Thursday, December 5, 2013

Buffy and the Snowflakes

We interrupt Thanksgiving blogging for this important Christmas message:

My friend Buffy Baggott shared with me the incredible Star Wars snowflakes she made.



The snowflakes:


Close-Ups. Here's Darth Vader:


Chewie:


Stormtrooper:


Princess Leia:


Boba Fett:


C-3P0:


R2-D2:


Yoda:


A TIE Fighter:


And a B-Wing Fighter:


OH, and it pales in comparison to her snowflake-making talents, but Buffy is also a pretty decent opera singer.


THANK YOU BUFFY!!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Day Before Thanksgiving - Part 2

Grandma and Maren rehearse their epic trombone duet on the Day Before Thanksgiving.



I will probably divide the annual Super Thanksgiving Doorbuster Mega-Post into multiple awesome segments, leading up to Christmas. There are just so many pictures!

Hope everyone is having a good December so far!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

PIES with Grandma!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

While I'm gathering pictures for the big Thanksgiving Doorbuster post, I thought I could share this picture of Maren and Grandma. It's their annual tradition to make pumpkin pies every year on the day before Thanksgiving.



Will update soon with the full Thanksgiving post!

Friday, November 15, 2013

Turkey Tactics

It all started with this ad in my Vons phone app, this morning.



I went to Pavilions.


This $3 coupon is in addition to the weekly special advertising 16 to 24-lb Butterball turkeys for $15:


So I was determined to purchase a 22-24lb turkey this morning for $12.

To get the extra $3.00 off, I would need to purchase a mix/match assortment that included 4 of the following:

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls


Green Giant Canned Vegetables


and...

Betty Crocker Stuffing.


But there were a few small problems with this offer. I didn't want crescent rolls, I wanted FLAKY LAYER rolls.


Also, I didn't need canned vegetables.

But I DID need stuffing. So when I inquired as to the location of the Betty Crocker Stuffing, I was taken directly to Mr. Tom Fardig, Pavilions store manager. "In my 47 years in this business I have never heard of Betty Crocker Stuffing," he said. "It doesn't exist."

I explained that we had a slight problem, because in that case, they couldn't make good on their offer. Unless, I asked, I could substitute 4 Grands Flaky Layers rolls for the required Crescent rolls, thereby fulfilling the 4-item purchase requirement without actually purchasing any of the items in the ad!!

And Store Manager Mr. Tom Fardig said YES!

So now BEHOLD, in all its frozen glory: this year's 22lb Butterball Turkey, for which I paid $12!


But I admit, I was curious. Why would a major grocery chain (Safeway/Vons/Pavilions) advertise an item that doesn't exist?

A quick google search revealed THIS:


Apparently, "NEW" Betty Crocker Homestyle Stuffing is available somewhere.

Just not at the Burbank Pavilions this morning.

And so begins Thanksgiving 2013. Did I mention I will be LIVE-TWEETING Thanksgiving this year?? Should be EPIC... in fact, it already has been! Epically Cheap! HA

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Derek's Birthday

A few pics from Derek's birthday last Saturday.



Took the birthday boy to Fab Hot Dogs!




We came home, and Deacon played "Happy Birthday" on his French horn!


A short movie:









From Grammie & Gramps: the Ryobi drill


From Terri: a Nigel Tufnel T-Shirt.


Nigel Tufnel.


Happy Birthday Derek!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Happy Birthday Derek!!

Derek is 45 today.



Happy Birthday Derek! We love you!!!

Friday, November 8, 2013

Disneyland 11/6/13

The kids have three days off this week. So on Wednesday, we went to Disneyland!



And because great minds think alike, Trina and her friend Sherilyn were there, too. So we made sure to spend part of the day together. You can see more about Trina and Sherilyn's day on Trina's blog! Also, Trina, I stole some of your pics. Sorry. And thanks!

We took the kids' school chums Micaela and Carlo-Andre along for the fun. Here are Maren and Micaela on the teacups:


A few familiar faces on Space Mountain!




Micaela and Maren in line for the Finding Nemo Submarine.


Our undersea adventure!




Lunch Break, the boys' table.


Ready for our Jungle Cruise...


Then on to Tom Sawyer's Island.




Did I mention that there were NO LINES all day??? So we went on Star Tours at least 6 times. Here we are filling up a whole row.


I think that about covers it. It was a great day at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Almost 40 years ago...

I met Trina Chow.


(Me, Trina, and her sister Tiffini, circa mid-1970s.)

I'm finding it hard to put into words how gifted Trina is with the practice of humanity. That's the only way I can describe her. I think it shows in her smile, and I'm honored to have been on the receiving end of it for so many years!


(Circa 2013.)

She is visiting from San Francisco, and I think she left our house about 8 minutes ago, but she has already posted two blog entries about our visit. In addition to her many other talents, she is a super-efficient blogger!!

Blog 1

Blog 2

Oh, and she painted my Crock Pot to look like R2-D2!



THANK YOU TRINA for our friendship, and for my new and improved Crock Pot. :)

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Rock of Ages!

CCB Fun Fest 2013... Rock of Ages!



Click this link to see the very righteous video.

Deacon and Rock Star Derek have cameos after the Heavenly Metal.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Halloween 2013

Hope everyone had a great day yesterday!

A few pics from last night!

Pumpkins. I cheated this year and bought craft pumpkins from Michael's. No muss, no fuss, no rotting in the yard... and a LOT cheaper than the pumpkin patch! I think these will soon join my fake Christmas trees as a beloved Alff family tradition.




Deacon's pumpkin, with Lego spider. Will try to get a better one of this on the tripod tonight.


The Fun Fest theme this year was Music... so here is Derek Alff, Rock Star.


No pictures, man!!


Taking a ride to Fun Fest. Deacon was in the back making sure his 8-foot tall costume didn't slide out of the back of the car.


Speaking of Deacon... he didn't quite fit in the photo booth at Fun Fest!! But Enderman wanted his picture there anyway. Whatever Enderman wants...


I guess that covers it! October is OVER, yay! Now we have 11 months to rest up for NEXT October. Hope everyone had a fun day.