Life in the Slow Lane

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but we caved. Friday night at 8:23 found us racing to the Disney Store to purchase annual passes so we wouldn't need to stand in line Saturday morning. Don't ask us exactly how we justified the purchase, but let's just say this month we are eating out of the abundance of our freezer and pantry supplies rather than accomplishing our normal grocery routine in an attempt to diminish the impact to our savings. And look... standing in line to meet Winnie the Pooh: And with the stubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff: Really, believe me, it was meant to be... I mean... we just happened to be at Pooh's Thoughtful Spot for the only 15 minutes when all of our favorite residents of the Hundred Acre Woods were there to take pictures. I know this still doesn't quite justify a spur of the minute purchase of annual passes to Disneyland, but look at those eyes! Pooh Corner was clearly a hit. CutieLittleBoy requested we r...

I've been thinking about the expression "When God closes a door, He opens a window." It is meant to comfort the frustrated, to assure that just because you aren't able to go or do the thing you had anticipated, God still has a plan for you. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Perhaps it is because the language purist and individualist that I am resents having a cliche applied to my life. Or that I am an over-literalist and the analogy of having a door closed on me and then trying to find a window that I don't mind climbing in, seems a waste of time and energy. It reminds me of one super stellar housesitting gig I accomplished where I locked myself out of the house. The only way I could come up with to get back inside was through the doggy door. Of course, the dog was of the purse-carrying kind and there was no way I was going to get into the house through her route of egress, but I did spend a good deal of time imagining scenarios wherein the doggy door was my path to succe...

There are many reasons to take public transportation, not the least of which is because CutieLittleBoy asks repeatedly to get on the "bus/train". So we agree: Vacation Day 1 is all about riding the bus/train.  For those of my readers who take public transportation every day, please stop laughing. I once read an article by a man involved in urban ministry who preached the necessity of teaching children how to use public transportation. As a rite of passage he took each of his three children downtown at the age of five and assigned them the task of making it back home by themselves. (I could possibly be wrong about the age, but it was shockingly early.) As a postscript he included the comment that he secretly shadowed his children to make sure they were safe, but I always figured he included that only at the insistence of his wife who likely spent the entire day sitting at the kitchen table biting her nails and watching the second hand inch around the clock. Not...

The year 2013, we've decided, is the year of the Los Angeles vacation. Since getting married, SOS and I have alternated between domestic and international destinations for our vacations. After our two weeks in the Cook Islands in 2012, this year calls for something a little closer to home. Problem is, we think our normal vacation time (and hours) might be otherwise occupied. So where can you go for vacation experiences and keep it all contained to weekends? There's no place like home: Los Angeles, let the good times roll.