo much to be thankful for. *sweet sigh* ;)