Mar. 31: My summary of March

Wow, that month went kinda fast. Yikes.

Special days I celebrated this month and how:

There were no major holidays for us this month, but we did go on vacation for the first time in eleventy years, so that was a pretty big celebration.

We spent six days in Southern California, three of them at the Disneyland Resort. Katie and Jack hadn’t been there since 2006, so this was a completely different vacation than we’d had with them before. There were new attractions to experience, and both kids were older/taller, allowing them to try rides they hadn’t been able to in earlier visits.

One HUGE step was that Victor and I actually separated from the kids a couple times and went off to do the too-scary-for-our-weeeener-kids rides (Tower of Terror and California Screamin’) ourselves. We were proud of them for being conscientious—they quickly responded when we texted them—and for Jack allowing Katie to be in charge for brief moments. However, we’re still a long way from leaving them on their own OUTSIDE a Disney park.

Cars Land, the newest area of California Adventure, definitely lived up to the hype—it was like walking through a set of the movie! The refurb of it’s a small world was very cute. Vic and Katie loved World of Color (Jack and I napped at the hotel instead). I’ll write up a more thorough trip report when I get the chance, but for now I’ll just say that *almost* start-to-finish, this was one of the best vacations we’ve ever been on.

Books I read this month:

• Disney travel books, mostly.
• The new book by my favorite Crappy Blogger, Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures. Very funny.
• My attention span is still frustratingly short and although I’ve started reading several books, I haven’t finished much. During April we run a reading incentive program at school, and I plan to participate along with the kids, so hopefully April’s month-in-review post will be more book-y.

Movies and TV shows worth mentioning:

• Wreck-It Ralph was way cuter than I expected.
• United 93. You forget about the intense emotions of that day in 2001 until you watch this kind of movie, this very dramatic, incredibly sad story, and then everything comes flooding back. It took a Disney vacation to get me out of the funk—I don’t mean to make light of it at all, but for me, it requires a complete removal from normal life to get 9/11 out of the very front of my mind.
• I know I watched other movies and TV shows in March, but the fact that I can’t remember them now probably means they weren’t worth mentioning.

New recipes or restaurants I tried:

• I’ve eaten at In-N-Out Burger in the past, but we tried it again on vacation and I had forgotten how tasty those burgers are! Yum. Why the company prints Bible verses on all their paper goods, though, I do not know.
• California Adventure has a new beverage that we thought was surprisingly delicious: Red’s Apple Freeze. It’s apple-flavored with a hint of toasted marshmallow and fruity foamy topping. Sounds gross, but it wasn’t.

Special or unusual purchases I made:

• A cape. Yes, this was an unusual purchase. Do you buy a cape every month? Katie needed one for Super Hero Day at school, and we’ll all need them for Relay for Life this summer, which is super hero-themed, so I’ll be ordering a bunch more soon. Yay!
• This phone case for Vic, possibly one of my favorite etsy finds ever:

• A dog bowl. I know, super exciting, huh? Lucy tends to inhale her food, and sometimes that makes her sick but mostly it makes her want MORE FOOD RIGHT NOW I MEAN IT, and that’s annoying. I found these fancy dog bowls with big raised sections in the bottom that supposedly make dogs eat more slowly, but I knew they wouldn’t work for Lucy because they are plastic and she thinks plastic equals chew toy. Fortunately, I was able to find a stainless steel bowl that promises the same slow-eating effect. It was ridiculously expensive, but Lucy is eating more slowly now and not being quite so demanding. S’good.

This month’s disappointments:

• I found out that I didn’t actually have all the dental work I needed done last month. I could have SWORN they said “You need a root canal. [blah blah blah…] We’ll do that for you today if you’d like.” Apparently they just did the prep, so I go in next week to have the actual root canal done. Grrr…
• We saw Nicole Richie and Joel Madden with their kids in California Adventure. Here’s the disappointing part: why no Lionel?
• I was absolutely exhausted just two days into our trip. At home I feel like my energy level has improved so much since going through my zapping chemo regimen, but trips like this—the go-go-go kind—remind me that I’m still not back to normal. Or maybe I’m just old and feeble. Either way, bummer.
• I came home with several blisters on my feet and a bad sunburn. (And yet, totally worth it.)
• Still no pony.

My accomplishments:

• I take no credit for this myself, but the kids had dental exams and OMG, no cavities! Considering the fact that Jack’s dental hygiene techniques are typical of an 11-year-old boy (when he says that YES, he brushed his teeth, we have to ask a follow-up: “TODAY???”), this is very good news and an accomplishment to be celebrated. With Pixy sticks and cotton candy, obvy.
• Another accomplishment I cannot take credit for is the fundraising we did for a new baseball field at the school, inspired by a sweet first grade boy who died on Dec. 31. We raised $2,000 easily—having a great cause certainly made all the difference.
• I always try to clean thoroughly before we leave home for any length of time because it’s so nice to come home to a neat house. In the end, though, the rush to get packed and out the door means lots of cleaning tasks are often left undone. Not this time! We managed to do all the laundry in the house, scrub the floors, straighten bedrooms, clean the kitchen, and leave the house virtually spotless. Coming home from vacation has rarely been so lovely.

Anything else noteworthy:

Just a few things that gave me chuckles…

That’s all I got. Later, doods.

I’m not even gonna try to pretend this month-in-review was on time. I changed the post date so it would stay in March where it belongs, but I actually wrote it on April 3. I know this matters to no one.

Mar. 20: Jen’s obsessions this week

Later, doods.

Feb. 28: Month in summary

Here’s my review of February 2013.

Special days I celebrated this month and how:

• Katie turned 13 this month. I can’t believe it. She’s mostly still a sweetie, but every once in a while we see the signs of ATTITUDE creeping up… Yikes. To celebrate her big day, she had a couple friends over; they went to the mall, saw a movie, and had a “sleep”-over, which involved very little “sleep” and grouchy girls in the morning.
• Our 16th anniversary was last weekend. We spent the day preparing for the school carnival—always going for the romance! Last night we went out for dinner at our special occasion place, Morton’s Steakhouse. Best. Steak. Ever.

Gifts I gave and/or received this month:

• Katie got a desk for her birthday from Grandpa & Grandma, and my mom and the rest of us contributed to the setup—chair, lamp, contents, décor, etc. It was fun helping her get everything organized. She is sooo like me when it comes to that stuff.
• The kids made us some fun ceramics as anniversary gifts. Katie’s were thoughtful, sweet and hearts-y. Jack’s was all-football-all-the-time. Shocking.

Books I read this month:

• I read some travel books… because we’re finally, finally going on a vacation.
• My concentration was very SQUIRREL!! while preparing for the school carnival, and I read pretty much nothing else.

Movies and TV shows worth mentioning:

TV is exactly the kind of thing my brain can focus on—for 22 minutes at a time, anyway—so I’ve watched a lot.

• So glad Community is back on.
• Sherilee and I agree that we’re not feeling the love for Smash so far. They better get Jesse L. Martin on there soon, or I will completely lose interest. I will.
• Still enjoying the charming fun that is Go On (looooved the Sixteen Candles references this week!) and The Mindy Project.
• That new Kevin Bacon show, The Following? It scares the livin’ crap outta me, but I can’t look away.
• Loveliest Lori live-Facebooked the Oscars and I missed the entire thing. Stoopid other things I was doing…

Special or unusual purchases I made:

• Music! I got the soundtrack to Bombshell; the new release from my nephew’s band, The Rouge; and Josh Groban’s latest album.
• Those aforementioned travel guides, as well as airline tickets, Disney passes, and more fun stuff to use during spring vacation.
• We got the kids memory foam mattress toppers and BOY, do they smell weird! Hopefully the odor will dissipate so they can actually put them on their beds someday. Right now they’re spread out in my office, giving me a headache (the mattress toppers, not the kids).

This month’s disappointments:

• I’ve been super-sick for the past week. I had a broken filling repaired last week, and a root canal on the same tooth this week. The tooth pain was pretty unbearable for a while, but it’s the antibiotics they have me on that are REALLY kicking my ass now. If they make me get that infection where they have to put someone else’s poop in my intestines, I will NOT be happy.
• We didn’t win anything big at the school carnival. Last year we won two of the huge auction items, so it was a bummer to go home empty-handed. Still, I did most of the drawings and it was so much fun seeing the winners’ faces when their names were called!
• Downton Abbey’s finale. It was disappointing because it’ll be many months until the next season begins, and also because the season sucked for two big reasons and several small ones.
• Nobody bought me a pony.

My accomplishments:

• The carnival was a big hit. This wasn’t my accomplishment alone, of course; there are seven other people who deserve credit too.
• I slept 11 hours last night and it was awesome.
• I’m actually writing this post. I barely got it in before March.

Anything else noteworthy:

• The kids both took Red Cross classes this month; Katie is now babysitter certified, and Jack did a “When I’m in Charge” thing wherein he got to role play throwing a tantrum. He was a little out of practice, since his last tantrum was about seven years ago, but he was proud of his performance nonetheless. The class was supposed to teach him how to handle emergencies when a grown-up isn’t around, and I don’t know if he learned anything new but he sure did enjoy the snack.
• Isn’t it nice when people surprise you with their generosity and kindness? I’ve run into three or four occasions lately that just warm my tiny little black heart. It’s a lovely thing.
• Today a photo popped up in my Yahoo news feed and I thought, “Hm, that building looks familiar.” And then I read the text below it and knew immediately, embarrassingly, that it was about Walla Walla College (University), my alma mater. (Here’s the article it linked to.)

That’s about it, doods.

Aug. 10: IDCEAYWTPFriday

My favorite thing about I Don’t Care Enough About You to Write in Transitioning Paragraphs Friday is shirtless Ponch. Yay, shirtless Ponch!  Don’t deny it—you’re happy to see him too.

• This might have been my favorite thing that’s ever come out of Jack’s mouth, right up there with “Mom, you’re so much cooler than Dad” and anything that isn’t vomit.  Yesterday we were watching the Olympics and I mentioned how funny diving is because every dive looks so great until they show them in slow motion and then everyone’s all WOW, THAT TOTALLY SUCKED!! Jack said, “What I don’t like about watching football on TV is that after every play they have to show it in slow motion and talk about it forever. It takes a really long time.” Since he’s pretty much all-football-all-the-time these days, and I am what you call a Hater of Football, this surprised and thrilled me. He’s starting to get it! He’s finally understanding one of the most annoying things about a sport that makes no sense! Also, I hope he doesn’t get it completely until this season is over because football is very time-consuming for Jen and we’re already committed.
• Have you seen these free handwriting fonts? I love ‘em!
• Last week I shared some of the DIY cleanser recipes I’ve been using. Here’s a site that lists a whole bunch of them. I can’t vouch for any of them, but if you’re looking for varieties on the theme, you’ll have a lot from which to choose.
• Tonight’s Mary Carillo report on the Olympics was about royal titles and family coats of arms (coat of armses? coats of arm?). Here’s the Saltmarsh coat of arms images I found in Google image search:
  
   
  
  The Latin phrase on the “Saltmarshe” one means “power to the stars.” I don’t know what all the other symbols represent but I think I’m supposed to be more impressed than I am.
• Did they seriously just interrupt the Olympics with the “breaking news” that Mitt Romney’s going to announce his running mate tomorrow? Why is it breaking news that he’s GOING to announce? How ‘bout we break into stuff with actual news? Pffft.
• Y’know those fabulous Dole Whips at some Disney parks? Here’s a recipe to make them at home. Yuuuum.
• Have you seen the latest Simon’s Cat videos? So cute.

In closing, here’s a photo just for Sunshine.

 

That is all. Have a good one, peeps.

Oct. 6: Thanks, Steve

Like many, I was surprised and saddened by yesterday’s announcement that Steve Jobs has died. Our home has three iPhones, an iPod, and an iPad (which, given the Apple products available, is not much, I know…) so our gratitude for Mr. Jobs’ vision is acknowledged on a daily basis, without a doubt.

But it’s his work with building Pixar to the giant that it is that’s really impacted our family. Our kids have been raised on Pixar films. We saw the true value of DVD over VHS by comparing the two formats of A Bug’s Life. The first movie Katie watched from her high chair for more than ten minutes was Toy Story 2. Victor and I saw Monsters, Inc. in a theater the night before Jack was born. The first Mom-and-Katie theater experience was a Portland premiere of Finding Nemo. We still regularly watch Pixar DVDs at home.

Before we went to Florida in 2004, I bought Jack small plush Buzz and Woody dolls to entertain him during the flight. Vic and I sat several rows behind him and Grandpa in the plane, and we laughed as we watched him hold Buzz and Woody high over his head and made them kiss, over and over.

Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, an attraction at Disney California Adventure Park, opened just before one of our all-Disney-all-the-time vacations, and Jack insisted on riding it over and over—he’d get off the ride and run to get in line to go on it again. Vic and I had few complaints; it’s a very cute ride—much like actually being in the movie—and we loved seeing Jack enjoy it so much.

Theater releases of the newest Pixar movies are treasured family memories. I expect they will be until Pixar makes a real dud, or our kids get too cool to enjoy them, in which case Vic and I will go see them by ourselves, like we did before they were born. BECAUSE WE ARE THOSE DORKS.

Thanks, Steve, for sharing your genius with the world. You left it way too soon.

Mar. 26: Day 6 of music meme

Day 6: A song that reminds you of somewhere

In February of 2007, Victor and I went to Florida (and a Disney cruise) to celebrate our tenth anniversary. It was a fabulous time, and the perfect way to mark the milestone. On the night of our actual anniversary, we went to Downtown Disney and ate at Wolfgang Puck Café, one of our favoritest restaurants in the world, then walked around Downtown Disney. I don’t remember if it was because of new construction or what, but there was a detour that sent everyone way out of the way to get from one side of DD to the other. It was Friday night, way-crowded, and as the evening went on it got harder to move amongst the crowd.

One part of the detour moved especially slow because a night club crowd had spilled out onto the promenade. It took several minutes to get through that area, and the music was incredibly loud and people would NOT move out of the way. It was one of the few times I’ve felt a touch surly while on a Disney property. It was also the first time I ever heard Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape.” As irritating as the crowd was, it was our anniversary, we were at Disney, we were hours from leaving for the Caribbean, and we were together.

The video is pretty dumb, but the song brings back a happy memory.

“The Sweet Escape” also makes a pretty good ringtone, and I used it for a couple years. When the kids hear it on the radio nowadays they say, “Mom! Your phone!”

P.S. Bonus: another Akon performance, this one much funnier (not for little ears).

Jan. 22: Take me away

I promised Jack months ago that someday we would go on a “no more cancer” Disney cruise. No, Disney’s not coming up with weird theme cruises—this is just something we came up with for ourselves. He went on a Disney cruise in 2003, for Darlene & Wellington’s 40th anniversary, and was about 18 months old then. He hates that he can’t remember a thing about it, and has tried to convince us that the fair thing to do is go again. Silly kid doesn’t realize there’s no need to try to talk us into anything—Victor and I are always ready to do Disney.

(You gotta check out that link above, just to look at how cute and little Katie and Jack were on that trip. Whoa. Soooo little.)

Katie, of course, wants to go, but unlike her brother, she seems to think she remembers the 2003 trip. Pretty sure she doesn’t. She was just over three years old. She probably pretends to remember it just to make Jack mad.

So yeah, we’re all wanting to go on a cruise. Being a cancer-free family just gives us a super-awesome reason to celebrate!

This last week the newest Disney ship was christened. It embarks on its first cruise of the Caribbean in a few days. This new ship is something like 40 percent bigger than the one we sailed on twice, and I’m dying to see it. However, it’s scheduled to be in the Caribbean for the next year, at least, and it’s only doing the three- and four-night cruises for now. We really prefer the longer cruises, mostly because the extreme seasickness has time to improve over seven-plus days.

We’re planning a trip to Florida in August, and my guess is that the Caribbean islands are more pleasant during non-August months (our previous visits were in February and April and were mostly lovely). My feeling is that we’d best stay on land during that vacation—which I imagine will be miserable enough, weather-wise.

One of the old Disney ships makes its way through the Panama Canal this month to cruise the Mexican Riviera, and then it heads up the coast in late spring to cruise Alaska for a few months. So I’ve got my eye on an Alaskan cruise now… they’re seven nights long, soon-ish, leave from Vancouver, B.C. (no five-hour flight to get to the port!), and go somewhere we haven’t already been. Those are all good things. If only it was on the new ship. Dang.

So, the big question now is who’s with us?

Check out the schedules and rates at the Disney Cruise Line site, or VacationsToGo.com for its way-deep discounts. Because you know you want to go along. And we need to do this thing before anyone gets cancer again.

Sep. 3: IDCEAYWTPFriday

It’s Friday, and that means you get a post called I Don’t Care Enough About You to Write in Transitioning Paragraphs Friday.

• I’m tired. I got a big PTO mailing out this week and I think every last bit of my energy went into it. I’m completely exhausted and I need a really long nap.
• Katie’s been at Kathy’s in Colorado all week. They’ve both texted and emailed photos every day, which have made me more and more jealous because I want to be there too. I’m thrilled Katie’s having fun with her auntie, though. She’s coming home tomorrow and two of the three of us are very excited to have her back.
• I went into the school on Wednesday and was surprised at how nice it felt to be back there. Of course, PTO is a big social thing for me, so it *is* a blast—until I’m printing 4,257 letters and envelopes, in which case I’d really prefer not to speak of it again. Thanks.
• We’re not going to talk about how many times I ate frozen yogurt at Divine this week. But it’s okay! It’s non-fat!

• It appears that Mt. Ellis Academy is one of the winners in the Kohl’s Cares contest I wrote about yesterday. Looks like they even made it into the top ten. Hooray! If you voted, thanks; that $$ is really going to help the school.
• We’ve watched old episodes of Hawaii Five-O a couple times this week. Spike TV is showing it to hype the new version. It’s hilarious how bad the acting is, how hideous the clothes are, and how often they shoot guns straight up into the air to get bad guys’ attention. But the theme song brings back memories of watching the show with my dad, so I enjoy every minute of the awesome bad-ness of the show.
• I think I need this ketchup dispenser:

• Remember when you could only get Mickey ears at the Disney parks? It was kind of a big show-off thing to have them, because it either meant you had been to a Disney park or someone had gotten them for you when they were there. They’re available at the online Disney store; it has all sorts of styles. The biggest deal is that you can order them personalized now—that was the one thing you couldn’t do even after they started selling the ears outside the parks. My sneaky little request would have been much easier had this feature been available years ago.
  
  You’ve heard that story, right? When I asked a girl in the ear store to sew “Satan” on Mickey ears? It was all for my friend Ed, who hates all things Disney and had told me that was something he’d always wanted.
  
  Going through with the request was one of my proudest and shameful moments of being a horrible, brave woman. Ed couldn’t believe I actually did it. I kind of still can’t believe it either.
  
  Victor was afraid to stand near me after that because he was sure I would be escorted out of Disneyland at any minute. That, or be struck by lightning. Neither happened. I’ve even returned without incident. So there.
• The next couple days will be all about preparing for school to start on Tuesday morning. Organizing carpools, picking out first week attire, filling out forms and setting alarm clocks… what fun! I’m looking forward to some of it. Just some.

Have a safe holiday weekend! xoxo

Apr. 4: Plinky ~ “Meh” landmarks

The Plinky prompts come into my feed reader every morning, but I so rarely have good answers. I like today’s prompt, though, and although my definition of “good answer” might be questionable, I decided to play along. Because it’s me, I can’t leave my answer at just ONE—I have many. It’s how I do.

What landmark did you find disappointing when you saw it in person?

Sometimes a picture's worth a thousand words, but an in-person visit isn't worth the $5 entry fee.

It’s much easier for me to think of the landmarks that were even MORE impressive in person—the Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas Strip, the Gateway Arch, the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace—so Victor and I had much discussion over our answers to this question. One we both agreed upon:

manneken-pis (Brussels, Belgium)

Manneken-Pis (the peeing little boy statue) was cool to see in person, but it was disappointing because it is placed quite inelegantly at the corner of a building and could easily be missed if not for the constant crowd around it.

The dude is only two feet tall, making him even less impressive. As much as this little guy is imitated throughout the world—made into goofy souvenirs like corkscrews, etc.—you’d think the statue would be, well, life-size, at least. And the way Europe makes huge statues of even questionably significant people, I’m pretty sure someone read the Manneken-Pis blueprints wrong. I doubt we were the only people ever to arrive at the Manneken-Pis landmark and say, “OK, that’s cute. Now, where’s the real one?”

Speaking of piss, my next answer is going to piss people off, pro’lly…

Epcot (Walt Disney World, Florida)

Epcot is divided into two parts: Future World and World Showcase. Future World is your typical Disney theme park—characters everywhere, fun rides, gift shops. We like that half of Epcot. The back half of the park is World Showcase, and the part you typically hear about. Eleven countries are represented in individual “pavilions” with shops, food service, and exhibits. From across the water in Future World, World Showcase looks pretty cool. There’s an Eiffel Tower, a Norwegian church, a Japanese pagoda, and other landmark-y types of things.

But that’s the view from afar. Ultimately, World Showcase, if you ask us, is not much more than a big, stupid food court.

Keep in mind that on our first visit to Epcot we had recently returned from Europe, and we (foolishly) expected the ethnic food to be somewhat authentic. We skipped over the Canadian and U.K. pavilions and went straight to France for a bit of those delicious pastries and chocolat we had enjoyed so much in Paris months before. But the Epcot French pastries tasted like Hostess pastries, and the chocolate tasted suspiciously Hershey’s-like. Edible, yes. Authentic? Ha! Not. Even. Close.

Further disenchantment came when Darlene pointed out Korean items being sold in the Japan pavilion. Actually, we didn’t find that disenchanting so much as hilarious. Leave it to Disney to assume no one will notice.

Being that Victor and I are lovers of most things Disney, our un-love of the whole back half of Epcot was unexpected. When we went back three years later, we didn’t even venture into that part of the park BECAUSE IT IS SO STUPID.

Willamette Falls (Oregon City/West Linn, Oregon)

One of our local landmarks, we see Willamette Falls most often on the news when there’s flooding. During our city-wide flood in 1996, they repeatedly showed a houseboat going over the falls—way cool (because it wasn’t ours). At that time the water levels were so high, the falls were hardly even falling.

There are all sorts of things about Willamette Falls that should be impressive: in the US it’s third behind Niagara Falls in volume of water (or somethin’ like that), it’s the largest waterfall in the Northwest, its height is only 42 feet and it’s still considered “huge.” There are even more big-deal statistics, but I’m too lazy to look them up. So why is this landmark disappointing? Well, here’s a good picture of Willamette Falls:

Beautiful, isn’t it?

But unless you’re right on the river, Willamette Falls never looks like that. In fact, from the most convenient viewpoint (on I-205), it almost always looks like this:

See what I mean? Meh.

London, England

This was a disappointing city overall, not a disappointing landmark. I thought London was exceptionally filthy, people were unfriendly, and I absolutely hated the architecture. I didn’t like how there were new, modern buildings next to cathedrals and government buildings that were many hundreds of years old. And the London Eye, that ginormous Ferris wheel! Who let the city planners do all that? Crazy people, that’s who. Although the landmarks themselves were incredible, I did not like the way they fit into the city. Buckingham Palace was an exception, as it literally (and figuratively) stands on its own, surrounded by beautiful grounds.

Mill Ends Park (Portland, Oregon)

Mill Ends Park is the smallest city park in the world, as recognized by the Guinness Book of Records, and located right here in Portland. I’m not really disappointed in this landmark, because how could it be impressive? It’s supposed to be small. What disappoints me is how difficult it is to get a good look at it, as it’s located on a busy parkway and easy to miss and I drive too fast and also sometimes forget to even look for it.

(It’s possible that one’s just me.)

What’s your answer to this Plinky prompt?

Aug. 4: Like unimaginative Mad Libs

Everyone knows the names of Snow White’s seven little friends (descriptions are straight from that always-reliable source, Wikipedia):

1. Bashful (the shyest of the dwarfs, and is often embarrassed by the presence of any attention directed at him)
2. Doc (the leader of the seven dwarves, Doc wears glasses and often mixes up his words)
3. Dopey (the only dwarf that does not have a beard. He is clumsy and mute, with Happy explaining that he has simply “never tried to speak.”)
4. Grumpy (Grumpy initially disapproves of Snow White’s presence in the dwarfs’ home, but later warns her of the threat posed by the Queen and rushes to her aid upon realizing that she is in danger, leading the charge himself. He is frequently seen with one eye shut.)
5. Happy (the joyous dwarf and usually portrayed laughing)
6. Sleepy (always tired and appears laconic in most situations)
7. Sneezy (his name is earned by his extraordinarily powerful sneezes, caused by hay fever, which are seen blowing objects, including his brothers, across a room)

But did you know (again, according to Wikipedia), the rejected dwarf names for Snow White? They are—and remember that this film was released in 1937, when many of these might have had different meanings than they do nowadays:

1. Awful
2. Baldy
3. Biggo-Ego
4. Biggy
5. Biggy-Wiggy
6. Blabby
7. Burpy
8. Busy
9. Chesty
10. Cranky
11. Daffy
12. Dippy
13. Dirty
14. Dizzy
15. Doleful
16. Flabby
17. Gabby
18. Gloomy
19. Goopy
20. Graceful
21. Helpful
22. Hoppy
23. Hotsy
24. Hungrey
25. Jaunty
26. Jumpy
27. Lazy
28. Neurtsy
29. Nifty
30. Puffy
31. Sappy
32. Scrappy
33. Shifty
34. Silly
35. Sleazy
36. Sneezy-Wheezy
37. Sniffy
38. Snoopy
39. Soulful
40. Strutty
41. Stuffy
42. Tearful
43. Thrifty
44. Tipsy
45. Titsy
46. Tubby
47. Weepy
48. Wistful
49. Woeful

And then there are my favorite pseudo-Disney characters, the Seven Duffs from The Simpsons:

1. Tipsy
2. Queasy
3. Surly
4. Sleazy
5. Edgy
6. Dizzy
7. Remorseful

I could potentially portray any number of irritating-as-hell sidekicks in a film, but I believe the descriptions of these characters would best fit my demeanor this evening: Cranky, Edgy, Flabby, Happy, Strutty, and Surly. Possibly Neurtsy, if I knew what that word meant.

What about you?

Jul. 21: At least I’ve got ONE I like today

We just got back from a Radio Disney-sponsored “Kids Camp” at a nearby shopping center. It was outdoors—in the parking lot, in fact—and very, very hot, but also a lot of fun. There were local sponsors distributing coupons and fun prizes, and DJs playing loud Radio Disney music. Some cheerleader-types from the radio station ran lots of little contests in which Katie was eager to compete. She won a Jonas Brothers necklace, movie passes, Webkinz trading cards, a Subway Frisbee, and a Sonny With a Chance tote bag. Jack got Webkinz cards and a Subway tote bag. In other words, we left with enough non-crap that it was worth standing in the heat. Katie and I thought so, anyway.

Jack thought the event was ridiculous and acted like a tool for the whole hour. It must have taken a lot of effort, because while he frequently acts like a tool, he compensates by more frequently being a sweet boy, a good boy, a nice boy, and a funny boy. I don’t like him very much when he acts like a tool for no reason. And lately he hates anything he thinks is for girls—which is anything on the Disney Channel, in his opinion. It’s really quite ridiculous, because Jack watches Disney Channel all the time, so he obviously doesn’t hate it. Even when the cheerleaders played a Phineas & Ferb song today, he pretended not to recognize it. PHINEAS & FERB! COME ON! I was tempted to leave him at that friggin’ Radio Disney kids’ camp just because I know it would have been pure torture. It was really only the risk of heat exhaustion that made me push him away from camp and back toward the car. When we got there, I kinda wanted to steer him toward the trunk instead of the back seat but there were too many witnesses.

What do you do with your kids when they turn into little fart-knockers? When you want to take away every privilege they have and not do anything nice for them, like provide food and shelter?

Apr. 7: Nope, I don’t miss a thing

I keep asking myself, have I really not noticed this in 40 years of watching Disney movies over and over and over and over? And over?

 

Looks like Walt might’ve been too busy with his wacky EPCOT dreams to notice that his animators had gotten lazy. Ha!