24 Hours without POWER!

Yesterday at 5:32 am the power went out. I know it was precisely 5:32 because it woke me up. Yep, Silence woke me up. We sleep with a fan on. It creates white noise. We have slept with a fan for 27 years. We take a small version with us when we travel. We have requested them in Europe from the hotels and most of the time, they have them. So at 5:32 on Wed. morning, the silence was deafening.

In the total silence, I heard everything:

The wind blowing outside

The blinds softly banging against the window every 40 seconds or so

Our big dog stretching, yawning and then snoring

Our little black dog, who is 16 1/2 years old, got up and decided to walk around. He padded across the carpet to the wood floor. Click, click, click across the floor. Stop. Go back. 10 TIMES. Shadow! Lay down! Problem is, at 16, he doesn't hear me.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! The alarm is going off downstairs telling us that there is no power. I have to get up and turn off the chimes because it will continue to go off every 2 minutes.

I get up and walk to the top of the stairs. Flip on the light switch. DUH, no power. I carefully navigate the stairs and go to the alarm system. Flip on the light switch. DUH, no power. I don't know where a flashlight is. I go get the flame lighter thing for the barbeque, turn it on, and proceed to turn the chimes off the alarm. Go back upstairs. Try for two hours to go back to sleep and can't because I can hear EVERY LITTLE SOUND.

It's time to get up. Guess what, no power for the coffee maker. Head out to McDonalds for coffee. The sun is just coming up, the sky is pink, the neighborhood is so quiet, not a sound to be heard. I feel like I'm in a Stephen King novel. I expect when I get into the car and turn on the radio, to hear about some terrorist act in Foothill Ranch. But no, just equipment failure and the power should be on by 5pm.

3pm update: no power until 7pm.

7pm update: no power until 7am.

We go to home depot to rent a generator and buy some flashlights. We buy extention cords, a gas can, and gas. We get it home. We hook it all up and guess what? The generator DOESN'T WORK!!! Expletives are hurled around by the Handsome Husband. It's already 8:30, we decide to just go read.

Here are the things I found most valuable with no power:

This cheap Energizer flashlight. See that little stand underneath it. You can totally prop it up and aim it to light whatever you are doing. Including reading a Kindle. It had a nice clear light and big lighting area. It costs like $6.00 and came with batteries. Liked it better than the huge Maglite we bought HH which had a yellowish light and you could see the lightbulb shadow in the middle of the lighted area.

HH had these nifty little Foster Grants. He bought them after Christmas to use while reading on airplanes. They totally lighted his kindle or his path in front of him. Worth the $15. I'm getting myself a pair. Super Handy

It's funny the things you miss. We have this alarm clock. It projects the time onto the ceiling or a wall at night. When you wake up in the night, you just open your eyes to the ceiling and you can see that it is 12:38, like below. I totally missed this during my wakeful sleep.

Thankfully the power is back on, my food didn't spoil in the refrig/freezer. I now am the owner of two flashlights and various extention cords and I have a new found respect for my fan and white noise.

Vancouver?

As we were watching TV last night, I casually asked the Handsome Husband where his conference in May was going to be this year. Last year we went to Boston and I LOVED it. He said Vancouver. VANCOUVER!!! I've always wanted to go the the Empress Hotel and Buschart Gardens, so I invited myself! I began to research the area.

Of course, we will stay at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. Surprisingly, not very expensive. As I was looking at the hotel, I came across these luxury tent cabins.

Very luxe and nestled in the most beautiful little spot...

too bad they are $4,500.oo per person for 3 nights all inclusive. Too rich for my blood. The Handsome Husband would have really liked it.

I plan to go shopping in both the historic district where ever shopping is offered.

Whale watching is a must. I guess they find as many as 100 whales in a pod. I do get seasick, however, and it could be miserable for me. But I so want to see these guys.

We plan on going to Stanley Park and other cultural areas. We will explore Vancouver Island and go on some hikes.

This bridge is just a short drive from Vancouver. A must. I don't think I will chicken out, it looks pretty safe.

I'm off to the book store now to find a DK Eyewitness book on Vancouver. I love DK Eyewitness guides.

Unbroken - Amazing Book

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. It is a story of survival, resilience and redemption. So incredible, so uplifting, so amazing!

This is a biography of the life of Louis Zamperini, Olympian. The book is basically divided up into six parts.

1. Life as a kid, getting into trouble

2. Finding track through the guidance of his older brother and excelling.

3. Being drafted into the Airforce and his missions.

4. Being given a faulty plane and crashing into the ocean and surviving against all odds.

5. Prison Camp

6. After the war.

The book is written by Laura Hillenbrand who wrote Seabiscuit (another book I could not put down). It is so good, it is definitely in my top 10 of all time reads. It is a true story, the history is fascinating. When learning about World War II, we focus so much on the Germany - Hitler side. I didn't know anything about the Japanese and the Pacific Theatre beyond Pearl Harbor, Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

This book also reinforced my patriotism and love of the men who fight for our country.

I Had To Buy New Tires

Ugh! I had to buy new tires for my car today.

I hate buying new tires.

I don't feel like I'm getting anything for my money, even though I know I am.

I'm safer and the ride is smoother.

I'm not complaining, ok, I'm complaining a little bit.

When I think what I could have done with that money...

1. Bought a plane ticket to Paris or London or Prague or Vienna, etc. you get the idea.

2. Bought a new piece of furniture; a headboard, a sideboard a mirrored dresser!

3.Taken my family to San Francisco for 4 days and seen the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Cable Cars, shopping and dinner out.

4. Bought a new wardrobe.

5. Bought books for my two college students...okay that's just as bad as buying tires!

Black Swan

I went with two of my girlfriends to see Black Swan. The most recent film from director Darren Aronofsky and it stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a ballerina who is struggling with her new role in a new production of the famous play Swan Lake, where she has been cast to play both the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. Pushed to the edge by the demanding and rough attitude of her trainer (played by Vincent Cassel) and the fierce competition between her and another dancer (Milla Kunis), Nina begins to slowly drift into a world of lies and deceit, where the line between what is real and what is not fades away.

When the movie was over, we all looked at each other with a "what the heck" expression. It begins slowly and becomes more and more bizarre, disturbing, strange, distressing and creepy.

I did like the artistic ballet scenes and the dancing a lot. It is one of those films that will make you think about it for days and days. I'm glad I saw it. I'm not sure if I liked it or not. I wouldn't see it with my daughters or my Handsome Husband.

Rose Parade Part 2

The colors on this train are really vibrant, HH and I were amazed. I liked it better when I saw in person than when I saw it on TV.

No words

This under the sea float with the turtle was rich is visual textures. So pretty.

This storybook treehouse float was one of our favorite. So adorable, a lot of detail. Love the hollyhocks growing up in the garden, the roses in the trees, the stain glass, the visual texture of the trees.

Yes, definitely a favorite.

The City of Beverly Hills turns 100 and they had a beautiful float. If a compact little garden like this truly existed, I would walk in it every day. Love the detail of the tile.

I loved the vividness of the purple orchards in the trees, the bark of the trees, the hanging plants and the water fountain. A favorite.

I found this peacock delightful in so many ways. I love that it is all white. I saw my first all white peacock at Leeds Castle in Oct. Beautiful, majestic birds.

I love this urn with flowers

I don't know what they used to get that great texture. Crushed shells, birdseed, I don't know.

Happy Birthday, Delaney!

Today our tiny baby is 19 years old.

She goes by Delaney, Del, Blondie, Barbie, Teeny Tiny and Tiny Baby

She hates to wear shoes and tight clothes

She loves the color blue

She loves the beach

She loves her family

She is compassionate and roots for the underdog

She wakes up early

She is an awesome athelete

She is a great listener and friend

She has had a big year: graduated high school, got a new car and went away to college

She started wearing nail polish, high heels, and carrying a purse

She saves money

She hates eating fast food

She has chosen Chicken Artichoke Pizza for her birthday dinner

We love her!

Rose Parade Floats (Part1)

If you look close, you can see the dog jumping into the water after his toy.

Growing up in So. Cal, it is tradition to watch the Rose Parade on New Year's Morning. I've never been in person, maybe one day we'll all go. They make it so easy, you can buy tickets to sit in the grandstands for $65 each. That is what I would do. No camping out on the parade route for me. It is about an hour and 15 minutes from our home. I've been once before to see the floats after the parade. They are so beautiful in person. Bigger, brighter, and more detailed than you can see on TV.

They are only allowed to use natural substances on the floats. Flowers, rice, grain, seaweed, bark, fruits and vegetables, etc. The floats are really detailed.

Here is a mass of flowers that was on the base of one of the floats. Gorgeous...a new screen saver for me!

This year it wasn't very crowded. There was the threat of rain, but the crowd was still pretty good. This is one of my favorite floats.

The Handsome Husband enjoying himself.

I love the use of Pampas grass on the shins of the horses.

This was such a cute little castle. I wish the colors were as vivid on camera as in person.

I love the rose topiaries and the shutters.

This was a massive float. I loved the action of the mustang horses. You could just hear them thundering through the prairie.

I will post more floats tomorrow. There were so many great ones this year.

A interesting story...

The floats are lined up along two major streets in Pasadena. There is parking all along neighborhood streets. As we were looking for spots, people were holding up signs, charging $20 to park in their driveway or on their lawn. We came across a 15 ish girl with a flag and she said parking was only $10 in this lot. We pulled in, parked our car and headed out to the float sight. Two hours later we returned to our car. There were policemen everywhere. It seems a guy decided to take the gates of their hinges and charge admission to park in this Edison lot. He had no permission to do so. What's funny is he gave us a stub like you get when you park your car in lots and told us to lock up. The police arrested him and had to wait at the lot until everyone returned for their car. For some reason I took a picture of our car parked in the lot before we headed off to see the floats. I got a picture of one of the guys, but I don't know if it was the master mind. The police said he pulled some neighborhood people to work for him at $15 an hour. There seems to be more and more con men out there these days. Be careful!

Tron Legacy 3D IMAX

The Handsome Husband and I went to see Tron Legacy on New Year's Eve in 3D IMAX. I liked this movie a lot. I was told it wasn't that good, so maybe I went in with low expectations. I came out really pleased and thought it was a GREAT movie. It stars Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund (plays Kevin Flynn's adult son Sam) and Olivia Wilde.

I was really impressed with Olivia Wilde. She is amazingly beautiful in this movie and has such grace and femininity even though she fights and drives cars like nobody's business.