Thanksgiving Weekend

The day before Thanksgiving day up to Sunday was really a busy time for me. We had friends coming over for our Thanksgiving party as well as some of Ophine's family and relatives staying with us.

We had to make the house look more 'presentable' and with two kids in the house, it always becomes a deliberate effort to do so. I had to put away my studio equipment from my studio er living room I mean and make sure the kids' rooms are guests' friendly which is the hardest task of all. Anyway, when David and Missy knows visitors are coming, they in their own way try to help you but I just have to keep reminding them that they have to maintain it in that "impeccable" state for a while, which is really just a condition where they don't have their stuff lying around.

First, Mike and Cris Kabiling and their kids Mark and Angela from Jacksonville came over Wednesday night from a trip to the Key West and thankfully Ophine was able to persuade them to stay for the party Thursday night and they did but they left that night too for their 6 hour trip to Jacksonville since Cris had a scheduled work that Friday. Cris is Ophine's cousin. Then Ophine's brother Alan who now lives in the Cayman Islands together with two friends, Ricky and Dante also came over for Thanksgiving but also with the sole purpose of having their shopping spree here in Florida, knowing there will be lots of sales all over. Ophine's other cousin Gina and her friend Flora, also from the Cayman Islands also arrived that night and stayed for Thanksgiving dinner too.

I just cooked roast turkey with the usual fixins' like stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy. We also ordered some Filipino food like kare-kare, lumpiang shanghai, dinuguan and puto from Amay, a Filipino who operates his restaurant and catering business. It was a potluck so we had lots of food- Lotlot's baked ham and home-made apple cider juice, Wowie's special La Paz Batchoy, Ate Edna's green been casserole, Liza's pancit bihon, Ate Debbie's desserts, etc. We were so full and after dinner, did some 'karaoke'. Surprisingly, the kids also enjoyed singing.

Then Friday morning came and with just a few hours of sleep finally decided to go to Home Depot at 5:30 am to check out the deals and happily got what I came there for, a Ryobi 18v Circular Saw and Drill combo with battery and charger for $50. Alan and company also did the same and even left earlier than me. I went home after that, took a nap and went out again to Circuit City and Best Buy but stocks don't last long on a Black Friday but I was able to snag an extra Sandisk Ultra II 2.0 gb CF card for only $45 at Best Buy, an item that was not even in their advertised sale. The card sells at Costco for $80.

Saturday, we all went to Sawgrass Mall with Alan and his friends Ricky and Dante. Continuing with their shopping spree, they cleared out Sawgrass Mall. Kidding aside, most of the time I just looked for the benches and sat. My feet have been hurting lately and I was done shopping after checking out maybe three stores.

After that we were all supposed to go to D' Ark for their famous buffet but I told Alan, we were so hungry that we already ate in the foodcourt so it was just Ophine and the Island boys who went there.

Sunday came, Ophine and the boys went to Costco, then we went to church and then after a late lunch, I drove Alan and company to the airport for their trip back home.

What is also good about this weekend, no cooking for 3 days as we have a lot of leftover food. Now it's Monday and I'm just relaxing a bit. Finally having the time to sit and think and thank God for 'life' and everything else.

Here are some photos from the party.