From all of us at the Party House,
a very Happy New Year to you all.
May 2013 be a wonderful year for you.
May all of your dreams come true.
May all of your wishes be fulfilled.
May your star shine bright,
May every happiness be yours.
Happy and Healthy 2013, my friends.
Cheers!
Today is New Year’s Eve, and tomorrow will start the beginning of a New Year, 2013. This is the time of year I love to reflect back on everything that has transpired at the Party House in the course of just one, short year.
We have had numerous birthday parties for the family members who live here locally.
Had a great family event in April at Angels Stadium. Almost everyone in the family was able to make it to an Angels game together. I honestly cannot remember if the Angels won or lost that day, but we had a great time.
Hosted a great dinner party when my sister and her husband were here from Montana in May. Laura showed us how to make her red sauce enchiladas.
A special birthday was celebrated for our baby boy in July. He turned 21.
We actually got to celebrate Travel Man’s birthday on his actual birthday this year. That was a fun, fun time.
October brought us the baby shower celebration for my daughter, Naomi. We had such girly fun that day!!
November brought the arrival of Miss Madison Kay, our second grandchild. What a delight she is. I know I’ve said that before, but I’ll say it again, because I’m her Grandma.
And of course we celebrated Thanksgiving together, and for the first time in a long time my sister, Laura, was able to join us at the dinner table.
Christmas Day was celebrated here with the family. We were delighted to have our nephew, Jim, here for the days festivities. It’s always a little more casual on Christmas Day for us. Dinner was buffet style, with tons and tons of goodies and cookies. A wonderful party ending to 2012.
My parents with almost all of their grandkids!
We are always grateful to be able to host the family events. It’s always a wonder that we can get so many of the kids and their significant others together in the same place at the same time for the same event.
Every year I am equally amazed that even though my husband (aka Travel Man) is on the road for a good amount of time during the year, we are still able to sneak in as many short trips as we do. And before I get to the trips – do you know that my Travel Guy was in the air for well over 160,000 air miles this year? I could not believe that number, I’m still in shock as I am writing this. That’s a lot of travel. I am ever so grateful that he takes such good care of us, and always keep us laughing with his travel stories.
Our trips together this year included-
A trip to the Reagan Library.
A trip to Reno to visit my parents while my Dad was going through some chemo treatments.
A trip to Las Vegas in June (this was the second time), so my daughters and I could attend a Celine Dion concert. Travel man drove us there and home.
A trip to New York in August to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.
And a trip to Montana to visit my sister and her husband.
More trips than I could have imagined we would could possibly take this year. Thank you Travel Man. You never cease to amaze me.
And finally, I would like to give a standing ovation to my Dad. My Dad is battling lung cancer (actually he’s kicking it in the butt!). He was told in January of this year, that there were no additional, conventional methods of chemotherapy or radiation available to him that would be helpful in diminishing his tumors. My Dad, he’s a fighter, and he never, ever gives up. He got on the computer, researched some alternative therapies, found a doctor first in Reno, and then in Carlsbad, and never gave up on living. My Mom keeps telling us that since my Dad was an engineer in his working life he just has the mentality that this problem he has needs to be solved, and he’s going to solve it. And by the way my Mom, she’s a rock star. She definitely deserves the “Stand By Your Man Award” for 2012. The love and compassion she shows for my Dad is a priceless gem.
I am completely elated, overjoyed and ecstatic to tell you that because of my Dad’s hard work, perseverance, and his never give up attitude in this year of 2012, his tumors have diminished over 40%!! It is hard to express in words what a wonderful feeling it is that my Dad has seen such a tremendous improvement. It’s happiness, relief, joy, and a great big WHEW! This man, my Dad, has redefined the word perseverance.
It reminds me of my favorite Winston Churchill quote: “Never, never, never, give up.”
From the Party House to yours, wishing each and every one of you a very Happy New Year, and may all good things come to you and yours in 2013.
This recipe was posted over the summer months, and it has been the most popular post on my site for this year. If you missed out on the taco yumminess you may want to give this one a try. It’s definitely a great recipe for anytime of the year. Enjoy!
Taco Salad for a Crowd – Originally posted in May 2012
For the past two or three days it has been over 90 degrees here in So Cal, just a hint of summertime coming our way. The hot weather calls for some lighter and yummy dinners. Tonight I made the gang a Taco Salad. I called my Mom to find out the origin of this recipe, and we came to the conclusion that I was a recipe that was passed around the neighborhood when we were growing up. However, I have put my own twist on the recipe, with the help of my daughter Naomi.
Ingredients:
Directions:
For the salad assembly:
Variations:
This is truly a yummy recipe, and so easy to throw together. Oh and I like using the shredded cabbage because it does not get soggy at all. I put out the cabbage when we have just plain old tacos in the shell too. For this twenty-something household, this salad makes a great big meal and is great for staying on budget. If you’ve never made this before it’s a real treat. If you haven’t made it in a while you’ve been missing out like me. I’m definitely mixing this recipe in with my weekly summertime meal planning.
‘Twas the night before Christmas
and all through our abode
all the creatures were waiting
for the Christmas Day Party to unfold.
The children were cozy
and snug in their rooms,
they’re dreaming of Angels Stadium
and can’t wait until baseball season resumes.
With Travel Man in his pj pants,
and I in my sweats, we’d just settled down
for a good power nap.
(I don’t power nap well,
that’s a travel man thing)
Up on our roof top
there was such a big clatter,
I was hoping none of the kids
had jumped up there
to see what was the matter.
Away to the patio door
I shuffled barefoot,
opened the blinds,
and squinted my eyes
to take a good look
(I forgot my glasses).
When what to my wondering eyes
should appear,
the dog and the cat
were outside drinking a beer!
What I meant to say was,
I saw Santa’s sleigh sitting
out by our pool
with eight cute little reindeer,
just playing it cool.
There was little old driver
with a flashy, Hawaiian shirt,
and I knew in a moment
it was our California Santa,
is he wearing a grass skirt?
Next Santa took roll call
he called them by name,
to be sure none had
jumped in the pool to play a game.
“Where’s Dasher, and Dancer?”.
“Wake up Prancer and Vixen”.
“Finish your ice tea in a hurry”,
he called to Comet, Cupid,
Donder and Blitzen.
To the top of the patio cover,
to the top of the wall
now dash way,
dash away,
dash away and
please don’t fall.
So up to the top of our roof Santa flew
with the help of his reindeer,
and I’m guessing Rudolph was there too.
And then as I listened
on our rooftop I heard
Santa and the reindeer
stomping around,
now what could have occurred!!
I walked out in the hallway,
took a peek around the bend,
and there was Santa standing
in the living room,
is this a dream,
will it ever end?
He was dressed in his Hawaiian shirt,
khaki shorts, and black boots.
I’m pretty sure I saw his socks,
they were black too it was a hoot!
A big bag of presents
he had flung on his back.
Surely there was no room
for a new car, we’d call Mack!
His eyes how they sparkled,
His dimples so happy,
His cheeks looked a little sunburned
His nose was so like a cherry. (sunburned too)
He had a cute face,
and a little beer belly
it shook when he laughed
like a little bowl full of grape jelly.
He was chubby and plump
such a cute little elf,
I laughed when I saw him,
trying to keep it to myself.
He saw me watching him,
out of the corner of his eye
gave me a little wink,
and I thought I might cry.
He didn’t say a thing to me,
just got straight to work,
filling our stockings,
and I thought I saw him smirk.
He placed his finger
on the side of his nose,
gave a little nod and
up the chimney he rose.
He ran to his sleigh
and gave the reindeer a jerk
“Let’s go boys, we’re busy”, he said
“We’ve still got lots of work”.
And as Santa was leaving
our California paradise
I heard him yell loudly,
“Man, California is Nice!!”
Merry Christmas Eve to all,
and to all a good night.
** This is my personal adaptation of Clement Clark Moore’s, “Twas the Night Before Christmas poem. Clipart shown here is available from Microsoft Word.
Presents wrapped, cookies all baked? Are you ready for tonight and tomorrow?
I have been working on lots of crafts, and baking. I really can’t share any of my crafting goodies with you all until after Christmas Day. I don’t want to give away any secrets you know.
My favorite cookies to bake are always sugar cookies, and spritz. Love the buttery deliciousness of both of these cookies. The recipes that I use are from a Betty Crocker cookie book.
Nana Joan’s Sugar Cookie-
* This is a recipe that we cooked growing up. Always a favorite at Christmas time.
Ingredients:
And the recipe for the Spritz cookie which require a cookie press go like this-
Spritz Cookies
Ingredients:
Directions:
Oh, and this is what my sweet baby granddaughter was doing while her mother and I baked our little hearts out last week.
Wishing you and yours the Merriest of Christmas seasons. I hope each and every one of you has a splendid time with your families near and far.
