I had another gun-related dream this weekend. That makes something like four or five gun-dreams I've had since getting pregnant. Try as I might, I can't seem to think of any connection between babies and guns, so I'm not quite sure where my subconscious is trying to go with this.
Upon waking, however, I realized that in all the dreams I've had since being pregnant, I've never looked pregnant in any of them--in fact, save one, I've never been pregnant in any of them. Given the fact that I've been "showing" since the end of the first trimester, you'd think this new self-image would have seeped into the nether regions of my brain by now, but apparently not. It makes me wonder just what our subconscious pulls from when piecing together an image of ourselves for use in our dreams. Is it based on what you looked like for the majority of your life? On what you wish you looked like? How drastic of a change needs to occur to your body before your true self is mirrored in your dreams? It seems at first blush like a fairly unimportant concept to research, but I think there are ties there to some really interesting issues regarding our self-image. We all know that the way we see ourselves is rarely the way others see us; people who suffer from eating disorders and see themselves as overweight when they're really skin and bones is a prime, albeit extreme, example.
So, out of curiosity, how true to reality is the dream version of you? Has it ever changed? What triggered the change and how long did it take for your subconscious to make it? Ah, psychology--it's such a fascination to me. Wish I knew more about it...
Monday, October 24, 2005
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Well said.
For anyone who a) thinks they want to be a writer, or b) think writers are some kind of extra-special people, please go read this awesome post. If I had an office, this would be framed and on the wall.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Done!
The edits are in, and novel #2 is officially complete! I can't believe how early in the fall we finished; I really thought it would end up taking closer to December to get it all done. What a relief! Now I can concentrate on doing all those things I've been neglecting because I felt bad not working on my book.
It's been raining here for two full days--it's wonderful. It's so nice and cool now! Dan was laughing at me last night, because when we left Bible study and were walking to our car I kept saying, "It feels so nice out here!" and six months ago I would have been complaining about how cold it was. Heck, all last night he had the down comforter pulled up and I just had the sheet. Weird! I've never been warm-blooded before.
Dan and I both adore the rain. We've lit a fire the last two nights and turned the lights down, and it's so yummy listening to the rain outside and the occasional grumble of thunder. I never thought I'd say it, but it's true: I get tired of the endless blue skies and sunshine. Half of the year we hardly have weather, it's just the same thing over and over. Clouds are a novelty to me now because we have them so rarely. And after all the hotter-than-normal days we've had lately, the cool rain and wind has been delicious!
The only problem is that all my maternity stuff is summer stuff. I have a pair of jeans, a pair of overalls, a pair of sweatpants, and four long-sleeved shirts. That's it! Time to shop again. Someone around here needs to start a maternity consignment store!
It's been raining here for two full days--it's wonderful. It's so nice and cool now! Dan was laughing at me last night, because when we left Bible study and were walking to our car I kept saying, "It feels so nice out here!" and six months ago I would have been complaining about how cold it was. Heck, all last night he had the down comforter pulled up and I just had the sheet. Weird! I've never been warm-blooded before.
Dan and I both adore the rain. We've lit a fire the last two nights and turned the lights down, and it's so yummy listening to the rain outside and the occasional grumble of thunder. I never thought I'd say it, but it's true: I get tired of the endless blue skies and sunshine. Half of the year we hardly have weather, it's just the same thing over and over. Clouds are a novelty to me now because we have them so rarely. And after all the hotter-than-normal days we've had lately, the cool rain and wind has been delicious!
The only problem is that all my maternity stuff is summer stuff. I have a pair of jeans, a pair of overalls, a pair of sweatpants, and four long-sleeved shirts. That's it! Time to shop again. Someone around here needs to start a maternity consignment store!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Get out your crystal ball...
I have a little contest going on over at my baby blog. Stop on over and put in your guess. There's even a prize, for those of you who need a little incentive to participate. :)
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
WIP #3
WIP #3 ("work in progress" for those who don't know da lingo) is officially underway! Two chapters down and so far I think it's going well. It's so fun to see how a new manuscript develops, the tone and voice of it, the style it takes on. You'd think I'd know this stuff going in, but I don't. The one thing that still hasn't made itself plain is the title. I had one I really liked, but being a stickler for proper word usage, I couldn't do it--it wasn't quite right. So now I'm titleless. I hate that. I've always had titles right from the beginning; it's part of what sets the stage for me, mentally. So if anyone has any ideas for a title for a book about two women who have been friends since childhood and are drastically different from each other, let me know. :)
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Planning ahead
We haven't even finished edits and my next novel is already on Amazon.com! "Violette Between" will be released May 16 (according to them--the first official date I've heard, so I'll take it). I'm just waiting for the line edits, which I think I'll get around the 14th, and then, after I get those in, I think I'm done! Hallelujah!
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The Artful Dodger
The jury duty bullet was successfully dodged! Actually, I told the judge honestly that I would love to serve on the jury, but it would mean giving me a break every half hour to pee and eat and walk around (my back locks up if I sit for too long). He said he'd leave it up to me, but if I wanted to postpone it till after the baby that was fine. Gee, what option do you think I'm going to take? So he dismissed me until February, which is silly, since I'll be breastfeeding then and I don't think they'll want my two-month-old in the jury box with me! :) So that was a huge, huge relief. Although, for some bizarre reason, I feel guilty for having gotten off, I guess because the judge was willing to make it work and I didn't take it, and who knows what kind of a trial I might get stuck with next time? This was one only a week--next time it could be one of those month long ones, or worse. Whatever. Anyway, thanks to those of you who said a little prayer for me; I appreciated that. :)
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Civic Duty
Well, tomorrow I have jury duty. It figures that I'd finally get called at a time that is just SO inconvenient. I've actually always wanted to serve on a jury, although I'm sure those of you who've had to sit on one think I'm daft for wanting to, but it would definitely be an interesting experience and who knows what kind of great story ideas I might get from it? But for pete's sake, why couldn't they have called me any of the other 5 years I've been here when I wasn't great with child (and great with the need for sleep and constant food)? Not to mention that I have an honest-to-goodness business trip to Dallas on the 8th. If it's guaranteed to be a quickie case (and how can they possibly guarantee that? They told my mom her case would be a week or two, and it turned into three months!) then I wouldn't mind so much, but the fact is you never know how long it might be, and that's not a risk I want to take right now. I'm hoping it won't be a risk THEY want to take, either, and that my massive stomach will elicit their mercy. So those of you who are the praying sort, please send up a plea for compassion for me. I'll let you know tomorrow how it all turns out....
Friday, September 23, 2005
Q: Who needs sleep?
A: Apparently not my husband. It is now almost 9:15 on Friday night, and Dan has not slept since waking up Thursday morning at 10:30. Yes, that's about 35 straight hours up--and he's still going strong! Why, you ask, did he pull an all nighter that just never quit? Because he wasn't tired. Duh.
So this morning when I got up we went to IHOP for breakfast, which was a fun treat. While he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I felt like crap, because I only got 7 hours of sleep, which is the equivalent of about 5 hours to the non-pregnant Alison. It's incredible how I can do absolutely nothing and still be exhausted. (Actually, I didn't do nothing--we registered last night, which means I was on my feet for two solid hours while we wandered Babies R Us, and that's the longest I've stood in a LONG time.)
The Angels game is on now, bottom of the 7th, so I doubt Dan will even think about bed until the game is over. I don't think it'll be hard to cajole him into going to bed afterwards, though. The trick will be for me to make it that long.
So this morning when I got up we went to IHOP for breakfast, which was a fun treat. While he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I felt like crap, because I only got 7 hours of sleep, which is the equivalent of about 5 hours to the non-pregnant Alison. It's incredible how I can do absolutely nothing and still be exhausted. (Actually, I didn't do nothing--we registered last night, which means I was on my feet for two solid hours while we wandered Babies R Us, and that's the longest I've stood in a LONG time.)
The Angels game is on now, bottom of the 7th, so I doubt Dan will even think about bed until the game is over. I don't think it'll be hard to cajole him into going to bed afterwards, though. The trick will be for me to make it that long.
Friday, September 16, 2005
So quaint!
Having grown up in a church where the weekly attendence was more than the permanent population of many decent-sized suburbs, there are often things at our little 900 attendees church that strike me as being so quaint and traditional. Case in point: the photo directory. Dan and I just got back from having our picture taken for the directory, and Dan laughed at me when I mused about how fun it was to be in a small church. (Talk about relative: to Dan, this is a big church.) But honestly, to be able to print an entire church's membership in a booklet smaller than the Yellow Pages is such a foreign concept--and I LOVE it. I won't ever knock my church upbringing, despite how much I may disagree with certain aspects of it--bottom line is, my family is where it is because of that church, and I can't be grateful or thankful enough for it--but I have to say that the small church community is way more my speed. I love being able to recognize faces week after week, although it helps that I'm up on stage every other Sunday singing and can look at all those faces head-on, since otherwise my poor observational skills wouldn't remember half of them. I love it when the pastor can refer to a member by name and not have to give s hort biography of the person to give the name context--everyone already knows who he's talking about. I love that we have a Fellowship Hall, and that I've attended two birthday bashes there, because why not have your birthday party at the church? Everyone knows how to get there, and there's a kitchen and a sound system for the karaoke machine. I love that, when our child is born, we'll be able to appeal to the entire church body for their prayers and encouragement as we embark on first-time parenthood--and then know that people will actually come up and ask us how things are going and coo over our little bundle of joy.
The small church setting has its drawbacks, but I'd take those limitations over the endless resources of the megachurch anyday.
The small church setting has its drawbacks, but I'd take those limitations over the endless resources of the megachurch anyday.
Edits!
So I got my edits back from my editor on Monday, and I was shocked (and mucho relieved) at how little actual rewriting she wanted me to do. Good thing, though, since they want the changes back in to them by Monday. Still not entirely sure that's going to happen. I'm going through and doing all the easy changes, then I'll go back and do the more time-consuming stuff, but even after that is done I need to go through and input all the changes I wanted to make myself. The problem is, I still haven't finished reading through the manuscript. Ugh. So I'm feeling a little under the gun here. (Which should be obvious given I'm procrastinating.) TOmorrow Dan is at a seminar at school all day, so I'm going to spend the entire day working on it, although that's sort of the plan for today as well. Once I finish checking my email and reading all my favorite blogs, that is. :)
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Cancel your TiVo!
Well, we've been temporarily bumped from TBN--they wanted to focus the show on Katrina and wanted us to "minister to the victims"--not exactly something that is up my alley, or Dad's. When we explained that neither "Worlds Collide" nor "Case for a Creator" have a whole lot to say on the themes of natural disasters and losing all of one's possessions, they agreed that rescheduling us would probably be the best idea. When I get our new date, I'll let you know.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Set your TiVo!
If you're looking for some family entertainment, check out "Praise the Lord" on Sept. 15 at 6PM PST on TBN. My dad and I will be two of the featured guests on their live talk show discussing our latest books and who knows what else.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Would love your input...
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Christmas Vacation!
Remember the first Monday of Christmas vacation, when you woke up and realized "Wow, vacation is really here; I really don't have to go to school for two whole weeks!" And then you throw off the covers and jump out of bed and your head fills up with all the things you can't wait to do now that you have time, and you're in the best mood, because your finals are through and your classes are done and when you go back to school it'll be a fresh start with new classes and people and schedules. Well, THAT is how I feel this morning--to the extent of swearing before I opened my eyes that there would be snow on the ground. (Although I don't remember ever being able to wear shorts and a tank top at Christmas. I'm pretty sure I heard rain in the middle of the night, though.) Having finished that rough draft took such a huge load off my shoulders. And even though the process is far from done--lots of editing still to come--I get a nice little break before I have to start, and I feel like I have all the time in the world.
So of course once it hit you that you had two whole weeks, you made a list, didn't you, of all the things you were going to do with your time. And so have I, although I don't quite know how much time I have, so the list is pretty flexible. But still, I love lists and wouldn't think of approaching this new time without one. On the list we have:
-plan a baby shower (no, not my own--for my friend Tania whose baby is due at Halloween)
-catch up on the laundry and get a new system going that does not allow the corner of our office to look like a dresser exploded (yes, the clothes are in the office because we turned the master bedroom into our office--who needs a giant room for a bed when all you do is sleep in there?)
-make all those get-together-for-coffee appointments I've been putting off
-clean the office
This last one is the source of night terrors for me. See, we don't really have any storage in that room--we have wonderful storage plans, just nothing actually done because that, of course, takes money. So, because we lack storage, we lack organization, and because we lack organization, every flat surface of that room becomes a catch-all for books, papers, pictures, office supplies, loose change, extra buttons--you name it. I've been using the recliner in the family room as my writing area (thank heavens for laptops!) for months because I can't actually see the surface of my desk. And actually, the space on the floor around my desk is just as bad, to where I can barely even get to the desk itself without risking life and limb. This simply must stop. I can't allow myself to continue like this any longer. A woman needs her creative space, and it really shouldn't be smack in front of the television.
So I'm totally pumped. I'm going to go ride the stationary bike upstairs for a bit, take my shower, do my quiet time, and then hit that list! Three cheers for pseudo-vacation!
So of course once it hit you that you had two whole weeks, you made a list, didn't you, of all the things you were going to do with your time. And so have I, although I don't quite know how much time I have, so the list is pretty flexible. But still, I love lists and wouldn't think of approaching this new time without one. On the list we have:
-plan a baby shower (no, not my own--for my friend Tania whose baby is due at Halloween)
-catch up on the laundry and get a new system going that does not allow the corner of our office to look like a dresser exploded (yes, the clothes are in the office because we turned the master bedroom into our office--who needs a giant room for a bed when all you do is sleep in there?)
-make all those get-together-for-coffee appointments I've been putting off
-clean the office
This last one is the source of night terrors for me. See, we don't really have any storage in that room--we have wonderful storage plans, just nothing actually done because that, of course, takes money. So, because we lack storage, we lack organization, and because we lack organization, every flat surface of that room becomes a catch-all for books, papers, pictures, office supplies, loose change, extra buttons--you name it. I've been using the recliner in the family room as my writing area (thank heavens for laptops!) for months because I can't actually see the surface of my desk. And actually, the space on the floor around my desk is just as bad, to where I can barely even get to the desk itself without risking life and limb. This simply must stop. I can't allow myself to continue like this any longer. A woman needs her creative space, and it really shouldn't be smack in front of the television.
So I'm totally pumped. I'm going to go ride the stationary bike upstairs for a bit, take my shower, do my quiet time, and then hit that list! Three cheers for pseudo-vacation!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
HALLELUJAH!
Ladies and gentlemen, please note the date and time. 12:44 PM PST, August 30, 2005. 35 hours and fifteen minutes before my deadline.
THE BOOK IS DONE.
I can hardly believe it. This process has been so incredibly different from the first with "Worlds Collide," and not, sadly, in a good way. I'm really hoping the trend doesn't follow this one. I'm sure part of it was the difference between writing for the heck of it in my spare time versus writing under a deadline. But if this is going to be my career--and I'm really praying it is--I'm going to have to find a way to make this whole writing-under-a-deadline thing work.
Anyway. It's done and that's all I care about. I'm off to celebrate. Adios!
THE BOOK IS DONE.
I can hardly believe it. This process has been so incredibly different from the first with "Worlds Collide," and not, sadly, in a good way. I'm really hoping the trend doesn't follow this one. I'm sure part of it was the difference between writing for the heck of it in my spare time versus writing under a deadline. But if this is going to be my career--and I'm really praying it is--I'm going to have to find a way to make this whole writing-under-a-deadline thing work.
Anyway. It's done and that's all I care about. I'm off to celebrate. Adios!
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
My Kind of Town...the Aftermath
Ahhh, the food! And I got those chocolate crepes I was hoping for--they actually have them back on the menu! Woohoo! Anyway, I'm paying the price now...I gained four pounds over the last six days from all the glorious gastrological goodies I consumed. (Did I ever mention the four episodes of IHOP chocolate chip pancakes?) Oh well. Only a few more days and I'll be able to resume my morning walks around the lake, which will hopfully burn up some of that pizza...and chocolate...and Maggiano's...and more chocolate....
Monday, August 22, 2005
Oops.
So we managed to get through our entire trip without any major mistakes, things forgotten at home, etc. Well, almost all the way through--looks like I'll be getting a new computer soon.
We were returning the rental car to Alamo, and the place was a zoo. Cars everywhere, no staff to tell you what to do, and darnit, there's the bus that we'd really like to catch to the terminal so we have plenty of time for dinner before the flight. Finally someone shows up, and we hurry hurry through the check-out process, grab our stuff, and dash (or waddle quickly, if you're me) to the bus. We toss everything onto the luggage rack, sink into some seats, and then I realize something's missing.
"Dan! The computer! Where is it?!"
Off the bus he jumps and hits the ground running as the car is being pulled away to wherever it is they take returned rental cars. Luckily, the computer was not in the car--which got away before he could get to it--but had been left by both of us on the ground, each thinking the other was going to grab it. I see him bringing it back, and I sigh with relief, until he holds it up and says, "It got ran over."
Now, I've had this leather computer case for a couple years, and the leather has never broken in. A note to those of you looking for a way to make leather look old: run over it. Just once; don't even need to go over and over it. The thing looks fifteen years old.
Anyway, Dan pulls my little computer out and turns it over in his hands--"Looks good!" Nothing cracked, all in one piece. Whew!
Fast-forward seven and a half hours. We're back home, reveling in our Dish Network and squishy couch and the knowledge that we'll be sleeping in our own bed tonight. I pull out my brave little computer, flip it open, turn it on...
"Hm. What's with this two inch strip of screwed-up-ness smack in the middle of the screen?"
Yes, stretching all the way across the screen, and almost exactly centered, is...well...lines. They're a lovely turquoise, which is nice, because if you have to have a screen with a line in the middle that makes it impossible to see what's under it, you want it to be a pleasant shade.
Thank God, the rest of the computer is fine. Everything opens great, nothing has been deleted--I just have half a screen to work on, which sucks when your computer is only about seven inches tall in the first place.
So hey, DEFINITELY coulda been worse, but I have to admit, turquoise is ever-so-slowly starting to get on my nerves....
We were returning the rental car to Alamo, and the place was a zoo. Cars everywhere, no staff to tell you what to do, and darnit, there's the bus that we'd really like to catch to the terminal so we have plenty of time for dinner before the flight. Finally someone shows up, and we hurry hurry through the check-out process, grab our stuff, and dash (or waddle quickly, if you're me) to the bus. We toss everything onto the luggage rack, sink into some seats, and then I realize something's missing.
"Dan! The computer! Where is it?!"
Off the bus he jumps and hits the ground running as the car is being pulled away to wherever it is they take returned rental cars. Luckily, the computer was not in the car--which got away before he could get to it--but had been left by both of us on the ground, each thinking the other was going to grab it. I see him bringing it back, and I sigh with relief, until he holds it up and says, "It got ran over."
Now, I've had this leather computer case for a couple years, and the leather has never broken in. A note to those of you looking for a way to make leather look old: run over it. Just once; don't even need to go over and over it. The thing looks fifteen years old.
Anyway, Dan pulls my little computer out and turns it over in his hands--"Looks good!" Nothing cracked, all in one piece. Whew!
Fast-forward seven and a half hours. We're back home, reveling in our Dish Network and squishy couch and the knowledge that we'll be sleeping in our own bed tonight. I pull out my brave little computer, flip it open, turn it on...
"Hm. What's with this two inch strip of screwed-up-ness smack in the middle of the screen?"
Yes, stretching all the way across the screen, and almost exactly centered, is...well...lines. They're a lovely turquoise, which is nice, because if you have to have a screen with a line in the middle that makes it impossible to see what's under it, you want it to be a pleasant shade.
Thank God, the rest of the computer is fine. Everything opens great, nothing has been deleted--I just have half a screen to work on, which sucks when your computer is only about seven inches tall in the first place.
So hey, DEFINITELY coulda been worse, but I have to admit, turquoise is ever-so-slowly starting to get on my nerves....
The Wedding, Part 2
Last night was the second reception for Kyle and Kelli. It was SO much fun to see all the relatives and friends of the family--some of whom still hadn't met Dan, much less Kelli! We had it at Maggiano's--home of YUM--and despite some audio/visual issues, we were able to show everyone pictures of the wedding and of their honeymoon to Bampff, Canada. Of course, something always has to go awry, and unfortunately it was Kelli's parents who had to endure it--their luggage didn't make it to Chicago until 4 hours after they did! Of course, 4 hours after they got there is when the reception started, so they ended up having to shop at Woodfield Mall (luckily right near Maggiano's and their hotel) to get outfits to wear. But they handled the stress swimmingly and looking at them you never would have known anything was the matter, so that was a relief.
Dan and I left the reception around 9:30, by which time all the fun stuff (i.e. bookstores) had already closed, so we went back to the hotel to pack to come home. After we finished we realized we were hungry, so we went to our second home-away-from-home: the IHOP next door.
Oh my, the characters that show up at IHOP in the wee hours (it was midnight by the time we went over there) provide enough fodder for ten volumes of short stories. There was the family of 6--three kids, two parents, and an infant--whose table was next to ours. The three kids were falling asleep at the table, and the baby was wide awake. I wanted to go over and ask why the heck they were out so late, since the kids were obviously not pleased to be there. Then there was the guy behind us who had four--yes, four--full dinners lined up on his table. He was in the process of finishing a bowl of soup when we got there, and then all of a sudden a whole tray of food gets delivered to him. Fifteen minutes later we hear the waitress tell him, "Your chicken will be out in just a minute." So now it's up to five dinners. And a bowl of soup. And he wasn't a big guy, so I don't know where he was putting it all, although the why of the situation fascinates me a whole lot more. On the other side of the partition from us was an older gentleman, all alone, who sat drinking coffee and reading a book the whole time, and behind him were three Middle Eastern women with their beautiful head scarves, talking and laughing about someone's wedding--"When I got married, everyone cried. Even the men. Even my father cried!"
After consuming the fourth short stack of chocolate chip pancakes that I've had since we arrived here, we made our way back to the hotel for our final night. Words cannot describe how much I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight, with my own pillows--especially my muscle-saving body pillow. Hotel beds always, always suck--at least when you're on a $70/night budget.
Dan and I left the reception around 9:30, by which time all the fun stuff (i.e. bookstores) had already closed, so we went back to the hotel to pack to come home. After we finished we realized we were hungry, so we went to our second home-away-from-home: the IHOP next door.
Oh my, the characters that show up at IHOP in the wee hours (it was midnight by the time we went over there) provide enough fodder for ten volumes of short stories. There was the family of 6--three kids, two parents, and an infant--whose table was next to ours. The three kids were falling asleep at the table, and the baby was wide awake. I wanted to go over and ask why the heck they were out so late, since the kids were obviously not pleased to be there. Then there was the guy behind us who had four--yes, four--full dinners lined up on his table. He was in the process of finishing a bowl of soup when we got there, and then all of a sudden a whole tray of food gets delivered to him. Fifteen minutes later we hear the waitress tell him, "Your chicken will be out in just a minute." So now it's up to five dinners. And a bowl of soup. And he wasn't a big guy, so I don't know where he was putting it all, although the why of the situation fascinates me a whole lot more. On the other side of the partition from us was an older gentleman, all alone, who sat drinking coffee and reading a book the whole time, and behind him were three Middle Eastern women with their beautiful head scarves, talking and laughing about someone's wedding--"When I got married, everyone cried. Even the men. Even my father cried!"
After consuming the fourth short stack of chocolate chip pancakes that I've had since we arrived here, we made our way back to the hotel for our final night. Words cannot describe how much I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight, with my own pillows--especially my muscle-saving body pillow. Hotel beds always, always suck--at least when you're on a $70/night budget.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
My Kind of Town...
Dan and I have been in Chicago since Tuesday. Actually, to be specific, we've been in the northwest suburbs, a.k.a. my old stomping ground, since Tuesday--we've yet to actually make it into the city. We had all sorts of grand plans for touring Chi-town, but with the Air & Water show going on, it's a zoo out there!
So far the bulk of the trip has revolved around two things: food and friends. There were/are still lots of people who haven't even met Dan yet, so we've been doing a lot of meet & greets with my old high school & church friends. We've also been gobbling up all the great food that California just doesn't have. For example:
1. Chin's Crab House: this place is phenomenal in every sense of the word. Fantastic seafood, and fantastic steaks, too--in fact, they sell more steak than any other restaurant in the city! Delicious egg rolls, which we consumed two baskets of, and the fried jumbo shimp...oh my heavens!!
2. Edwardo's Chicago Pizza: okay, I will admit there are, like, three variations on Chicago-style pizza, but I'm sorry, California just doesn't have any of them, despite some valiant efforts. Edwardo's is my all-time favorite. The outside crust is a good two inches tall, and you've never seen so much cheese!! The Strobel family favorite is spinach with mushrooms and Canadian bacon. I had three pieces. I felt like a junkie getting a fix after being in rehab--I just couldn't stop! Of course, I still had room for dessert--I've always claimed to have a separate dessert stomach--so we also went to...
3. Oberweiss Dairy: forget all that low-fat or low-carb ice cream crap. This place uses FULL CREAM and MAN is it good! Peanut butter & chocolate was my choice, and wow. WOW. Head & shoulders above 31 Flavors, or anything you can get in the grocery store.
4. Okay, well, I haven't done this one yet, and there's a chance I won't get to, but I'm going to really try!! Walker Brothers Pancake House used to have a crepe breakfast of chocolate filled crepes with strawberries and whipped cream on top. Now, they took it off the menu after I moved (I was probably the only person left in the world who thought that an acceptable breakfast), but every time I go there I explain how it was always my favorite and ask the waitress to beg the chef to take mercy on me. So far they always have! I'm going to try to get there tomorrow for breakfast, but only if I can find someone to go with me.
On a completely unrelated note: 91 octane gas is $3.11 up the street from our hotel. I was in shock. Thankfully our little Grand Am rental takes the cheap stuff, but I really was surprised--it was the first time I've seen stuff like that more expensive here than in California. (Although, I suppose the prices might have gone up since we left. Man, I hope not. It was taking over forty bucks to fill our Murano when it was under three dollars!)
So far the bulk of the trip has revolved around two things: food and friends. There were/are still lots of people who haven't even met Dan yet, so we've been doing a lot of meet & greets with my old high school & church friends. We've also been gobbling up all the great food that California just doesn't have. For example:
1. Chin's Crab House: this place is phenomenal in every sense of the word. Fantastic seafood, and fantastic steaks, too--in fact, they sell more steak than any other restaurant in the city! Delicious egg rolls, which we consumed two baskets of, and the fried jumbo shimp...oh my heavens!!
2. Edwardo's Chicago Pizza: okay, I will admit there are, like, three variations on Chicago-style pizza, but I'm sorry, California just doesn't have any of them, despite some valiant efforts. Edwardo's is my all-time favorite. The outside crust is a good two inches tall, and you've never seen so much cheese!! The Strobel family favorite is spinach with mushrooms and Canadian bacon. I had three pieces. I felt like a junkie getting a fix after being in rehab--I just couldn't stop! Of course, I still had room for dessert--I've always claimed to have a separate dessert stomach--so we also went to...
3. Oberweiss Dairy: forget all that low-fat or low-carb ice cream crap. This place uses FULL CREAM and MAN is it good! Peanut butter & chocolate was my choice, and wow. WOW. Head & shoulders above 31 Flavors, or anything you can get in the grocery store.
4. Okay, well, I haven't done this one yet, and there's a chance I won't get to, but I'm going to really try!! Walker Brothers Pancake House used to have a crepe breakfast of chocolate filled crepes with strawberries and whipped cream on top. Now, they took it off the menu after I moved (I was probably the only person left in the world who thought that an acceptable breakfast), but every time I go there I explain how it was always my favorite and ask the waitress to beg the chef to take mercy on me. So far they always have! I'm going to try to get there tomorrow for breakfast, but only if I can find someone to go with me.
On a completely unrelated note: 91 octane gas is $3.11 up the street from our hotel. I was in shock. Thankfully our little Grand Am rental takes the cheap stuff, but I really was surprised--it was the first time I've seen stuff like that more expensive here than in California. (Although, I suppose the prices might have gone up since we left. Man, I hope not. It was taking over forty bucks to fill our Murano when it was under three dollars!)
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