Changes

Obviously, I've changed the template on my blog. This is a long time coming. I've known in my mind that I should always keep things fresh, but my heart and stomach couldn't, well, stomach it.

When I started this blog in 2007, I chose the design that was the least used and the one that seemed to suit me. There was no way I was going to have that dot template. Do you remember that thing? It was too popular. I couldn't do it. Anyway, soon all sorts of templates seemed to surface from the heart of a True Scrapbooker. These Scrapers had TONS of blog templates with a million layers. Not only did it take forever to download, but if I chose one of those designs, then my blog would have to look like a scrapbook.

BLACH!

Yup, that's how I feel about that. Blach. I'm not a Scraper, and I'm not a Scraper poser, so there was nothing left to do but maintain my original Blogger template.

And then, on Sunday, June 20, 2010, everything changed. I noticed a link to change the look of my blog. These templates were very tantalizing to me. They were fresh. They were clean. They downloaded quickly. And best of all, they didn't look like a scrapbook. There were so many to choose from! While I was just looking around, a thought kept popping up in the back of my mind. I knew that once I changed, I would never be able to go back. That template would no longer be available to me. This, of course, is a huge risk.


I like the new look of my blog. However, I feel the scrolling capability isn't up to par. This could be a deal breaker.

1 Live Purple Urchin

Last weekend was Wicked weekend! I've never seen Wicked, and seeing how everyone raves about it, I figured it was time to go.

This is the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. This picture was basically taken from our hotel. I loved being so close to the theatre.


We stayed at the Hotel Whitcomb, and it was very cool. I loved it. It had a singing doorman. What's not to love about that? Oh, and also, it had a very long hallway:



Sorry if you got motion sickness.

On Saturday morning we had a delicious breakfast at Munch Haven, then jumped on the BART to get to the Embarcadero. Our goal was to visit the Aquarium of the Bay. We found a lot of cool things on the way, like a street fair and a half marathon. There were TONS of people out and about, and most of them didn't seem to care that there was a race going on. But I cared. And I let everyone know. Let's just say I did a lot of cheering. Or yelling. Or mostly yelling at everyone to get out of the way of the race.

Because of the race, the trolleys were not running, so we had to walk. No problem, except that suddenly my normally trusty shoes decided to turn against me and give me three blisters. I was able to find a shoe store and found an awesome pair of sandals made out of yoga mats. After that purchase, I was so zen that I decided to strike a pose.


We finally made it to the aquarium, and guess who we found there?


Mike, Kylie and Sky!


Okay, we didn't just run into them.. it was planned.. but very last minute. On Thursday or so I had texted Ky to tell her I would be in SF that weekend, and she should hop over. But they already had plans to go to SF that weekend! To see Wicked! It was perfect! So we set up this aquarium visit.

The aquarium was, well... nothing at all like the majestic and beautiful and sentimental Monterey Bay Aquarium. The only things that stopped me from calling Aquarium of the Bay Aquarium of the Lame was the fact that I got to hang out with Ky, and I got a behind the scenes tour.





In the aquarium, in the very small and unimpressive touch pool, we were asking the guy on duty what they do with the animals once they get too big for the touch pool. I was messing around and asked if they put them up for adoption. He responded that no, they do not put them up for adoption, and that it would be impossible for me to keep one at my home, as my house is of course not big enough, and I wouldn't have enough money to build the proper type of pool for the bat ray anyway.

Jeez. His job must suck if it causes him to be devoid of all humor. Or maybe they have meetings all the time for the staff to stress the importance of taking every question seriously. Or possibly, he just didn't know I was kidding. Am I really that hard to read?




While we were on the pier, we did a little Geocaching. I spotted this little guy:



And finally! We made it to Wicked!


I would tell you my feelings on Wicked, except I haven't quite acquired any yet.

I Can Ride!

The last time I tried riding a bike was a complete failure. My nieces, however, thought it was hilarious. Because that day has been haunting me, and because I don't think it is quite proper for a lady not to know how to ride a bike, I went over to the Cohen's to try again.

When Elle saw me, she asked what I was doing. Her Mom said I came over to ride bikes. Elle just looked at me like, "Yeah right. Aunt Riah ride a bike? You're crazy."

So naturally I had to prove her wrong. Nothing like healthy competition between aunt and niece, is there?

I got on the bike, with the added intimidation of having the iBert attached, and proceeded to ride around a little. I was proud of myself, and I pointed out my riding skills to Elle. She said, "Yeah, but can you go fast? You go somewhere and we'll time you. I'll draw the map." Then she bent down and drew the map in the dirt. It was simple: go around the block.

So I did. I was flying! I went around in five minutes. It still didn't impress Elle. I asked, "So was that fast?"

She responded, "Not as fast as me."

Yeah, well, at least I'm old enough to go around the block by myself.

"The Zinfandel, please, and don't skimp on the wheel wash."

I got out of my car at the service station and I ran right into this new sign:



The ridiculousness of this sign really speaks for itself. I have nothing else to say.

All The Difference

Oh man, I heart summer.

Around lunch time on Friday I received a text from Jodie. They were going to go to Avila to have a BBQ around 4 if I wanted to join them. My answer was of course YES and I asked them to bring me a change of clothes and a jacket. The beach can get windy you know.

When I got to the beach I immediately regretted my decision. A jacket? Are you kidding? I should have had them bring me a swim suit! It was gorgeous! It was 5:30 in the evening and it was beautiful!


You know, maybe I should just start keeping a bathing suit in my car.


The girls were all about surfing. You see how they are standing in the surf? Well, when a big wave comes along, they will bring their arms up for balance and catch a wave. It's only pretend, of course. They know it's not real surfing. Just because they are kids doesn't mean they have an inaccurate idea of what surfing is. Jeez.


While the girls contemplated the waves, Wade had his own work to do. You see, the ocean kept spitting out all this sand. Wade, being the astute man he is, realized the sand needed to go back into the ocean, so handful by handful he threw it back. A passerby looked at him and saw the millions of handfuls of sand waiting to be tossed back. The passerby said, "With all this sand, how do you expect to make a difference?" Wade picked up another handful, tossed it into the ocean and said, "To that handful, I made all the difference in the world."

A Big Thing

Last Monday I finally purchased my ticket to Chicago. It was a big thing. I had Mother there with me for moral support. Also, I was sick, so I needed someone to look over my work so I didn't accidentally buy a plane ticket for 2011 or something.

Anyway, I had all these plans about how I was going to get a cheap plane ticket. I could use my credit card points to pay for some of the ticket. I could try and fly at off hours. I could just go with the airline that lets bags fly free. I could try and use my United frequent flier miles, but I've had those miles since 2005, and they haven't gotten me anywhere yet. Because United is one of the two airlines that flies out of San Luis Obispo, I went to their website and found that you can now use your miles on one-way flights! Woot woot! So I made my flight selection, and only had to pay $5.00 for additional taxes and fees. Yeah! That's right! Five dollah ticket! Wicka wicka woot!

I'll Bring My Jokes

Mother and I took Greta to the dog park for our very first time. We view the dog park as a treat, so we made her work for it. First she had a nice long walk, then we practiced some of her obedience skills. After that, it was dog park time.

This is a whole new social situation. I had no idea. First, the dog must socialize, and it turns out the human must also socialize. Naturally I wanted to keep the status quo. When we entered, almost every human was gathered around this one picnic table with a shade cover. By "gathered" I really mean "jammed in". I had assumed we would let Greta wander around and Mother and I would sit on a free bench somewhere. Nope. Apparently the dog park is really a human park. Everyone knew each other! They were all chatty! Everyone knew the names of all the people there, the names of all the dogs there, the names of the people and dogs that weren't there, and there is a standing joke about a guy named Mike! I almost jumped in with a joke about Mike, but wasn't sure how it would be received from an outsider, so I held back. These people were very nice. They offered space at their table, but we politely declined. Even their dogs were nice. Almost every one of them let me pet them. It was a wonderful thing.

So my question is: Have you ever been to a dog park? What was your social experience?

I had no idea we would need to socialize. I figured Greta would, but not us. I just wasn't ready. Next time I'll bring my jokes.

Sweating Like a Sweaty Guy

Paula Abdul just taught me how to do the George Jetson.

Today in Netflix I received Paula Abdul's Get Up & Dance. It's sheer brilliance! Tonight I put on my spandex and wore my pony high. I would have laced up my high tops if I had any. I started Paula's workout and made it all the way through the warm up.

Then I had to take a break.

I learned the first segment of the dance, and then I just couldn't go on. My body hurt. My brain hurt. I was sweating like a sweaty guy. So I went and changed my shirt, grabbed my yoga mat, and watched the rest of the video from the floor. I did join in on the cool down, which included a killer ab segment with your arms and hands in all sorts of crazy positions.

You have got to try this video. It's awesome. And, if the hot tub time machine ever takes you to 1994, you will have some killer dance moves when you go to the club. You might as well be prepared and go get Paula Abdul's Get Up & Dance. Go get it. Get it right now. And then maybe one day we can do the routine together.