What the Pho?

I thought I'd share a little more of our "exciting" beach lifestyle with you today. To be honest, I'm probably one of the most boring people I know, and my main comforts in life are the daily routines. One of our favorite routines is our weekly dinner down by the beach. Almost every Friday night you can find us at "What the Pho", our favorite restaurant.

What the Pho (pronounced "fuh") is a tiny cafe located right on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. It's across from the Main Street Pier, nestled underneath the movie theatre.

We come in and almost always have "the usual" which consists of 2 spring rolls and 2 bowls of pho. Matt gets chicken (PHO GÀ) and I get shrimp (PHO TÔM) . I drink water and Matt will drink fresh squeezed lemonade. For dessert he will have a Thai iced tea.

If you've never had pho before, don't be afraid; it's just a simple clear broth soup with rice noodles, and this restaurant makes some of the best we've had. It has a sublime flavor and if you ate it without anything else, you would be completely satisfied with it's aroma and comforting properties. But much to your delight, your bowl of pho will always come with a side plate. Feel free to add a bright squeeze of lime, a couple of jalapeno slices, some bean sprouts and some fresh basil leaves. The basil is so fragrant that it will make you smile as you pinch off the leaves to put into your soup. I swear, just the scent of this soup has healing properties! If that's not enough, feel free to add some hoisin sauce (similar to a thick teriyaki sauce) like Matt does, or some red sauce (spicy rooster sauce) like I do.

If you're not much of a soup person, rest assured; all their menu items are wonderful. Once in awhile, I will get "crazy" and order something different and it's usually going to be a vermacelli dish. This is a cold noodle dish served with fresh cilantro and lettuce, crushed peanuts, and my favorite version comes with three toppings; BBQ pork, shrimp, and egg-rolls.

Everyone at What the Pho is helpful and friendly. In the photo you can see Hong and Tom, the owners, along with Hong's sister and father—the head chef. Tom, who doubles as a high-school math teacher during the day, will gladly help you pick exactly what you want to eat if you are undecided.

Lake Arrowhead

We went to Lake Arrowhead for the day on Sunday to celebrate mine and my mom's BD. We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake and then walked around and looked in some of the shops. Matt got something special for his mom's BD in November--he is so sweet!


After shopping, Matt got a cup of coffee and an apple turnover (we tried in vain to get an Octoberfest Strudel!) Then we got tickets for the tour boat. It was such a nice day--a little cloudy and a little crisp, but very pretty out. The leaves were starting to turn colors and the sky was bue in patches. I've never taken that boat before, but it was really interesting. Captain Bill told us the history of different parts of the community and pointed out all the fancy houses. He knew every movie star who ever lived there and showed us their lake houses. Some of the houses are selling for 14 million or more!

While we were on the lake, we saw the most amazing thing. A bald eagle was soaring and diving; trying to catch a small black bird called a coot. The eagle would circle and then dive into the water and every time that coot would dive underneath just in time. It was fascinating to watch the eagle soar and turn in the air; it was simply a beautiful creature. Watching that magnificent bird was the high point of the tour. None of us had ever seen an eagle in the wild before, so it was a real treat.

At the end of the day, we drove home, but we had to stop at a couple of places to take pictures. The mountatins were so gorgeous. A mist had settled in the valley, with just the peaks sticking out—it looked like a fairy tale city or maybe Brigadoon hiding in the hills! It was nearing twilight so the colors were all purple and blue. I'm so glad mom's camera worked long enough to take a couple of shots before we had to leave.

Oh, no! I've been tagged!

Christine Smith Tagged me for a game of blogtag! These are the rules to play blogtag:List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets.Tag 5 friends and list them.Those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Don't forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

From another blog entry, you already know how freaky I am, so now there will probably be no doubt left, ha ha! Here are my weird things-

1. I told you about my doormat obsession; well, I got caught leaving the conference room and wiping my feet last month! I was so embarrassed that someone noticed!

2. Random likes to sleep on my shoulder at night. Sometimes he will sleep right between Matt's feet and Matt will sleep all crooked so he doesn't disturb the cat! Yep—we all know who's king of the castle around here!

3. Random also likes to sleep on the clean laundry if we put it down to fold it. He was sleeping on a pair of Matt's shorts that he was getting rid of, so now they are Random's shorts! Matt puts the shorts on the couch cushion and moves it to the floor in front of the screen door every morning so Random can look out. (and he says *I* spoil the cat!)

4. I like nuts, but I can't stand nuts in my food. I pick them out of my Kung Pao Chicken. I order Almond Chicken without the almonds. No Cashews on my Cashew Chicken. I don't eat cookies with nuts. I make banana bread or anything else without the nuts. But I can eat handfuls of nuts by themselves. Except walnuts. I don't really care for them, except Black Walnut ice cream. That's one of the few nut-laden foods I'll eat, but most of the time I even pick the nuts out of that!

5. We have a nice kitchen table, but we only use it for Thanksgiving dinner! Every night we eat dinner on the couch and watch TV shows. Right now we are watching season 2 of Lost. Before that we were on season 6 of X-Files. Next in line is the final season of West Wing when it comes out. If we have breakfast on the weekends, we will usually watch a travel channel recording. This morning we watched an episode about Venice. At first I thought it was weird, but Matt enjoys it so much and it's fun to watch shows together. (and it's no fun to eat by myself at the table!)

We're Goin' to Disneyland!

For my birthday, Matt wanted to take me somewhere fun, so we decided to eat dinner at the Blue Bayou Restaurant. In case you're not sure where that is, it's the restaurant inside of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. The entrance is through New Orleans Square and you eat dinner overlooking the moss-covered trees and tranquil water that are at the beginning of the ride.

I had Mahi Mahi and Matt got the pork chops. I wasn't impressed with either meal (the menu and cooking's gone downhill since our last visit) but desert made up for everything. I ordered creme brulee', one of my favorites. It was a trio of flavors, vanilla, chocolate and passionfruit. Very tasty! And for an added bonus, there was an edible-sugar treasure chest filled with chocolate dubloons to keep as a souvenir.

We got to the park just in time to renew our passes, take a few photos and get some Mickey Mouse ears for yours truly! I've always wanted some, so Matt got me the gold anniversary ears. I know; very silly, but I never got them when I was a kid, so I figured it's time to start being a kid again now.

After dinner we had about 2 hours before the park closed, which was just enough time to ride my four favorite rides. We went on Pirates first. I was disappointed with the changes they made to add things from the movie. I'm a traditionalist and a purist, so I liked the ride better before. The effects were nice, though, and I am glad they took away the chicken platter. For those who don't know, several years ago, they added a platter of chicken to one of the wench's hands so that it looked like the pirate was chasing the chicken dinner instead of the girl. An overabundance of PC-ness, if you ask me. I mean, they're pirates, for gosh-sakes! Don't pirates chase wenches?

After Pirates, we of course had to go on the Haunted Mansion. Ah—my favorite of all-time! Love those silly ghosts! At the end of the month, they will be decorating for Halloween and it turns into Jack Skellington and the Nightmare Before Christmas. I can't wait for that, but I do love the "ordinary" mansion the best.

From there it was a quick trip over to the Indiana Jones ride—definitely a fun time there! When we got out, the fireworks had already started, so we got to see them on the way to the last ride. We missed the Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise, so we'll have to do them next time. Onward to Space Mountain; the fun ride from the 80's. Ah, I love a good roller coaster and this one's great! Fast music, darkness, and the galaxy—what more can you ask for?

Jennifer Louise Fialko

This post is to honor one of the victims of 9/11. An online friend was researching the events of September 11th and came across a project, the 2,996 project. The sponsors decided that it would be a way to remember those we lost and pay tribute to them if each person was remembered in a blog, all over the country and all over the world. I decided to look up Lisa Frost who was a crash victim from the town I lived in at the time of the tragedy . Sean Gavin has written her memorial HERE, including some photos I took of the community memorial that people left in Rancho Santa Margarita in the days after the crashes.


When I signed up for the 2,996 project, I was given the name of Jennifer Fialko. I never met Jennifer and the information below was gathered from the internet and new articles from the days after the tragedy. If you knew Jennifer and I have made any mistakes, please let me know so I can correct any errors. I do this project with utmost respect for all the victims, support personnel, and survivors of the tragedy as well as a deep sorrow for the losses felt by friends and family of the victims. Though I didn't personally know anyone who died that day, I still was so impacted by the events of that day. It was truly a tragedy for the whole nation. Sorry if my writing is somewhat stilted or awkward today. This was a difficult assignment, but one that was healing and needed to be done.

Jennifer got her BA from the University of New Hampshire in 1994. She was in the prime of her live. She was just starting over after finally winning her battle with Hodgkin's disease. She was in a new state of physical, spiritual, and emotional health. She felt that her cancer was a "gift" because it started her journey. She told her family she would live to be 120 and they believed her. She had just found the man she believed to be her soulmate, David.

Jennifer had just started a new job at Aon Corp and was working in the South Tower on the 92nd floor when the planes hit. She called David at 8:59 after the first plane hit. She realized she needed to get out of the tower. He told her to call back when she got to the bottom. The second plane hit her tower at 9:03. Nobody ever heard from her again.

You can see more about Jennifer at the links below:
http://cf.newsday.com/911/victimsearch.cfm?id=1863
http://www.legacy.com/Sept11.asp?Page=TributeStory&PersonId=145313
http://www.unitedinmemory.net/quilt.php?quilt=981
https://www.alumni.unh.edu/find/091101.html#fialko

Yes, I'm quirky!

I was reading one of the forum sites I like to keep up with and everyone was listing their quirks. I thought it would be fun to list some of mine! I hope you don't think I'm too "freaky" after reading this one! Here they are in no particular order!

1. When I get dressed in the morning, I put my left sock on, then my left shoe, then my right sock and lastly my right shoe. I guess most people put both their socks on first and then their shoes, but that just seems strange to me.

2. I knock on wood. I'm not superstitious exactly, but I'm compulsive enough to worry that something might happen if I don't! I do it when I say something super positive is going to happen or when someone mentions death.

3. When I see a doormat, I have to wipe my feet on it even if I'm on the inside going back out! Where I work there's a doormat before you get to the conference room and I have to really work hard not to wipe my feet when I'm leaving a meeting. I don't want to do that and have my coworkers think I'm nuts!

4. Speaking of work, there's 4 cubes in the middle of our lobby. To get to the conference room, most people walk straight through the cubes. I like to walk around because I feel like I'm invading someone's personal space. If I have to walk through them, I hold my breath to center myself and get courage!

5. I'm addicted to chapstick. At my last job a bunch of gals decided to break their habit by using a speical moisturizing product on their lips until they could stop using lip balm. I couldn't even stand the thought of doing that—just thinking about it made me have to stop typing and apply some right now! (ETA: I did it again when I was editing this!)

6. Sometimes I just can't stand to touch paper. Wet paper is the worst, but sometimes even dry paper creeps me out. It's kind of funny considering that my favorite hobbies are rubber stamping and scrapbooking!

7. I can't stand to leave a novel unfinished. There are only about 3-4 books I have ever not finished in my life! Even if it's bad I have to finish! (don't ask me which ones, because I can't remember, except that one was an L. Ron Hubbard Sci-Fi novel)

8. When I 'm walking I have this need to count my steps. I usually count in groups of 3-4. Sou I will count "one-two-three-four" "two-two-three-four" as I walk. I especially need to do this when I'm walking down stairs!

9. On my computer task bar, I have to always have things in the exact right order so I can click on the items in the same spot and I know where my programs are. Sometimes my outlook or another program accidently gets closed and then I have to close all my other windows just so I can re-open it in the right spot. When I do this I usually reboot since I've closed all my programs and I might as well make a clean start of it!

Well, I'm sure there's lots more I could tell you, but I really like the number "9" so I will stop here now!

A funny thing about crosswalks

(I'm sure this has been said before by someone with more wit than I have, but I'll say it again!)

We went to the pier twice this weekend and both times the same thing happened. It's the summer, so of course Huntington Beach is busy and there's tons of people. We were waiting at the crosswalk with at least 20 other people on each corner waiting to cross.

On Saturday I leaned against the light post while we were waiting and on Sunday, Matt did. Each time someone decided that they had to ask us to move so they could push the button for the light! Don't they think that one of the other One Hundred people that were waiting at one of the 4 corners would have already pushed the button!? Nope, apparently not! The light was only going to turn if they *personally* pushed the button!

Well, perhaps they were right, because the crosswalk light didn't change until Saturday's "Mr. Brilliant" and his Sunday friend, "The Button-Intimidator" pushed it! Would the light have worked without their expert intervention!? We'll never know!

A Can of Spam and Bread Filled with Whiskey!

I thought I'd end this Memorial Day with a story I heard from my Great Aunt this weekend. We were talking about the war and how it was when her husband was stationed in the Phillipines in the 40's.

All the women would show their love and appreciation for their service men by sending letters and care packages to those stationed far away. Ellie sent photos of herself so John would have something to remember her by. He told her not to send those sexy photos of her wearing her bathrobe anymore because she was driving him wild.

Ellie also loved to bake cookies and other treats and package them up for John. Then she started worrying that he wasn't getting enough to eat in the Army, so she wanted to send him something more substantial.

A can of Spam was her food of choice; the one thing she knew would keep him strong and nourished and for some reason, this was what she decided to send. Of course, John didn't want the Spam—he probably had more than his share of canned meat while he was there. Nobody else wanted it either. For days it sat on the table; unclaimed by any of the soldiers. Finally it became the company joke and it was finally claimed. That can was the perfect thing for target practice!

So John wrote to Ellie and said: "Please don't send any more Spam." If she wanted to send a treat, could she please send alcohol! Of course, alcohol wasn't allowed, but she was determined to send some anyways! She hollowed out a loaf of bread and hid a pint of whiskey inside. But to make sure he didn't throw it away, she put a note on the outside of the box: "Look inside the bread!" We're not quite sure if he even got this care package, but it was surely sent with love.

Random the Cat

Gosh! I just realized it's been FOREVER since I've posted! Yes, I'm lame and flakey, sorry!

I thought I'd tell you about Random the Cat. He's the little kitty in my avatar and He's been my constant companion and best friend for 17 years. I used to live in an apartment upstairs. The stoner guys that lived downstairs from us were moving—yaay! I felt so bad for their little kitty who meowed and cried all day when they moved. Poor kitty—you must be so scared that they are causing so much commotion and stealing all your furniture. I figured they would be back later that night to get him, once the moving was done.

I didn't hear kitty the next day, so I was glad to know they had picked him up. Unfortunately, on the third night, I heard the poor guy crying again. Those SOB's had abandoned their cat and left him trapped and alone inside an empty apartment for 3 days! I don't think they were cruel, I think they were just too stupid or stoned to know the difference. I immediately called our apartment management and insisted they send someone over to get that cat.

Poor little guy was so scared and hungry when he was delivered to our apartment. He was thirsty and starving and so glad to see people. We immediately bonded. He didn't recognize what cat food was, but figured it out pretty quick. He did recognize the Pizza Man and a McDonald's bag, so I knew right away how he had been fed before. Poor kitty didn't really even know how to purr. He did start purring after a couple of days, but you could only tell this by holding your ear close to him to hear it.

His paws were huge and I though he would be a giant cat, but then I realized that they were so big because of his extra toes. Yup. Random is polydactile and has 6 toes and 7 claws on each of his front paws. I'm told that's lucky and Random is one lucky kitty!

At first we were going to name him Chaos, but then Random sounded better to go with our other cat's name; Romana. Random & Romana were good friends and he was very sad when she passed away. He used to love to sleep next to her and chase her when she was bored. She was almost 3 times his size, but he'd chase her anyways. Whenever she got fed up with his antics, she'd whack him with one of her big paws and you could almost see stars and little birds flying around his head!

Random used to follow me around the house; where ever I went, there he was. After he realized I wouldn't abandon him, he would still silently just happen to be in whatever room I was in. I've been very happy to have him for my pal all these years.

Finished Product!

Whew! I finally had time to scan my photos and finish my layout! I started on this intending to use photos of my great-grandfather holding two of his grandkids; my mom and her cousin. But when I went through the photos, I could only find one of the photos.

Instead I found two fabulous photos of my great aunt in about 1950. She lived in Tokyo with her husband who was in the army. She is modeling a kimono! While I would love to see a color picture of this, the sepia-toned and aged photo is so delicate and beautiful looking! I really love these photos and I think they went perfectly with the coloring and round shapes in the background sketch I used.

Once I knew I would use these photos, I just had to use that awesome Kanji brush-stamp that I had in my digital collection. I really love that this is heritage and Japanese at the same time!

Creative Team

Lucky me! I got chosen to be on the creative team of one of the best new digital scrapbook designers, Christine Smith! I get a free kit at least twice a month and I make two scrapbook layouts using the kit.

Here's a preview of my latest layout using her Superstar kit available at http://digitalscrapbookpages.com . Key and doily from Traci Sims and stitching from Jen Wilson. I still have to finish the page, but here's a peek!

The sketch is a challenge posted on the digichick blog here : http://thesechicks.typepad.com/these_chicks/

Sometimes doing a sketch or a challenge can really stretch you creatively, so it's fun to do! I still need to add the title, photos and finishing touches to this! I'll post again when it's finished!

Incurable Packrat!

I admit it! I'm a packrat! It's a horrible disease and I've got it bad! Mom says I come by it honestly because my great aunt has it, my mother has it and now I've inherited it! I try so hard to not save everything and to purge when I can. It's a never-ending battle and I'm always on the losing side.

Especially with my craft supplies. I love crafting and have always done it. I always will. Even if I haven't croched or tatted for years, I know I will again someday. I have a closet full of craft stuff that rarely gets used. I have a room full of supplies that are for my current hobbies: Sewing, Stamping and Scrapbooking.

When I say current, I'm not sure how honest that is! I haven't really sewn anything for 2 years when I sewed the flower girl dresses for my wedding. I've machine-embroidered a couple of baby blankets and that is it! But April is Renaissance Faire season, so I know I will need to sew some new costume things this year. So, I can still call sewing current, right?

Today, I swore I was going to get rid of one of my large boxes of fabric I have stored. I have 5 of those plastic rubbermaid containers that sit in my room. They would be level with my crafting table if I only had 4 boxes. So I dutifully opened each box and sorted through them this morning. I sent one small bag back to Mom's because she is more likely to use it . One small bag will go to Goodwill. And one small bag has been cut up for RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness) for my crafty friends.

Nope—I didn't get rid of even one box! But I was able to put the fabric that was sitting on top of the table away. Wish me luck with my sewing next month—maybe I will sew enough costume pieces that I can get rid of that pesky box!

One of those questionnaires

Once in a while, someone passes out a questionnaire in my email. Here's my answers!

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Survey Researcher
2. Substitute Teacher
3. Fabric Store Clerk
4. Counselor

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Mary Poppins
2. Princess Bride
3. Amelie
4. Blue

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Don’t really watch TV!
2. X-Files
3. Travel/cooking/ channel
4. discovery/Nat'l geographic channel

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Japan
2. Tahiti
3. New Mexico
4. Georgia

Four websites I visit daily:
1. NADAguides.com
2. gmail.com
3. yahoo groups
4. msn groups

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Lasagna
2. Lobster
3. Sushi
4. Mexican food

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At home kissin’ the little cat!
2. Someplace warm and sunny
3. Day Spa
4. Tahiti

Things I learned from Grandma

My grandmother died of lung cancer when I was only nine years old. I was really "grandma's girl" and I still miss her. Here's some funny little things I learned through her.

• Nothing beats a good mystery novel!
• If you don't want to cook, there's always KFC!
• When weeding the garden, pull all the largest weeds first—that way if you get tired, your garden still looks nicer and then you can go play!
• Afternoon naps are so refreshing!
• It's always more fun to play cards if you have pretzels to snack on!
• Have a hobby and enjoy it whenever you can!

What's that smell?

Last week I got one of those email questionnaires from a friend. One question that really made me think was to list your favorite smells. Here's some of my answers:

• vanilla
• cinnamon
• hot wet concrete next to a swimming pool in Summer
• jasmine breezes on a warm evening
• Random's fur
• the smell of a heater or dryer
• my shampoo that smells like mint gumdrops (Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo)
• fresh copies from the copy machine
• the smell of a summer thunderstorm
• the first freesias of spring
• a new box of crayons
• a bag of lemons
• Monoi Tiare' soap from Tahiti (Monoi Tiare)
• Rosemary from the garden
• lavendar sprinkled with morning dew

Please feel free to list some of your favorites, too!

Just a quick update!

Oh, gosh! Everyone probably thought I'd fallen off the face of the Earth! But nope, I'm still here! I got sick *again* right after Christmas, and I think I'm finally going to be ok now! I still have a tiny bit of a cough, of course. Once they get ahold of me, they never go away! But I feel normal again and ready to get back into the groove!

I'm not going to share any funny stories or adventures today, just give you all a quick update! Matt quit his job to take another job working from home. So that will be wonderful for him with lots less stress. Of course the new job entails 5 or 6 humongous monster boxes full of files, and of course we have no room for them! I'm trying to get rid of some of my stuff to compensate, but that's always sooo hard for me! Wish me luck!

Random's hanging in there. He's such a sweet kitty and still looks healthy and happy. I realized that it's been over 6 months since he was diagnosed and I don't think the vet believed he would make it this long. But he's a strong kitty with lots of good care, so I'm sure that helps. I really treasure the time we have had together.

My job has been good. They are remodeling the area where I sit, so after that disruption is over things should be great! We are working on a huge project that should be ready for demo in 2 weeks and then we have about 2 more weeks to get it live. Whew! It will be a huge relief to get it done but lots of stress and long hours until then. And in the meantime my harddrive at work crashed! GAK--definitely something I didn't need right now--and the dang thing's ony 3 months old!

Luckily my home computer seems ok and is liking my new 400GB HD that we installed this weekend. Hopefully I'll have room for all my photos for awhile! Well, guess what? It's time to get ready for work!

More Holiday Cheer

I'm trying really hard to get into the swing of things for Christmas! I think I'm getting sick again, so please say a little prayer for me--I don't want to miss another month of things with another cold!

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday--we went to Matt's Dad's house for the day and played a fun Christmas Mystery game: "Who Killed Santa Claus?" It was fun dressing up and playing the different roles and figuring out clues! Vivi worked extra hard and got all the props and even made some fake Santa legs that were laid out under some packages to complete the theme!

I'm really sad we missed seeing Matt's mom for the holiday, but at least we did get to see her recently for her birthday party. Friday we made dinner at home for my parents and we even got to do a little holiday shopping this weekend!

This week it's the dreaded leftover turkey week! I had turkey on Sunday and Monday, and turkey soup on Saturday and Tuesday! Tomorrow I think it'll be quesadillas for a change (dare I make turkey ones?)

I wanted to share a couple of fun holiday photos we took over at Fashion Island on Sunday. It was such a beautiful day there! Going there to see the 115' tree (really—that's not a typo—it's a live tree and it's really that big!) will really put you in the mood for celebrating! If you look closely into the ornament you can see our reflection. Matt is like most Californians and wearing shorts to enjoy our beautiful Southern California sunshine. I'm always cold, so you can see me wearing a long-sleeved sweater and hat to keep warm in the frigid 65* weather!

Something's up with Jack!

Well, thank you Disney for helping me get my Christmas Mojo this year!

I have been feeling pretty darn stressed and not looking forward to Christmas at all. I thought I would be super-organized this year and do everything as early as possible, but then I got that darn cold. I'm still trying to get over it completely and it's been almost five weeks! Five weeks—how could it have gone by so quickly!? A bonus is that I stopped eating refined sugar when I got sick and it has been that long since I had any candy! The longest I've ever gone in my whole life! I'm trying my hardest to hold out until Thanksgiving, so wish me luck. Every day it is a little harder to resist, since I am feeling better now!

So anyways, since I've gotten sick I haven't done anything useful and the big day is closer and closer! And I am more and more stressed and turning into a regular humbug!

Tuesday night Matt and I went to Disneyland right after work so we could see the Haunted Mansion decorated for Christmas. I really love The Nightmare Before Christmas and think Danny Elfman's soundtrack is pure genius. It is one of my favorite albums of all time (and how can you resist a skeleton disguised as Santa?) I love the whole skeleton-Christmas theme of the movie and am in love with the thought of my beloved Haunted Mansion all dressed up! I've never actually seen it before this, but this year we have season passes so we could go.

Seeing the way Disney decorates Main Street really perked up my holiday spitits. They have a huge gold-festooned tree right in the town square that is really festive. I told Matt that it was prettier than the Fashion Island tree in Newport, but he didn't agree. After all, FI flys their humongous tree in from Norway (or wherever) each year and the Disney tree is fake. So Matt does have a point and he sure won that round! Real-tree-goodness always trumps plastic in my book. I know—call me a murderer and a tree killer, but I like a real tree!

Everything looks festive right now at Disney and the Haunted Mansion was so much fun. I loved the spooky-looking herald angels they have in the snow-filled graveyard—too cool! The Mansion was great fun despite the cutsie details they added. After all it's for kids, so I won't complain about a little cuteness for the holidays! So, thanks again, Disney and especially to you, Jack Skellington. I appreciate the Christmas boost.

On a side note, my blog got tagged by Nicole ! It's a fun game some people are playing on a message board I am part of . Thanks, Nicole for visiting my blog! My challenge was to post the 11th line of the 23rd or most recent post. I've been a little stressed out and under the weather, so finally, here it is: "along the path that leads between all the different temples. As we walked ". So stop by Nicole's blog and say "hi" if you get a chance. She has two cute kitties and it's worth a visit just to see her little furry friends!

Chased Out with a Rake!

I thought I'd share another of our Japan stories to make you smile. It's hard being an obnoxious tourist in a country so different from our own I tried hard to learn some things before we went; I read etiquette books and guide books, but I guess we can't help being American buffoons wherever we go! I apologize to the Japanese people for staring at people on your trains, laughing like hyenas in public places and just being morons while we were in your beautiful, refined country!

Kyoto has many beautiful temples and is a wonderful city to visit. We especially wanted to visit Daisen-In Temple, which has a Zen rock garden that is “designated as the special scenic beauty” and is part of a large complex of temples. There are majestic pine trees and historical buildings along the path that leads between all the different temples. As we walked we were captured by the beauty of it all. We saw a temple where the main gate was closed, but some people were entering through a miniature door where you had to bend over to enter. I smiled at the charming Alice in Wonderland feeling of it all and we happily bowed as we shuffled through. Johnny’s girlfriend and Japanese guide, Manami was with us so we felt like all was well.

There was a tiny garden complete with blooming plum trees and a small cemetery off to the side. I took a photo of the tombstones and Manami was shocked that I would do something so unlucky! Oops—I didn’t know that it was unlucky and I promised not to do it again. Right after that is when disaster struck, proving her point. We strolled out of the cemetery where the other people were praying and decided to look at the serene Zen garden that was there. Daisen-In did not allow photos, so I took a photo of this garden instead. We breathed in the tranquil surroundings oblivious of our transgression.

That’s when he noticed us. The groundskeeper saw us and did not like our presence one bit. He yelled at us in Japanese and Manami tried to apologize. We decided to make a graceful exit, but it was too late. We were clustered around and trying to file through the narrow pathway that led to the miniature door. The man was coming closer and he had a rake. He was madder than hell! He shook his at us rake and shouted as he ran. We trotted faster, trying to reach the sanctuary of the exit before he got to us. He shook his rake over his head. We ran faster and scrambled to get through the door. Finally we had made it to safety. Whew!

Later that day Manami told us that she didn’t think we were supposed to go in there, but since we wanted to go she thought it would be ok. Luckily we all escaped without being “raked!”

The Devil’s Dance Floor!

Her breath began to speak

As she stood right in front of me

The colour of her eyes

Were the colour of insanity

Crushed beneath her wave

Like a ship, I could not reach her shore

We're all just dancers on the Devil's Dance Floor

Well swing a little more, little more o'er the merry-o

Swing a little more, a little more next to me

Swing a little more, little more o'er the merry-o

Swing a little more, on the Devil's Dance Floor
~Flogging Molly~

I am completely and totally in love with the band, Flogging Molly. They are my favorite thing in the world right now—I listen to them over and over again. I have three CD’s in my car and pretty much all the time I am singing along and trying to dance while I’m driving. Many a traffic-jammed and gridlocked night have I gotten through with a smile because of the Mollys. Their brand of Irish Punk is just the thing to touch my heart and soul.

I recently saw them at the House of Blues in Anaheim—my second concert alone, and both of solo jaunts have been for the love of Molly. This time I wanted to get close to the band so I could watch them play and see their faces as they were working their magic. I decided to stand at the fringes of the pit, right against the sound booth. It had been a long time since I’d been in any pit—since the 80’s to be exact! But I wanted to feel the closeness and the passion of the music. I wanted to live and breathe the music with the crowd around me—dancing and flowing with the rhythm.

I had to wait almost 3 hours in my spot while the two opening bands played but it was worth the wait. Finally the show started. I was hot and dehydrated by then, but I didn’t care. The center of the pit swirled with madness, like the eye of a hurricane. The serious punks were dancing and gyrating to the music. I saw flashes of people before my eyes—like a movie where they show the heart of battle with all the noise and confusion. It was hard to focus on any one thing; there was so much going on at once. Through the whole thing my compatriots and I kept things moving. Push, push, PUSH! to keep from being crushed under the weight of sweaty angst-ridden fans. Dancing when I could, I spent most of my time pushing the punks back into the fray and let out the occasional “oomph” when someone crashed into me a little too hard. I was glad I had the wall at my back and this was a fairly tame crowd for a punk band.

A lust for life and love for the music filled the room. Push, push, OOMPH! Sweating and laughing the whole time as I pushed, I was in another world filled with wondrous hard-hitting Irish jigs. My face was red and I was sweating from exertion, but I felt alive and ready for anything. I felt a bond with every one there, especially the ones working the wall; I felt like our exertions served to keep the band playing. It was hard to dance but I managed a few steps now and again whenever I could catch my breath! Push, push, JIG! I could make out glimpses of the band as I was screaming along with the lyrics. The room took on a dreamlike quality as I saw the punks dancing and circling in slow motion to one of the ballads; they never stopped their expressive, almost violent movements; just slowed them down to match the beat. Push, push, LAUGH! As I smiled and felt the true joy of the music empowering me, I felt drunk from the pure joy of it all.

I enjoyed the camaraderie with my fellow-pushers. Some of the punks we’d let rest near us for a few moments. Then their time was up and they were ready to go back to the whirling steps of the melee. Some punks we tried to push back immediately—we wanted no part of them in our little haven. A small man with curly dark hair kept pushing against us. I christened him “Carrot-top” for his long shaggy bush of a head. The girl next to me and I both grimaced each time we had to push him away because we hated touching his sweat-drenched hair. Her boyfriend aptly re-named the guy “Chia-pet” and we all tried to keep him away from the wall. We gasped when a huge man came into the pit. He looked like a Sumo-wrestler and we knew we could never push him back into the circle. Luckily he didn’t come close enough to put us to the test. We quickly pushed away “too-drunk-to-dance” guy, hoping he wouldn’t lose his whiskey before he got away from us. We helped “tattooed guy” off the floor. We pushed and pushed and pushed in time to the music. We sang along and had a blast.

I picked up a lost shoe and tossed it into the center where hopefully its owner would find it again. I swayed and hopped and laughed and sang. I was definitely enjoying my time on “The Devil’s Dance Floor” as they sang pirate songs and sailing songs and Irish songs to touch the heart. Finally the time was up and the band had to leave. I was drenched in my own and others’ sweat. I was exhausted from standing and pushing, but my heart was full. I staggered to my car and drove home with merry tunes in my head to keep me company. I can’t wait ‘till Flogging Molly comes back to town so I can dance and feel alive again.