Someday........

When I grow up, I'd like to be a slice of limburger cheese. Why? Your mom. That's why.

See you next fall!

On Wednesday, Leigha turned nine. We decided to give her an extra special treat this year, and instead of presents, we surprised the girls by waking them up Sunday morning and taking them to the airport (they had no clue, they thought we were taking them to church! The suitcase was packed and in the car) and we flew out to Orange County, home of the super cool architecture, even on everyday ordinary buildings:We went to my sister, Janina, and my cousins, Kelsey and Halley's place. Janina was in an opera, Cinderella, for a class at her college, and we were lucky enough to catch the last performance! We sat with my Aunt Denice and Uncle Dan. The performance was incredible. Janina was one of the ugly stepsisters and she did a fantastic job!
The next morning Janina used her employee benefits to grant us access to.......Disneyland!!!!
Janina also took us to the "Princess Faire" and let the girls get princess makeovers. Leigha chose to get her hair done, Brianna got her face painted.
Our first ride, at Leigha's request, was the teacups!
We did a couple rides then went to Disney's California Adventure. They gave a button to Leigha that informed the world that it was her birthday, and Bri wanted one, so they let her have one that said, "My 1st visit!" She made Janina wear it and I made Nina pretend it actually WAS her first visit:
We did a few more rides then hopped back over to Disneyland, which had thinned out considerably crowd-wise. We took the opportunity to ride all the big rides, including the Matterhorn:
At the end of the day we took Leigha for a birthday treat on Main Street. We tried to find matches or a lighter, but alas, there was none to be found. Imagine a flame on the candle, if you would, please.
I got a rice krispy treat!!!!!!!!!
On the way back to the parking lot Brianna fell asleep. Disney did it's job. Score!
This afternoon we flew home, Orange County to Denver, Denver to Kansas City. FYI, on the flight between OC and Denver you go right over the Grand Canyon, how cool is that?

Can't.......move........fast.........enough!!!

When I say we rock, I mean it!

Hypothetical 7 decided to have a "Rock Star" theme to our show this month. I can't pass up the opportunity to show pictures of something so cool. Here's me. You can't see it, but I actually have a fake lip ring on. Pretty cool.......not so sure it's a look I'd keep permanently. On the way to the theater I kept thinking, "Don't get pulled over, don't get pulled over......."
Here we all are backstage. Our roadie, Hans, took this picture for us. Thanks, Hans! That's why you're our favorite roadie. Michelle is in town from Georgia and she got to see this show, which was just great, and she met Tiffany (in town from Germany) and they hit it off right away. Too bad neither of them lives here permanently at the moment. This evening I hosted a video watching party for Sketchy Thoughts. We're going to get things geared up for a show in March and I can't wait. I love being a part of that group, it's so chaotic having to deal with short scenes, props, and costumes, but it's also a good chunk of the fun. I'm really excited for that show!

A photographic journey through my day

Today we got up early and went to the airport.........
got on a plane.............
.......and went to Chicago. We took the El downtown. Brianna enjoyed waving at the other trains out the window.

Our first stop was 'The Bean.' It was lightly snowing when we got there, so it was more like a sugar frosted bean.

Leigha decided it needed a little help to keep it from falling over.
Because I kept saying, "Jason would LOVE this!" when I went there this summer, we decided to go to Giordano's for lunch. My prediction proved to be correct.
We walked up Michigan avenue and took in a few sights. The light snow had stopped at that point and it was actually not all that cold outside. We were able to walk at a leisurely pace until we'd reach our next destination (indoors) we'd warm up, then continue on. This is the water tower, it's the only building that survived the great fire. It's also one of the places I walked past every day this summer on my way to the El so I could get to my classes.
We went to the American Girl's Place. I'd always wanted to visit it as a child and Leigha is just getting into the book series and dolls, so it was pretty special.
We walked North from there to the beach so the girls could see Lake Michigan. Leigha was really excited because she just learned about them in class. It's also a great place to take a picture that shows off both faces and buildings.
I ran into some old friends in the airport on our way out. We were playing it cool so as not to reveal how excited we actually were to see one another.
We took off and watched Chicago dwindle into the distance. I arrived back in Kansas City just in time to make it to rehearsal. Bye bye, Chicago! I love you!

Pork shoulder in a can

I've received a barrage of comments lately on several of my blog postings. Since I do like to respond to most, if not all, comments on my blog and don't want to run around to the various postings to respond, I've decided to address them all right here, right now:

To "nike dunk," "nike shoes," and "runescape account," who all said: 'I like your blog' I have this to say:

Thank you. So do I. Gorilla is my favorite flavor.

To "jordan shoes" and "fashion jewelry," who stated: 'i think the archive you wirte is very good, but i think it will be better if you can say more..hehe,love your blog,,,' I respond thusly:

I agree. The archive I wirte is pretty good. I think I say enough, so keep your criticisms to yourself, and kudos on loving commas. I think they say more than I ever good in my archive.

To "nike dunk" and "fashion jewelry" who left the comment: ' i agree your idea ! very nice blog' My response to you is this:

Wow, thanks for the repeat commenting! I too agree with my idea that I posted, and dare you to repeat the exact statement I made and why you agree with my idea. I don't actually care why you agree, I just doubt you have the capacity TO agree. Oh, and here's an idea you can feel free to agree with: canned ham has no place on my blog unless I'm the one dishing it out. Buzz off.

How to have a successful Guitar Hero party

1. Start by inviting your bestest friends. I recommend one of your improv troupes. In this case, I invited The Hypothetical 7. Begin the evening with snacks and rocking out with the early birds who show up before time to get a little practice in. In this case, it was Tiffany.
2. Epic battles are crucial. Note the fierce competition between Zak and Patrick to see who gets to pick the song.
3. Keep everyone entertained while the epic battles are happening. I recommend beer, popcorn, and the game of Life.
4. Don't forget to try to get everyone into a shot at the same time. Especially if you can't possibly back up enough to capture it. Make everyone show you what a good time they're having. Hey, guys, smile if you're having fun!
5. Deep conversations about nothing are crucial. Note how the popcorn bowl is empty at this point.
6. In case you should get bored with Guitar Hero after a while, break out the DDR. If Dance Dance Revolution should prove too hard, get a friend to help.
7. If DDR should prove too difficult even with a friend, get two others and just cheat your way through expert level. That's it! You're doing it! Nobody moves like you!

Welcome back

Welcome back, everyone. Here's a little post to let you know that you are indeed in the correct place. If you are joining me here for the first time from my 366 blog, hello! Hope you continue to keep up with me.