Housewarming Prep

This week has been solid prep for our housewarming party this weekend. Except, I suppose, the entire morning I spent at the DMV getting my California drivers license and attempting to register my car (I still need a smog check, but that'll be next week). Craig has a long workday, with his commute, so we don't have any time to go to the store together during the week. I didn't want to spend today in one hectic shopping trip, so I went shopping without him. But with the miracle of smart phones, he could "go shopping" with me. First, my shopping list:



We typically use an app for ordinary shopping. That way, the whole family can add to the list from their own phones. But for this sort of planning, I needed a paper list. I think better when I can see it all written out. I started at Smart & Final, for no better reason than it was on my way home from the DMV. I've never even been to this store before, so it was a bit of an adventure. Here are some of the options we considered there:



The next day, I went to Target. Here, I had far more decisions to make. This trip took nearly two hours because I would find the options, text them to Craig, discuss by text which we wanted, and make a selection. This may not have been the most efficient technique. First, "bev tubs":



I'm not even going to try to describe the disaster of picking wine glasses. Our conversation got all mixed up because I wanted to pick up glasses for home as well as glasses for the party. So I'll move on to candle options:



I'm sure this was not at all distracting or detrimental to Craig's productivity at work. He also had to choose from a selection of patio lights:



But we got everything*!

**



* Everything except a list of about ten items Craig will go shopping for today.

** The picture does not show any of the refrigerated or frozen foods, most of the drinks, any of the lights, the infamous wine glasses, or anything else I could find a place to put away.

Updates

If you're subscribed to my blog, you may not get notice of the posts that I back-date. And I've spent what little free time I have over the past two weeks catching up on my blog entries. I'm not sure how to fix this issue - except, of course, to post blogs in a more timely manner, which is something I assure you I am trying to do. Until I manage to keep caught up, just remember to glance through the old posts occasionally.

Atlantic City

After being home for only three days, Craig and I headed to Atlantic City to meet some friends. We've been looking forward to this trip for a long time (it was scheduled ages ago). But when the time came to pack we had to admit we were both feeling a little bit over-traveled. But this was our chance to see many of our more geographically diverse friends, so away we went.

I'm hoping to add more pictures later, but I do have a couple now. Here's a picture of Craig and I on the Boardwalk:



Atlantic City was cold and windy. One day we escaped the cold by visiting The Pier. A friend called me while we were at Starbucks and Craig took this picture of me:



Without knowing he had taken a picture of me, I took this picture of him as soon as I was finished with my call:



We had time to catch the water show that Thinkwell designed and installed some time ago. Here we are waiting:



The show starts at the top of the hour. It's a show of music, lights, and water. I'm told this show was the inspiration for Disney's World of Color. Here is a picture of the show in progress:



One night, we got dressed up and went out for dinner:



We had a great time. But goodness it was lovely to be home again after.

Vancouver by Seattle

Not content to stay at home for even one weekend, we headed off to Vancouver by way of Seattle. We flew into Seattle (because it was significantly cheaper and quicker than flying into Vancouver) and rented a car. Several stops - Five Guys for lunch, Starbucks for Craig and I, a rest area to return our coffee rental, and the boarder - extended our trip. As we were driving through the Seattle metro, I mentioned that John and I had never driven to Vancouver...we always took the train. Why we didn't even consider the train for this trip is still a mystery to me.

We had a little drama finding our hotel, because Craig's phone died and neither Bryce nor I had international data. We stopped at another hotel for directions. Craig got directions from the bellman at the hotel and I got directions on my phone from the nearby Starbucks hot-spot. We got to the hotel, which was quite lovely. Bryce posted this picture of his room to Instagram:



After dinner with Mark, Kate, and Cammi, we went to their apartment. Their apartment was handily located less than a block from our hotel. They had incredible views from there 31st floor apartment. I hope to add pictures later, but I'm sure Craig posted some to Facebook.

Mark wanted to introduce me to a Canadian classic - poutine. So after relaxing in their apartment for awhile, we headed out again. After walking about a mile, Craig asked me how far I thought this place was from their apartment. I pointed to Kate walking ahead of us and said, "She changed to Uggs, it's far." Because, you see, Kate walks EVERYWHERE in her four-inch heels. If she has changed to something flat, we are going for a hike, not a walk. Over hills and through some interesting nightlife, we got to Mark's favorite poutine place. Here we are:



It was actually much better than we expected - amazing fries, cheese curds, bacon, and gravy. Maybe it was the distance of the walk, but Craig and I devoured our small poutine in no time at all.

Friday morning, Craig, Bryce, and I went to Tim Horton's for breakfast, after a stop at Starbucks (of course). Then we went souvenir shopping. I returned to the hotel for a bit while Bryce and Craig went in search of lunch; breakfast had been more than enough for me. Then Craig and I went to tour an attraction while Kate took Bryce on the Sky Train to Mark's office. Mark had arranged for quite a presentation for Bryce at his office.

We ate too much on this trip and walked more than enough on the hills of downtown Vancouver. We went to a video game themed restaurant and toured Gas Town in Vancouver. We had too much popcorn (and not much else worth eating) at the video game place. And we saw fascinating things in Gas Town.



All too soon, we had to leave Vancouver to get back to Seattle for our flight home. But we took a few hours to show Bryce Seattle. We went to Pike's Market and I got my favorite - fresh donuts:



And we went up in the Space Needle:

Thea Awards part 2

I raced through my posts to catch up, so now I have to add a few more pictures. This is a decent picture of Craig and I at the Thea Awards:



I'm not going to repost the horrible picture In Park magazine took of us that night. My lips were dry and I was laughing at whatever Craig said, but it came out looking like I was horrified. The worst of it is, I don't understand why they picked that picture of us. I noticed the man taking at least a dozen photographs, and I certainly wasn't watching him the entire time (Craig didn't even notice the photographer was there). The joy of Facebook - someone tagged us in the picture.

Thea Awards

Our next weekend was spent at Disneyland. Craig and I spent the weekend there for the first time. We stayed at The Grand Californian Hotel. I'm told it is modeled after the Ahwahnee, where we stayed a couple weeks before, but I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been told. While the Ahwahnee was certainly kid-friendly, Disney had them beat. This was in our closet (in case you forgot your pack-and-play):



I was able to check-in the room early, which was a relief because I had planned to spend the entire day in the theme park, alone, while Craig was in meetings. Instead, I was able to relax in the room. Of course, when I looked out our window, I did wonder how much relaxing I would be able to do:



Despite the fact that I could clearly hear the screams of riders from our balcony, the room was surprisingly quiet. I was able to nap and catch up on some computer work I wanted to do, which was lovely. I spent most of the weekend racing across Downtown Disney to meet Craig between meetings, but even that was fun.

Then, of course, we had the Thea Awards - a chance to get dressed up and socialize with everyone in his industry. Granted, I don't have much to add to the conversation, but it's always interesting to listen and learn about what he does. As we've attended this sort of event, several people have mentioned their surprise at my ease with talking to anyone. I cannot very well say, "It's my face. You see, my entire life, people have felt free to share their most intimate life stories with me. And if they don't have something shocking and disturbing to say, they just talk endlessly to me." (Unfortunately, this is true.) Instead, I tell them, "Well, my dad was on the Soil Conservation Board." Or the Fire Board. Or any of the other volunteer positions he's held. Whatever the reason, I'm comfortable talking to anyone for as long as they care to talk.

I only have one picture of us dressed up, with the Death Eaters:



I didn't get a picture of my favorite moment of the weekend. Craig had spoken to a group of young kids interested in the industry earlier that morning. After dinner, Craig was pulled up on stage for pictures of past Thea Presidents. There was a young man standing awkwardly behind me. Francois leaned over to me and whispered, "I think that little boy wants your boyfriends autograph." I laughed, but glanced over at the kid a second time. He was clearly waiting for something.

As I stood there, one of Craig's college wandered over and started talking to the kid. The boy told him, "I know it's silly, but I'm hoping I can get Craig Hanna to sign my wand." Warner Brothers had given each attendee a HP wand, which had caused quite a stir. I promptly texted Craig to let him know. Meanwhile, all the Thinkwellians were called up on stage for pictures, leaving me alone. The boy was still standing there, waiting, so I moved over to him and asked about where he was going to school (something I had heard him mention).

He started with, "I'm sure you're just laughing at me, but I really hoped Craig Hanna would sign my wand." I just smiled and asked where he was going to school. He talked about that for a bit before he asked me what I did in the industry. I could only say, "Ah, I'm Craig's girlfriend. Did you hear his presentation?" He seemed equally awed to have met me, which was odd, but he was easily convinced to tell me about Craig's presentation. I heard all about how wonderful and amazing Craig is which, of course, I know.

Craig returned to me after pictures and found me still talking (or listening) to this poor, excited kid. He barely managed introductions before he asked Craig to sign his wand. Craig made an inappropriate remark to this request, naturally, but he did as he was asked. They talked for a bit - Craig invited him to visit Thinkwell and talk more about things another day. Then the giddy child left us. As soon as the boy was out of earshot, Craig turned to me and said theatrically, "I thought you were joking!"

Could I make up that sort of crazy? Sign his wand...honestly.