Another beginning

I hope you all had an enjoyable New Year's Eve. I can't believe it is already 2010. As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun! My NYE was pretty low-key. It's always a toss-up as to what I end up doing for NYE. Some years are spent with friends, some with family and I'll admit that I've slept through a few in the past. This year, my family hosted a little NYE party with hors d'oeuvres, games and the infamous staple of every Filipino party-the Magic Mic. It was an evening full of good laughs and great company. Surprisingly, even with just a few hors d'oeuvres, there was still food coma afterwards.

I miss living at home. All the open space makes it the perfect place for a party. I really miss having my friends over for some good food and fun. Maybe 2010 will bring us to a bigger place or at least one spacious enough for throwing some parties. One can only hope, right?

Unsalted pretzels & roasted garlic dip.

My cousin Geo and my brother Chad dueling on the Magic Mic. They were pretty intense.

My sweet niece, Sophie.

Apples to start the new year. "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away."

Mom's table setting. I didn't get a picture of the whole thing.

Everyone scrambling during a game of "human bingo."

My mom (aka: party queen). She was showing me her green braces.

Yesterday, I finally got the long locks chopped so I can start the new year with a lighter head. Haha!

May 2010 bring you happiness and good fortune and plenty more blog entries!

-Alli

Another early Christmas

A few years ago, a group of friends got together and started a tradition known as 'game night.' It used to be that once every 2 or 3 months, we would all get together and bond over board games. Cranium became our signature game and to date, we have played about 4 different versions. Due to people moving away and the clashing of schedules, we have had less game nights in the past year. Despite that, we all make it a point to get together at least every December around since that's when everyone seems to be home. I will always treasure game nights as it was the perfect disguise to our surprise engagement party last year. :)

Claudine hosted this year's Cranium match and it was a success!

A new icebreaker game was introduced by the beautiful Mariel. It's like the game 'telephone' except with pen and paper. It was so much fun to see how a 'hobo' turned into Janet Jackson somewhere down the line.
Games get pretty intense especially when you have to draw with your eyes closed....
...or if you're given a tough piece of trivia to solve...
...but the best part is watching your friends in their attempt to act.
Thanks for hosting Claudine! 'Til next time!
*note to self: i desperately need a hair cut*

We leave for Playa del Carmen tomorrow morning and I cannot be anymore excited! Last night, I took out all my cameras to prepare for the trip. I had a few mishaps.

1) I realized I was low on Polaroid film. Made the trip to Urban Outfitters only to find out that they stopped selling the film as soon as they ran out last month.I knew I should've stocked up.
2) Broke the winder of my Chaika 3 as I tried to figure out how to load the film properly.

I guess I'll have to make do with 2 cameras instead of 4 this time. :) Oh how I love vacations! Wishing you all a fun and safe weekend! I will be back by Christmas Eve so the posts will continue thereafter. Take care dear readers!

An Early Christmas

The Jimenez clan decided to celebrate the holidays a bit early this year. This past weekend was the only weekend that some of my cousins from out of state could make it. My Tita Susan was gracious enough to host this year's holiday party at her home in LA. We ate lots of food and indulged in some delicious drinks. We told stories, laughed, had a scavenger hunt, played games and had our traditional white elephant gift exchange. I spent three years of my childhood in the Philippines and I clearly recall my family celebrating in this manner. I'm thankful that we can still continue such traditions here. Although, I must admit that Christmas in the Philippines is definitely a lot livelier and more festive than it is here in the US. We still had a blast and I'm hoping that we'll be even more complete next Christmas. My secret wish is to be able to go back to the Philippines for the holidays next year. It has been over 10 years since I've made the pilgrimage! I'm sure a lot has changed since then. What are your family holiday traditions?

For this game, we had to create a Christmas tree with just our bare hands. To make it even more difficult, we had to have the paper behind us so we couldn't see what we were doing. Mine (2nd from the left) looks like a giant arrow. Probably the worst of the bunch.

The queen of games, Claudine, had each of us feel and smell this giant stocking and guess the objects that were inside. It had everything from a pair of scissors to ornaments. Who would've guessed?

Another tricky game! Partners had to nicely wrap a gift using only one hand. The catch? We had to wear oven mitts! Marc & I lost this one big time!

The stash of presents for the white elephant gift exchange.

Marc had to open a total of 4 gifts since people kept 'stealing' from him. Here he is, ready to get another stolen and yes, he did eventually lose the coveted Khalua!

Ate Rea (Kuya Von's wife) carefully tries to depict one of the many Christmas carols in a round of Christmas pictionary.

My aunt bought some delicious Moscato d'asti from San Antonio Winery. It definitely was a favorite!

The cousins + spouses. Can't believe 3 of us are married now!

Here's a shot of my family. My siblings are taller than me. No fair!

The girl cousins minus 3.

I will try to sneak in one more blog post tomorrow. Our apartment looks like a mess from all the packing we've had to do for our upcoming trip. On top of that, we've been busy trying to get Marc's grad school apps out the door. Thank goodness that's all done now! Tomorrow is my last day of work before a two-week break and I am so excited! On top of that, we just found out today that Marc passed all of his CPA exams! That was my one Christmas wish and I'm so thankful!

Congratulations hubby!!!