My thoughts on this? It is awesome!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
On hidden treasure
I wrote this post over a week ago, and it's been hanging out as a draft, waiting for the addition of pictures. Apparently that's not happening. Sorry, but try to enjoy anyway.
Halloween time is a hidden treasure at Disneyland. Blake and I went yesterday, partly for fun and partly to commemorate our getting engaged there a year ago this weekend. The decorations are delightful and detailed in Disney style. The Haunted Mansion is transformed into The Nightmare Before Christmas, and it's wonderful. There are pumpkins and candy corns all over the place. The characters come out dressed in skeleton, witch, and scarecrow costumes. I don't really know how "hidden" this time of year is at Disneyland, but I just discovered it last year.
The ToyStory ride in California Adventure is another treasure Blake and I have discovered in the last year. You wear 3D glasses and play carnival games on screens throughout the game. In your car each rider has a gun to pay the games with; you shoot by pulling on a ball at the end of a short cord. The ride keeps score between you and the person sitting next to you. Naturally, I always try to beat Blake. We played very intensely, it was neck-in-neck. He'd pull ahead, and then I'd close the gap on the next game. I'm happy to report that I pulled of the win: 140200 to 139000! It wasn't until the end of the ride/game that I realized I had pulled on the little ball on the cord so intensely that I rubbed several layers of skin off the inside of my middle finger. It's the kind of wound where it didn't bleed but the stinging was ridiculously painful.
This little accident brought me to another hidden treasure: Disneyland First Aid. The nurse there could not have been sweeter. She got some information from me, cleaned up my finger, and dressed my wound with a princess bandaid. She gave me another princess bandaid just in case I needed to change it later in the day.
A brand new "hidden treasure" (which turned out to be not so much of a treasure) for Halloween time at Disneyland is the Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. The outside of the ride has these awesome lights moving across it that look like ghosts and decay and slash marks. From the outside, it seems like the ride is going to be like a haunted house or slasher movie. By the time we made it over there to get on the ride, Fastpasses were completely gone for the rest of the day and the wait was 100 minutes. I said there was no way we were waiting that long--Space Mountain is not my favorite--and we decided to try back near closing time. Blake LOVES Halloween and haunted houses and bad horror flicks. He was seriously disappointed. When we made it back at 10:45 the wait was up to 130 minutes. That's right, over 2 hours! I agreed to wait for Blake's sake. I had to try really hard not to show my despair when I realized it would be 1 am before we even got on the ride, making it 2 am before we could leave the park and get home. We waited for about 15 minutes and were discussing whether we should leave or not when a hidden treasure found us. A young guy, maybe 18 or 19, approached us in line and said that he and his two friends had a handicapped pass that allowed 6 people onto the ride. He asked if we would like to join them and skip the line with their pass. Did we? Of course we did! The 20 minutes we waited for the ride was worth it, but if we had waited 2 hours it would have been a let down.
I saved the best hidden treasure for last: hidden treasure! I had a small package of gold foil wrapped chocolate candy coins that I brought with us to Disneyland (how I got them is another story). We went over to Pirate Island, formerly Tom Sawyer's Island, and hid the coins in different places in the caves. Then, we'd wait out of site for some kids to find them. I loved hearing "Hey! I think I found something" and "Jackpot!" We saw two girls come running out of the cave holding the coins in the air and three other kids eating them on the ferry ride back. Seeing the kids find the hidden treasure (and they weren't even kids I know!) absolutely made my day.
Halloween time is a hidden treasure at Disneyland. Blake and I went yesterday, partly for fun and partly to commemorate our getting engaged there a year ago this weekend. The decorations are delightful and detailed in Disney style. The Haunted Mansion is transformed into The Nightmare Before Christmas, and it's wonderful. There are pumpkins and candy corns all over the place. The characters come out dressed in skeleton, witch, and scarecrow costumes. I don't really know how "hidden" this time of year is at Disneyland, but I just discovered it last year.
The ToyStory ride in California Adventure is another treasure Blake and I have discovered in the last year. You wear 3D glasses and play carnival games on screens throughout the game. In your car each rider has a gun to pay the games with; you shoot by pulling on a ball at the end of a short cord. The ride keeps score between you and the person sitting next to you. Naturally, I always try to beat Blake. We played very intensely, it was neck-in-neck. He'd pull ahead, and then I'd close the gap on the next game. I'm happy to report that I pulled of the win: 140200 to 139000! It wasn't until the end of the ride/game that I realized I had pulled on the little ball on the cord so intensely that I rubbed several layers of skin off the inside of my middle finger. It's the kind of wound where it didn't bleed but the stinging was ridiculously painful.
This little accident brought me to another hidden treasure: Disneyland First Aid. The nurse there could not have been sweeter. She got some information from me, cleaned up my finger, and dressed my wound with a princess bandaid. She gave me another princess bandaid just in case I needed to change it later in the day.
A brand new "hidden treasure" (which turned out to be not so much of a treasure) for Halloween time at Disneyland is the Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. The outside of the ride has these awesome lights moving across it that look like ghosts and decay and slash marks. From the outside, it seems like the ride is going to be like a haunted house or slasher movie. By the time we made it over there to get on the ride, Fastpasses were completely gone for the rest of the day and the wait was 100 minutes. I said there was no way we were waiting that long--Space Mountain is not my favorite--and we decided to try back near closing time. Blake LOVES Halloween and haunted houses and bad horror flicks. He was seriously disappointed. When we made it back at 10:45 the wait was up to 130 minutes. That's right, over 2 hours! I agreed to wait for Blake's sake. I had to try really hard not to show my despair when I realized it would be 1 am before we even got on the ride, making it 2 am before we could leave the park and get home. We waited for about 15 minutes and were discussing whether we should leave or not when a hidden treasure found us. A young guy, maybe 18 or 19, approached us in line and said that he and his two friends had a handicapped pass that allowed 6 people onto the ride. He asked if we would like to join them and skip the line with their pass. Did we? Of course we did! The 20 minutes we waited for the ride was worth it, but if we had waited 2 hours it would have been a let down.
I saved the best hidden treasure for last: hidden treasure! I had a small package of gold foil wrapped chocolate candy coins that I brought with us to Disneyland (how I got them is another story). We went over to Pirate Island, formerly Tom Sawyer's Island, and hid the coins in different places in the caves. Then, we'd wait out of site for some kids to find them. I loved hearing "Hey! I think I found something" and "Jackpot!" We saw two girls come running out of the cave holding the coins in the air and three other kids eating them on the ferry ride back. Seeing the kids find the hidden treasure (and they weren't even kids I know!) absolutely made my day.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
On bad breakfast sausage
Warning: This post may be an instance of TMI. Because of certain comments made by certain persons (you know who you are), I have cause to wonder how often I share too much information. A little something inside me is telling me that this just might be one of those instances. Still, I'm going to go ahead with it, just in case. ;)
Last night havoc was wreaked on our digestive tracts. Blake and I have been together all weekend and have been trying to figure out what we ate that was causing us such discomfort. The most likely candidate was the delicious but spicy chicken mole we made for dinner--that definitely had the potential to wreak some digestive havoc--but then the . . . uh . . . symptoms started right after dinner, much too soon for the mole to have . . . you know . . . traveled that far.
We finally decided that it was probably the breakfast sausage we had eaten that morning (Sunday). I awoke to the aroma of said breakfast sausage and the sounds of my sweet husband cooking. So wonderful. He had planned to bring me breakfast in bed, but then I ruined it by waking up and coming out to talk to him. Back to the point: we both ate the sausage again today--there were leftovers--and I can now confirm that it was indeed the breakfast sausage.
Why did we do that? We certainly aren't in such bad financial straits that we have to eat bad or even suspicious food. Apparently our kitchen is run by the innocent until proven guilty principle. Perhaps a revision of this post is in order; I should be using language like "the allegedly bad breakfast sausage" and "we at the accused again to be certain." The other member of the jury in the case of the bad breakfast sausage is on a plane right now heading for Salt Lake. As soon as I hear from him we'll hand in our official verdict. I can tell you right now though, I'm voting for guilty. For the sake of the other passengers on board, I'm hoping Blake makes it to Salt Lake before he encounters any more "incriminating evidence."
Last night havoc was wreaked on our digestive tracts. Blake and I have been together all weekend and have been trying to figure out what we ate that was causing us such discomfort. The most likely candidate was the delicious but spicy chicken mole we made for dinner--that definitely had the potential to wreak some digestive havoc--but then the . . . uh . . . symptoms started right after dinner, much too soon for the mole to have . . . you know . . . traveled that far.
We finally decided that it was probably the breakfast sausage we had eaten that morning (Sunday). I awoke to the aroma of said breakfast sausage and the sounds of my sweet husband cooking. So wonderful. He had planned to bring me breakfast in bed, but then I ruined it by waking up and coming out to talk to him. Back to the point: we both ate the sausage again today--there were leftovers--and I can now confirm that it was indeed the breakfast sausage.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
On our video guest book
Some of you might remember the guest book from our wedding reception. For those of you who weren't there, we had a video guest book/booth. Instead of signing your name in a traditional guest book, you sat in front of a camera and told us who you are, how you know us, and a memory or something to make us laugh. We had loads of fun making up a little explanation sheet, which I'm sure no one read.
We promised a prize for the person or people who made us laugh the hardest. After the wedding several of my friends and family asked me excitedly if I had seen their guest book entry and who had won the prize. Unfortunately, there have been unexpected delays in post-production, and I haven't seen the video yet. I'm really sad about this and am starting to get frustrated with the situation.
I'm worried that the jokes won't be funny anymore, or that there was time sensitive information in there. I just hope that none of my friends or family members are hurt that I never commented on their guest book entry or that they didn't win the prize. Just so you know, the prize hasn't been awarded yet. I am holding on to the faint hope that maybe we'll get the video as a first anniversary present, but I wouldn't be surprised if we never see it. This is a difficult situation because it involves family. I'm trying to rise above and be the big person and not let this be a sore spot. It's hard though. Any suggestions?
We promised a prize for the person or people who made us laugh the hardest. After the wedding several of my friends and family asked me excitedly if I had seen their guest book entry and who had won the prize. Unfortunately, there have been unexpected delays in post-production, and I haven't seen the video yet. I'm really sad about this and am starting to get frustrated with the situation.
I'm worried that the jokes won't be funny anymore, or that there was time sensitive information in there. I just hope that none of my friends or family members are hurt that I never commented on their guest book entry or that they didn't win the prize. Just so you know, the prize hasn't been awarded yet. I am holding on to the faint hope that maybe we'll get the video as a first anniversary present, but I wouldn't be surprised if we never see it. This is a difficult situation because it involves family. I'm trying to rise above and be the big person and not let this be a sore spot. It's hard though. Any suggestions?
Monday, September 14, 2009
On birthday week (and a general update)
My birthday was last Wednesday, which means that I got to have an awesome birthday week leading up to that day. We got the idea for birthday week from my awesome cousins D&S. When it's my birthday week, I get to call the shots. I decided where we went out to dinner, what we watched on TV, etc. It works really well for us, because I prefer to do things rather than get things. I made Blake come with me to see a chick-flick one day and to go mini-golfing another. It was great! On my birthday we went for a lovely dinner at the Goldener-Hirsch at Deer Valley in Park City. It was delicious and very romantic. Blake gave me some wonderful and thoughtful gifts; he knows me so well. He gave me an adorable stuffed baby Dumbo because Dumbo was my favorite ride at Disneyland when I was a wee lass, a cookbook stand, and a beginning How-to-Quilt video. Learning to quilt is on my bucket list. Thanks for a great birthday, Blake!
Cookbook stand and Baby Dumbo
In the middle of birthday week, we went to Moab with my dad for Labor day weekend. It seemed like a good idea, but I should have known that 4 days in a row with my dad would be too many. We have bad history, and it's still anxiety provoking for me to spend time with him. Also, Jeeping off-road is not really my thing.
Being a good sport about it while trying to keep my fear of heights in check on those crazy trails was just a little too much for me. I got out and walked a portion of the last trail I went on. Everyone else went on another trail the next day while I stayed in town and went for a walk and read a book.
I've been having crazy dreams about jeeps falling off cliffs and getting attacked by weird desert animals ever since. I'm telling you all this so that next time someone can remind me that this wasn't such a good idea after all; I might forget.
We found a place to live in Moreno Valley, and are moving on Friday. Yikes! Packing and cleaning are overwhelming. We're making progress one box at a time. Even though it's a lot to do, I'm so happy that things are falling into place and we get to live together again. We're also really hoping that people will want to come visit us. We'll have an extra bedroom and bathroom. We're fun. We have a pool and hot tub. I'll put a mint on your pillow. Come visit us!
Cookbook stand and Baby Dumbo
In the middle of birthday week, we went to Moab with my dad for Labor day weekend. It seemed like a good idea, but I should have known that 4 days in a row with my dad would be too many. We have bad history, and it's still anxiety provoking for me to spend time with him. Also, Jeeping off-road is not really my thing.
Blake driving and feeling very manly.
This isn't us, but it's where I got out and walked. One wrong move and you roll off that cliff!
We found a place to live in Moreno Valley, and are moving on Friday. Yikes! Packing and cleaning are overwhelming. We're making progress one box at a time. Even though it's a lot to do, I'm so happy that things are falling into place and we get to live together again. We're also really hoping that people will want to come visit us. We'll have an extra bedroom and bathroom. We're fun. We have a pool and hot tub. I'll put a mint on your pillow. Come visit us!
On maybe starting a new blog?
I get all passionate about the things that I'm learning in my classes. Even though I want to, I usually don't post them on my blog, because I figure most of you wouldn't be that interested in how to run a good therapy group, or what I'm learning about kids and play therapy, or my opinion on antidepressant medications. Am I right?
I'm thinking about starting a new blog where I can write about all those things and not bore my friends and family who read this blog. What are your thoughts on this idea?
I'm thinking about starting a new blog where I can write about all those things and not bore my friends and family who read this blog. What are your thoughts on this idea?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
On . . . I'm embarrassed for us . . . seriously, people?
I don't really know where to start with this one. I don't have the words.
A friend directed me to this story from the Deseret News. Next week, President Obama is planning a live broadcast for America's school children. According to the White House website, "the President will talk directly to students across the country on the importance of taking responsibility for their education, challenging them to set goals and do everything they can to succeed." (The English major in me has a hard time with that sentence. Come on, White House, did no one edit?)
Apparently some parents are upset about this and another video encouraging community service shown in a Utah school last week. They are planning on taking their kids out of school so that they don't have to see the video.
Really, people? Really? In the news story, parents are saying they'll do something useful during that time like read the constitution and are wondering what President Obama's motive is. He's the President! The President of the United States! How is it at all suspicious that he's sending a message to kids to do well in school and strive to succeed? I just don't see the harm in it.
It's these kinds of things that make me embarrassed for our state. We're really not all like this. Most of us are fairly normal people, good citizens, and all that. It's just that these are the people that make the news and make the rest of us look bad. If anything, what they've accomplished with this protest is to draw more attention to the broadcast. You better believe I'll be watching it now; I want to see what the fuss is all about.
A friend directed me to this story from the Deseret News. Next week, President Obama is planning a live broadcast for America's school children. According to the White House website, "the President will talk directly to students across the country on the importance of taking responsibility for their education, challenging them to set goals and do everything they can to succeed." (The English major in me has a hard time with that sentence. Come on, White House, did no one edit?)
Apparently some parents are upset about this and another video encouraging community service shown in a Utah school last week. They are planning on taking their kids out of school so that they don't have to see the video.
Really, people? Really? In the news story, parents are saying they'll do something useful during that time like read the constitution and are wondering what President Obama's motive is. He's the President! The President of the United States! How is it at all suspicious that he's sending a message to kids to do well in school and strive to succeed? I just don't see the harm in it.
It's these kinds of things that make me embarrassed for our state. We're really not all like this. Most of us are fairly normal people, good citizens, and all that. It's just that these are the people that make the news and make the rest of us look bad. If anything, what they've accomplished with this protest is to draw more attention to the broadcast. You better believe I'll be watching it now; I want to see what the fuss is all about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)