Christmas Time is Here!

Well, I feel like an apology is in order. I haven't posted in a few weeks, and I must say I have missed it. In my defense, we have been pretty busy with the Christmas season, and I was working on two posts that I just didn't get done. So I guess those will be posted later. Christmas season at the Joneses has been a little different this year. This is the first year that we both will be away from our families, and especially so far away. So this year we have kept ourselves busy with lots of shopping and fun and seeing lots of movies. Thor, Frozen, The Hobbit, Catching Fire, there are lots of good ones out right now.

Our mini tree with all our presents! We have obviously been good this year, including Macie!

This past week we were able to go with our small group from church to a street near where we live which has amazing Christmas light displays. It's apparently in their contract when they move in that they have to have Christmas lights. There were some pretty spectacular houses- one house was snoopy themed, and they paint their house specifically for Christmas every year with a special paint. They said their electric bill is over $2,000 in December! That's dedication. We enjoyed catching up with everyone  before Christmas, and of course seeing pretty lights. It was a little strange to be seeing lights in December with the temperature being over 70 degrees!

 

The husbands

The wives

The Group

This past week at work was CRAZY. Not only was it a full moon, it was the week before break, and the kids could tell. After a crazy week, it was nice getting to unwind at my work Christmas party. It was at Pomona Mining Company, a really cool restaurant on top of a hill that overlooks the city. The atmosphere was fun, and it was great getting to have fun with coworkers. We did a Secret Santa exchange, as well as a "dirty santa" fun exchange

Me and Braden

Me and Braden in front of the Christmas tree

I was obviously really excited about my Secret Santa gift- Game of Thrones Season 2!

Blessed by a great staff to work with!

On Sunday we got to go to our church's Christmas service, which was amazing. It was the best Chrismtas service I think that I had been to. And thankfully, no candles! I get really jumpy around fire, especially candlelight services, due to catching my hair on fire when I was little. We also got to hang out with our friends the Mellinger's and they introduced us to Bruxie, which is a gourmet waffle sandwich place. Sounds pretty weird and I was a little nervous. Turns out waffle sandwiches are AMAZING.

Joneses and Mellingers

My DELICIOUS waffle sandwich

What's on the agenda for the rest of my glorious two weeks off? Well we plan on spending a lot of time relaxing, reading, and catching up on some TV shows. I am so excited to have some time off!
Everyone has there favorite Christmas traditions, and since it's Christmas Eve Eve, I thought I would share a few of my favorite Christmas traditions over the years:

1. Christmas Tablecloth- This has been a tradition in my family since the 50's. Every year, every person (and pet) who is at Christmas dinner signs their name and year on the tablecloth, which my mom then embroiders. It's fun going back and finding all my signatures and trying to find the oldest ones. It'd also fun going back and asking about all the family pets. There's even a pet rock!

2. The ABC's of Christmas-We did this when we were little kids. Every day leading up to Christmas you would do a little craft that had to do with something about Christmas. Like for "A" we would make a little angel. This was something I always looked forward to growing up!

3. Reading the Christmas Story- Every Christmas Eve, the family would gather in the living room and read the Christmas story. During the story we would start singing different Christmas songs that went along with the different parts in the story. It was so much fun!

4. Christmas cookies- My mom makes the BEST sugar cookies and she only makes them at Christmas. My brother and I would plant ourselves in front of the cookies box and stuff ourselves.

5. Being with family- Growing up, we spent Christmas with my dad's entire extended family- his parents, his three sisters, and all their kids. It was loud, it was crazy, it was fun. I have countless great memories of Christmas time shananigans

6. Christmas ornaments- Every year growing up we would get an ornament that represented what we did that year. While we have all our ornaments in storage this year, we continue this tradition by getting an ornament everywhere we go.

7. Christmas movies- Home Alone? White Christmas? It's A Wonderful Life? It's the best time of year on ABC family (other than when they have Harry Potter marathons!)

As we spend our first Christmas together as travelers, we look forward to starting some new Chrismtas traditions. What are some of your Christmas traditions?

Thanksgiving!

Last week flew by! I can't believe Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas season is here! It's my favorite time of year. Since we got back late Sunday night and I have been working all week, I haven't had time to give a proper review of our vacation, which was amazing and went by way to fast! We woke up early on Tuesday morning and headed to the airport. Macie had her sedative and was happy and quiet. Since we had a pet, we didn't have to wait in the long line to check our bags, we got to go to a special line. Macie got really worried when I had to put her down on the scale...the whole carrier started shaking (poor thing!) Luckily we had priority access, so we didn't have to wait in a long line to go through security, and Macie was a big hit, although she wasn't really happy when she had to go back in her carrier! She also wasn't happy about riding under the seat (see the picture!) but she did great! She didn't bark, or make any noise at all, such a good girl.

Not too happy about the seating arrangement

The beautiful sunrise after we took off

When we left California, it was sunny and in the 70's, and when we got to Houston it was raining and in the 30's. Talk about a big difference. Macie was very glad to get out of her carrier, play with my parent's dog Jaxon, and get to run around in a backyard! She was also greeted with a new toy from Nana and PJ!

A weenie dog squeaky toy!

After we arrived, my mom and I went and got our nails done, which was so great and relaxing. Wednesday my brother, his wife, and their adorable little boy came. We love our little nephew! Wednesday night we had a family Tex- Mex dinner with lots and lots of queso (2 gallons!). I was in heaven! I had been craving queso ever since we had moved to California. Thursday was obviously Thanksgiving so we spent most of the day over at my Aunt's house. Of course the TV was turned on to football. It was great getting to catch up with all my family and seeing so many! Our nephew, JT, has gotten so big since the last time we saw him, and is now singing the Mexican Hat Dance (la la la la la la la...la la!) and can get into your iPhone or change the channel on your TV faster than you can blink. I ate way too many potatoes and sugar cookies, but oh well. Calories don't count on Thanksgiving!

Uncle Braden and JT

Aunt Melissa and JT

I love this little guy so much!

Love these turkeys!

My Thanksgiving plate. I love potatoes.

Hillary, my mom, and I went shopping on Thursday night. We went to Kohl's and Target and then went home because we were tired! Most of our time was spent in line, but we did get some great deals! On Friday, we went to a Texan's sports bar in Houston for my Uncle's birthday party, then the guys (and a few girls) went shooting. Even Braden went! On Saturday morning we woke up early and surprised my parents with a family photoshoot with a professional photographer! My mom was very surprised, but panicked when she saw all her kids up so early in the morning. It was lots of fun and I can't wait to see the pictures! Saturday evening we were able to help decorate my grandparents tree, which was fun since we don't have our big tree to decorate this year. We were also able to have one last family dinner before we left! Of course we went to our traditional spot, Molina's, for some more Tex-Mex. I love my queso and spending time with family!

Three generations!

He's a real Texan now!

Houston from my grandparents' house

On Sunday night we headed back to Cali. We were really thankful for our friends who took us to the airport, and picked us up! The airport was absolutely crazy.

LA from the air

Even though we don't have any of our Christmas decorations and we are living in a hotel, I had to do something because I love Christmas. I bought a small 2 ft tree, some basic ornaments (but a special ornament for each of us- a soccer player for Braden and a state of Texas for me) and mini stockings to hang on our mirror with care. Our room looks so festive! 

I have enjoyed listening to the XM Christmas radio station in my car. Tis the season!

Turkey Bowl

This past week has been tiring and wonderful at the same time. On Tuesday night we had a wonderful "Friendsgiving" dinner with our small group from our church. It was great getting to relax, visit with friends, and share what we are thankful for, not to mention eating yummy food!

So blessed by these people! We love our small group!

I worked on Saturday morning, so on Saturday afternoon we went to go see Catching Fire, the new Hunger Games movie, in IMAX. It was so good and definitely better than the first one. I highly recommend it. On Sunday, we went to a flag football tournament with another couple from our small group. Braden and Phil played in the tournament, and Jenn and I watched. It was an absolutely beautiful day! Sunny and 67!

The boys won all 3 of their games, and then qualified for the playoffs. They completely dominated the whole tournament and ended up winning. No big deal.

The champions!

Me, Braden, Phil, and Jenn. We are thankful for our California friends!

After the game, we went to dinner at Pieology. It is like a Chipotle but for pizza. Pretty much the best idea ever. You get to custom build your pizza with as many toppings as you want. Why aren't these nationwide? It is pretty much my favorite thing right now. SO so good. 

My pizza: mozzarella, ricotta, and parmesan cheese, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and onions

Braden's pizza: pretty much every topping imaginable

I had a half a day of work today which was nice because it gave me time to pack and get reacy to leave. I was supposed to see kids at 1, 2, 4, and 5, but only my 1 pm kid showed up and then my 5 pm kid was 30 minutes late. It ended up being a pretty relaxing day! We are really excited to be in Texas this week, and that Macie is getting to come with us. This will be her first airplane ride! She has her own little carrier and will be riding in the cabin with us under the seat.

Macie is not ready for the colder Texas weather

Happy Thanksgiving week, everyone! I hope you take some time to remember everything there is to be thankful for!

Secret Menu Weekend

This weekend was pretty chill, but also lots of fun. On Saturday we both had haircuts which is always fun. Although Braden found out just how long it actually takes to get my hair done which wasn't so fun for him (we were there a total of 4 hours for the two of us). I have trust issues when it comes to hairdressers, but I went to a stylist at JCPenney that I had met when I went in to buy one of my hair products and she was awesome. I got my hair done at a JCPenney when we lived in Arkansas and have been really happy there. She also did a really good job on Braden's hair. After the hair appointments we were both starving so we stopped at In-N-Out. We had just learned about their "secret" menu this past week- apparently you can get lots of things that aren't on their posted menu like different sauces and grilling styles, grilled onions and grilled cheese. braden ordered his burger "animal style" and I was adventurous and got grilled onions on mine. After some grocery shopping we went home and watched some football. Of course I was really excited to watch my Baylor Bears beat Texas Tech and move into number 4 in the BCS, and excited to watch USC beat Stanford. Now if only Baylor can win out and Alabama or Florida State can lose..this next weekend the Baylor game will be featured on GameDay but of course, I have to work. Anyway, after the games on Saturday night we met our friends for frozen yogurt and got to hang out for awhile. On Sunday, we went with these same friends to help decorate for our "Friendsgiving" dinner tomorrow night for our small group. On the way, we stopped at Starbucks and I had to order something off their secret menu- Harry Potter Butterbeer! It is of course full of sugar but its so delicious and worth it. I could almost picture myself in Hogsmeade. If you want to try it, when you go, just ask for:

Creme Frappuccino base.

Add 3 pumps of caramel syrup

Add 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup

Top with caramel drizzle

YUM

In other news, it got down in the 60's this weekend and we saw people in earmuffs and winter coats. It made us giggle a little bit. Silly Californians! I am getting into the Christmas spirit. I bought our mini tree last week, but I will wait until after Thanksgiving to put it up (it's 2 feet tall and pre-lit!), my Christmas shopping is almost done, and I can't wait until I get to play my Michael Buble Christmas CD! Unfortunately, I married a Scrooge:

Guess which one I am?!

Here's to a great week! I can't believe we will be in Texas so soon!

I Just Want Some Queso!

Being from Texas, I have a huge love for Mexican food- or should I say "Tex-Mex".  I love burritos, and quesadillas, and enchiladas, and chalupas, and of course, queso. I really love queso. For any of you uncultured people who don't know what queso is, it is divine melty cheesy goodness heaven with tortilla chips. Each restaurant's queso is different, but it's always there right at the top of the appetizers on the menu. Yesterday I was really wanting Mexican food, especially queso. None of my reliable Texas chains were in the area (disappointing California!) so I found a place that got good reviews on Urbanspoon and we decided to check it out. It has been way too long since I had had queso! We went to a local place called Los Portales. It is located in an unassuming strip mall and looks quite unimpressive from the outside- like you might get food poisoning. But on the inside, it was really nice. We were soon seated, I grabbed the menu, and...they didn't have queso!! I was really disappointed. I just wanted some queso! The food was good, but quite a bit different than the Tex-Mex I am used to eating. I guess the food is more true Mexican and isn't as spicy. They even had a live piano player which made the atmosphere really relaxing and enjoyable. I think we will definitely go back, but this time I won't get myself excited about eating queso. I'm hoping when we are home for Thanksgiving that I will get my fill of Tex Mex, and maybe even some of my aunt's delicious homemade queso (hint hint). 

Hollywood Hike!

This week was exhausting. Work has been pretty crazy lately, and both of us have been having trouble sleeping. Thankfully on the weekends we are able to catch up on our sleep! I can tell I am becoming more accustomed to being an "LA Driver" because I was driving in and out of all four lanes of traffic on my way to a work appointment. Driving in LA is definitely an experience- people are the meanest drivers! On Thursday night I was able to get off of work in time for us to head to Buffalo Wild Wings to catch the second half of the Baylor-Oklahoma game. We were the only ones in the bar cheering for Baylor, but it was so much fun! I am so proud of the bears- 8-0 and ranked 4th in the AP poll! Sic Em! On Friday we were able to go see Ender's Game in the theaters, which is a movie Braden really wanted to see. It was pretty good, but some things were kinda weird. I am excited for the next Hunger Games movie to come out later this month. Yesterday we slept for 12 hours (I did mention that we have been using our weekends to catch up on sleep) which was amazing, then in the afternoon went shopping and then out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse (yum!). 

Today we went to Griffith Park/Griffith Observatory in the mountains near Hollywood to hike. It is absolutely beautiful there. Unfortunately, after being crystal clear all week, the smog was back today so the pictures and views weren't exactly crystal clear. It was still a lot of fun, and the views were breathtaking. You could see absolutely everything. I can't imagine how amazing it would've been without the smog!

On the hike we walked by a guy in a guy in a cowboy hat who was excited about meeting another Texan (I was wearing my Texas flag shorts! Which people in LA don't seem to get..I keep getting compliments about how 'patriotic' I am), and a fellow Baylor grad who did a "sic em bears!" with me. While we were talking, another guy walked by and said "didn't Baylor lose the other night?" to which he replied "no, we don't do that anymore." Kinda made my day. I love running into other Baylor grads!

LA Skyline

Griffith Observatory

Hollywood sign

Much better picture with the Hollywood sign!

Panoramic of the view from the top of the lookout. on the right is the Hollywood sign, on the left is downtown LA!

Downtown LA and the Griffith Observatory

Unfortunately, Macie couldn't come with us because the hike would've been to hard for her and her little legs. I can't believe Thanksgiving is so soon! And Christmas is just around the corner :) I will have to get us a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree or something since all our decorations are in our POD! Tomorrow I am off work for Veteran's Day, and I am really glad for another day to sleep in. We might just hang around, or we might go to one of my favorite museums, The Getty!

"Don't Touch the Trophy!"

This week was Halloween, so things were a bit crazy at work. The kids really reacted to all the extra stimuli- sugar and all the candy.

Macie was very glad this Halloween that she got to snuggle in her bed and not have to wear her hot dog costume...it's in the POD!

On Halloween we dressed up at work. Since a costume wasn't on my list to bring with us, I made do with what we already had and was a football player

On Friday, things got a little bit crazy because there was a shooting at LAX airport. We don't live anywhere near LAX, so it didn't directly affect us except for the fact that my dad happened to be flying in that day. Luckily he flew into a different terminal than the one that the shooting happened at and arrived on time safely. However, the airport was completely closed and they weren't letting any traffic in or out so my dad had to walk about a mile to his hotel. When we were driving in there were people everywhere walking with all their luggage. It was pretty crazy. Luckily we didn't have any trouble picking Dad up, and sice we had some time to kill, we stopped at a Starbucks in Culver City, which is home to Sony Studios. It is really cute place with lots of little shops. We enjoyed sitting outside because the weather was beautiful and had a good time visiting.

After Starbucks, we headed to the Staples Center in downtown LA. The doors weren't open yet so we walked around a little bit and ended up in the Nokia Plaza where the Lakers had lots of promotioons going on.

Dad and me

Braden and me

This is the real deal! The Lakers' championship trophy from  2010. They had lots of security around and they kept saying "Don't touch the trophy!"

Braden and Dad

Since we went with my dad we got to watch the game in his company's suite. It was really awesome and the absolute best way to watch a sports game- great view, good food, and good drinks!

Braden and me in the suite

Dad and me

View from our seats

Celebrity sighting! Jason Sudeikis (blue hat) and Olivia Wilde!

Since we were in the suites we got the leave out the VIP exits and ended up like 10 feet from Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde. I am probably more excited about it than I should be, but it definitely crosses off "seeing a celebrity" off my LA bucket list. Oh LA life. I also think I might've seen a Jonas brother. There were lots of famous people but I couldn't tell who they were because they were walking away and I couldn't see their faces. The paparazzi were taking lots of pictures though! I am also really bad at spotting celebrities. Saturday I had a pretty bad fall but worked a half day anyway. Then I went shopping with two of the girls from our small group, which was a lot of fun except for the fact that I kept finding really great boots on sale for a good price and then the store would be out of my size. Lame. Since I wasn't feeling any better when I got home, we were worried I might have gotten a concussion so we ended up spending the better part of our evening in the urgent care clinic. Turns out I don't have a concussion but just probably have whip lash. I am feeling a little bit better, just really sore and have been taking it easy today. Hopefully this week will be a little bit more laid back than last week!