Say Cheese... Now Smile!

I got an email earlier today from my cousin Kristine... (HI KRISTINE!!!)

"You mom left last night. And i suppose by the time you get this, she'd have arrived. I hep she doesn't get stopped at customs or anything. She's hand carrying a little brown man stuffed in her purse."

I thought she was kidding about the the little brown man. Seriously. I thought she was just joking that my mom had brought home a "boyfriend" or something like that. But when my mom arrived from the airport later and revealed this:



It all made sense. This wooden fellow isn't a "boyfriend" but is an Igorot head hunter. He is actually is holding a head, but his arm fell off while traveling. But with some good wood glue, he'll be complete. Hmmmm I wonder where we'll put him.

Along with him, was this:


This little lady is actually a nutcracker. Any guesses as to where she would crack the nuts? ;)

Anyways, we're all really happy that Mom is back home. The house has felt empty and our whole holiday just wasn't the same without her here. The moment she walked through the door, it was like Christmas. We heard stories about her trip, the funeral, and how the family was doing.... and we told her all about the party. :) She just unpacked her suitcases to give us the things she got us and we, in return, gave her the Christmas gifts we weren't able to give to her. HAHAHA my mom got a whole bunch of bootleg DVDs... so if anyone wants to watch RETURN OF THE KING, ELF, or THE LAST SAMURI, come on by. ;) So far the quality isn't too bad. Just fuzzy.

OH... also my mom got us a MAGIC MIC! For those who don't know what a MAGIC MIC is, its basically a karaoke microphone that has songs built into it. Oh my goodness... its MIDI KARAOKE HEAVEN. :) We've been singing all night long.


Carlene and Sonny singing "Always."
*gag*

OH... and did I mention that it SCORES!??! Booyah! (ew. did I just say "Booyah"?) So Carlene and I have been competing... It was tough... we were trying hard to make each other laugh and loose concentration. I had been getting 95 and 97's... and I thought I had it. But Carlene pulled a 99 out of her ass with an ABBA song. So I just thought "Forget it. Just sing FAME and have fun." I GOT 100. Oh my goodness. It WAS a moment. I almost cried.

Almost.

But I did gloat. ;) There was probably a glitch in the computer... but at least the glitch was in MY favor. I WIN I WIN!