Pensione and Hotels and Hostels, oh my!

One drawback to traveling in the United States is that most hotels don't seem to cater to families very well. Your standard chain hotel is usually going to consist of 2 double or 2 queen beds. Unless you get a suite. And even then, "suite" often just means "living room", not "extra beds". You have to make arrangements for an extra rollaway bed (often at an additional charge).

Not so in Germany, where it was common to find hotels that offered a variety of room arrangements: double room (for 2), 3-bed room, 4-bed room, etc. I discovered a chain called B&B Hotels all throughout Germany, and that's where we stayed in most of the major cities.They seem to be a fairly new chain (i.e. built within the last decade), because the accommodations were clean and modern, the buildings well-built and insulated.

I favored the B&B Hotel chain not only because it was reasonably priced, but because it seemed perfect for families-- I booked a "family room for 3" at each one we stayed at, and there were enough beds for 3-4 people each time: either a double bed and a bunk bed, or a double bed and a single bed. Perfect for our little family!

In Dresden, we had a 3-bed room that looked like this:

 

 

And in Heidelberg, Nuremberg and Frankfurt, we had a 4-bed room like this:

 

 

Whenever there was a bunk bed, Todd slept on the top, and Allan slept on the bottom, meaning I had a nice, spacious double bed all to myself! :-D As you can see, the bunk bed is extra long-- so long that Allan had no trouble fitting in it!

In Berlin, however, I decided to try a hostel. I found one in a good location (within walking distance from Checkpoint Charlie and the Currywurst Museum), and it was an interesting experience! First, because the hostel was so centrally located, parking was extremely limited. We were lucky to get the last open spot, and then made sure to LEAVE our car there until we left Berlin. Secondly, the building is a lot older, which leads to other problems: the walls and floors are thinner and thus less insulated against noise and weather, the furnishings are old and creaky, the pillows lumpy, and the shower wouldn't drain properly. Finally, remember what I said about thin walls/floors? And remember that is a hostel, which primarily caters to younger folk. And what are younger folk really good at? Making lots of loud noise in the middle of the night without regard to others! Thank God for earplugs ;-)

Looking back, public transportation was so plentiful in Berlin that I should've just paid a little more to stay at one of the B&Bs there. But hey-- at least I've gotten to experience a hostel! Won't ever do it again, but at least I've tried it once in my life :-)

View of our room from the entrance. Bathrooms immediately to your left, closet to your right.

A closer look at the beds. This time, Allan and I shared the double bed and Todd got the rickety, creaky bunk bed. The stuffed animals got the bottom bunk ;-)

You can just make out the in-room sink. On the other side of the wall of the sink is the toilet, and next to it, in its own separate room, is the shower.

Finally, in the smaller towns of Lueneburg and Muenster, you couldn't find chain hotels like B&B. Instead, we booked rooms at small bed & breakfasts, which were really nice! Because the towns were smaller, it was much quieter. And because the facilities were likewise smaller, it felt more homey, especially at breakfast, where there was more of a homemade touch to the food. In each of the towns, we got a room with a double bed and a pull-out sofa (that pulled out to make a single bed).

Our room in our Lueneburg hotel looked exactly like this one. Cozy and with a door leading to a small back patio outside!

One final note on German hotels: most of them are seriously lacking in outlets! Each of our B&B hotel rooms had a grand total of three: one by the small table, one on the floor near the door, and one in the bathroom! So we had to get creative in divying up the outlets to charge our devices!

Todd just couldn't wait to play on his phone!

I'm posting every day in October as part of the 31-Day Writing Challenge. Click here to read more about it and to see the rest of my posts this month!

German Food: Christmas Goodies

Christmas is probably a universally magical time, no matter where you are in the world. And since I've been waxing poetic for three separate posts on the wonders of German food, it's no surprise that German holiday goodies merit their own post :-D

First up is a classic that you've probably seen at Trader Joe's: the Adventskalender. From the first day of December through Christmas Eve, children happily look forward to opening up another door in their calendar and enjoying the goodies (usually chocolate) inside.

This one is clearly for mommies instead of the kiddies-- nail polish galore!

Next is Stollen, which is a kind of fruitcake. Now before you grimace in disgust, it's not like the stereotypically gross concoction, it's actually quite delicious! It's more "cake" than "jellied mass":

This next one isn't necessarily Christmas-specific and can be enjoyed any time of the year, but I tend to associate it with Christmas because that's when I usually eat it. Lebkuchen! It's akin to gingerbread, and is often coated in chocolate. It's delightfully delicious, that perfect blend of sugar and spice.

Spekulatius is another baked treat that, I believe, originated in the Netherlands (hence why you can usually find "Speculoos" at Trader Joe's or Cost Plus during the holidays). Spekulatius are thin, flat, crunchy cookies with spices like cinnamon and clove. If you've ever eaten cookie butter, you're basically tasting a creamy, spreadable version of Spekulatius :-9

 

All those baked goods would wash down really well with a hot drink, wouldn't they? While I enjoy drinking tea with them, nothing says "German Christmas" as much as their Christmas Markets, where shoppers wander through the open-air town squares and warm themselves with a glass of Gluehwein while they shop:

As the name suggests, it is made of red wine mixed with spices and heated up. I confess, I've never actually had Gluehwein, but just the sight and name of it evokes images of snowy, Christmas-y German town squares, and warm feeling of community.

What are some of your favorite traditional holiday treats?

I'm posting every day in October as part of the 31-Day Writing Challenge. Click here to read more about it and to see the rest of my posts this month!

Karaoke Ring of Death: The top of your playlist

Although I recorded mine in December for December's theme, the actual posting got pushed back a month in an effort to drum up more participation. I'm hoping that it was just the hectic holiday season that kept people busy, but if you like singing and don't mind recording yourself, I'd encourage you to give Karaoke Ring of Death a try! You can always check out more at:

http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com

Anyway, this month's theme was the song that's been dominating the top of your playlist. I get to host Heather of Musings of a Girl, who bravely takes on one of the toughest songs anyone can do: Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". And if that wasn't enough, she rocks it a cappella, as well!



You should be able to find my song (Helly in stereo, again-- and since I recorded it right before Christmas, you can guess what kind of music was on my playlist at the time!) on Edwin's blog: http://blog.myadultbrain.com/

However, since it doesn't appear to have been updated with even November's KROD, here's a link to my video on YouTube in the meantime:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW7LL7r2y2M

Enjoy! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

The nice thing about participating in NaBloPoMo during the month of November is that there are a few guaranteed days to write about-- our anniversary, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday. The downside to that is that after a while, you run out of things to talk about on the same special day, year after year. For Thanksgiving in past years, I've discussed things I'm thankful for, as well as the food we eat every year.

Fortunately, this year, our friends Nick and Michelle gave me something to write about-- they hosted an "Un-Thanksgiving" dinner at their house this past weekend! They provided the main dishes, we guests provided appetizers, side dishes, dessert and drinks, and voila! A fun-filled meal!

One of the guests, Anna, made tiramisu for dessert. I like tiramisu well enough, but it's not one of my "OMG, best ever!" favorites. But this stuff!? Wow. If all tiramisu was like Anna's concoction, I could totally change my tune on that dessert ;-) Another couple brought homemade chocolate ice cream-- also very delectable. Nothing beats homemade when it comes to ice cream!

And the turkey! Remember how I blogged about how little I actually like turkey? Always too dry for my taste. Even the dark meat. Not this turkey. Well, I didn't eat any of the white meat (I rarely do, on any bird), but the dark meat from the turkey was perfectly done, and so moist and tasty I didn't need to spoon any gravy over it! 

The evening was very relaxing, as well. One of the guests brought her dog, but Nick and Michelle's naughty little beagle couldn't be distracted enough by his canine friend, to avoid jumping up on the table for scraps every chance he got!

Todd and a 2-year-old girl were amongst the kiddie guests, and Todd spent most of the evening playing with some of Nick's video games in the living room. That worked out well-- he wasn't bored by adult chatter in the dining room, and we adults could... well, chatter without having to watch every word we said ;-)

All in all, a very pleasant way to spend a rainy Saturday evening!

Holiday Parade Gone Awry

The annual holiday parade along State Street, the main thoroughfare of downtown Santa Barbara, is an event I normally don't bother with. It's cold, it's crowded, parking is hard to come by, traffic is horrendous, and eating establishments are jam-packed. Not exactly my idea of a fun night out. Still, it's no trouble braving all that when you're actually participating IN the parade, as Todd and I did 2 years ago with his karate class.

This year, his school had a float in the parade, and his class (the 3rd/4th graders) dressed up in cute little tuxes and sat in the float, waving colorful lights and singing Christmas songs they'd learned in choir. They looked so cute and excited at the staging area before the parade began, and they were buzzing about the money the school would get if their float impressed the judges enough to win a prize!

Before the first float took off, Allan and I made our way down the street towards the finish line, since we'd signed up to help with the cleanup efforts afterward. Previous experience had taught us that the streets can be hard to navigate once the parade is underway, so we thought we'd get a head start. So, we didn't actually get to see the float traveling down the street, or hear the kids sing.

Instead, we were greeted at the finish line-- with a float full of unhappy and dejected kids. One of the girls was crying, and the older boys were jumping out, eagerly telling their parents: "They were cussing at us!" The boys, at least, treated it more like an "OMG, can you BELIEVE what they did!?" moment, but they were clearly subdued and no longer the shining, happy faces at the start of the parade.

At first I thought that because it was a Christian school, the hecklers were making fun of that. But evidently, the generator powering the lights and the stereo playing background music cut out a couple times (leaving the kids to sing a cappella in the dark) during the parade, which is what provoked the jeers. According to Todd, one onlooker yelled: "What the [f-word]!? You guys suck!" Another kid told his dad about "the S-word". Admittedly, the float looked a bit ramshackle to begin with. It certainly wasn't going to win any beauty contests. But the kids were happy and excited nonetheless, and looking forward to the event, and my heart breaks when I think of these uncouth punks making fun of them with their foul mouths.

You might say that kids will be exposed to this sort of thing someday anyway, and you may well be right. But that doesn't excuse what happened, nor does it assuage my indignation over the whole thing. It's bad enough to openly jeer at anyone, especially somebody who's struggling to do their best. Even worse when that "somebody" is a group of innocent children. I mean, seriously-- what sort of heartless soul cusses at children!?

Still makes me mad when I think about it.... 

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

I think I covered the usual list of "things to be thankful for" last year. Not a lot has changed since then, in terms of what we're thankful for. I've also written about our Thanksgiving traditions, and how grateful I am that ours are very uncomplicated: meet at my sister-in-law's house every year. Small family, very low-key and intimate and all-around relaxing.

So I thought I'd write about the Thanksgiving food.

Every year I look forward to my father-in-law's delightful creamed spinach. The mashed potatoes are always light and moist, and the bread rolls (even if they're just from a Pillsbury can) soft and fluffy. Next to the spinach, the ham is my favorite part of the meal, especially since we don't get to a lot of it during the year.

Ordinary, simple food. But so delicious!

However, it turns out I'm not such a huge fan of the two things that are most iconic about Thanksgiving: the turkey and the pies.

I'm not a fan of turkey for the same reason I'm not a fan of the white meat in chicken: it's too dry. Even the dark meat can sometimes be dry. I mean, I like it enough and will eat it, but it definitely does not rank amongst my favorite foods, especially compared to the ham.

And I've never been a big fan of pies, period. I've always found them too sweet for my liking. And even if they aren't overly sweet, what is up with pie crusts? They're like... hard cookies, except with less-pleasant texture and taste. I once mentioned to Allan that I'd never had chocolate pie, and would like to try some. He pointed out that we could do it ourselves: make up some pudding from powder, and throw it on a pre-made pie crust. To which I replied: well then, what's the point? If it's just chocolate pudding on a pie crust, I'll just eat the pudding on its own, thank you. Of course, that being said, we ARE bringing a frozen chocolate silk pie from Claim Jumper to the Thanksgiving get-together today, so... we'll see how it tastes! :-)

How about you? What are your favorite holiday traditional foods?

Veteran's Day: The Demise of DADT

Happy Veteran's Day! This is the year that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", which was implemented the year I began ROTC at UCLA, was finally repealed. Well-- okay, it was technically repealed last year, but this is the year it's finally gone into effect. I'm ashamed to say that while I was in the service, I was pretty nonchalant about the whole rule. I didn't really care one way or the other. The rule did not apply to me, and since I didn't know anyone who was gay (for obvious reasons-- it was "against" the law!) I didn't understand the full extent to which it affected people.

It didn't get any better once I went on active duty. I remember what it was like while I was in the service. I realize that opposition you hear from military personnel today stems from being "brainwashed" by the system. While there are definitely segments of the population who truly are homophobic to the core (and these segments can often be overrepresented in the military), there is something to be said for assuming and believing that something is wrong when you're taught it's illegal. When you're taught, on top of that, justifications for why it's illegal, you're going to automatically agree with it and apply that thinking to your own feelings. I went from being totally noncommittal about and ignorant of the topic of homosexuality to being slightly uncomfortable about the idea, simply because that's what I'd been taught, however indirectly, by the DADT policy.

Once I returned to the civilian world, however, things changed for me. No longer in uniform, I began to see things from an outsider's point of view. I had friends who were gay. The discrimination faced by homosexuals today started hitting home for me. I began identifying with their equal rights causes (such as No on Prop 8), and I started realizing just how wrong and misguided DADT was. I was aware that it was an attempt to reach a compromise between the staunch defenders of the anti-homosexual policy that was prevalent in years past, and the more forward-thinking human rights defenders trying to end discrimination. A compromise that, obviously, fared no better than the overtly discriminatory policy it replaced.

Vicious hatred spewed in support of keeping DADT filled me with revulsion, but the half-assed supporters, who were merely mouthing the party line without truly understanding what they were saying? I knew why they were saying the things they did, knew they probably didn't believe it deep-down, and had simply been "brainwashed" by living under the policy day after day. They took for granted that gays serving in the military must be wrong, simply because it was "outlawed".

That isn't to say that I condone any opposition, or justifications thereof, to the repeal of DADT. But I do understand, to a certain degree, where some of this opposition comes from. And it all boils back down to the key ingredient in rectifying past wrongs: EDUCATION. Educate people. Many are misinformed. I know I was, and woefully so. When you simply don't know any better, it's easy to fall prey to the falsehoods spread by the truly prejudiced.

I am heartened to see the military fully embracing and preparing for the repeal, because having support from higher echelons will go a long way toward changing individual soldiers' minds. Being thoroughly educated at all levels is vital. If the pervasive anti-gay attitude in the military comes about because that's what they've been taught through policies like DADT, then the repeal of DADT, and subsequent education at all levels, will hopefully reverse that.

I reflected on the things I cherished most about the United States military in my Veteran's Day post last year-- many of those things still hold true. Our military is one that I still truly, deeply admire and am still proud of. Which is why I look forward to our armed forces becoming even more top-notch as they uphold the freedoms of those who fight to defend the freedoms of the rest of us!

Why me, God?

Today's "One Big Happy" cartoon really seemed to fit in well with the season of thanksgiving and being grateful for what you have. Insane Black Friday (weekend) crowds notwithstanding, of course ;-)

Here's little Ruthie spouting off another of her funny "the things kids say!" type of nuggets that makes the comic endearing:



Really makes you think, doesn't it? Too often people turn to God only when things are going wrong with their lives. Sometimes they seek his help because they have nowhere else to turn. Sometimes they realize they can't get comfort through anything else in this material world. And sometimes they simply lash out in anger, cursing God or blaming him for the troubles in their lives. No matter the reaction, it seems like they only think of him when they need something. Frankly, sometimes it takes a catastrophic event to turn an otherwise stoic's heart toward God to gain a little perspective.

Much rarer, however, is turning to God with a grateful heart the rest of the time. Taking inventory of your life and, as Ruthie does in the comic above, realizing how fortunate you are compared to a lot of other people in this world. And thanking God when things go *well* with your life-- not just when you achieve a big milestone (such as passing an important exam, or getting a much-coveted job, or finding out you're pregnant when you've been trying for years), but when things are otherwise humming along smoothly in your life.

The Thanksgiving holiday is, these days, often a time for people to reflect on what they have to be thankful for. I will fully admit that most days, I don't really stop to think about all that's going well for me, because I just take it for granted. The Thanksgiving-themed list I outlined earlier this week contains a lot of things that are just part of my day-to-day existence, and therefore easy to simply take for granted.

How much more perspective we would gain on our lives, the next time we're commiserating about little things, if we would just pause and think about our life the way Ruthie does. And then, when we're asking "Why me, God?" it's not with a tone of anguish, but with a tone of reverence and awe.

Why me, God? Why me, indeed...

Black Friday... at home!

While hoards of crazy shoppers duke it out in the wee, ungodly hours of the morning to catch Black Friday sales, I opted to sleep in. And sleep in I did! I went to bed relatively late (nearly 2:00am), and didn't get up until about 10:45 this morning. I opened up today's and yesterday's copies of the LA Times and browsed through the fat pile of sales fliers in the Thursday edition, all advertising their Black Friday sales, start times (Wal-Mart at midnight, most other stores at 4:00am) and coupons. There were a few interesting items that caught my fancy, I'll admit. But honestly? Nothing worth the hassle of waking up at ungodly hours and braving traffic and horrendous, self-absorbed crowds. There's nothing I need so badly that I'd be willing to do that for a few pieces of discounted merchandise. Besides, stores have sales all the time, I can be sure to catch good prices on things I need/want anytime during the year.

Some of the best times to shop incredible bargains and avoid crowds? The days immediately following a holiday. I picked up my costume for Halloween next year, at 75% off, a few days after Halloween this year. The days following Christmas are the best time to pick up needed items such as decorations and giftwrap, and store them for use next year. Great bargains on candy can be had the day after Valentine's Day and Halloween. As evidenced by my purchase of Twilight-themed Sweethearts, who cares if there are hearts or ghosts and ghouls on the packaging? Candy and chocolate are all the same inside! And more everyday stuff like clothing? End of the season. I get the nicest sweaters for a couple of dollars apiece just before summer begins, and the cutest shorts, skirts and tank-tops as the weather begins to turn nippy and winter arrives. Even Black Friday can't beat some of those off-season bargains! :-D

So, I've been enjoying a quiet Friday at home. Did a little cleaning, washed the bedding, and settled down on my chaise to do some reading. Figured I'd do a quick post before I got comfortable. Then tonight is dinner with friends at Red Pepper (a terrific, hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves some of the best Chinese food in all of Santa Barbara-- their onion pancakes are a must-have!) followed by a trip to Old Town Tavern down the street. With any luck, the normal Friday-night crowds will be greatly reduced in number tonight, given that it's the middle of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Tomorrow I head back down to LA to pick up the little man, who got to enjoy his long Thanksgiving break with my parents. Gonna stop by Walmart on the way, and hope that the post-Thanksgiving crowds will have subsided by then. This economy has apparently given rise to many stores extending their Black Friday sales through the rest of the weekend, and even longer, in the hopes of encouraging shoppers to continue to come in and spend!

Which reminds me, it's time I started thinking about Christmas shopping... thank goodness for online purchasing! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving

This is going to be pretty cliche, as *everybody* writes "what are you thankful for?" types of posts on their blogs and on Facebook this time of year. But in the general spirit of things, I thought I might as well follow suit. Here are a few things I am thankful for:

1. Living in paradise. Year round mild weather that rarely ever gets too hot or too cold. Plenty of sunshine (June gloom aside), and close proximity to both beaches and mountains.

2. Having a good job that pays enough to be able to live in said paradise. I know that some jobs do not. I'm especially thankful that my job is flexible enough that I can work from home when Todd is sick, or bring him to the office with me after school some days.

3. A comfortable and sturdy roof over my head, hot and clean running water, and a warm bed to sleep in. When you hear of the plight of so many of the world's poor, it really puts things in perspective.

4. A husband who is my best friend. We get along in so many aspects of our lives, from our hobbies to our attitudes about the important things in life. And where we don't agree, the disagreement is actually complementary. Very harmonious :-)

5. A happy, healthy child. As with the roof over my head, when I hear of children suffering, whether it's due to starvation in a third world country or abuse/neglect in this country, it breaks my heart.

6. Having the fortune and privilege of living in a country where true freedom is known. Where gender and racial inequalities, while still not perfectly addressed, are not nearly as prevalent as in other countries. Where you are truly free to pursue your dreams and be what you wish to be.

7. The Internet! :-D What better, faster way to keep in touch with friends all over the country; all over the world!?

8. God. For all the blessings, some of which are listed above, I've received. Thank you.

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Veterans Day Ruminations

Happy Veterans Day!

It's been 5 years since my military service officially ended, 9 years since I left active duty. Apparently old habits die hard, especially in the years immediately after finishing active duty. Like the time I walked across the UCSB campus with a group of friends, and we had to cross the huge lawn between Physical Sciences South and Physical Sciences North. It felt strange to step on the grass, because for the past several years I'd had it drilled into my head that stepping on the grass on a military installation while in uniform (unless it was a field specifically designed for things like PT and ceremonies) was strictly verboten. Allan, whom I'd just met, cracked up at the notion.

I've lost count of how many times I've used military-only terms (like VTC = Video Teleconference) with Allan, assuming it was a universal term, only to be met with a blank stare. Just the other day, I posted a status that made mention of "rain gear". It was more efficient than "umbrella/rain jacket", and didn't seem out of the ordinary to me until an old ROTC colleague laughed at it with the old "once a soldier..." adage.

I've always been fascinated by different countries'/cultures' takes on the military. Here in the USA, making the military your profession is regarded with great honor and admiration. But in countries like Germany, it's actually looked down upon. Most of the "Why on earth would you choose that?" questions came from our German friends. For them, it's a draft obligation, not a career. I don't know what the British attitude toward its military personnel is, but I do know that they don't live nearly as nicely as we do. Family friends who lived in places where women aren't allowed to serve in the armed forces wondered what my life was like, and when the movie  "G.I. Jane" came out, they all imagined that that was what my experiences were like. Heh, not exactly! When a co-worker went to India to help with our efforts of opening up a new office in Bangalore, he posted a pic of this billboard, which I found fascinating, and made me wonder what India's take on the military-as-a-career is.

I often get asked why I joined the service. Well, it started out as curiosity more than anything. My senior year in high school, I made friends with some of the JROTC cadets, and they kept persuading me to try it out. Since I was about to graduate, I figured I'd give it a spin when I started college. The following year, I enrolled in the UCLA Army ROTC progam, and things just sort of blossomed from there.

I don't know how many of you have read Colin Powell's autobiography, but in it, he says that he felt rather aimless in college, when the cadets in uniform on campus caught his eye. He decided to try it out, and found that it was not only something he enjoyed, but excelled at. Well, it's pretty much the same thing with me. I found it was something I really enjoyed and became good at. But more than that, all that military and leadership training really helped bring me out of my shell.

After finishing my 4 years of ROTC, I received my commission into the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and after a few months of Officer's Basic Course at Ft. Gordon, GA, I spent the remainder of my 4 years of active duty stationed in Mannheim, Germany. (My subsequent 4 years were spent in the IRR-- Individual Ready Reserve). Being in Germany provided me a great opportunity to go back to my birth country and see old family friends, as well as tour the rest of nearby Europe.

One of the reasons I left was because all that uprooting every few years just didn't seem conducive to a stable family life. Unfortunately, I also left around the time I discovered what I truly enjoyed (my last position before finishing active duty was as the Battalion Adjutant (S-1), something akin to HR in the civilian world), and if I had stayed, I would've made the Personnel field my career track. And as much as I hated getting up at ungodly hours for morning PT, I have to admit that I did like the steady routine of the day. And I never had to wonder what I'd wear that day! ;-) So, there are days when I think about going back, and might consider it if I didn't already have a family and a pretty nice, stable life here in SB.

Was it worth it? Yes, definitely so. As I mentioned before, my experiences have really helped bring me out of my shell. I've always been very much an introvert, and still am-- but am more outgoing and sociable because of my military experience. Few jobs require as many in-depth people skills as being a military officer, so it was a very useful learning experience.

The military also possesses a unique culture-- something unparalleled in the civilian world.  The importance of teamwork and effective team-building was brought home to me every single day, since that's a large part of what makes our armed forces so great. The camaraderie and close bonds formed between you and the people in your unit, the immense pride in the work you do, the limitless opportunities for self-development and self-improvement-- all are things you rarely find anywhere else, and things I cherish.

Overall, it was a good experience: I learned so many things and gained so many skills that you just don't get anywhere else, especially in the civilian working world-- at least not until you've worked for many years and moved up the corporate ladder. I enjoyed my time there, even if I didn't like the early-morning hours :-P Plus, I stayed in great shape then! :-D

Meanwhile, hats off to our country's veterans and current servicemembers, for helping to make this country as great as it is!

Daylight Saving Woes

Just a few random tidbits as I get ready to turn in for the night :-)

Daylight Saving Time ending-- whose bright idea was THAT!? While enjoying an extra hour is nice, it's not worth it for six months of darkness. I mean, seriously-- for the next several months, before you even leave work at 5pm, it's already going to be dark out. That's pretty depressing-- to leave work and have it feel like it's already nighttime. Oh sure-- it's now light out at 5am instead of 6am, but I guarantee you that far more people are awake to enjoy daylight at 5pm than at 5am. So what gives? The days are already shorter as is with the advent of wintertime, so why not leave well enough alone? Add to it the fact that not all states switch between Standard and DST, and you've got some nice confusion going there :-P

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I tried my hand at trimming my hair tonight. Wasn't a whole lot, just about a half inch to get rid of most of the split ends. I'm not sure I notice a major visible difference in my hair, but at least it still looks pretty even so far. We'll see what happens when I wash my hair tomorrow-- usually after my hair dries is when the difference between the damaged hair and healthy hair is most noticeable. This was the first time I ever trimmed any of my hair besides my bangs. It was a bit of an adventure, trying to make sure I got it all evenly, but I think the whole endeavor was enough of a success that I feel confident about doing so again regularly.

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Speaking of trimming hair-- Allan is growing out a goatee. When we first met well over 7 years ago, he was already sporting one. He shaved it not long before we got married, and hasn't had facial hair (besides 3-or-4-day-old stubble) since then. We thought it would be fun to experiment and see what he looks like with one again, especially now that he has a lot more gray hair on both his head and in his beard ;-)

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Why is it so hard to find a nice pair of plain white knee socks? I went to K-mart and Ross today, and came up empty-handed. All K-Mart had were the sheer stocking-type of knee-highs, and all Ross had were knee socks in different colors/patterns, mostly argyle. While they were cute, I'm really set on finding a white pair for my Halloween costume next year. I picked out a costume for myself and for Todd for next year. Gotta love the deep markdowns on holiday merchandise immediately following the holiday. I just hope that Todd doesn't change his mind between now and then :-P

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All week I've been working with Todd on a poster for his book report on Monday. We got to break out his box of 64 crayons. Is it me or is there nothing quite so delightful as a nice big box of Crayolas? Who can resist the urge to take them out and start coloring? (I did wind up making a picture of my own-- watch for an upcoming Project 365 entry showcasing it) And am I the only one who likes to take out every variation of a particular color and test them out against each other before settling on the perfect shade for a particular coloring need? I tell ya-- I had a field day when it came to helping Todd select browns for the picture of the horses and wagon :-D

******

Well, since DST doesn't warrant a clock fall-back for another couple hours, it'll be too late for me to take advantage of the "extra hour" and have more time to post this before Saturday officially ends, so I'd better wrap it up now. Good night!

Mid-March Updates

Hello, blog.

I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I've last spoken to you. It's been an insanely busy month.

We started off at the beginning of it by taking a volunteer day at our church's preschool, running errands and doing miscellaneous chores around the place. We worked hard, but also enjoyed ourselves. And we were rewarded with free tickets to Disneyland as part of Disney's Give-A-Day-Get-A-Day program. We were lucky we got our volunteer day in when we did, because a week or two later, Disney reached the maximum number of vouchers it was planning to give out this year for the program, and shut it down. What was the max? 1 million. That's right-- in the span of less than 3 months, 1 million people signed up. What I'm more curious about is how many of those people actually return to volunteering on their own. Someday, when Todd is older, I'd love to take him to the one of the animal shelters here and volunteer.

First weekend in March, we took a trip down to Rowland Heights, where Allan grew up. Friends that he's known since age 5 and now live far away were all in town at their mother's house that weekend, and he wanted to visit with them. Two of them we had already visited nearly 3 years ago, when we were going through Seattle on our way from Vancouver back down to Santa Barbara. The other kids there were either quite a bit older than Todd (ages 9 and 11) or quite a bit younger (ages 2.5 to baby) so there was nobody really his age to play with. We walked up the street a few houses to Allan's mother's house and visited with her and her dogs for a little while. It was nice to see folks we wouldn't otherwise see on a regular basis.

The following weekend (this past one), we again took a trip down to LA, to Sara and Jason's house in Topanga. Every March since 2003, Sara has held a St. Patrick's Day dinner at her place, serving boiled cabbage, potato leek soup and corned beef. The food is delicious, the desserts are divine, and the company is mad. These days, most of us have graduated and dispersed across the country, but enough of us are still in Southern California that we were able to see each other for the 8th annual dinner. We took Todd, who had a grand time playing with Sara's cat. I even tried stroking its super-soft fur, but apparently the cat knew that I wasn't overly fond of his ilk, for he flattened his ears and took a swipe at my hand! Yikes! I rest my case :-D

This week Allan has been busy with jury duty, which just happens to coincide with the one time at work where he actually has a hard deadline to meet (for once! He's really earning his paycheck now!), so he's getting little sleep himself these days, going to court in the daytime and working at night. We're really looking forward to this coming weekend, where we can do nothing but rest and relax... and then spend the week after that enjoying Disneyland for Allan's 40th birthday with friends and family!

By the time we get back and settled into the daily routine again, it will be Spring Break (yay for kid-less week!) and the end of March. Let's see if April is any less hectic than March, because May promises to be another busy busy month!

Four Days On, Four Days Off...

I could get used to that sort of work schedule ;-)

Last week I took Friday off because the little man didn't have school that day, and we thought it would be better for him to spend the day doing fun things with a parent rather than sit in the office all day, glued to the computer. Which meant I had a 4-day work week last week, followed by a 4-day weekend, and now am starting another 4-day work week. Like I said, I could get used to this ;-)

Friday morning started with some Open House trips, where we traipsed around Goleta peeking at some of the newest listings. We came across a really nice condo in San Antonio Village, which really got me re-thinking my preference for a single-family home over a condo. I still do prefer the former, but finding out about some nice selections out there has made me rethink ruling condos out altogether. After a leisurely lunch back home, we headed off to the zoo. But first, we broke down one of Todd's diaper boxes and applied some surfboard wax to it, so he could use it as an ultra-slick sled on the little Astroturf hill in the play area of the zoo. I got the idea from Amal's husband, who told us about a friend of theirs who waxed boxes for his kids to zoom around in on similar hills near their house. I'm not sure if the wax made a difference, or if the flattened box just zipped fast because it was new and still had the glossy outer surface, but Todd sure did fly down those hills! So fast that once the sled stopped at the bottom, the momentum kept carrying him and he pitched forward, off the sled, every time. It was great fun!

Saturday was cleaning day, and after getting home from karate lessons and shopping, we rested up a bit before heading out to Joe and Tabitha's for dinner and a board game (Ticket to Ride), while Todd amused himself on their Wii.

Sunday brought Valentine's Day. I'm not a very big romantic. Flowers are a waste to me-- they just wilt and die in a week or two. I rarely wear jewelry (I stopped wearing my wedding ring about 6 months after we got married). Chocolate is okay, but ever since being spoiled in Europe, I don't much like American chocolate anymore. I'm the type who much prefers sensible, practical gifts to frivolous ones (except for stuffed animals). So we trooped out to our favorite restaurant-- Brummi's, where we were joined by two other couples from our small group. We had a lot of fun, and since all of us had been married for at least a few years, we mused that quiet, romantic dinners by ourselves on Valentine's Day were unnecessary, since we do that everyday, anyway! Let's do something different and actually celebrate with good company instead! :-) The food, as always, was to die for, and we enjoyed a fun evening out.

Monday we all slept in and enjoyed the warm weather-- the three of us made a picnic lunch and ate on the patio of the clubhouse in our apartment complex. It was warm enough to go swimming afterward, and I finally enjoyed some much-needed exercise!

Apparently the Olympics started in Vancouver this weekend as well, though I was blissfully unaware of it until I read Tabitha's tweet. Never mind that Canadian Jenna had already tweeted a whole bunch of opening-ceremony-related ones before that! Don't ask me why I didn't make that connection. Oh, and Chinese New Year, too. What is it now? Tiger? Rawr! I guess you could say we sort of celebrated, albeit unknowingly-- by buying Chinese food at Pick Up Stix for Sunday's lunch :-D

All in all, the long weekend was a pleasant mix of rest & relaxation and going out and doing fun things. And coming back in to a short work week? Icing on the cake ;-)That's what I call an enjoyable weekend!

And how was your weekend?

Las Vegas, Day 3

Checkout day! At long last our car, well-rested in the parking garage all week, got to start driving again :-) Rather than eating before we left, we decided to head out at around 11am and then hit a buffet for brunch at one of the hotels in Primm, some 40 minutes away. Unfortunately, our plans went awry. We first went to Buffalo Bill's, which we discovered was closed for a few weeks! Tried going across the way to Whiskey Pete's, only to discover that their buffet wasn't open (though their cafe was). Our minds still set on a buffet, after the wonderful experience with one that got mediocre reviews in Vegas, we went to Primm Valley Resort, which charged more for a much smaller selection. The service was terrible, to boot. It took us ages to get silverware and drinks, and by the time we got knives, our meat was cold and tough. The food wasn't that great either, although they did have a delicious spaghetti sauce with whole chunks of vegetables. That was its only redeeming factor. We're definitely never going there again!

I guess this wasn't much of a post, as the rest of the day was spent driving home, settling back in, wrapping Christmas presents in preparation for Friday, and enjoying sleeping in our own beds and showering in our own showers. Back to work on Thursday, et voila! Our vacation is over and we had an immensely good time.

As you can tell from all the previous posts outlining our trip, I've included a tiny smattering of photos to accompany the writing, but I've uploaded most of the pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2440729&id=3605072

And for this post, I thought I'd share a couple shots from our hotel room, such as the mirror on the ceiling:



and the views from our balcony:





Again, scroll down to read the rest of the blog entries, and click here to see the rest of the photos :-)

Las Vegas, Day 2

Tuesday begin with some serious sleeping in. We wound up staying up till 2am watching "Law and Order" and "Cold Case" on TV. I guess we were making up for not having cable for so long ;-)

We nourished ourselves with a second trip to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill, this time trying out the pulled-pork sandwiches-- yum! After seeing the turtles, ducks, koi and flamingos in the habitat outside the Flamingo, we decided to head north and stopped by places like the Casino Royale and the Palazzo-- which, in my opinion, had more of an Italian flavor in its decor and atmosphere than the Venetian did. One of my favorite sights in the Palazzo was the pool of cranberries, set against a waterfall:



We also found Humpty Dumpty, all in one piece (for now):



We visited the Wynn, which had been built since the last time I was in Vegas, and crossed the street to the Fashion Mall, where I sat on a couch to rest my aching feet while Allan looked at geeky toy stores. As luck would have it, the spot I sat down in was right smack dab in the middle of a show that took place every hour. Nothing special-- just Santa and some girl elves dancing to several favorite Christmas tunes, but it was fun to watch and a pleasant diversion, and again, nice to hear familiar Christmas tunes because we're here during the season! :-)

A few hotels later, and the wind was really starting to bear down on us! We made a quick stop by Caesar's Forums yet again to pick up a couple things for Christmas gifts that we'd spied while we were there earlier. As we stopped at a cafe for a quick snack and rest stop, I noticed that it was feeding time at the aquarium, and got to watch the diver swarmed by fish as she handed out food. Cutest of all were the little stingrays, who nibbled along her arm until they reached her hand, where she hand-fed them a piece of shrimp, petting them as they swam off. What a cool job!

We were blown straight back across the street to our hotel, where we rested and washed up for dinner. Guess who we saw on the way up to our room, in the elevator: yup, our elevator friend. Guess who we saw on our way down to head to dinner? Yup, you guessed it-- seven times! We introduced ourselves at long last and mused at how wild it was that in a tourist city as large as this, we ran into the same people multiple times!

Anyway, coupon in hand, we intended to go to the buffet at Paris, having heard good things about it. Unfortunately, we were just a little too late-- the buffet was so full they closed the line off. Bummer! None of the other restaurants looked appealing, so we stopped by Bill's Gambling Hall & Saloon, having seen signs all over the place for its "$9.99 all-you-can-eat Chinese menu". Of course there was a catch-- you could order your entree and get unlimited refills-- but only of that particular entree. So I ordered a veggie dish while Allan ordered a meat dish, and we ate contentedly: 2 servings! Even if we hadn't gotten the refill, it would've been well worth the price, it was so delicious and filling!

Another great way to end the day :-)

Las Vegas, Day 1

Well, our mini-vacation got off to a rather eventful start, didn't it!

The drive to Vegas wasn't bad at all. Hit a bit of traffic in/around LA, but it wasn't too bad, and we arrived in time for dinner. We checked into the Imperial Palace, right smack dab in the middle of the Strip. This was the first time I'd ever stayed ON the Strip-- all my previous trips involved staying either off-Strip or in downtown Vegas, as those were the most cost-effective. I managed to find great prices on rooms at the IP, which is without question the least glitzy of all the hotels on the Strip. Little did I realize just HOW convenient staying on the Strip would turn out to be! We booked a room with a hot tub (complete with mirrors on the ceiling), and wound up on the 15th floor. Our view consisted mostly of the inner courtyard of the hotel, but at least it didn't face outward toward any other hotels, as I'd read that those rooms were the noisiest (because of the nightclub noises from neighboring properties). We also got a coupon book full of goodies such as free admissions to various attractions, discounts on buffets, and 2-for-1 show deals... not just at our hotel, but all of its sister Harrah's properties.

When we checked in, we wound up riding the elevator with a couple of other guys who had also checked in around the same time. When we went back downstairs to retrieve our stuff from the car, we ran into them again in the elevator going down. And after we'd washed up and unpacked and headed downstairs and through the casino to go next door for dinner, who do you suppose we passed by at the bar? Our elevator friends!

We started out with dinner at Toby Keith's Bar and Grill (mostly just to see what it was like and say that I'd been there), where I discovered the most scrumptious thing I'd ever eaten: honey butter! Drinks came in Mason jars, and after the football game was over, we got treated to live country music. Yee-haw! :-D We browsed a few of the shops at Caesar's Forums across the street before retiring for the night, dead tired from being up so early this morning. Sleep was elusive, since this was the first time in... a couple of years? that Allan and I slept the same bed, and quite frankly, we just weren't used to sharing the actual bed with another person-- every little movement from him woke me up, and vice versa.

Next morning (Monday), we got up for our first crack at the hotel's buffet, and bought an all-day-long pass-- visit as often as you like, for only $25. Our first attraction, since we had free tickets, was the Auto Collections, right in the same hotel-- a museum full of a couple hundred classic and vintage cars. Allan loved it in there! I spied a military Jeep from 1941-- obviously, little has changed in the design over the years since then ;-)



Guess who we ran into twice this morning, once in the elevator and once in the street outside our hotel? Yup-- our elevator friends. 5 times in the span of 14 hours, how about that!

We ventured across the street to Caesar's Palace to catch the Atlantis show and have fun with the stuffed animals at FAO Schwarz. This picture was taken for Joe as proof that there ARE penguins much cuter than Tux out there:



After lunch, a nap, and a post-nap snack, we headed south toward Paris, free tickets to the Eiffel Tower experience in hand. Unfortunately, we were immediately turned off by the long line, and decided to just wander around and see some other hotels. We went through the Flamingo, where the overpowering scent of coconut was enough to make me decide that you couldn't PAY me enough to stay at the Flamingo-- I'll take the smokey smell alone, thank you. The Bellagio's conservatory was nicely decked out with a Christmas theme, and when we watched the fountain show, it was done to the tune of one of our favorite Christmas tunes-- Johnny Mathis's "We Need a Little Christmas". Vegas during Christmastime is really nice :-)

After a delicious dinner at our buffet again, we went next door to Harrah's to catch a show: Legends in Concert. We enjoyed watching tributes to Jerry Lee Lewis (the guy didn't look or sound that much like Jerry Lee, but his piano playing was AMAZING), Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Bette Midler, Tina Turner and Elvis Presley. Equally amazing were the two main backup singers-- they had truly gorgeous voices and the mix was beautiful. Each performer did 3-4 songs the original performer was famous for, including a Christmas song. See, Vegas in Christmastime is so neat! And I was thrilled that, at long last, I'd finally gotten to take in a show at Vegas-- for half the price! :-) Great way to end the day!

Holiday Party Silliness

Picture post for today, as it's been an incredibly long day. The usual work (and lunch break taken up scrambling for Christmas cards for Todd's teachers), karate class with promotion ceremony-- yay, yellow belt! -- and school Christmas concert where the kids were hyped up on sugary pastries and wore each other out playing tag.

Last Friday Allan and I attended a work holiday party, with just our department. It was nice to be in the company of people we actually knew, it wasn't as anonymizing (is that a word? It is now ;-) ) as the whole-company party, where we felt lost amongst a sea of faces from other departments we never interact with. It was outdoors at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, where tents and heaters protected us from the rain and cold. There was no formal set of courses for dinner-- just tons of tasty and filling appetizers and mini-meals, including such delicacies as bacon-wrapped shrimp! Drinks were free, too, so I tried a pomegranate martini (yum) and a regular margarita before washing everything else down with plain water.

The entertainment of the evening consisted of a musical chairs + scavenger hunt combo game with a flip camera prize at stake, a video put together by various members of the department, and a camera that was hooked up to a projector, instantly putting up pics the moment you take them, for all to see. Here are the ones Allan and I snapped when we took our turn:

We were forewarned that Allan standing at his full height would wind up out of the picture, so he scrunched down... wayyy down. It's not often I'm taller than him ;-)



Now that I could actually see over the top of his head, I decided to have some fun with our snapshots:



And finally, we decided to showcase exactly what effect having kids has on the average couple. After a long week, this was how we felt... even though it was barely 8:30pm!

Holiday Parade 2009

Every year for the past 57 years Santa Barbara has held a holiday parade. I've never gone. Not a single time. Shivering in the cold while battling crowds and traffic and fighting for parking just did not appeal to me. Until this year, that is. This year, Todd participated in the parade with his karate class, and I was one of dozens of parent volunteers helping to keep the kids organized as we walked down State Street.

I was a bit anxious about the cold and being out there for so long, so I made sure to bundle up Todd and myself as snugly as we could. We left later than planned, hit traffic everywhere, and had Allan drop us off near the parade start point-- 10 minutes before the 6:30 parade start time. Luckily, they were still forming the lines when we arrived, and Todd was whisked off to the front of the line. And even more luckily, most of the parent volunteers stationed themselves at the line their kids were in, so I took my place right next to Todd, who was on the far left side of the first row. Great opportunity to keep an eye on him while helping to keep the rest of the line in order.

We wound up staying where we were for a long time before we finally started marching-- it wasn't until about 7:10 that we finally started making our way down the street. I started getting cold, but it wasn't too bad. My extremities were chilled but the rest of me was warm. Better still was the fact that when I grabbed Todd's gloved hand, I could feel the heat radiating through both his glove and my glove, so I was heartened by the fact that he was clearly nice and warm.

Then we finally started moving! That helped keep everyone really warm-- walking. We strode briskly for several blocks before we finally started stopping about every half block so the kids could perform some of their moves for the crowd.

I tried to scan the vast sea of faces in the crowds on the sidelines to see if I could find anyone I recognized, but no. There were just too many people and most of the time I was too busy keeping an eye on the line, anyway.

Before we knew it, we'd reached the end of the parade line and dispersed. It was over surprisingly quickly, although you could tell the kids were getting tired by then. By the time we made our way to the car and I sank in my seat, I, too, was surprised to discover how tired I actually was. It was a lot more work than I imagined, even though I couldn't feel it at the time. At the same time, it was also a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and I was certainly glad that being able to walk kept me nice and warm in the biting, chilly air.

Here's to next year's parade! :-)

Ah, shopping

Unlike most women, I don't generally like shopping. Oh, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy perusing department stores by myself from time to time to see if there's anything cute on sale, but I probably do that as often as I see the dentist (and yes, I'm a good girl and visit my dentist twice a year :-D) As a rule, I like to go into a store with a shopping list (or at least, a set idea of what I intend to buy, such as particular household goods), get all the items, maybe allow myself a few detours by well-placed, marketing-approved display items, and get out. An exception would probably be bookstores, as I do like to just wander the aisles without any agenda and see what's new. But even that is a rare occasion, as I do most of my book shopping online through used-books outlets. The last time I bought something brand new at a physical Borders store, it was only because 1) it was a compilation-- seven of C.S. Lewis's books in one tome and 2) I had a 40% off coupon, making the net price of each of the individual titles quite cheap.

And so it is with amusement and general amazement that I read about folks like Joe and Tabitha braving ungodly hours on Black Friday. What fortitude! What determination! What bargains to be had! :-) My parents themselves hit the stores on Friday, but went later in the morning, thus avoiding the mad crowds... and all the terrific sales :-) Not me. My days of getting up at ungodly hours are over-- 8 years and counting (wow, it just dawned on me that I've finally been out of the Army, post-discharge, than I've been in!), and I wouldn't trade my warm blanket and pillow for anything.

Still, Black Friday or not, there is always holiday shopping (and its accompanying madness) to contend with. I had blogged earlier about how grateful I am that Allan has a small family, making our holiday celebrations nice and calm and low-key. That also comes in handy when it comes time for Christmas shopping! We all tend to get each other the same things every year, and to be quite honest, I rather like the predictability of it. It makes shopping each year a snap.

Best of all is when it can all be done online. Save for actually placing the orders, I've already finished my Christmas shopping this year. I've picked out what I want to get each family member, and logged it all in my Kaboodle.com shopping list. A few clicks of a button and it's done. No long lines. No antsy customers. No harried cashiers. No traffic to fight. No parking spots to vie for. No fidgety kid to drag along. No crowded aisles to squeeze through.

It doesn't get any better than that... does it?