Monday 7/26/2010
We spent most of Monday around the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We did three hikes that were short, but steep. They were hikes that brought you closer to either the upper or lower falls. One hike had a good number of switchbacks and another had 328 steps down to the lookout point. 328! That's more than the roughly 300 down to the Point Reyes lighthouse! But it really wasn't that bad of a hike up. We saw a lady lugging her little pet dog down the steps with her and we were thinking, really? You want to haul that dead weight of a dog back up over 300 steps? Whatevs.
After the second hike (the one with all the switchbacks), we made a stop at Canyon Village, where the general store had Wilcoxson's mint ice cream bars! (Let me emphasize - !!!!!). At 79 cents each, it was a pretty dang good 79 cents spent.
We saw a bull elk with a fairly large rack pretty close, so that was exciting (I felt pretty satisfied at having spotted it first - it was walking through the forest next to a popular lookout spot). On our drive back to Gardiner, we also saw a bull moose and two black bears - more excitement!
Tuesday 7/27/2010
Tuesday, we went to tourist-y spots of Yellowstone - Biscuit Basin, Old Faithful, and Grand Prismatic. Fun to see, but crowded. My dad has never been to Yellowstone before, so it was all pretty new to him.
I got a bit tanned and sunburnt from all the hiking we did the day before. I should know better than to go without sunscreen, being from Phoenix and all, but I did. Boo to skin cancer.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Yellowstone & Montana - Day 1 & 2
We stopped at the Best Western in Evanston the first night of our drive to Yellowstone. You know you're in a pretty podunk town when: (1) you encounter several drunk people staggering through the streets following their participation in the local BrewFest event, (2) the cashier at Wal-Mart doesn't have any dinner recommendations to give you when you ask for some, and (3) the Best Western bills its lounge as the best night spot in town.
We stopped in Gardiner for the remainder of our visit to Yellowstone, which is just outside of Mammoth Hot Springs. My dad booked a place to stay which ended up being pretty nice - a recently remodeled vacation rental in the back of a historic little theater in town. And you know how I love historic buildings. However, the rest of Gardiner - podunk. There were very few dining options - not even typical fast food chains. We walked/drove around looking at menus the second night and found that most of our options fell somewhere between $15-$25 per person for typical American fare. Yes, some of these places were steakhouses. But not NICE steakhouses. So nay to those places. We decided to go to the ONLY Chinese place in town, because it was cheaper than going to one of the other restaurants (but still more expensive than Chinese take-out in Phoenix). The only other people in the place were Asian, which may seem like a good sign, but not so much in a tiny town like Gardiner. And they charged for white rice! Blasphemy.
We stopped in Gardiner for the remainder of our visit to Yellowstone, which is just outside of Mammoth Hot Springs. My dad booked a place to stay which ended up being pretty nice - a recently remodeled vacation rental in the back of a historic little theater in town. And you know how I love historic buildings. However, the rest of Gardiner - podunk. There were very few dining options - not even typical fast food chains. We walked/drove around looking at menus the second night and found that most of our options fell somewhere between $15-$25 per person for typical American fare. Yes, some of these places were steakhouses. But not NICE steakhouses. So nay to those places. We decided to go to the ONLY Chinese place in town, because it was cheaper than going to one of the other restaurants (but still more expensive than Chinese take-out in Phoenix). The only other people in the place were Asian, which may seem like a good sign, but not so much in a tiny town like Gardiner. And they charged for white rice! Blasphemy.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wal-Mart Cupcakes
I saw these mini cupcakes at Wal-Mart when I went to get Greg his powdered sugar mini donuts.
They looked so colorful, and therefore delicious! It could be a mistake to equate colorful cupcakes with delicious cupcakes, but if the Wal-Mart powdered sugar mini donuts are any indication of the legitimacy of their baking "skillz," the cupcakes were probably not too shabby (for the $2.50 that they cost, that is).
Greg said he read something the other day that listed cupcakes and bubble tea as two food fads poised to fade into obscurity. I wouldn't be that heartbroken about cupcakes. Although delicious, part of their appeal is their aesthetics, and fancy cupcakes aren't the only thing that can fulfill my desire for good-looking (and hopefully yummy tasting) food. Bubble tea, on the other hand, I have been a fan of for years (before it became a fad - I feel snotty saying that, but meh), but it becoming a fad has only made it more readily available to me. So we'll see how that goes. If all else fails, California will always have bubble tea because there are just so. Many. Asians.
They looked so colorful, and therefore delicious! It could be a mistake to equate colorful cupcakes with delicious cupcakes, but if the Wal-Mart powdered sugar mini donuts are any indication of the legitimacy of their baking "skillz," the cupcakes were probably not too shabby (for the $2.50 that they cost, that is).
Greg said he read something the other day that listed cupcakes and bubble tea as two food fads poised to fade into obscurity. I wouldn't be that heartbroken about cupcakes. Although delicious, part of their appeal is their aesthetics, and fancy cupcakes aren't the only thing that can fulfill my desire for good-looking (and hopefully yummy tasting) food. Bubble tea, on the other hand, I have been a fan of for years (before it became a fad - I feel snotty saying that, but meh), but it becoming a fad has only made it more readily available to me. So we'll see how that goes. If all else fails, California will always have bubble tea because there are just so. Many. Asians.
Because I So Wanted My Foot on That Wall
Saw this sign in the back of Crazy Jim's when we met my friend, Emily, there for dinner last week:
It's a little bit hard to read. It says, "PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR FEET ON THE WALL! THANK YOU." I didn't know this could be a problem. I wonder . . . did the shoe prints on the wall come first, or the sign?
It's a little bit hard to read. It says, "PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR FEET ON THE WALL! THANK YOU." I didn't know this could be a problem. I wonder . . . did the shoe prints on the wall come first, or the sign?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
"Masculine" Birthday Card
Theme for card exchange this time around is "masculine" cards.
Followed this sketch from Everything But The Kitchen Sink. Design-wise, it actually came together fairly quickly. Sometimes it takes me a long time to even decide what to do, which is really my problem in general. Decisions, decisions.
When we were in San Jose over the 4th of July weekend, I bought some Japanese masking tape at a . . . wait for it . . . Japanese stationery store and resolved to use it on my cards. I like the look.
Aside: I don't miss a lot about LiveJournal, but I do miss the little kitties I could pick for my current mood and the box I could put my current music into. Not going to do anything about the kitty moods, but I might just add in my own current music at the bottom of each post. I was looking through my old LiveJournal posts and realized, Hey. I'm actually really diggin' being able to look at what music I was listening to at that point in time
Followed this sketch from Everything But The Kitchen Sink. Design-wise, it actually came together fairly quickly. Sometimes it takes me a long time to even decide what to do, which is really my problem in general. Decisions, decisions.
When we were in San Jose over the 4th of July weekend, I bought some Japanese masking tape at a . . . wait for it . . . Japanese stationery store and resolved to use it on my cards. I like the look.
Aside: I don't miss a lot about LiveJournal, but I do miss the little kitties I could pick for my current mood and the box I could put my current music into. Not going to do anything about the kitty moods, but I might just add in my own current music at the bottom of each post. I was looking through my old LiveJournal posts and realized, Hey. I'm actually really diggin' being able to look at what music I was listening to at that point in time
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Home Ec Online Sewing Class
Was surfing through blogs in Google Reader when I came across this online class being offered: Home Ec Online Sewing Class for Beginners.
Normally, I'm kind of meh about online classes of the crafty variety, but I'm taking this one, particularly since one of my goals from earlier this year was to learn how to sew.
Could I probably teach myself how to sew through tutorials and junk that I can find elsewhere online? Yes. But truthfully, I feel like I learn better in a structured format because it might never happen if I rely on myself to teach . . . myself.
And also, the projects! There are some projects that I'm pretty excited about learning how to do, including hemming jeans and taking in shirts or dresses. Alterations get pricey!
Normally, I'm kind of meh about online classes of the crafty variety, but I'm taking this one, particularly since one of my goals from earlier this year was to learn how to sew.
Could I probably teach myself how to sew through tutorials and junk that I can find elsewhere online? Yes. But truthfully, I feel like I learn better in a structured format because it might never happen if I rely on myself to teach . . . myself.
And also, the projects! There are some projects that I'm pretty excited about learning how to do, including hemming jeans and taking in shirts or dresses. Alterations get pricey!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
I begrudgingly agreed to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs tonight, but ended up being pleasantly surprised with how good it was. Pretty funny, for the following reasons:
- Neil Patrick Harris voices Steve the Monkey, who talks with a Monkey Thought Translator invented by the main character, Flint Lockwood. "Gummy bears"! "Steve"! "Mustache"!
- Mr. T voices Earl Devereaux, the police officer. Mr. T! He pities the fool!
- Earl Devereaux: You see this contact lens?
Flint Lockwood: Yeah?
Earl Devereaux: This contact lens represents you! And my eye represents my eye!
[Puts on contact lens]
Earl Devereaux: I've got my *eye* on you! - Flint Lockwood: Flying car 2! Now with wings!
- Steve the Monkey fighting/eating giant evil gummy bears, especially when he rips out a gummy bear "heart," then eats it. Sounds gross, but it was funny when done with gummy bears. This video sums up Steve:
Saturday, July 10, 2010
For All Your Kilt Needs
Earlier in the week, I went searching for a scrapbook store in Scottsdale near my current client. I found the scrapbook store (it is no longer in business - big surprise!), however, next to the former scrapbook store is . . . Kilt Rental USA!
I guess it never occurred to me that a kilt rental place could be a business in and of itself . . . is there really such a big demand for kilts? Guess so. But I still thought it was amusing to come across a kilt rental shop. Apparently they have bagpipes too! (As evidenced by the picture on their website).
I guess it never occurred to me that a kilt rental place could be a business in and of itself . . . is there really such a big demand for kilts? Guess so. But I still thought it was amusing to come across a kilt rental shop. Apparently they have bagpipes too! (As evidenced by the picture on their website).
Friday, July 9, 2010
Baby Thank You Cards
Made a set of cards a while ago for Stephanie to use for her baby gift thank yous.
Also made a couple of other cards with the same paper (Lush from My Mind's Eye):
A card just because:
And a hand-made thank you card from Lydia for taking some pictures for her graduation announcement:
Also made a couple of other cards with the same paper (Lush from My Mind's Eye):
A card just because:
And a hand-made thank you card from Lydia for taking some pictures for her graduation announcement:
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Package Project 2010 Sent
Signed up several months ago to participate in The Package Project. I think snail mail is fun, although a co-worker said to me the other day when I commented that the Postal Service is raising postage rates: "Oh. You still send, like, letters?" Heh. Yes. Yes, I do.
Here's what I sent over to my package exchange partner:
Monogram cards:
Stamped/heat embossed/Glimmer Misted tags:
Butterfly tags:
Star paper in an origami box made of transparencies (which were kind of hard to do origami with - not a surprise):
Hi-Chew, a Japanese fruit chew (my obsession with Hi-Chew is like Greg's with Fruit by the Foot. The word "snarf" may appropriately be used to describe what happens when I have Hi-Chew in my possession):
Pretty paper for making gift bows à la How About Orange:
Here's what I sent over to my package exchange partner:
Monogram cards:
Stamped/heat embossed/Glimmer Misted tags:
Butterfly tags:
Star paper in an origami box made of transparencies (which were kind of hard to do origami with - not a surprise):
Hi-Chew, a Japanese fruit chew (my obsession with Hi-Chew is like Greg's with Fruit by the Foot. The word "snarf" may appropriately be used to describe what happens when I have Hi-Chew in my possession):
Pretty paper for making gift bows à la How About Orange:
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Men's Pocky
Just in case you had any doubts as to the masculinity of the popular Japanese snack, Pocky . . . bam:
