Thanksgiving 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

Little SnowBall was so hungry on Thanksgiving morning that she nursed the blanket!  The poor baby tried so hard to get some milk out of it. 

Her and DustBall shared a can of cat food for their Thanksgiving dinner, as I watched the parade.

Parade watching is tradition for me and Sophie.

Everyone else had left the house, so the pets and I had a nice quiet morning filled with giant balloons.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade announced, "... a special appearance by the Mega Star, SANTA!".

Yes, SANTA! Well, Of Course Santa.  I thought the introduction was funny.  Mega Star, ha.

After the parade, I loaded up the truck with goodies, including a box of old school papers of Grace's and Hub's that I've been holding onto for years now.  I figured the kids would have fun going down memory lane.

My truck had a light dusting of snow from the night before:

 

Freckles greeted me when I arrived at the in-laws.  She is 17 years old now!

 

  

Everyone was into watching the football game.

 

 

Shadow, Gracie's other dog, was rooting for the Bears.

 

Freckles moved with Grace, when she got a place of her own, but she's my girl too.

 

Shadow is the new pup; she's 9 months old.

 

 
 Joe, Gracie's fiance, fried a turkey. 

It was the first time I had ever seen one fried before, other than on tv.

He CAREFULLY placed it into the pot of hot oil where it bubbled like a crazy witches brew.

I kept waiting for it to explode or something.

Meanwhile, back inside, Tom, my father-in-law, carved his oven roasted turkey.  This was the Thanksgiving of the great turkey cook-off.

 

 Joe's turkey came out a bit dark, but he wasn't concerned.

Joe carved his bird and the challenge was on!

While that excitement was going on, the kids chilled.

 

We played games too.

 

 

Ohhh, this handsome man, is my son, Glenn Jr., aka Hub:

 

 

Hub lives in California, and I usually only see him a couple times a year.

 

Here's the official photo of my five kids:

 
Family events almost always involve photo poses.  My mother-in-law instructed the kids on another pose.

 

This is the classic, oldest to youngest pose:

 

Dinner's READY!!!

 
 They make a lovely couple:

 

Okay, the blessings are said, DIG IN!!!!

 Joe's super-moist and flavorful turkey was the winner, hands down!!!

 
 Gobble, gobble!

Here's my plate:

3 Seconds Later...

Isn't funny, how cooking can take all day and the actual eating part is over in a flash?

Troy broke the first wishbone with Gladys, and the second with Joe.  Lucky Troy won both wishes!

Blessings!

Wedding Gown Shopping

 This past Saturday, I went bridal gown shopping.  Not for me, but for Grace, my oldest daughter.

Grace is getting married just a few months short of a year from now.  Finding and ordering the right gown can take some time though.

Luckily, she was able to decide on the perfect dress for her wedding day.

 
 

All the gowns were gorgeous, but I knew she was wearing THE GOWN when I could see the extra confidence within her.

 
 
Grace modeled several gowns. She had us girls there to offer our opinions.  

 

Since, it's bad luck for a groom to see his bride in her wedding gown before the ceremony, my pictures must be somewhat vague.  I'm not taking any chances, but rest assured, come the BIG DAY, her chosen dress will be revealed. :)

Until then-- Ruffles

And Bustles

Satin

 

And Lace. Which gown will it be for dear Grace?  :)

 

 Yeah, my poetry, rocks!

In addition to bridal gowns, us girls browsed though dresses for the entire bridal party.

Wedding gown shopping was a success!

Dunnn, dunn, dun dun, dunnn, dunn, dun dun....   :)

Waterfall Braid

Helllloooo!  

I've been feeling sorry for myself lately.  Mainly because I had to have extensive dental work done due to a cracked tooth.  I don't even know how I managed to crack it.  Maybe I do clinch my teeth at night when I am having nightmares about falling off a cliff.  Who knows?

Well, anyhow, to make my -destined to be toothless- self feel better, I've been practicing a new hairstyle.  The waterfall braid:

I've found the best way to achieve nice and even spacing while braiding one's own hair, is to lay down on the bed and use the bristle end of the brush as a spacing guide.  Also, this technique helps prevent arm fatigue because it allows your elbows to rest as needed.

I'm liking the way this braid keeps the hair out of my face.  Although, looking at this pic, I do miss having bangs a little:

I used bobby pins to secure the later end and did a complete crown.  Next time I sport this braid, I think straitening my hair first will help the braid itself stand out more and give it a new look. 

Tutorials on waterfall braiding can be found on Pinterest. 

Happy Braiding!