CB
Fiesta 2004
We haven't really done a lot of Fiesta events in the past. It's a fun time, but can be so crwoded. There are a bunch of different events you'd think there would be a few that aren't crowded, but it isn't so anymore. But this year Fran and I took the kids to the carnival. They block off a large section of streets and parking lots right smack in the middle of downtown. There are rides and games and food everywhere. It's a big event and lasts the entire Fiesta - two weeks worth I think it is.
I heard on the radio about the armband pass. Usually the bands are good for Monday-Thrusdays, but not this time. You buy the pass before Fiesta for $15.00 and it is good for any day of the carnival. i wasn't sure exactly how much the rides were, but I figured if the rides were $2.00 each, then 8 rides is easy to do by the kids. I bought the tickets hoping to go on the last Saturday of Fiesta.
Fran has always wanted to go to King Williams Fair. It's supposed to be one of the smaller, lesser known festivals. So we plan on going to King Williams Fair around noon and then head over to the carnival when we got tired of King William
# | I'm adding commenting features to my pages. I'm looking forward to my pages being a little more interactive. It also has a trackback feature, but I'm not sure if that will be of any use for me. I'd appreciate it if you would leave a comment in a post that suits your fancy. Then I can test this commenting system and see if I've got it set up properly. Thanks for your patience.
# | Since we went on a winter vacation, I wasn't planning on a long summer vacation this year. Mostly we will go to Fiesta Texas and down to the coast for a weekend or two.
This past weekend was the Texas Sand Festival in Port Aransas. Because it was raining at home and the weekend forecast wasn't any better, I decided to head for the beach. It was a lot of fun- the kids played in the water and I looked at the sculputures. I'd like to go each year. for pictures, go to the photos page for a link.
Now my sister is thinking about a train trip to New Orleans. I think it's worth looking into. I've always wanted to ride a train. I've ridden smaller routes - Williams to Grand Canyon, scenic Texas trains, and trains in Japan but what I'm talking about is a longer route. One that you have to sleep on. That would be a real training trip.
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I can't say I've lived everywhere, but I have been to a few states. I will probably get around to visiting them all sooner or later. Some I've only visited briefly on our way to another destination and so I'd like to revist and stay longer. Click here to create your own visited states map They also have a visited country map, but I can count those on one hand: USA, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, England (do airports count?) and Japan. Okay, that's six if you count airports. Oops! I forgot about the cruise! Wow, I can add Puerto Rico, St Thomas, St Kitts, St Lucia, Barbados, and Dominica!
# | This year for our vacation we decided to take a winter trip. The kids haven't really seen much snow and they wanted to play in the snow. Sounds like a good idea to me, now where to? I didn't want anyplace full of tourists with high prices and long lines. Most of Colorado was out. Minnesota sounded really good to me; surely they have snow every year and it's an easy drive straight up I-35.
So we ventured off: me, my kids (9yo Alan, 12yo Grace), my sister and her two (13yo Russell, 12yo David) boys and our mom. We rented a 12 passenger van so we had plenty of room for the long drive (two long days getting there and three longish ones driving home.) Somehow even with a van that big it wasn't big enough to prevent the kids from bickering (he's taking up space, she's pushing me in the back, I hear his CD playing too loud, etc) sigh
We left on Christmas morning. By the end of the day I was pretty tired of IHOPs and Denny's (the only places open on Christmas.) We made it to Kansas City the first night. Not bad at all. And this is with 4 kids and three adults. Plus we had to stop in every state so Alan could pee au nautrel (his lifelong goal to pee in every state.)
The condo in Nisswa was awesome. Two bedrooms in a two story split level condo with a hot tub in a sun room. The living room had a gas fireplace and a wall of windows looking out into a wooded area. The kitchen shared that same great view. It would be a great place to stay in the summer months too. We bought some bird seed and scattered it out on the deck and barbeque grill and had quite a show of birds and squirrels during the week. We even saw a bunch of deer walking through the trees late one day.
Since my son was having his 10th birthday on this trip, we decided to celebrate it by spending the day at Camp Snoopy in the Mall of the Americas. We all had a blast, the rides were good and varied for everyone's tastes. The rest of the mall was huge. We didn't shop much (how can you with 3 boys?) and it wasn't necessary anyways - most of the stores seemed to be the same as what we have in our malls in Texas. We did visit a Christmas store that had some super sales. I bought some glass snowmen ornaments to commemorate our Christmas trip.
We also got to celebrate New Years there. It was strange indeed to see fireworks for sale in the stores. It's illegal in our city, so the kids were thrilled to be able to shoot off some fireworks. We stuck a bunch of sparklers in the snow and lit them for a real pretty effect. Besides the fireworks the kids also bought some other firework. I wasn't too sure how to set it up to fire it (toss it, anchor it, lay it on the ground) so the first time I set it down on the deck. It spun around melting the little bit of snow on the decking and making a nice charred space on the deck. So the next time I put the firework on the snow off the deck. The thing sputtered and then took off straight towards the deck and proceeded to burn into the side of the deck! Finally on the third try I got smart and we moved out onto the driveway away from wood decking. hehe
We bought some sleds for the kids and they used them to traipse through the woods and find sledding hills. There were a few good hills and trails that were a lot of fun. But they also tried some hills that were definetly not good. Alan kept wanting to take this one hill that dropped abruptly. And the hills that ended on the roads were also forbidden but very inviting (of course). We also had fun walking on the frozen lake and checking out the fish huts. The resort had cleared off a portion of the lake and filled it for ice skating but we never got around to giving that a try. The kids were having too much fun sledding. It snowed one full day and night which really thrilled us. I wish it had snowed a lot more, but then that would have made driving and my mother a hassle I don't need.
We played games (cranium, guesstures, blurt) and worked on a few puzzles. We had hot cocoa (with peppermint schnapps for me) and sat in the hot tub. Mostly we laughed at all the clothes and gloves and hats and long johns we had to wear to keep warm!
We went skiing at a local ski slope. Mom had no desire to watch us break our legs, so she stayed home and waited for the inevitable call from the emergency room. We got everyone skiis and boots fitted and then headed out to the bunny hill for our lesson. I knew how to ski from years past, but the others didn't know a thing. My sister made it walking to the tow rope of the bunny hill and had to rest. She got down MAYBE 1/4 of the bunny hill when she decided that she had enough fun and went back to the lodge. I stayed with the kids and skiied with them. The older kids skiied on some of the other hills while Alan and I stayed on the easier slopes. He wasn't too happy with this skiing thing but he eventually got the confidence to have some fun. He stuck to the tow rope on the bunny hill though. My kids hated riding the chair lift. They are my kids, cause I hate it too. And of course the thing HAS to stop when i'm on it. Geez, I nearly had a fit from the rocking. Usually I just close my eyes, but I kept feeling like I was falling out of the chair. I tried my best to be good and not be a whiny butt just for my kids, but it didn't work. :( I did pretty well skiing. It had been years (wow, back in the early 80's) since I last skiied but I didn't forget much at all. I fell just once going down a hill too fast and unable to slow down. Back at the condo I felt sore all over, so I jumped into the hot tub to ease the muscles. It helped I'm sure but I was still sore; my arms hurt from grabbing onto the tow rope, my shins hurt, my calves.... the list goes on.
We did some shopping in Nisswa, the small town nearest to our condo. Most of the gift shops close for the winter, and so many were having sales. The favorite shop of all is the Chocolate Ox, the candy store. They were selling the best fudge ever for $1.00 a pound! Needless to say we bought a lot of fudge.
I took quite a few pictures of our trip
# | Oh my pinch me will ya? I can't believe it but went on a cruise! And it was to warm sandy beaches in the Caribbean too! What a dream come true. Thanks to my friend Mike, I was able to have 7 days of cruising in the Caribbean for free.
It was awesome. The ship was beautiful and huge. It's not one of the biggest cruise ships, but it is quite large - 2000 passengers. But I didn't feel crowded at all. There is so much to do and see on the ship, everyone is spread everywhere. The food was superb and plentiful. Norwegian Cruise Lines has a FreeStyle program where there are no set dinner times. It's more like a restaurant -- first come first served. If you want to be seated with others, that's fine, and if you prefer to be alone, that's fine too.
Islands I visited:
The islands were all pretty. For each port we took one of the shore excursions the ship offered. At St Thomas is had just rained heavily, so our trip was canceled. But our cab driver was the resourceful one and gave us a 2 hour tour for a nominal charge. I liked Dominica the most but it might have been because it was the only island that I took a land tour. We traveled into the rainforest and saw so many plants and trees in bloom. There were also waterfalls too. Just gorgeous. In St Kitts I canceled my train trip in favor of a snorkeling tour. I have never snorkeled before, so I was a bit apprehensive. But I loved it and so canceled the next days excursion for another snorkel trip! Both were nice, but the first site was so clear and beautiful. I saw different fish each time. I took a bunch of pictures with my digital camera and some with an underwater camera too. I haven't gotten the underwater pics developed yet, but when I do they will be loaded with the others.
Purchases: I bought a bunch of stuff. Hey it's a cruise and Christmas is coming up.
- Tanzanite ring and earrings
- The islands have jewelry shops everywhere. I found a pretty tanzanite ring set in white gold tha I liked and wasn't too expensive. It's a beautiful blue that reminds me of the ocean surrounding the islands. I also found a pair of tanzanite earrings to match.
- Diamond stud earrings
- I picked up a few freebie sets of diamond stud earrings; the diamond is so small but they are set in gold and look good. I wear them every now and then and I gave the other pair to Grace.
- Binoculars
- The set I bought online and brought with me were just too big. This new one has a good range and they are so small I can carry them anywhere. Plus they were only $25.
- Del Sol: Tshirts, nail polish, tote bags
- A company by the name of Del Sol produces items that change color when they are under sunlight. The designs are pretty and I'm sure the kids will get a kick out of the shirts. I also picked up a few bottles of nail polish for Grace. I thought she'd like having color change polish. They also gave every cabin a free tote bag. It is fun to watch the colors change so vibrantly.
- soap and eggs
- I bought a few bars of olive oil soap, Castille soap, and one other moisturizing soap in Dominica. They smell lovely and I've wanted to buy some before but never did. One of the vendors at the rainforest waterfall had a basket full of tiny rock eggs. I instantly thought of my long haired online friends and bought a few.
I think cruising is the best way to vacation. It's relaxing and everything is within reach.
# | Last week Alan found another dog. He loves animals and wants to keep every stray he finds. I tell him that he's got a heart of gold and that the owners would be very sad to lose their dog, so we need to find the owners or let the dog go so it can wander back home.
Most of the time that works. But last week he found a dalmatian mix and it had been hanging around for a while. So we leashed him and took him for a walk around the block looking for owners. No one claimed him. There are a few homes that have dals, one lady said the dog looked like her neighbor's dog, but they had moved that very day. Did they dump this dog, I wonder? Oh I hope not; that is so cruel.
The neighborhood search didn't work, calling local vets didn't work, notifying our local police was a bust, as was emailing the local dalmatian rescue person. We didn't see any signs, and we didn't post any signs because it rained most every evening. I told Alan that if after a week, we could keep him.
His name is Abe, because during our search the dog plopped down in a lawn right in front of a $5 bill. He's just under a year old and is very good natured. His spots aren't solid, instead they are dappled with white. We took him to the vet for all his shots and a checkup. He's healthy with the exception of worms, but that's easily taken care of. He's a smart guy and learning to sit and go into his crate (it's really Didi's but he's using it until I can afford another crate) on command.
# | I've redesigned this site a bit. I'm using blogs for most of the pages. I like the fact that I can add and change entries from anywhere. It's creating the template that really sets the tone and feel for the page.
And so, knowing me, each page is a little different using ideas and graphics from around the internet. The nifty thing about blogs is that I can change the template for a totally different look and won't have to retype the content. muy bueno.
Well I've got most of the pages done. The hair page is done. It's my journal of how I'm enjoying growing my hair long.
I've got all the entries into the Disney page, but it needs some spicing up. The page needs a table of contents or a go back button or something. I like how I did it - each set of pictures are grouped together so you can see the page as it appears in the scrapbook. Then I've journaled a bit about the photos and our time at WDW. But the best part (to me) is the journaling at the bottom of each entry in italics. There I describe how I made the pages. Plus, you can click on an image to get a larger view of the page.
The genealogy page is up and running. That one takes some time to load as it is on a different host and I've got over 15MB of files to FTP. I still don't have the GEDCOM file created, but that gets loaded onto yet another host. Check out the pages though, I think Legacy does a spanking job of creating pretty web pages. Of course I chose the background and graphics, but Legacy did the hard work - there are over 4,000 people in my family tree!
# | My latest obsession is Where's George - it's a site where you can track bills. It's a lot of fun. I enter my bills into the system, mark them and then spend like I normally would. Pretty soon, others get my bills as change and might wonder what the marking is all about. Viola! They enter my bill and I find out how far it's traveled and how long it took to get to the new owner. Sometimes they even leave interesting notes about where they got the bill. Give it a try and if you ever come across a Georged bill, please report it at Where's George.
I mess around a lot with my computer playing a few games (that RollerCoaster Tycoon is addicting!) surfing, chatting with friends, paying bills, and getting into trouble. I am always on the lookout for interesting fonts and clip art; so the 'net access has really helped me in those areas. My yahoo nickname is 'snippet78' (or Snippet3 on AOL), and my ICQ number is 6251659.
I'm also growing out my hair. It has touched my tailbone now, and I love it. I've found a great bunch of fellow long hair lovers that I spend way to much time chatting with and gleaning great bits of advice from. Check out my hair page for more info.
What's a snippet? Snippets are those little bits of leftover cross stitch floss. It's also snippets of code, pieces of email you send to someone, etc. It could also be snippets of John Wayne Bobbitt -- but that's another story altogether ;)
I like to do lots of other things too. I love going to the movies and losing myself in whatever the story may be (no horror flicks, though). I cross stitch when I get the chance, but I've really not done very much since Alan was born. In the warmer months (which is most of the time in Texas), I work in my yard. Recently, I've gotten into bonsai (little trees in pots). I also do some genealogy work. I can't take all the credit for this though; my dad and his mom did most of the research and after they passed away, I have been the keeper. I just got a digital camera so I've been busy taking pictures of the kids and putting them into a scrapbook. Scrapping is a lot of fun and an excellent way to combine a craft with all those pictures that I've got sitting in boxes and drawers. And of course there is my faith in Jesus Christ. I'm never without Him. He is the one who guides my days and provides for my every need. He is also the one who is challenging me to walk in His path -- and that is not an easy task for me, but my friends at church help keep me focused on what is important.
# | I have two wonderful kids; Grace and Alan. They are both really cute; blonde hair and blue eyes. Grace is shy and quiet; Alan is the exact opposite: outgoing and aggressive. And they are both very smart - something they get from their mother ;) It is very exciting to watch these two grow up. But they do know how to keep me busy through my days. They love to play games and most of the time are very good playmates, but there are times when they fight like crazy. They like to play on the computer too, and complain that I am on the computer too much and don't give them enough time for their games ~ RollerCoaster Tycoon, the Sims, Lego Loco, LegoLand, I Spy, and Cosmo Makeover. The kids are usually outside with friends on their bikes, rollerblades or scooters, or inside creating wonderful Lego 'things'. We also enjoy taking walks around the neighborhood and playing with the animals. We've got Didi (a rare tri-color dalmatian), two gerbils, and a dwarf hamster.
# | What do I want to tell you? hmmm... I really don't know. I have always been called by my middle name -- Carol. That's what my parents named me and I like it; I like the idea of marching to a different drummer, so my kids are also called by their middle names.
I am an Air Force brat, so I grew up in Turkey, Maryland, and Japan. Texas is and always will be my home.
I have a very special place in my heart for Misawa AB, Japan. I went to high school there and will always remember the friends and the great times we had. If you know anyone who attended Misawa High School (later renamed Edgren High School) from 1975 until 1978 send me a note and share some of your memories! We had our first ever reunion in 1998; it was an all-year reunion at none other than Las Vegas! It was a very special time for many of us. If you didn't get a chance to attend, you missed a lot of fun! Attend the next reunion and don't be left out. Thanks to today's technology and Sharon Mehaffey Laubenstein, we have an alumni web site to collect our memories and visit in a chat room.
After graduating high school in San Antonio (John Jay, class of '78) I went to UTSA and got my BS in Math, Computer Science and System Design. I really enjoyed UTSA. I also had a job through the co-op program and worked at Kelly AFB as a computer assistant. I enjoyed that job very much and learned a lot. I've stayed at Kelly (now it's Lackland) through my career as a Computer Scientist. It has been very rewarding.
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