Living in Long Beach

This picture from my 365 Project sums it all up: So, as I was saying in my last post before I got all caught up with Neely, Ann, and Jennifer (the dolls!!), this year Thanksgiving was celebrated at my little place in Long Beach. We ended up having 14 people, although one didn’t eat at the table with us because he is only 4 month old! I borrowed a table and many chairs from two different neighbors. One neighbor emptied out most of her refrigerator and freezer for me to use for the week. I also used a different neighbor’s oven for several dishes when we figured out that the turkey was sitting in an oven that had been turned off an hour earlier! Nothing like a little Thanksgiving turkey drama. I made several copies of the dinner menu for guests to peruse before dinner. My mother got many compliments from Tinu’s cousins about her cheese ball. We’ve all been making her recipe for years. It’s a family favorite. She also got raves for a new recipe that she created – Blue Cheese Slaw. ...

For Christmas, I gave to my parents and to the Ohio Thomases each a super expensive* calendar of Long Beach that is mostly pictures taken around my part (ahem, the good part) of Long Beach. This way every month they can reminisce about me and places we've been together in the LBC. When Scott was here, we mimicked the January picture. While my parents were here, we were able to capture March and April. Any volunteers for future months? JANUARY (In front of the Bayshore library - 2nd Steet - Belmont Shores) (The day we took Scott's picture it wasn't as clear as the calendar. If you look really closely, you can see the mountains in the background.) MARCH (Rancho Los Cerritos) Looks like we had much better sun than the calendar photographer!! APRIL (Hilltop Park - Signal Hill overlooking Long Beach) Obviously, we didn't take these pictures with the calendar in mind, so the shots aren't exactly the same. Can you find the oops?? *Okay, the calendars were actually free f...

My second nephew is no longer called TBD!! He has been officially named Desmond Mathew Kegham Thomas . Here's a picture of him when he was at the hospital and using the pseudonyms "Z", "TBD Baby" and "Wiggle Worm."

While I was in Ohio, Tinu convinced me to join Facebook. From what I've read, it's becoming more popular than MySpace (Gene!!). It is definitely addictive once you are on it but the majority of my friends are NOT on it. I searched every name and email address I have to make sure I didn't miss anyone. I did connect with some people who were old friends (Star, Andrew) and a few high school buds (Melissa, Bill). Evey time I connect with a "friend" it is so exciting until I realize that Tinu has 92!! You can click on the my new Facebook module on the left (under the weather) to go to my Facebook page.

I am sure most of you know that I now have a second nephew. He was born on July 30th and as of today his name is still pending. I was affectionately calling him "wiggle worm" when I was in Ohio but he will likely grow out of that nickname shortly. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

We had lots of good eats while in Tampa. I took a few pictures with my camera phone but unfortunately, all the pics were taken after I had my frozen cocktails (so yes, they are a little blurry - sorry.) Tinu, Jessica and I went to Crabby Bill's. It was awesome. Jessica had a Crab Trap and an Ultimate Sunburn. I can't remember what I had...though I did have my first ever conch fritters *yummy . There was a gift shop and Jess & I bought cute, crabby stuff. (Shocking, I know...) Then ALL of us, yes Langston too, went to PJ's Seafood Restaurant. Again, great food and ambiance. Langston entertained us all with his scary eating of the honeycomb things. Again, these pictures were taken by me with my phone after a banana daquari and a pina colada (I think those were the drinks I had...).

Here is a fun video of Tinu after becoming a MD!!