California isn't what it's all cracked up to be

The weather here is great if you enjoy having constant dry skin. I've never in my whole life time have had to use as much lotion as I have in the 3 years we have lived here. It's also great for those who have allergies. We're in the midst of yet another Santa Ana. It's were all the desert sand, dirt & allergens get blown in. The summers can get up to 110 degrees F. were we live. That's direct sun beating onto you. Not much cooler in the shade. You don't get the 4 seasons here. It's November & the leaves are some how still green on the trees. I say some how because this whole entire year we have had less than an inch of rain. Speaking of rain, if you like yourself a good thunderstorm you won't find those here. On the very rare occasion that one happens here, the rain comes first & then maybe 10 minutes later you will hear some thunder. Personally, I like a good down pour accompanied by thunder and lightening. It's also not what they show on t.v. T.V. shows show you California as being all palm trees and beaches. Nope, not here. When shows show you New York or Washington, D.C., that's what those places really look like. I'll trade all that for frizzy hair if I can have the 4 seasons back. Oh, & I have never seen so many fake (mainly looks) people in my lifetime. It's all about who has the most expensive car or house. The east coast & the west coast are 2 totally different worlds. Enough of my moaning & groaning...

I am worn out from Thanksgiving. We drove to the in-laws last Wednesday & came back Sunday. In between those days were packed full of activities. I made a pumpkin cheese cake, pecan pie, and spinach souffle-phyllo cups. Tootie sampled just about all the different foods and Princess got to sample the mashed potatoes. Between the in-laws, us & BIL/SIL, there were 5 dogs. Some how none of the food was sampled by them. That night SIL & I studied the black Friday ads & made a plan to go shopping. We got up at 3:30am & were on the road by 4am. I am pretty much done all my shopping now. We got back from our shopping around 3:30pm. MIL made ginger bread pieces for everyone (well the families) to create & decorate their own ginger bread houses. I'm a little biased, but our house was the best. :) LOL The next day we celebrated Tootie's 2nd birthday at Chuck E Cheeses. We did it a week early since DH will miss it. Tootie had a blast!! I made him a helicopter cake. Cake decorating will not be on my resume, but it was still recognizable & yummy. Tootie was out like a light before we even got out of the shopping center. Chuck E Cheese has changed a lot since the last time I had been in one. Maybe it was just this one. No more ball pool where there have been reports of dirty diapers & such lost in them.

I got my wrapping done yesterday. Now I just need to find the Christmas decorations so I can do a little decorating. We're not going to do a tree since we will be back at the in-laws. I do want to get a live 2'-3' tree or even a Charlie Brown tree to decorate & get the kids picture in front of. I may take them on a hunt this week.