Saturday night, we let the kids join us for about 5 minutes while we were watching Star Wars. We haven't let them watch the whole movie yet, but they love everything Star Wars, so we figured we'd let them have a little peek. One of the scenes they watched included the famous quote from Yoda: "Do or do not... there is no 'try'."
Star Wars preaches a lot of "interesting" philosophies, but this is one I wasn't expecting to hear from Tyler: "Why did Yoda say, 'Don't try?'"
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On the way home from school, we were talking about Colby's harvest party at school tomorrow and how I would be coming to help out. Colby seemed pretty excited, so it surprised me when he said, "Ok, I'll try not to have fun." Thinking I must have misheard him, I said, "You'll try NOT to have fun?" His response was, "Yeah, because last time you came, it went by really fast."
Apparently "time flies when you're having fun" works in reverse too. Or at least it's worth a try.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Ring, bells, go ting-a-ling-a-ling
Today we enjoyed a real treat- Colby and his class played their handbells at the school's weekly chapel. Such beautiful music and precious kids....
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Decisions, decisions
On Friday, Brian and I hung out at Daisy's Costume Shop for a little while. It's a cool little locally-owned place just filled to the brim with costume stuff. We walked in with no real ideas, fiddled with Beauty and the Beast for a little while (but decided the Beast head was way too impractical and uncomfortable for Brian), and ended up with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. We'll look like an elf and a fairy on growth hormones. I mean, how many 6'8" Peter Pans have you seen? Or 6' tall Tinkerbells for that matter? Who cares, we'll have fun.
Anyway, I digress. At Daisy's, one of the girls who was helping us was Robin, and she had the *cutest* haircut. It was short and sassy, and she wore it really well. So of course I started thinking, "Hmmm... I might like to go short again." I got the name and number of her stylist.
I'm still going back and forth, though. I really liked my hair when it was short and spiky in the back. It was easy to fix, and fun.
But I also like it long. Right now, it's the longest I've ever had it since I was probably.... like 10 or 11. Of course Brian prefers long (why are men always partial to long hair?). He doesn't mind if I cut it, though. He suggested doing something in between first, to see if I like it without going so drastic. But that's half the fun of going really short! haha I feel like my hair is just blah like this... it needs some oomph and fun to it.
I dunno... I suppose I should keep it long at least until after my stint as Tinkerbell. I'll be taking comments and advice until then. :)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
A Chicken Revelation
No, I've not had a visit from that big chicken in the sky. By "chicken revelation," I mean a revelation about the way I've been cooking chicken.
Now I don't claim to be a chef by any means, just as a disclaimer. So please don't laugh at me if you think this is silly. Well actually, go ahead, I won't hear you anyway.
The revelation is...... if you thaw the chicken before cooking it in the crockpot all day, it tastes much MUCH better! Previously, I had just thrown in the frozen chicken breasts with the other ingredients and called it a day. The meat would always come out really dry... like, need-a-drink-after-each-bite dry. I assumed it was the recipes I was using, because they all came from the same book. Last week, though, I had some chicken already thawed, so I used that instead of frozen like usual. Wow, what a difference! We tried another previously so-so recipe tonight and sure enough... much better!
Call me El Pollo Loco, but I just can't get over how much better our dinner was tonight. So that's my revelation for today. Check back soon for more gourmet dining tips.
Now I don't claim to be a chef by any means, just as a disclaimer. So please don't laugh at me if you think this is silly. Well actually, go ahead, I won't hear you anyway.
The revelation is...... if you thaw the chicken before cooking it in the crockpot all day, it tastes much MUCH better! Previously, I had just thrown in the frozen chicken breasts with the other ingredients and called it a day. The meat would always come out really dry... like, need-a-drink-after-each-bite dry. I assumed it was the recipes I was using, because they all came from the same book. Last week, though, I had some chicken already thawed, so I used that instead of frozen like usual. Wow, what a difference! We tried another previously so-so recipe tonight and sure enough... much better!
Call me El Pollo Loco, but I just can't get over how much better our dinner was tonight. So that's my revelation for today. Check back soon for more gourmet dining tips.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
You'd think someone around here liked Transformers
Well if you didn't know it before, you know it now- Colby likes Transformers. Just a little bit. Case in point; it looked like Transformers had overtaken our kitchen table:
He and his friends enjoyed the masks. So much cooler than the little cone hats we used to have when we were kids:
I was going to post a few pictures of him opening gifts, but they would have all looked like this one. With the exception of one gift, everything he got was Transformers in some way, shape, or form.
That extra candle this year really gave him a tough time. He finally got all six blown out without hyperventilating.
Here's the happy birthday boy!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Pictures from last night
I just posted our earplug story from the concert last night, so I thought I'd make a separate post with the awesome shots of the bands I got from our awesome seats.
Ohhhhh wait, that's right. Ms. Security Lady wouldn't let me bring in my camera. So I don't have any awesome shots that I got from our awesome seats.
Thaaat's right. Even though everyone else had cameras (including the chick in front of me who had almost my exact same model), I couldn't bring mine in because it's an SLR.
I remember now. It's not like I'll never see these three top-of-the-line bands all in one place on one night again.
Gee, I almost forgot I couldn't take any FANTASTICLY AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHS. Just completely slipped my mind.
No, I'm not bitter. Not at all.
Ohhhhh wait, that's right. Ms. Security Lady wouldn't let me bring in my camera. So I don't have any awesome shots that I got from our awesome seats.
Thaaat's right. Even though everyone else had cameras (including the chick in front of me who had almost my exact same model), I couldn't bring mine in because it's an SLR.
I remember now. It's not like I'll never see these three top-of-the-line bands all in one place on one night again.
Gee, I almost forgot I couldn't take any FANTASTICLY AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHS. Just completely slipped my mind.
No, I'm not bitter. Not at all.
I know I'm getting old, but that was ridiculous
Last night Brian and I had the opportunity to see the stellar lineup of Jars of Clay, Switchfoot AND Third Day at the Irvine stop of the Music Builds Tour. To say that anticipation for the night was high would be an understatement. Not only are Jars and Third Day his and my favorite bands, respectively, we had *fantastic* seats. Or so we thought.
As we located our seats and saw how close they were to the stage, we were pretty pumped. We gave a passing glance to the 20-foot-tall speaker about 15 feet away from us, but we'd sat near the speaker before at other venues and not had too much problem.
Over the sound system came the pre-show music. You know, just random songs to fill the time. Usually these songs are played at a dim level, since people are arriving and ushers are helping people finds seats, etc. Well let me tell you... the Verizon Amphitheatre is not like every other venue in this regard. You know how usually in the middle of a concert you have a hard time speaking to the person next to you? You might even have to get right up into their ear to speak to them, right? Well it was like that during the pre-show, no joke. We looked at each other and said, "Uh, that's LOUD," or at least we would have if either of us could have heard each other.
Soon Jars of Clay came out to get things started. The minute they started to play, I literally felt like my ears were going to burst.... horrible buzzing/ringing/piercing sound... not fun. It was so loud, there was no distinction to the sound, and therefore nothing that sounded like music was reaching our ears; just sound... very LOUD SOUND.
Brian went up to the upper section where the usher was standing to ask if they knew where we could get some earplugs. He didn't come back with any, but did find out that the sound was at least somewhat bearable a little further back. We didn't want to give up our $65 seats, but there was absolutely no way we could spend the whole concert there. None of the security guards would let us into the upper sections because that's not where our seats were. The free-admission lawn area in the waaaay back was closed off for the night. We contemplated finding a couple that we could trade seats with, but figured that might be a hard sell.
Finally I started asking people who had the sense to be wearing earplugs if they might have any extra. Nobody could really hear what I was asking, even though I thought my hand motions were pretty self-explanatory. One guy even broke out his pack of smokes and offered me one. I'm not sure if he was thinking I looked stressed and needed a smoke, or if he was recommending I stick them in my ear.
Grasping at straws, we figured we'd head out into the plaza area outside the amphitheatre and somehow find some earplugs. Later it was suggested to me that we could have used TP or a paper towel, but for whatever reason we were fixated on getting actual earplugs. The first lady we came to was selling ice cold sodas and water, but we figured we could see if she knew of anyone selling earplugs.
To our surprise, she turned around to her personal belongings and said, "I think I have some; I know we brought some to the last place we worked." Lo and behold, after a couple of minutes of anxious searching, she did find an unopened package of earplugs. Those things looked like little blue marshmallows from heaven to me at that moment. Assuming she was a generous soul, it caught me a little off guard when she said, "So whatever amount you want to give for them is fine..." We don't carry cash. Great.
But wait! Over there! There's one of those ATM machines that charges you $50 to withdraw $20! We didn't care. Off to the ATM we went. The lady did turn out to be a generous soul, as she gave us the earplugs before we paid her, with no guarantee we'd come back with the money. But of course we did, and let me tell you, that was the best $5 I've ever spent. Well, $7 after the ATM fees, but who's counting.
Now I've never been one to wear earplugs at a concert, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only could I hear actual *music,* but it really sounded good! I couldn't hear the crowd yelling or the clapping, but by gosh I could still hear myself think.
I have no doubt that had the Pepsi lady not had those earplugs, we'd have either left the show (and missed the 60-year-old hippie next to me getting his groove on... even doing spin moves in the aisle...absolutely hilarious!) or had irreparable hearing damage. So THANK YOU Pepsi lady for your kind deed. Let me know if I can ever return the favor.
As we located our seats and saw how close they were to the stage, we were pretty pumped. We gave a passing glance to the 20-foot-tall speaker about 15 feet away from us, but we'd sat near the speaker before at other venues and not had too much problem.
Over the sound system came the pre-show music. You know, just random songs to fill the time. Usually these songs are played at a dim level, since people are arriving and ushers are helping people finds seats, etc. Well let me tell you... the Verizon Amphitheatre is not like every other venue in this regard. You know how usually in the middle of a concert you have a hard time speaking to the person next to you? You might even have to get right up into their ear to speak to them, right? Well it was like that during the pre-show, no joke. We looked at each other and said, "Uh, that's LOUD," or at least we would have if either of us could have heard each other.
Soon Jars of Clay came out to get things started. The minute they started to play, I literally felt like my ears were going to burst.... horrible buzzing/ringing/piercing sound... not fun. It was so loud, there was no distinction to the sound, and therefore nothing that sounded like music was reaching our ears; just sound... very LOUD SOUND.
Brian went up to the upper section where the usher was standing to ask if they knew where we could get some earplugs. He didn't come back with any, but did find out that the sound was at least somewhat bearable a little further back. We didn't want to give up our $65 seats, but there was absolutely no way we could spend the whole concert there. None of the security guards would let us into the upper sections because that's not where our seats were. The free-admission lawn area in the waaaay back was closed off for the night. We contemplated finding a couple that we could trade seats with, but figured that might be a hard sell.
Finally I started asking people who had the sense to be wearing earplugs if they might have any extra. Nobody could really hear what I was asking, even though I thought my hand motions were pretty self-explanatory. One guy even broke out his pack of smokes and offered me one. I'm not sure if he was thinking I looked stressed and needed a smoke, or if he was recommending I stick them in my ear.
Grasping at straws, we figured we'd head out into the plaza area outside the amphitheatre and somehow find some earplugs. Later it was suggested to me that we could have used TP or a paper towel, but for whatever reason we were fixated on getting actual earplugs. The first lady we came to was selling ice cold sodas and water, but we figured we could see if she knew of anyone selling earplugs.
To our surprise, she turned around to her personal belongings and said, "I think I have some; I know we brought some to the last place we worked." Lo and behold, after a couple of minutes of anxious searching, she did find an unopened package of earplugs. Those things looked like little blue marshmallows from heaven to me at that moment. Assuming she was a generous soul, it caught me a little off guard when she said, "So whatever amount you want to give for them is fine..." We don't carry cash. Great.
But wait! Over there! There's one of those ATM machines that charges you $50 to withdraw $20! We didn't care. Off to the ATM we went. The lady did turn out to be a generous soul, as she gave us the earplugs before we paid her, with no guarantee we'd come back with the money. But of course we did, and let me tell you, that was the best $5 I've ever spent. Well, $7 after the ATM fees, but who's counting.
Now I've never been one to wear earplugs at a concert, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only could I hear actual *music,* but it really sounded good! I couldn't hear the crowd yelling or the clapping, but by gosh I could still hear myself think.
I have no doubt that had the Pepsi lady not had those earplugs, we'd have either left the show (and missed the 60-year-old hippie next to me getting his groove on... even doing spin moves in the aisle...absolutely hilarious!) or had irreparable hearing damage. So THANK YOU Pepsi lady for your kind deed. Let me know if I can ever return the favor.
Autobots...Transform and Roll Out!
Here we have the final version of the Transformers cake. I was nervous about the flames, because Colby had specifically requested a flame going down the middle of the cake, and I wasn't exactly sure how to accomplish that. I'm really happy with the result. Typically I do cakes in more of a paint-by-number fashion, meaning someone else comes up with the design and provides instructions on which colors and techniques go where. This was a completely original design, and I really like it.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Transformation begins
Here's the challenge: Transform an ordinary sheet cake into a super-cool Transformers cake. So far, I've got the chocolate transfer done-
The plan is to put that on top of the sheet cake (similar to the Mickey cake), and embellish it as necessary. Colby likes the idea of actual Transformers toys on the cake, which I don't much care for. It is *his* cake, though, so I'm sure there will be toys on it somewhere. I'll post more pics when I have the finished product.
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