The happiest place on earth

Well. Life got a little hairy again and I stopped blogging for a couple of months. But I'm back.

Right now, life is grand. We're on summer break right now and have about three more glorious weeks of freedom before we have to go back. Lance and I celebrated the well deserved break by flying out to California as soon as school ended. We had a fantastic week at Universal Studios, the LA Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, Knott's Berry Farm, and California Adventure. And of course, no trip to the area is complete without a couple of days at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. It was Lance's first trip to the world of Disney and he was not disappointed. He's already ready to go back. :) Anyway, some highlights from our trip:
So as I said, we flew out of Hawaii as soon as we possibly could. We actually were in California by 5 am on the first official day of vacation. We busted ass at work before we left because we knew that absolutely everything had to be finished before we left and we both didn't sleep well on the plane so we were pretty exhausted by the time we got there. Unfortunately, we weren't able to check into our hotel until 3 and oddly enough, not many places were open at 5 am. We ended up eating breakfast at McDonald's and driving around LA. We also decided to get our trip to Trader Joe's out of the way since it was one of the few places open before 11 am. We bought some omiyage and much to my delight, found one of the yarn stores that I wanted to go to. The people here were really friendly and helpful and I had tons of fun poking around their yarn. Lance took a short nap on one of their comfy chairs while I shopped. We ended up going to a mall to kill the last few hours before we could check into our hotel.
On our second day, we went to Universal Studios. We had decided to pay a little extra for front of line passes and it was totally worth it. The passes allowed us to jump to the head of line for the attractions and gave us the opportunity for behind the scenes access for many of the shows. We went pretty early in the season and the area schools weren't on summer break yet so the crowds weren't too bad. The new Simpsons ride was pretty awesome and the tram tour was just as enjoyable as I remembered it. I got soaked on the Jurassic Park ride and as Lance was pretty dry, he found this immensely funny. Between the wetness and the looking of terror on my face as we plunged towards our death, the picture came out pretty funny so Lance purchased it. For some reason I managed to get soaked on all the rides on our trip where getting wet was remotely possible.
On day three, we went to the LA Zoo and Griffith Observatory. The LA Zoo was humangous and I'm glad we decided to visit it. The habitats were so much more natural than the Honolulu Zoo habitats and the way they have it set up allows visitors to really get a good look at the animals. They have this alligator there named Reggie that they actually got from a lake...in a California park. We also had fun distinguishing the nannies in the zoo from the mothers/grandmothers.
We switched hotels on Day 4 and were pleased that the hotel's promise of being right across the street of Disneyland was most definitely true. We dropped off our car at the new hotel and went to California Adventure. We had planned our California Adventure/Disneyland days before we left using Ride Max and our planning really paid off. Using the itinerary from Ride Max and taking advantage of as many Fast Passes as possible, our ride wait times were minimal. The longest wait we had was at the Toy Story ride and there was little we could do about it since it was a relatively new ride and Fast Passes weren't available here. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go on the Tower of Terror and I was contemplating making a run for it the entire time that we were in line. But you know what? It was an awesome ride. We followed a poor little 6 year old girl who was sobbing as we left the ride. We actually saw this kind of thing quite a bit where kids were taken on inappropriate rides and ended up sobbing as they left the ride. Lance took quite a bit of video on our trip and we have one that he took on California Screamin' which was the hugest rollercoaster. One of the coolest rides was Soarin' Over California were you "hang-glided" over California. It was really realistic and I found myself lifting my foot a few times so I wouldn't hit the virtual mountains.
I was really looking to Day 5 of our trip - Knott's Berry Farm. I love Knott's. I love the historic feel of the park and I love that the crowds aren't nearly as bad as they are at the Disney parks. When we first got there, we were able to ride the log ride three times before the line started to get a little long (we were trying to take the best picture possible). I convinced Lance that we had to pan for gold and $7 and 20 minutes later, we each had discovered gold! Hopefully we can retire on our riches.
We spent days 6 and 7 at Disneyland. Lance got his first pair of Mickey ears and I got another pair since I got my last pair when I was four. We also picked up a "1st Visit" button for him from the Town Hall and he proudly wore both throughout the park. We had developed itineraries using Ride Max and used as many Fast Passes as possible for Disneyland as well and like at California Adventure, we were glad we did. I highly recommend downloading Ride Max to anyone who's planning to visit the Disney parks. We had to zoom around the park to meet our itinerary on the first day but our wait times were minimal and we got to slow down on the second day. There are no words to describe the greatness of Disney. They really go above and beyond to make it seem like you're not just in an amusement park but in a completely different world. What I love about Disney is that they do everything better than everyone else. They really have created the happiest place on earth.

American Idol Top 6, well, no, Top 7

First off, I don't know why the judges chose to save Matt Giraud. He's not going to win and the judges will be kicking themselves if Adam, Kris, or Allison have a crappy night. This so should be the Top 6 instead of the Top 7. And hello, it's disco night. Bad things happen on disco night. Let's see if they can at least manage to keep the show to the hour...haha, okay, I guess they're dealing with it by eliminating the video introductions. Let's hope that means they're letting all of the judges speak tonight.

Lil Rounds: Wow, this was a great karaoke version of I'm Every Woman. Did she change the song at all? For real, Lil Rounds is the biggest disappointment for me. She's not as bad as some of the other contestants but I had high hopes for her. Time for her to go home, yes? Oh look, the judges agree with me. Thank goodness they're all speaking tonight. Haha, she doesn't look sad, she looks like she's gonna flip out again. No itunes purchase.

Kris Allen: Wow, I really liked this arrangement. He actually managed to turn this song into something contemporary. itunes purchase.

Danny Gokey: He sounded really off in the beginning. I like Danny Gokey and he sang this song decently enough, but eh. It didn't excite me. I just don't think I'm going to remember this in the morning. And at the end of everything, I just don't think he's going to win. He's just missing...something. No itunes purchase.

Allison Iraheta: WTH is Allison wearing? Who's dressing her? Seriously, whoever's in charge of making these people look decent needs to be fired. Wow, I didn't even recognize this song until she got to the chorus. I loved how she managed to make this song more rock-y. It's funny how I forget how old she is until she's done singing. I really loved the performance, minus the outfit and the, well, the song itself. No itunes purchase.

Adam Lambert: Okay, Adam's back to the clean cut look. Oh, Paula, dry your eyes, it wasn't fantabulousy good. It was good, but cry your eyes out good? No. No itunes purchase.

Matt Giraud: Haha, what an appropriate song for Matt - Staying Alive. Is he purposely trying to be like Justin Timberlake? Did he change the song at all? I can't watch him, he reminds me of a werewolf. Oh, Simon's right. It reeked of desperation. No itunes purchase.

Anoop Dawg: Ahh...another person who needs to go home this week. What's up with the facial hair tonight? He reminds me of a teenage boy who's all proud that he's a big boy and can grow facial hair. Good lord, he sounds really bad tonight. Is he even trying anymore? What is Randy talking about? It sounded totally off. I actually liked the arrangement and I would buy it if Anoop was able to sing it better. What in the world are these judges talking about? Are my ears off tonight? I feel like I've been disagreeing with them all night. Oh, nevermind. Simon agrees with me so it must not be me. No itunes purchase.

All in all, disco night wasn't as bad as it had the potential to be. Did anyone else notice that the host dude who loves to hear himself speak, crap, I can't remember his name...oh. Did anyone else notice that Ryan Seacrest didn't sit down to chat with all of the contestants. That's not cool. Some of the contestants are getting way more airtime, giving them more of an opportunity to connect with the fans. Seriously, what is up with the production of this season? Someone needs to be fired.

Well, since the judges decided to give us the Top 7 again, I think we should have the bottom three people again - Lil, Matt, Anoop. I'm fine with seeing all three of them leave.

10 and 4

Lance and I celebrated two big events this spring break. Well, they're actually very related but I count them as two events. Our ten year "together" anniversary and our four year wedding anniversary. This is not gonna be a mushy mushy post about how fantabulous my husband is. He is, but let's face it. No one wants to read mush, right?

We started dating during spring break of my senior year of high school. Back then it was a fairly big deal. Partly because I had a fairly short attention span when it came to boys during my sophomore, junior, and senior years and partly because Lance was a lot older than me. The age difference isn't a big deal now but it definitely was then. When my friend found out, she was supportive to my face and then immediately marched herself over to my class advisor's room and asked, "Did you hear what she did during spring break?!?" It was funny.

Lance really snuck up on me. We worked together for months at a Kumon center and I while I was aware that he was there, I wasn't smitten with him and I wasn't crushing on him. Eventually, my friend, Diana accused me of being attracted to him but I thought she was crazy. I did like talking to him but I liked talking to lots of people (that hasn't changed). He was just Mr. Lance. It wasn't until we actually went out that I fell for him. Still, I was 18 and never thought that ten years later we'd be married. I mean, he was allergic to cats, for pete's sake. But here we (and our dog) are. It's been a great ten years.

American Idol Top 7

And here we go again. I wasn't able to blog about (or really watch) last week's Idol as it was TheConvention week and I was "playing" at the hotel. I was really bummed because I missed Adam Lambert's performance last week since Idol went overtime. It sucks that only two judges are going to be allowed to share their opinions because I think Simon is the only one who's consistently spot on. Man, what's up with Idol this year? Do they have new people running the show? Are they TRYING to kill the show?

Hmmm...movie week. I'm really interested to see what Adam Lambert does tonight. The only way this theme would be better for him is if it was Broadway night.

Allison Iraheta: Oh, I loved this song in high school. It was one of those songs that I played repeatedly. I didn't really care for the beginning of the song but I really liked the ending when she started belting it out. In general, I love Allison. itunes purchase.
Anoop Dawg: Huh, he's still in it? Odd, because I think he's reached as far as he can get in the competition but let's see how he does. Okay, it was just eh. It was boring. He should have taken Quentin Tarantino's advice and grunged it up. The vocals were nice but it was boring. Boring. Boring. No itunes purchase.
Adam Lambert: Well, he certainly had fun with that performance. I don't really know how I feel about this performance. A part of me likes it. Another part of me hates it. Even if you're not an Adam-lover (ahem, Matt), you have to admit that he really knows how to make each performance his own. No itunes purchase.
Matt Giraud: Is he trying to sound like Justin Timberlake? Ooh, I did not like that. Part of it sounded like he was putting so much energy into making his voice gravelly that he completely lost some of the notes. Hahaha, Simon's face was fantastic. His jaw actually dropped and he just stared at Matt and it looked like it was killing him that he couldn't say anything. No itunes purchase.
Danny Gokey: I always wanted to learn to play the harp. Okay, I loved the soul of his voice but I agree with Simon. It was a good performance but he didn't change it around that much. Lionel Richie also had a real soul to his voice when he sang the song and I don't need a version of the song that is fairly close to his so no itunes purchase.
Kris Allen: Okay, now, see! This is why you need more than two judges speaking. WTH? One judge completely loved it and one judge completely hated it?!? Hmm...it would be nice to get a THIRD opinion, wouldn't it? Anyway, I really liked parts of this song and I think he put a lot of emotion into it but it was pitchy in some parts. itunes purchase but I'm getting the original.
Lil Rounds: WTH is up with her face tonight? Who did her makeup tonight? Yes, Paula, you're right. She couldn't have sang a lovelier song but hello, she COULD'VE sang it a lot better. Haha, Paula actually said nothing constructive. And I totally agree with Simon, Lil is not turning into the artist that I thought she was going to be. I think I am most disappointed with the way she's turning out. I had high hopes for her. I don't even care that she is my "person", it is time for her to leave. No itunes purchase.

I don't know how it happened...

Ahhh...another convention done. Well, almost. I'm taking the weekend off and then I need to send out invoices and finish up some stuff. But for the most part I'm done and I can breathe again. It was easier and more fun this year with the exception of the times that well, that just weren't. Those parts were not fun enough that Jen and I had decided that we were done after this convention. We were determined that we were not gonna be in charge after June and we were turning over the reins to someone else. As the convention got closer and I had to deal with unreasonable people day after day after day, I became more determined that I was sticking to my decision and I was done. I told everyone around me that I was done and they all applauded my decision. They all didn't believe me but I was insistent that I knew myself better than they did and by golly I was not gonna go back on my word.

Jen and I (and really Bruce) are doing it again. How did this happen?

American Idol Top 9

Okay, we decided to watch Marley and Me last night instead of American Idol so my post is late again. Yea, for DVR. Here we go...

WTH? itunes top download week? For real? Oh for heaven's sake. Well, at least we'll (probably) hear current music. Ha, I'm sure I'll probably find some music that I want to download, though it may be the originals instead.

Anoop Dawg: Eh. Once again, boring. Anoop is starting to lose his appeal for me. This song was a poor choice and is Anoop getting more boring every week? Wow, Kara's comment was Simon-esque, wasn't it? Funny, though. Yes, perhaps frat guys dared him to sing Usher. Simon's right. It was a "complete and utter mess." No itunes purchase.

Megan Joy: Oh, this song should be good for her. Oh...I was wrong. This was not a good song for her. Maybe if she sped it up a bit? What is up with her pronunciation? That's not how she talks normally, is it? Yeah, I can't watch her perform. She needs to not dance and her mouth looks funny. That was horrible. Let's see what the judges say...haha, Kara's starting to grow on me. She's right. All these boo-ers should go ahead and try and be a judge. Oh wow, the judges have a mean streak to them tonight, don't they? Like "watching paint dry?" Yes, it's time for her to go home already. No itunes purchase.

Danny Gokey: Alright, it's about time someone performed well. Wow, I really liked the quality of his voice. Haha, I like how Simon is able to compliment Danny while simultaneously insulting Anoop and Megan Joy. itunes purchase.

Allison Iraheta: Ahh, I love Don't Speak. I used to play this album over and over and over again in high school. Oh my, the hair. And the outfit. I had a halloween costume like it when I was younger. I liked the beginning of the song and I thought I would like the faster part better, but hmm. It wasn't bad but it definitely was not her best performance. I still love her, though. I don't know whether or not I'll buy the song. There were good parts, maybe the recording will be better. But for now, no itunes purchase.

Scott Macintyre: Wow, he's sporting a very early 90s hair style, isn't he? Didn't Patrick Swayze have this haircut in Ghost? Although it is better than his original hair style. The performance was good, but something about it bored me. The judges liked it though so maybe I'm just not easily amused tonight. Haha, Simon's right, I'm glad that Scott didn't listen to Paula's ridiculous advice. No itunes purchase.

Matt Giraud: Oh, he should not have changed this song this way, especially since it's such a current song. Changing the key actually just makes him sound like he's messing up. Wow, how many guys dream about being surrounded by adoring screaming girls? No itunes purchase.

Lil Rounds: Wow, I hated her entire performance. From the hair to the makeup to the dress to the actual singing, I disliked it all. I am getting increasingly annoyed that I picked her as one of my people. No itunes purchase.

Adam Lambert: Uh oh. He's gonna do the complete opposite from last week? I'm scared already. What is up with his hair and outfit? He looks completely different from the beginning of the competition. Who's dressing him? He's really good at being shrieky. I actually really like his shrieky (how do you spell that?). Crap, why do I like Adam so much? I was surprised he even made it to the Top 13 and now I like him. I liked the performance but I don't think I will purchase it. No itunes purchase.

Kris Allen: Ooh, I like this song. Wow, I liked his performance a lot. That was definitely his best performance and for me it was the best of the night. And he's a lot easier to watch when he's in back of the piano because his weird mouth isn't as noticeable. itunes purchase.

Alright, overall, I did not care too much for this week's performances. In addition to Allison and Danny, I think (and I'm embarrassed to admit this) that Adam is becoming one of my favorites. Crap.

American Idol Top 10

I had to take notes again since I wasn't able to use the computer while watching American Idol tonight. And I couldn't find a pad of paper quickly enough. But I found a bunch of used empty envelopes. From convention registrations. Grr, it's convention time again. I'm amazed at how difficult it is for some people to fill out a simple registration form. Wait, that's another post for another day. Anyway, here we go.

Matt Giraud: Okay, I missed his performance last week because I was counting stitches so I made sure to pay attention this week...well, sort of. I paid attention to his vocals but I was busy painting a closet door so I didn't actually watch. Anyway, I initially thought his song choice was really stupid. But then I heard it and I really liked it. He's growing on me. But no itunes purchase.

Kris Allen: Gah, I do not like looking at his mouth. But I liked it. It was fun and different from the original. This was one of the first songs that I've liked from him in quite awhile. itunes purchase.

Scott Macintyre: Okay, I hope he ignores Paula's dumb advice from last week and keeps the piano in. Oh good grief, what in the world is he wearing? Are they dressing him like he's a motown singer? What horrid pants. Oh good, he ignored Paula's dumb advice from last week and he kept the piano. Interesting, the background singers are by the piano this week. Haha, he "moved it closer." Oh good stuff, I love this song and I loved his interpretation even though it was quite different from the original. Hahahaha, Paula's being dumb again. She thought that Randy was agreeing with her even though he obviously wasn't. She actually said, "Oh, you're agreeing?" And Simon tells Paula to "answer the question, answer the question, answer the question, answer the question" at least once a week. Her presentation of crayons and coloring books was funny but it was funny how she pulled it out and managed to avoid answering the question. Anyway, itunes purchase.

Megan Joy: Did she drop the Corkey from her name? Why don't they have it anymore? What in the world in she wearing? She looks like the ocean. Haha, Lance said she looks like she should be on the Love Boat. Yikes, she's really off and parts of it were really shouty. Oh, yes, My Guy would've been better. It's funny how Paula tells these contestants how great they look when she has nothing nice to say about their performance. Aww, she looks like she's going to cry. No itunes purchase.

Anoop Dawg: Was this the same guy who sang My Prerogative? How boring. Did he change the song at all? Yawn. No itunes purchase.

Michael Sarver: Something's weird about this performance? What is it? Yes, the notes were off but something else was weird. Oh, I know. The whole performance! I really liked him during the early auditions but I think it's time for Michael to go. No itunes purchase.

Lil Rounds: Wow, that dress looks like it would be fun to wear. Are they dressing them like motown singers on purpose? Well, her voice doesn't sound like Fantasia's tonight so I like this performance better than her other recent performances but she sounds a little shouty tonight. This was an interesting song choice for her...oh, yeah, I Heard it through the Grapevine would've been way better. No itunes purchase.

Adam Lambert: What the hell is up with his look tonight? He looks like Elvis (the young, good looking one, not the fat one). Haha, maybe he's trying to make up for the creepiness of last week. I thought I knew what kind of performer Adam was but now I'm not so sure. Huh, that was really good. Crap, I really liked his performance. I really didn't like Adam before the Top 13 began and it's really bugging me that I've liked his last three weeks of performances. itunes purchase.

Danny Gokey: Oh, he should've listened to Smokey Robinson. I liked that he danced with the background singers because it was very motowny and he looked like he was having a lot of fun. Overall it was alright but it was not his best performance. No itunes purchase.

Allison Iraheta: I wish they would stop showing the mentor videos right before the performance. I think I would freak out if I had to hear Smokey Robinson worrying about whether or not I was going to forget the lyrics right before I performed. Anyway, Allison was awesome again and I keep forgetting that she's only 16. Why the hell did Paula let Simon draw on her face?!? It's like that Above the Influence commercial that has the kid lying on the couch with marks all over his face, saying that he let people draw on him when he was all high. Oh. Haha. I wonder if Simon realized how appropriately funny his drawing was? Anyway, itunes purchase.

Obsession

Lance woke up early on the first official day of spring vacation to go to Walmart. Why? To get me this!Yup! My most awesome husband went to buy me Twilight early Saturday morning. I am a happy, happy camper. What a fabulous way to begin a much deserved (and anticipated!) break.

My obsession with Twilight first began at the beginning of February. I had been wanting to read the series for awhile but resisted until the day that I read Matt's blog. He's not a big reader but loved the book (and then went out to buy the next three books...) so when he said that he loved them, I knew I had to read them. I do not have anything resembling self-control when it comes to books so I didn't open the book (I borrowed his) until after the holidays. Well, it was all downhill after that. I flew through the book and then sent him an emergency text the night that I finished it, begging for the second book. Even though I was really sick that day, I stopped by his school to pick the book up and was thrilled that Matt, being the saint that he is, had the remaining three books with him. By the end of the night, I had read New Moon and had started reading Eclipse. I forced myself to slow down during Eclipse and Breaking Dawn and managed to drag out both books a bit.

One of the things that I noticed about myself is that I can be a wee bit obsessive when it comes to my interests. And I know this about myself and accept it but even I have to admit that I've really gone off the deep end with this Twilight thing. For awhile all I thought about was Twilight. I woke up and thought "Edward". In the video game that I was playing I named my cows "Bells" and "Alice." My co-worker was working with a kid and he said "push". And I immediately thought, "La Push?" I've read all the books, reread Twilight, reread Breaking Dawn, and reread my favorite parts in New Moon and Eclipse. I'm tempted to completely reread the other two books but I'm trying to wean myself off.

There were many reasons for my (admitted) insanity but I've narrowed it down to three:

1) The series was just awesome. Stephenie Meyer has such a strong voice and you can really tell that she really knows her characters. The fact that it's written in the first person also really puts you in her characters' shoes as well. I can't really describe how fantastic the series is but if you haven't read them, then I strongly suggest that you do.

2) Stephenie Meyer's website. I've never seen such a fantastic website for an author. In addition to FAQs, she's also posted stuff that was left out during editing as well as extra stuff that she's written in addition to the books. She's even posted pictures of the cars that were in the books.

3) I entered the Twilight world when Popo was in the hospital. It was a lot easier (although perhaps a little unhealthier) to immerse myself in the world of Bella and Edward. I thought I would pass the time in the ICU waiting room knitting but I discovered that knitting left too much time for thinking. Playing video games while waiting was also a good distraction, which was a strategy that many of my family members employed (the first night that Popo was in ICU, my cousins, aunties and uncles, and I all played Mario Kart on our DSes).

Now if you excuse me, it's almost 12:30 and time for bed...or some special features on the DVD...or another reading of New Moon...