Candy Cane Lane in Torrance

We drove by "the neighborhood by Kahlil's elementary school" a few nights ago - it's called Candy Cane Lane. At this neighborhood, during the holiday season, every house has Christmas lights. Some of the decorations are just INSANE. Here's a picture of a humongous Jack Skelington that one house had:

It's as tall as the tree!

There were people selling hot cocoa and there was a house with a projector playing a movie. There were groups of people on bikes and with golf carts. I was AMAZED! I'm not kidding when I say that every house had lights. If you ever get the chance next year, check it out!! It's in Torrance if you drive past Seaside Elementary, near Calle Mayor and PCH.

How I Spent My Christmas...

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER AT LA HABRA
We went to Uncle Ruben and Auntie Thelma's house for dinner. Throughout the night Andrew, Cindy's boyfriend, kept saying "Champayne" really loud in this weird, funny accent. No, he wasn't drunk. He just kept saying it, and now I can't stop saying it.

We ate a combination of filipino and italian food - grilled chicken from Chow King, pancit palabok and lumpia, two different types of pastas and lots of garlic bread.

After we ate, Dan brought out guitar hero and we all rocked on. To my surprise, Ronald (the attorney, haha) enjoyed singing the most. Auntie Thelma sang too (I will never forget the time she played Wii Sports Boxing) and Cindy enjoyed playing bass. After a few songs, we stopped playing to allow the adults to karaoke. And after a few glasses of CHAMPAYNE and some good laughs, we headed home.

Look at their beautiful Christmas tree.
Now look at the ornament Andrew hid on the tree. Auntie Thelma got so mad when she found it. haha.




Daisy didn't want to play with them. =(


CHRISTMAS DAY AT COTO DE CAZA
We went to Tito Melvin and Tita Glory's house for Christmas this year. (You know... I recently noticed that I only say Tito/Tita with "The Clan" and not with my other Uncles and Aunts. Is that weird?) There was a lot of good food - a different menu for lunch and dinner.

We watched the Lakers kick some Celtic butt! It was a very intense and entertaining game. When the game finished, I texted my friends who are fellow Laker fans because I was so happy!

Then we watched Eight Below, I forgot how sad that movie was. It made me miss my doggies.

Shortly after the movie, Mama Perla almost burnt the house down. HAHA! She was talking about fruit salad, then suddenly her scarf caught on fire by one of the candles. Tita Susan started to laugh hysterically... it was funny. Don't worry Mama is fine, her scarf, on the other hand, is not.

After the movie, we did our White Elephant gift exchange. It was a lot of fun. If only I saw Mark's (Mendoza, haha) face after he opened his gift. He thought he only got a hot dog holder!

Right after the game, we were rushed to pack up and leave for home. I hate when that happens.

But overall... I had a GREAT Christmas. I couldn't ask for more.

Furusato/Gerry's Grill

I've been OUT OF CONTROL!
I've been eating and eating and eating like craaaaazy!

On Saturday we ate at Furusato, my favorite Korean BBQ buffet restaurant.
I was in HEAVEN! Mark and I were able to finish a plate and a half of the brisket.
I can't believe we used to go once a week!!! Could you believe that once we were able to finish 4 big plates of brisket?!


Then... on Sunday we went to Gerry's Grill - a filipino restaurant in Cerritos. I don't normally like filipino restaurants, but this place is GOOD! We ordered things that my mom wouldn't usually cook at home: crispy pata, kilawin, sisig, palabok, and four bowls of garlic rice.



I had a food coma after leaving both restaurants, that just means that I left completely satisfied.

Sleep Deprived..

..because it's FINALS WEEK!
i just want this week to be OVER!

IDIOT GUY!

This article made me mad.
Porter and Vick = idiots

Porter on Vick: 'All it was was dogs'

Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter commented on the possible reinstatement of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and, as usual, Porter shot right from the lip, according to a report on EPSN.com. Vick was convicted for his role in a dogfighting ring and is serving time in a Kansas federal prison. He's scheduled to be released next summer.

"He's already been punished enough," said Porter (referring to Vick's possible reinstatement after serving his sentence), who owns a pair of pit bulls and a Maltese. "They gave him his penalty. He paid his penalty. What else should they do to him now?

"All it was was dogs. They act like they don't even like pit bulls anyway. That's the funny thing about it if you want to get back on that topic. I got pit bulls, I got to put them under a different breed just to travel. So you can't even fly pit bulls nowhere.

"It's a breed they don't care about. It's not like he was fighting cocker spaniels or something that they like. They don't really care too much about pit bulls."

Profootballtalk.com reported that Porter let his pitbull loose and it killed a miniature horse.

Source: ESPN.com

Pacquiao FTW!

Being a huge fan of Manny Pacquiao all I can say is, "HELL YEEEAAHHHH!!" I was nervous before the fight because I watched every episode of 24/7 (a 4-episode HBO special that followed the training of both fighters every week before the fight) and De la Hoya was in great condition. I read articles saying that this fight was in favor of De la Hoya.
Ohhhh man... I feel so relieved now. ...I want a Pacquiao shirt! hehe.

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We went to Uncle Eddie's house to watch the fight.
It's been a while since I've seen the Baldonado clan. It was good seeing them again. They provided a good atmosphere to watch the fight. The ladies, along with Lola Perla, screaming in the back and the uncles quietly but nervously watching. Good times. =)

Cousin Andrew wondering where the other kids are:


We found out a few days prior to this event that cousin Ronald passed the bar exam. It was my first time seeing him after we heard the great news. Once he arrived everyone was greeting him and saying, "the lawyer is here!" We're all very proud of him. Even I brag about him.

As usual, the ladies played several games of mahjong.
Here's a pic of Lola Perla playing:


Lolo Joe brought guavas from his tree at home. He ALWAYS has GIGANTIC guavas. I was only able to finish half of mine.
Here's a picture of one of them:

Fight Night

The nervousness is kicking in.