Tech Football Weekend: November 2009

Every fall we try to go to at least one Tech football game. They are a family tradition – Mom and Dad have had season tickets for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think we ever missed a home game, rain or shine, hot or cold. Thankfully, last weekend we had perfect football weather. At game time, temps were in the 60s and the sky was clear (and dark since it was 7 p.m.). Sure, Tech hasn’t had a great season, but they actually put up a good fight against #7 Boise St., losing by only 10 points, with a score of 38-28.

We only stayed for the first half, since about that time was when Benjamin normally goes to bed. Apparently all the exciting stuff happened in the second half, but thankfully we were able to see what we missed on tv. While we were there, Benjamin wasn’t very interested in the game itself, but he enjoyed hanging out with everyone. We all had a good time, cheering for the team, drinking hot chocolate, and watching replays on the new jumbotron.

Earlier in the day we had lunch at Ruston’s new Pho restaurant, and we were impressed! Chris, Brad, and Dad had fried rice, and Karen and I had the egg roll noodle bowl. Our dish consisted of noodles, cut up pieces of egg roll, a sweet sauce, etc. We also tried the spring rolls, which are served with a peanut sauce and were delicious. It’s nice for Ruston to add this authentic Asian cuisine to its list of food offerings.

We always make a point to eat some Johnny’s Pizza while we are in Ruston, and so we had dinner there Saturday night before attending a Tech men’s basketball pre-season exhibition game. The pizza was delicious, and the game was entertaining. Benjamin seems to like basketball better than football, just like me. He had fun dancing to the music during timeouts and clapping every time the team scored.

The rest of the weekend was spent catching up with friends and family, exploring the yard with Benjamin, and as usual when it comes to my parents’ house, watching a lot of college football. We especially enjoyed watching LSU lose to Alabama. (Sorry, Tiger fans, but that’s just how I was raised…)

Halloween 2009

We had a great time trick-or-treating with Benjamin on Saturday night. We had planned to go just as the sun was setting, but although weather.com listed 6:30 as the time for sunset, it didn’t actually get anywhere close to dark until 7:15 or so. For that reason, we were the only people trick-or-treating on our street from 6:30 to 7:30, and we made it home just in time to greet our first costumed kids at the door.

It seems like every year fewer and fewer people are turning on their porch light or displaying a jack-o-lantern as a sign that they are participating in the fun of trick-or-treating. In place of the many homes that used to display a simple pumpkin or scarecrow, there are now a few people that go all out, decorating their yards with tombstones, or spooky ghosts hanging from trees, or those giant inflatable characters. One home on our street had a yard decked out with spiders and ghosts, a strobe light, creepy music blaring from a stereo, and even spooky fog from a smoke machine! I don’t know if it was because we were out early, because so many people were at Fall Festivals, or because people were hiding out in a back room, but we only found about ten houses with lights on or decorations up. Thankfully, that was plenty for a toddler on his first Halloween.

Benjamin had a great time strolling down the sidewalk and up to our neighbors’ front doors. He never actually said “trick or treat,” but when they gave him candy, he would either sign “thank you,” or give them a sweet wave goodbye as he moved on to the next house. The monkey costume was a big hit, with Benjamin, us, and the neighbors. See below for pictures of all the fun we had.

Father and Son Bonding at the Park

We’ve been going to the park more often since the weather cooled down, and one day I tagged along with the camera while Brad and Benjamin explored the park together. I captured some sweet moments of Benjamin following Brad around, imitating him, and listening to him explain various sights and sounds. These two are going to have so much fun together in a few years, and probably get into a lot of trouble! :)

Texas State Fair 2009

Our first family portrait with Big Tex (and yes, he is kind of creepy).

Our first family portrait with Big Tex (and yes, he is kind of creepy).

Our family made a rather spur of the moment trip to the State Fair on Friday. We had wanted to go this year, but I didn’t realize until last week that this was the last weekend. So, we loaded Benjamin, his stroller, and the camera into the car and merged into the Texas-OU traffic to enjoy a day of fun and food.

The Shows and Special Attractions We Saw:

  • Jump! Ultimate Dog Show – We especially enjoyed the frisbee-catching dogs, and were impressed by the speed of the racing dogs, but got bored with the dogs who jumped into a pool of water while catching a frisbee.
  • World on a String – We attended this marionette puppet show on Cara’s recommendation, and it was different and interesting. Benjamin and I didn’t get to see the whole show, though, due to a major diaper leak. We did make it back to the theater in time to see the Wizard of Oz characters and the patriotic grand finale.
  • Children’s Barnyard Petting Zoo – This was Benjamin’s favorite thing about the fair. He acted like he owned the place, running from one stall to the next, fearlessly reaching his hand through the partitions to pet each animal (with us keeping a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t endanger himself). One of his first encounters was with a curious giraffe, who was particularly interested in Benjamin’s shoe. At that point Brad was holding Benjamin, and the giraffe stuck its head through the bars of its stall to get a better angle on his Nikes. At first it was funny, but we decided to move on when the giraffe’s sniffing turned into what looked like chewing!! Benjamin remained intrigued, if cautious, through the whole proceeding. He went on to see other animals, including a camel, an ostrich, a very shaggy sheep, and several goats.

The Food – The State Fair is the one time of year that I throw caution to the wind and eat all the fried food that my heart desires. Actually, after all the fried fare I eat at the fair, I don’t want anymore of it until the next time the fair rolls around. Here’s a list (thankfully short!) of all the food we bought with our coupons.

  • Corny dog! - As usual, this was our favorite thing. Fair corn dogs are so much better than any others I’ve had. Maybe it’s because we’re eating them outside, maybe it’s because you can slather them with as much ketchup and mustard as you like, or maybe there really is a magic ingredient in the batter that makes them so tasty!
  • Fried latte – This concoction was disappointing. We were expecting something like a fried ball of dough filled with a frozen cappuccino, but instead it was a scoop of cappuccino ice cream topped with instant coffee shavings, whipped cream, and bite-sized pieces of fried dough. It still tasted good, but it just didn’t meet our expectations.
  • Fried pickles – We hunted high and low, from one end of the midway to the other, before we found the (apparently) one vendor selling these. And unfortunately, they didn’t meet our expectations. We always enjoy the fried pickles at The Dawghouse in Ruston, and these were no match. The pickles were sliced too thin, and they were way too salty. At least there was ranch dressing to mask some of the saltiness.
  • Funnel cake – We shared one with Benjamin on our way to the parking lot. As powdered sugar flew through the air, we basked in the yummy goodness of pure fat and sugar. It was, indeed, a good day at the fair.
  • Coulda shoulda woulda… – I wish I had tried the fried butter (just so bizarre!) and the fried peach cobbler, but we had absolutely no energy left (and no room in our stomachs!).

Here are some pictures from our day at the fair. I didn’t mention that it was perfect weather: blue sky, slight breeze, and temps in the upper 60s. We always complain that it’s too hot to go to the fair, so I’m glad we made a point to go during this unseasonably pleasant October.

Trip to Ruston: August 2009

Benjamin shows off his monkey costume

Benjamin shows off his monkey costume

We took a rather impromptu trip to Ruston last weekend. Every time we travel with Benjamin, I am aware of how much he has changed since the last trip. It seems like every trip is a little easier, we pack a little less, and we’re all a little happier as a result. On our way to Ruston, Benjamin slept for about 45 minutes, during which time Brad and I enjoyed the quiet and sipped on McCafe lattes from McDonalds (they are my new coffee beverage of choice). When he was awake he was mostly content to hang out in his car seat. I entertained him for an hour by feeding him a Lunchable (pieces of turkey, cheese, and Ritz Bitz) one bite at a time.We also listened to his personalized kids’ CD (all the songs were recorded using the name “Benjamin” – he loves it!), danced to songs playing on the radio, and played with the stockpile of toys I brought along.

When we arrived at Mom and Dad’s house, it didn’t take long for Benjamin to discover the stairs. He had never been interested in them before this trip, but he was brave enough to scurry all the way to the top in the 30 seconds it took me to bring in some luggage. I was surprised when I heard footsteps running down the hall upstairs, and Brad was sitting at the computer downstairs. Fortunately, Benjamin was too scared to climb down the stairs by himself, so Brad gave him a patient lesson in how to do so safely. He played on the stairs a few times during the weekend, but we mostly kept them blocked off with some chairs. Other than that, he didn’t get into too much trouble around Mom and Dad’s house.

Here were some of the highlights of our visit:

  • Food – Eating always plays a big role on our trips to Ruston, and this one was no different. There are always our old favorites that we like to revisit, plus new places that have opened up. Here’s all the eating out we did:
    • Johnny’s Pizza one night for dinner
    • Lunch at The Dawghouse with Dad. (I love their burgers, and especially the jalapeno cheese bread they serve them on. The fried pickles with ranch dressing were also delicious!)
    • Beignets and coffee for breakfast one morning at Crescent City Coffee House.
    • All the fried food that our hearts could have desired at Route 33; I had an excellent fried catfish platter with hush puppies, french fries, cole slaw, and bean soup.
    • The famous Humphrey at the relatively new yogurt/sandwich shop Counter Culture. Very cute place, and delicious treat! The Humphrey is yogurt topped with honey, granola, and your choice of three fresh fruits.
  • Entertainment
    • Brad and I left Benjamin in Mom and Dad’s more than capable hands on Saturday afternoon and joined Leah for a matinee showing of The Time Traveler’s Wife. I loved the book, and while the movie couldn’t live up to it, it was entertaining.
    • Saturday night after Benjamin went to sleep, Brad and I joined Leah again, this time for sushi and drinks at 102 a Bistro. A fun, relaxing time was had by all.
    • We also enjoyed a visit with our friends James and Traci, who it’s nice to see in person after we spend so much time connecting with them on Facebook. And Benjamin and I went over to my childhood/college friend Laura’s house for a quick visit as well. We love catching up with friends when we are in town.
  • Shopping
    • We were lucky to be in town during the huge kids’ stuff consignment sale at the civic center. I joined sister-in-law Karen for some bargain hunting, and walked away with a super cute Halloween costume for Benjamin (he’s going to be a monkey!), a fun tool box/truck, and several items of clothing, all for $35.
  • The Haircut
    • At 18 months old, Benjamin finally got his first haircut. And the event happened in Mom and Dad’s backyard, with an audience that included me, Brad, Karen, and Mom, while Dad acted as the barber. Benjamin was totally chilled out during the proceedings, sitting in a high chair with a barber’s towel wrapped around him. I’m happy to report that Benjamin’s hair is still curly, but short enough that people are no longer telling me what a cute little girl I have. :)
  • Aside from all the eating and entertaining activities, we enjoyed just hanging out with Mom and Dad, and Karen and baby Jude. (Chris was out of town, but we did see him briefly on Saturday evening.)

July 2009 Update

This picture was taken right after we introduced Benjamin to this play house. It is a hand-me-down from his cousin Anna.

This picture was taken right after we introduced Benjamin to this play house. It is a hand-me-down from his cousin Anna.

You may have noticed that I haven’t had much to say on the blog this month. That’s because we’ve slowed down after a busy month of traveling in June, and are enjoying being back in the daily routine at home. That being said, I thought I’d let you know what it is that we’ve been doing.

Brad

  • Brad has been traveling a good bit for work this month. He is involved in some clinical trials for his company, so some of his trips have been related to collecting data for that. This week he’ll be in Minneapolis, where he looks forward to observing his first animal testing. Last week he was in L.A., and the week before that he was in Austin. While in Austin, he did some work, but it was also a “team building” trip – he and some co-workers went tubing on a river.
  • We were able to catch up with a high school friend of Brad’s this weekend who is in town for work. Brad and he went out for dinner, while I stayed home with Benjamin so they could chat without toddler interruptions. :)
  • He has also completed at least two home projects lately. One was the half-finished (until now) process of moving a cable that connects the Tivo to the home network into the attic. Brad had to create a new outlet in the living room and the office in order to run the cable through the walls and attic, and now that it’s done, there’s no longer a cable running across the living room floor into the office! Most recently, he replaced the lawnmower blade when the old one got bent after a run-in with our garden bed metal liner. We agree that it’s more likely that a task will be finished if we do it right away instead of putting it off for days or weeks. I was proud of him for checking these items off his to-do list.

Emily

  • I’ve had a good bit of free time on my hands this summer, since I’m not teaching any classes or doing in writing for Mattel. While Benjamin naps, I do a lot of blogging and Facebooking, but I also find time to read. I have more motivation to do so since I am in a summer book club. Last month we read Same Kind of Different As Me, which was excellent. We met at Olive Garden for dessert one night and had a nice time chatting and discussing the book. This month’s book is Water for Elephants, which tells the story of a man who worked as an animal caretaker for a traveling circus during the Great Depression. I’m about a third of the way through it and have been enjoying it.
  • I’ve also been making my way through some tv shows. I had been making good progress with my re-watching of Lost, starting at season one, but about half way through season three, I got interested in Twin Peaks, that strange murder mystery/drama from the early ’90s. I discovered that it is currently airing on a couple of cable networks. I have watched about half of the series so far and am enjoying it. (I watched the show when it originally aired, but it is fun to watch it again.) And finally, after seeing the set of True Blood during our Warner Bros. studio tour in L.A., I decided to give this vampire show another shot. I’ve been enjoying it more this time, and I find it more interesting because it is set in North Louisiana, an area that (as far as I know) has never been the spotlight of a tv series. It’s been fun to hear my hometown and the surrounding area referenced during the episodes. The setting makes up for the horrible southern accents and the cheap looking vampire fangs.
  • Pretty soon I need to get busy planning my fall courses, as well as decluttering the house. If the weather ever cools off, Benjamin and I will venture out more to the park. For now, we are content to stay inside most of the day, and to venture out once or twice a day to run errands or to visit a friend.
  • My friend Leah was in town last weekend, and Mandy, she, and I had fun going to see a great movie called 500 Days of Summer followed by a leisurely dinner at Mi Cocina.

Benjamin

  • Last week I took Benjamin to the doctor after he had been feverish, fussy, and not napping well for a couple of days. I was afraid he had yet another ear infection, but it turns out his ears were totally clear! All his pediatrician could find was that he had an irritated throat. She tested for strep, and it was negative, so she suggested just giving him Tylenol for the fever, give him plenty of liquids, and just wait for it to pass. Thankfully, his mystery illness was over a couple of days later, and he’s back to his happy self again now.
  • Benjamin has finally ventured into the world of solid foods. He has a few back teeth coming in, which are helping him to chew little bites of veggies, pasta, fruit, and cheese. We’ve experimented with some of the Graduates Lil’ Entrees, which come with a main dish and a veggie. I learned today that he really likes green beans! This is funny, since early on, green beans were the only pureed baby food he didn’t like.
  • He’s also starting to drink more milk. (Ever since we transitioned from bottle to sippy cup, he hasn’t been very interested in drinking a lot of it.) Last night, for the first time, he finished his after dinner/bedtime sippy cup of milk. It’s no surprise that he loves apple juice, and we’ve been keeping him hydrated with water during the summer heat wave.
  • Speaking of the heat wave, we purchased a ten dollar inflatable baby pool, and Benjamin has already enjoyed it a few times. He loves to splash around in the water, and giggles in surprise when it splashes onto his face.
  • We’ve visited with friends a good bit this summer. A week doesn’t go by that we don’t drop in to see Natalee and her two boys, Simeon and Caleb and we’ve also started a weekly visit with Veronica and her son Van, who is only about five months younger than Benjamin. And we see Cara and Benjamin’s cousins a couple of times a week. Benjamin loves playing with other kids.
  • At home, he loves snuggling with us, his stuffed animals, and Chloe. We have yet to capture it on video, but we love the cute “ahhhh” sound he makes when he gives hugs and snuggles.
  • I’ve stayed in shape this summer trying to keep up with Benjamin as he explores the house. If there’s a door or cabinet open, he sees it as an invitation to investigate.
  • We’ve gone to storytime at the library a couple of times this summer. Benjamin is very shy during the songs, huddling down with his face buried in my shoulder, but he loosens up and his eyes get bright and alert when actual story time arrives. Apparently he doesn’t like the felt board stories, because this morning when the librarian put Humpty Dumpty up on a wall of felt, he did his signing for “all done.” He was ready to get back to the books!
  • He prefers to be where I am, rather than isolated in his playroom, but he still plays in there a few times a day. He becomes a little more “hands-off” everyday, as he learns how to entertain himself where I am, which makes it easier for me to cook dinner, wash dishes, fold laundry, etc.

I could say more, but as you can see, I don’t have much exciting to talk about. Instead, I’ll leave you with some pictures that haven’t made their way on here yet.

Family Gathering: July 3-4, 2009

My dad’s parents (Maw Maw and Paw Paw to me) were married on July 4, 1931 (I think the year is correct). For as long as I can remember (and before I was born), the extended family has gathered on Independence Day for a double celebration: the patriotic holiday and their wedding anniversary. When I was a kid, back in the ’80s, it wasn’t uncommon for all five of my dad’s siblings and their families to join with us at Maw Maw and Paw Paw’s house for a weekend of catching up, drinking lots of coffee, and eating fresh watermelon outside at picnic tables. Even though Maw Maw and Paw Paw have passed away, my aunts and uncles still often get together on July 4 to continue the family tradition.

And so, it seemed fitting to have our family reunion on that date. The reunion was downgraded to “gathering” status when not very many people were able to be there, but we had a great time. The participants: Brad, Benjamin, and I; my parents; Cara and her family; Uncle Arlen and Aunt Alice, Aunt Willene and Uncle Lee, my cousin Steve and his family, and my cousin Dana and her family. Final count: three of Maw Maw and Paw Paw’s six children and their spouses, four of their grandchildren and spouses, and nine of their great grandchildren. While that’s a fine representation of my grandparents’ legacy, there are many other grandchildren and great grandchildren out there. All in all, they have six children, 20 grandchildren, and 24 great grandchildren! Hopefully we will have a more official family reunion some time soon, because all those people represent a lot of memories worth revisiting!

Home base for this gathering was Leesville, LA, where we stayed at my uncle’s hotel. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant on Friday night, followed by dessert in one of the hotel conference rooms, where the kids were more free to run around while the grownups visited. On Saturday we drove the half hour to Toledo Bend (a huge body of water that is on the border of East Texas and West Louisiana. We spent the day at my cousin Steve’s camphouse. Since it was 100 degrees that day, we would alternate between hanging out outside and cooling off in the air conditioned house. He has a lot of land that’s right next to the water, which made for some nice scenery while we ate and played. Here’s a rundown of what we did:

  • The Feast – Seriously, there was a crazy amount of food. Name a type of meat, we had it. Brisket, ham, chicken, sausage, ribs… There were also loads of sides. After we digested the lunch for awhile, we enjoyed homemade vanilla ice cream (my favorite!) with brownies. But wait: there was also a peach cobbler and some other sweets.
  • The Baby Pool - Benjamin and the other small kids had fun cooling off in a tropical themed baby pool. This was Benjamin’s first experience in a kid pool, and he loved it!
  • The Boat – When I heard the water was “very choppy,” I decided to stay on shore, but several of the family members went out for boat rides or tubing.
  • The Band – Steve’s camphouse is in a little community of similar homes, and the neighborhood had organized a live band for the day. It was fun to hear them perform from the comfort of the porch or in the shade of the trees around Steve’s place.
  • The Nap - I was thrilled that Benjamin took a nap, even though he was in an unfamiliar place with lots of noise. When he woke up, he was super groggy. He sat inside in one of his second cousins’ toddler papasan chairs for like 30 minutes, just chilling out and listening to the adults’ conversations. He was very cute. (See picture below.)
  • The Hammock – There was a very comfy hammock out by the water, and everyone took turns relaxing in it. Despite the heat, this was still an enjoyable activity because it was in the shade and there was a breeze blowing. (See sweet picture of Brad and Benjamin below.)
  • The Fishing – Steve took some of the kids down to the docks to try their hand at fishing. Even though they didn’t catch anything they had fun.
  • The Puzzle – Cara’s kids enjoy working puzzles, and so they tackles like a 500 piece puzzle while we were there. They only finished about 1/3 of it, but I guess the joy was more in the process than in the finished product.
  • The Watermelon – We finished the day with some delicious and refreshing watermelon. There’s no better fruit to eat outside on a hot day than watermelon!

Staying outside all day isn’t my first choice on a scorching summer day, but enjoying good food and family made it worth it. That night we took a dip in the hotel pool and had pizza. It was fun to not have anywhere to go or anything specific to do. Sometimes it’s nice to just be. Saturday and Sunday morning we ate breakfast at a local place called The Waffle Shoppe. The second morning, Mom and Dad were excited to run into a former backup catcher for the L.A. Dodgers, who was eating breakfast there with the Little League team that he coaches. Small world! Sunday morning after breakfast, the family all went their separate ways. Brad, Benjamin, and I made our way up to I-20 to return to Dallas. After nearly a week of traveling, it was nice to be back home.

Here are some pictures of our family gathering:

Escape to L.A.: Day Four

All good things must come to an end, and so came the last day of my fantastic weekend getaway to L.A. We managed to fit in one last excursion before I packed my bags and headed to the airport.

  • 9:15-10:45 a.m. – Lindsay and I made our way to Venice Beach for a brisk morning walk. We parked a few blocks inland, then meandered through the canal walkways. It’s a beautiful area that I had never seen before. There’s a reason it’s called Venice Beach. Like Venice, Italy, this area has a series of canals, and they are bordered by beautiful homes. Most of the residents have a small dock and a canoe just outside of their front door. I took lots of pictures of this quaint, picturesque area (see below). Once we got to the boardwalk, the atmosphere changed quite drastically. The beautiful homes, waterways, and flowers were replaced by the strange characters that inhabit the Venice Beach ocean front area: body builders, homeless people, street musicians, vendors, people on stilts… There was a little of everything. My favorite aspect of this area is that there are colorful murals on the sides of the buildings (see pictures below). After we walked for awhile, it was time to head back to the apartment so I could prepare for my journey home.
  • 12:30-1:30 p.m. – Lindsay dropped me off at the airport, and with no line, I made it through security in about five minutes. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that my flight had been delayed by about 30 minutes. This made me nervous, since I had already been facing only a 55 minute layover in Salt Lake City. With the delay, that would cut it down to 25 minutes. I entertained myself by drinking a latte and listening to the French conversation going on next to me between a cute little girl and her Papa.
  • 1:40 Pacific time – 4:15 Mountain time – My flight eventually left LAX, and made up some time in the air. I read a bit and listened to music during the relatively short flight.
  • 4:25-4:45 p.m. – Not knowing how far I had to go, I made a mad dash through the airport to go from Terminal B to Terminal C, gate 4, where my flight to DFW was departing. By the time I got there, it was already boarding, but I still had time to make a few phone calls. It was nice to not have to wait a long time at the gate.
  • 5:00 mountain time – 8:20 p.m. central time – I really enjoyed this flight, milking this last little bit of my vacation for all it was worth. I read a good chunk of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (great book so far!), listened to music, and enjoyed one of those fun little snack boxes and some red wine. The combination of the wine and music was very enjoyable. I cranked up the volume and sailed away on tunes that included The Gabe Dixon Band, Imogen Heap, Jump Little Children, Offspring (okay, so they weren’t all mellow songs), Live, etc. My experience on the plane was so different this time from my last trip to L.A., when I was holding Benjamin in my lap the whole time and trying to keep him from screaming. It was so nice to just be for a few hours.
  • 8:30-9:00 p.m. – My brother Patrick picked me up from the airport and drove me home. (Thanks, Pete!) I walked in the front door just in time to see Benjamin come out of the bathtub wrapped cozily in a towel. An exhausted Brad (by the way, he did a fantastic job taking care of Benjamin all weekend) handed the boy over to me, and I hugged him close. It was good to be home.

Escape to L.A.: Day Three

After Friday’s full slate of activities, Saturday’s theme was relaxation. Here’s how it all went:

  • 8:00-9:30 a.m. – We all slept in and lazed around for awhile. It’s funny when three people in one apartment are all on Facebook together, on three separate computers.
  • 9:45-11:15 a.m. – Lindsay and I drove to Santa Monica and had a late breakfast at the Omelette Parlor. She has seen Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer (stars of True Blood) there before, but this time the only excitement was when a groom arrived to greet his wedding party, and they rewarded him with an enthusiastic (and startling, for the rest of us!) round of applause. This restaurant now as the distinction of serving me the best bacon I’ve ever had. It was thick cut, and crispy, just the way I like it, with a lot of flavor. It came as part of my “two, two, and two” platter: two eggs, two strips of bacon, two pieces of French toast. I also enjoyed a latte in a big mug, and Lindsay had her favorite, a bowl of granola, fresh fruit, and yogurt.
  • 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – We pampered ourselves with pedicures at Deluxe Nail Bar and Spa. My deluxe pedicure included a marine mask (see picture below of my blue legs wrapped in plastic wrap – looks weird, but felt great!), a ten minute leg and foot massage, plus the basics. I occasionally go for pedicures in Dallas, but it was so nice to relax for an hour during this pedicure, and then be able to carry that relaxation on out into the rest of the day, rather than having to rush home and jump right back into frenzied mom mode.
  • 1:00-2:00 p.m. – We skipped lunch and went straight to dessert at Pinkberry, the very popular California yogurt chain. Similar to Yogurtville in Plano, Pinkberry serves yogurt with various fresh fruits and other toppings. It makes for a very pretty and tasty treat. I had the coconut yogurt with fresh mango, blueberries, and raspberries. I would definitely go back!
  • 2:15-3:30 p.m. – It was a perfect day to be at the beach, and so we packed up some folding chairs, books, and water and headed to the sandy shores of the Pacific. We would have stayed longer, but didn’t want to get a sunburn. (Don’t worry, though, I applied plenty of sunscreen to protect my fair skin.) I hate to rub it in to all of you who were suffering through the Dallas heat and humidity at the time, but being at the beach was heavenly: it was in the low to mid 70s, breezy, perfectly blue sky… I actually got chilly at one point. It was nice to just stare out at the waves, listen to the sounds of the water and the seagulls, read a book, and chat with Lindsay. Ah…
  • 4:00-10:00 p.m. – The rest of the day was spent relaxing at Sean and Lindsay’s apartment, except when we all went to dinner at an Italian place nearby. We all had pizza, which was very tasty. We were a little confused because although it was an Italian restaurant, all of the servers were either Hispanic or Asian, and there were several blatant errors on the menu, such as “chilly peppers” instead of “chile peppers.” It was nice to just hang out after a day in the sun.

Escape to L.A.: Day Two

Friday, June 26: Day Two of my getaway vacation. This was the day we had a lot planned to do, and we managed to fit it all in, and still have plenty of time to relax afterwards.

  • 7:15 a.m. – Lindsay and I left her apartment bright and early, to make sure we would make it to WB Studios on time for our tour (we had reserved tickets). We didn’t have any major traffic, so it only took us like 45 minutes to get there.
  • 8:20-10:30 a.m. – Since we arrived at Warner Bros. so early, we got on an earlier tour, which worked out nicely, since it gave us more flexibility the rest of the day. The studio tour was very fun and interesting. Being the tv buffs that we are, we strategically sat immediately behind our tour guide, as he drove us around the studio backlots and soundstages, so we could ask him plenty of questions and lobby for a peek at our favorite shows’ sets. We needn’t have worried, since the only time that anyone else on our tour (there were only like 8 of us) spoke up was when he asked if anyone is a fan of Two and a Half Men. One previously silent woman exuberantly yelled: “YES! YES! I LOVE that show!” And so, much to our chagrin, our guide led us to the Two and a Half Men soundstage. (In case you don’t know, our opinion is that this show is an example of the lowest form of comedy.) On the way into the soundstage, I attempted to persuade our guide to take us next door, where The Big Bang Theory is filmed, but he muttered something about it being under construction, and Lindsay and I had to settle for our least favorite of the studio’s shows instead. Not to worry, though. things picked up soon after, when we got a glimpse into the studios props department, which was full of elaborate furniture, strange statues, and anything else you could think of. Our guide also took us to a room that is an exact replica of the Central Perk set from Friends. They basically took everything from that set, including all the furniture, wall hangings, lamps, etc., and rebuilt the set. You really feel like you are in the Central Perk, and that was fun. Other highlights of the tour: driving past a swampy, jungle area and Merlotte’s bar (both filming locations for the HBO show True Blood), touring the remnants of the town of Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls) – now being used for a new show called Eastwick, and browsing props and costumes from the Harry Potter movies at the studio museum. Also at the museum we saw Christian Bale and Heath Ledger’s Batman and Joker costumes, and several life-size wax replicas of Mr. Smith from The Matrix, which were used when filming the scenes where Neo battled all the Mr. Smiths at once. Our tour was an illuminating look into the behind the scenes workings and history of the studio.
  • 11:00-11:10 a.m. – We made our way from WB Studios to the Hollywood area, specifically an outdoor shopping mall called The Grove. When we went to check on the movie times, we saw that Away We Go was playing at 11:15, which meant we had to make a quick decision of whether to see the movie and then eat lunch, or eat lunch and entertain ourselves for 3 hours until the 2:30 showing, which is when we’d originally planned to go. We wisely chose to see the movie at 11:15.
  • 11:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. – As is usually the case with morning matinees, there were only about six people in the theater, and so we enjoyed our movie and buttered popcorn in an utterly distraction free environment. The movie stars Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, who play a couple expecting their first child who take a cross country road trip in search of the perfect place to start their new life as parents. They travel everywhere from Phoenix to Montreal to Miami, and encounter some of the quirkiest characters you’ll ever see in a movie. It’s a bittersweet, but often hilarious movie about family dysfunction, parenting, and what makes a place “home.” It also has a great soundtrack!
  • 1:15-2:30 p.m. – After the movie we wandered over to the adjacent Farmer’s Market, where after much deliberation, we chose a French crepe stand for lunch. We sat at the counter, where Lindsay enjoyed a panini and I had a crepe filled with cheddar cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Right across from us was a pastry stand, which displayed scrumptious looking treats, but we resisted them. Next we walked through the market area, then back over to The Grove, where we leisurely browsed through the books at Barnes & Noble.
  • 3:00-4:00 p.m. – Since we had walked off some of the calories from our lunch, we then drove to another area of town to Pane e Vino, an Italian restaurant known for its inviting, relaxing patio. We had a lovely experience eating dessert on the nearly empty patio. However, there was also some exciting celebrity spotting. As we walked in to find the hostess, we passed a table where an older black man was seated, and I immediately recognized him as Quincy Jones, the legendary music producer. What gave it away, you ask? Well, the tinted glasses, the large chain and medallion around his neck, and the shirt unbuttoned to his chest (not typical for most 76 year olds) were my first hints. He was there eating with what appeared to be his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. When they left, Quincy was hand in hand with his grandson, who must have been about two years old and was very cute. Quincy was also wearing all black, perhaps because he’s in mourning over the death of his friend Michael Jackson. Anyway, I was glad that I spotted at least one celebrity on my trip. (My first celeb spotting in L.A. happened a couple of years ago, when I made eye contact with James Denton, the plumber from Desperate Housewives, as we passed each other at LAX.) Once Quincy and his family left the restaurant, we happily focused on our delicious desserts. Lindsay had caramel cream flan, and I had tiramasu and a cappuccino. I must say, it was the best tiramasu I’ve ever had. Pane e Vino really had great atmosphere, and on a day when the sky was blue and temps were in the low 70s, it was a perfect place to enjoy the afternoon.
  • Before I move on, let me share some interesting facts that we learned about Quincy Jones, when we looked him up on Wikipedia after encountering him at the restaurant: his middle name is Delight, he produced Thriller, he produced and conducted “We Are the World,” he composed the musical score for the 1967 film In Cold Blood, and he’s never learned to drive. He’s a very interesting person with many accomplishments!
  • 4:30-10:30 – General hanging out and relaxing at the apartment, followed by a dinner of baked potatoes. We rounded out the evening by watching the Liam Neeson movie Taken. I will reserve my full opinions of it for a post on Eclaire Fare, but let me just say that the movie’s first mistake was not only casting Maggie Grace (Shannon on Lost) as a 17 year old, but in making her character behave like a ten year old, which was very awkward. Despite this major flaw, the movie was entertaining and had an intriguing premise. It was a nice way to wind down from the busy day.

Now enjoy these pictures of our day:

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