Christmas Rewind

We had a lovely holiday with the family, full of laughs and some surprises too.

While at the rental car counter, Mr. Mixologist get's the bright idea that we can rent the Fiat 500 that caught his attention when we pulled up. I was trying to veto it because, I knew we had gifts AND luggage, but I let him have his way........lets just say it took him over an hour to figure out how to get everything loaded in the car !  It was pure comedy to me & lots of language I won't post on here,  LOL  He was super frustrated and admitted that it was his fault & that he had gotten caught up in the novelty of the car, but in the end, he made it happen. The good part was that we did get great gas mileage, and it was more comfortable than expected and we truly enjoyed the ride. Of course the little ones loved it too !

This is the car we drove a total of 17 hours in ! 

On Sunday before Christmas, we worshiped at the church where  my BIL is the Pastor with our family. It was great to see the kids perform in the Christmas program. My sister wrote the Christmas play and all three of the kids got to show their acting chops. It was great to see them so excited to participate. My niece surprised us all with her Clarinet skills. She did a solo accompanied by a drummer.

We were surprised to hear my niece play her instrument so well ! 

Look whose one of the wise men !

Our Christmas dinner is a small affair with just the immediate family & we get together with other family later in the day. My mother and I did all the cooking together. We had Cornish Hens, Dressing, Gravy, Green Beans, Macaroni & Cheese, Greens, Coleslaw and Yeast Rolls. I even made a Sweet Potato Pecan Pie for the first time and it was a hit.

My pie fresh from the oven

The surprise on Christmas morning was that we had a white Christmas ! Big heavy snowflakes started falling around 7 AM & kept accumulating until the ground was covered. The kids of course were super excited as they were already hyped up about all the presents under the tree !

Before opening gifts

My nieces and nephews have fallen in love my my parents new dog since they got it a couple of months ago. They have bought outfits for the dog, they fight over who is going to take the dog outside, LOL, it is cute to watch and see how they have bonded with the dog. Watching them  has even helped me with some of my dog anxiety, LOL.

They dressed her like Mrs Claus

The last gift they opened from Santa was a bone, it took them a few minutes to figure out the big surprise is that they are getting a new dog of their own, a Boxer that is currently still in the womb. It will be born by the end of January. This was their reaction when they figured it out......

Yes it was dramatic but it was funny ! They were screaming ! 

I love the laziness of Christmas Day, opening gifts, calling your family and friends, having coffee, finishing up the big dinner and watching the men play with the kids and their toys.....

They played this game for quite a while

After dinner we loaded up the little ones and slid around  headed out to visit some family !

My love keeping us safe behind the wheel of the Fiat ! LOL

The biggest surprise of Christmas day came from my cousin and his wife. This is the gift they gave to both of their parents.....

Manifestation of God's Grace 

The reason this is such a Christmas blessing is that they have been married for 15 years and dealt with infertility for all of that time. They adopted two daughters who are now 8 and 4.  She is 39 and he is 41. To say we were surprised would truly be an understatement. We were all just stunned. We watched the video of when my Aunt and her mother opened up their boxes that morning and it was hilarious. I could.not.stop.crying or smiling the entire day !


Reluctantly, we hit the road early  the day after so that we could deal with the icy roads. Mr Mixologist had to remove the ice from the windows AND the locks (we couldn't even unlock the doors) it was so cold. Though I will miss my family,  I was somewhat glad to head back to south Texas where we don't have real winter LOL

Too cold for comfort  ! 

All in all it was another blessed Christmas that I am so very thankful for.


How was your holiday ?    Did you travel or have visitors  ?

Any plans for NYE ?  Are you ready for the New Year ?


Thoughts ? Comments ? Questions ?


Beautifully Complex 

Santa Came to Town.....

...and I was OUT of town ! LOL  I left Friday to travel out of town for the Christmas Holiday and did not return until last night, which is why this post is so very late. My neighbor across the street always collects my packages, so I knew that it would be safe until my return. I look forward to the Blogland Secret Santa hosted by Psonya for the last few years. I love shopping & shipping surprise gifts as well as receiving them.

My Secret Santa did not disappoint ! When I opened the Fed Ex Envelope, I was happy to see several silver jewelry bags with pink ribbons.  Inside were some lovely necklaces, bracelets and earrings, all in the perfect colors ! I love jewelry

I really like my gifts Secret Santa and I love Charming Charlie ! I can always find something in that store.

I promised myself I would not read the reveal post until I got home, opened my gift and tried to guess who my Secret Santa was. There was no clue inside the bag, so I cheated and used to the tracking number so I know for sure that  my Secret Santa is from somewhere in North Texas. Based on this I deduced that it must be dontworrybenappy !

Thank you very much !

Beautifully Complex 

Saturday Matinee " Temptation "

I love Jurnee Smollett. I have been following her since Eve's Bayou.  She is such a talented actress This looks like it could be very interesting.....






I will definitely be going to see this film.

What do you think of the trailer ?

Beautifully Complex 

Birthday Blessings

Last Friday my best friend celebrated her Birthday, we hosted a Happy Hour that started at 6P that morphed into a party that ended at 2 AM LOL . Birthdays are such a blessing and we love to celebrate them to the fullest. If you are able to surround yourself with good friends, family, have good health and provisions and live to see another year, then you are truly blessed !

Here's a few pictures from the night .....

Christmas Christmas Everwhere 

The "Cigar Lounge" on the Patio !

TiffanyinHouston & her Hubby came through 

The Birthday Girl ......25 Again ! LOL 

My friend and BFF's daughter 

Besties !

Let's Have Cupcakes ! 

Happy Holidays !

Me & TiffanyinHouston 

They were getting it in ! LOL 

Old School Slow Draggin ! 

Fellow Aficionados 

Sisterly love !

Lovely Ladies !

Mr Mixologist was holding court & giving lessons ! LOL

Me and my love :) 

Thoughts ? Comments ? Questions ?


Beautifully Complex 

Holiday Cheer !

I love all the parties, gatherings, and socials the holiday season brings. Last weekend, we went to a party at the home of a good friend and had great food, laughs, and plenty libations. We watched the fight and had a really good time mixing and mingling.  I love the decorations, the festive mood and just the overall Spirit of the season. I try not to get caught up in the pressure of gifts and all of the commercialism and just focus on trying to have a good time where ever I go and enjoying the blessing of a good life, health, friends, love and peace in my life. Here are some pics from the party.......

My girlfriends

Another good friend

My BFF & her daughter's 

Me & my girl "Golden" 

That little one in the middle is such a funny kid ! 

Mr & my love

Have you been to any holiday parties this season ?

Have you finished all of your shopping ?

What are your plans for the holiday ?  Will you be traveling ?


Thoughts ? Comments? Questions ?

Beautifully Complex

All I Want for Christmas is...........

It's Christmas in Blogland yet again and I cannot believe how fast this year has gone.  I love simple things and am not hard to please, but here are a few ideas of what Santa can bring me for I have been a very good girl this year !



I love music and definitely enjoy new Christmas music to add to my collection. Kem has a new CD out called, "What Christmas Means" that I would definitely like to put into the holiday rotation this year.

I love scented lotions, body scrubs and lip gloss. Anything on the fruity spectrum is fine by me.




Another thing that I would love to have but have not been able to find is one of those "purse table hook, hanger thingamajigs" LOL.  You know when you go out  to a lot of bars & restaurants and really don't want to put you bag on the floor.    See like this....

My government initial is " J"

I also love costume jewelry and am in need of some silver bracelets. Of course everyone already knows I am a Wineaux but probably have ALL the paraphernalia you could possibly think of already LOL

Hope this list is helpful Santa !

And now for a musical selection.......I saw this video making the rounds on FB & thought it was really cute!




Happy Holidays !


Beautifully Complex 

Musical Monday - Unusual Music Video

Have you guys seen this video on Yo.u Tu.be ?

What a creative way to break up. I have so many thoughts and emotions after watching this video. It was sad....mature...honest....refreshing.....odd.....interesting.


Take a look .....






What do you think ?   The comments got kind of crazy.

I think it's brave to assert what you want & deal with the consequences no matter what.  For the record, I feel like it will be a whole lot easier for this guy to find a woman who wants to have babies with him,  than it would be if it were her who had spent 5 years of  "prime baby making years"  wanting him to change his mind about having kids ?

Another thing, why are people so invested in what OTHER people want for their lives. This is so amazing to me, all the insults and accusations in the comments about this girl (saying things like she must be gay, etc). It is utterly ridiculous.

Feel free to weigh in.

Thoughts ? Comments ? Questions ?

Beautifully Complex 

Funny Friday Volume 7

Mr Mixologist is fascinated with this new App & his new phone.

This made me laugh today LOL  !  Especially the old lady....


 



Enjoy !

Happy Friday ! Enjoy your weekend.

Beautifully Complex 

So Very Thankful

Another epic holiday has passed. We had a wonderful time, safe travel to and from and wonderful times with the people who mean the most. Family is such a blessing. I had some conversations with my cousins over the holiday and just did some personal reflecting in general. Life, love and family should never be taken for granted. There are so many people that don't have these things in their life, so truly it should be treasured.


We took off a day earlier so I got to spend all day Wednesday in the kitchen cooking and prepping for the Holiday with my Mom which is a complete blessing after her health challenges from earlier this year. I got to hang out with my cousin from California, which was an unexpected treat also. My parents got a new dog, which they were reluctant to tell me about since they know I am really afraid of them. LOL They were jokingly calling her my new little sister. LOL I will admit that she is a very gentle little dog and after about 48 hours of anxiety, I was fine. I am still not that comfy holding or touching her, but everyone seems to love her.  My nieces and nephews are fascinated with her and it is fun to watch them bonding with the dog.  I like the fact that she seems to helping my mom with a routine and something for her to focus on since she is retired now.


We got up early Thanksgiving morning for our annual family tradition of running the Turkey Trot. I did the 1 Mile Fun Run this year because my ankle would not let me be great. LOL My 5 yr old nephew, smoked me like nobody's business. He is quite the little athlete.  My 11 yr old niece shut everybody down in the 5K, we were very proud of her. She has been playing basketball this year and her stamina was through the roof ! She did a great job.

Early morning stretching for the race !

Heading downtown for the Turkey Trot

My parents even brought their new dog  to watch LOL 

Go girls !

My BIL & Niece after she made us all proud 

Me & my little track star niece

My cousin reppin' the OKC Thunder LOL 

Later that day, my Aunt & Uncle hosted in their home as always & we had a great time, eating, watching football, doing Karaoke & of course the annual Taboo Challenge of the men vs. the women. We spanked them of course ! LOL Even my dad got in on the Karaoke & had us rolling singing " Mustang Sally " LOL ! And I don't know why my nieces & nephews were shocked that I know the words to "Hot Cheeto's & Taki's" ???? I love that video on You.Tube. Those little kids are the cutest and can rap too.

Me & my cousin from Cali ! 

The famous "Kiddie Table X 2  " LOL  !

My my my  they are growing like weeds !

Hot Cheetos & Taki's !!!! LOL 

The boys wanted to get in on it too. 

My sister & BIL singing a duet !

Daddy had to get him some. 

My cousins doing Bonnie & Clyde by Bey & Jay Z !

My two favorite guys :) 

On Friday, the day after we did absolutely no shopping. I am not into the Black Friday Madness. We took the kids to an indoor Trampoline Park which was really fun for them & cool to watch. I was sore from the run, so I could not indulge but it looked like a blast. The kids had an impromptu Pizza Party that night & the grown cousins went out for dinner and drinks at Republic Gastropub which was a cool little spot.

Oh to be a kid on a trampoline again ! 

No more Turkey ! Let's have Pizza ! 

This little girl is a handful, best believe ! 

Love these little girls .......

Me and my love at dinner :)

Saturday morning. Me & Mr. Mixologist had a breakfast cook off challenge. We made two different versions of Shrimp n' grits for the family. They thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't have to tell you that he won the challenge, but everyone said that both were really good. I just realized while writing this blog, that I took no pictures of what we cooked. I guess I was too busy cooking.


Saturday afternoon, we went to a Cigar Lounge and watched football.  Mr. Mixologist  got my cousin from California to try a Cigar & she is hooked, LOL. She can't wait to go back to LA & find a local spot to hang out at.

Puffin it up ! 

When we finally got tired of all the Turkey we made our way to our favorite Mexican spot when at home, Ted's Cafe Esconditio. I really love their food.

My BIL & Sister

My sister & cousin 

I hated to have to get back to reality, but we did. It was a wonderful holiday. I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by.  Not it's time to start shopping for the Christmas tree ! Dang.

How was your Thanksgiving ?  

Do you have any holiday traditions ?

Who traveled the furthest to celebrate ?


Thoughts ? Commnts ? Questions ?


Beautifully Complex