Refreshed

The view, many skiing attempts, playing on the beach & fires. 

This past week we took a couple days to get away from it all with Ben's family. We had a wonderful time boating, swimming, eating and getting to play with our awesome niece and nephew! It was the perfect way to spend the last month of summer, relax and recharge. I hope you all had the chance to take a few days for yourselves this summer!

Easter Sunday

This weekend was spent catching up from some late weeknights but we did manage to make it up North to spend Easter with both sides of our families. Here are a few snapshots of a really wonderful day!

We brunched and watched the kids hunt for eggs on the course.

Mom cross-stitched a name on Ben's basket like ours. Please notice the peace sign.

These are my mom's dyed eggs using homemade dye. Here's a tip: to make the stripes, just use rubber-bands when dying your eggs! Yep, she's crafty!

Then more eggs were hunted at Gran and Pop's. Clearly, a success.

There you have it. Our day was very low key but fabulous. Things tend to happen that way when we spend time with our families. How did you spend your weekend?

La historia de mi familia

This picture was featured in the Canton, Ohio newspaper shortly after my Abuela and her siblings, Tia Bina and Tio Manuel, arrived to the U.S. The article highlighted their tragic journey from their home of Gijon, Spain where their revolutionist father was murdered for his anti-fascist ideals. Their mother, my Abuelita Luz along with her children, were taken to an internment camp in France where they lived in conditions that almost lead to their death until a ship was sent to France by the American Red Cross. This ship was meant to rescue the children of Spain from such terrible tragedies and somehow, my Abuelita Luz got her children on that ship. She stayed behind and lived in France until her death many years later.

My Abuela and siblings were taken to an orphanage in New York City and then eventually to Canton, Ohio where they grew up with their aunt and uncle. My Abuela still volunteers for the Red Cross to this day.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Yesterday my dad logged another year in life! I couldn't ask for a better father, teacher, and role model. He has always taught my sister and I to take on life with a healthy dose of equal parts opportunity, curiosity, love, and humor.

As we grew up, he always made sure that we felt like we were loved beyond measure and to this day he has never given up a chance to hug us or tell us he loves us every time we see hm. He has always made sure to try to understand everything about us that made us his "girls" but never let the fact that we were female stop him from sharing things with us that he liked growing up or thought were cool. For instance, while we had many barbies, he made sure we had a stocked-up Nerf weaponry arsenal. He got us an Easy Bake Oven but also made sure that we had the Dr. Dreadful and Creepy Crawler oven as well.

My dad has supported us in anything we were willing to take on. I remember when I was in college and told him I was going to switch majors to broadcast journalism. All he said was, "I know you can do it and if it makes you happy, that's what you should do....Just swear to me you'll never work for FOX News".

What lucky girls we are to have such a wonderful Dad!

So here's to you, Daddy and thank you for everything. Looking forward to the next year with you:)!

The greatest gift exchange ever: As Seen On TV

This year the Fernandez clan met up for our annual Christmas celebration. There are a few traditions that have evolved over the years like never being able to celebrate on the actual holiday, boat-loads of sushi, and even more cocktails now that the majority of us are all over the legal age. This Christmas we started what could be one of the best yet....instead of a typical gift exchange we started the first ever "Fernandez As Seen On TV gift swap". And trust me, it was amazing as it sounds.

Now this might sound weird, but shopping for As Seen on TV (ASOTV) gifts was more fun than you can imagine. What should I give? What is the craziest, weirdest thing I can find without offending someone? The Egg Genie? The Mighty Mend it? Perhaps, a Windshield Wonder? As a whole, the entire clan made some great choices.

I was hoping for a Magic Bullet Sytem, the food processor type thing that I have literally put on my Christmas list for the last, oh, 4 years however that was above the price limit. Instead, I received Smooth Away and Shoe Under. Ben was pumped about the Shoe Under now that we can have some real closet space and would not let me trade it in for another gift. Here are some of the great ASOTV's that were swapped around our family.

Because in a world of super-sized food, a regular sized cupcake just doesn't cut it.

This was my contribution to the exchange. Let me tell you, after a few cocktails it is really fun to walk around and see just what you can pick up. It also has a articulated arm for sneaking around corners to steal your favorite relative's Christmas cookies right off their plate.

Who WOULDN'T want this? Right? Right.

Ah, yes. Ben's contribution. How someone can beat up another person and then name and sell something called the "Slap-Chop" is really ironic. Especially when you read the tagline.... "Making America Skinner, One Slap At A Time". Sick and wrong.

And last but not least, the dog snuggie that my dad bought specifically for my cousin's dog, Mr. Butters, even though it was supposed to be a random exchange. I have never seen a dog love a piece of fleece more than Butters who coincidently looks exactly like the dog pictured above, but even cuter if that is even possible.

So there you have it. An epic As Seen on TV success. Not only did we all walk away with weirdly practical gifts- we had a wonderful time together as we opened each ASOTV wonder and marveled at its many expected and alcohol-induced uses.