Saturday, October 23, 2010

finding fall

Took the annual trip to the edge of the San Bernardino Mountains today to go find Fall... and we did! It was super-cold (like in the 50s ;) at the Oak Glen Orchards in Yucaipa, CA. We visited Parrish Pioneer Ranch, where I stocked up on hot pickled okra (yum!), and found a cute Christmas gift for my Granny at Granny's Attic. Then stopped off at Law's Cider Mill to get clear, delish apple cider in the cool glass jugs, had lunch at Law's Coffee Shop, then went to Snow-Line Orchards for the world famous apple cider donuts (that are your reward after waiting in a 20+ minute line). I also bought a big bag of Braeburn and Pink Lady (the yummy tart ones!) apples there. Once we were appled out, we headed back down the hill (where it was comfortably in the 70s) and hit the Live Oak Canyon pumpkin patch extraordinaire! Found two big, pretty pumpkins in the patch, got all my gourds and colored corn husks for the Thanksgiving table, and got attacked by goats in the petting zoo. It was a super-fun day.. and now I'm going to sleep :)




It's some great pumpkins Charlie Brown!



















 Mr. Turkey in the petting zoo, dreading the holiday after Halloween...

Saturday, October 16, 2010

wear your music

Saw a tweet about this organization -- Wear Your Music -- earlier this week and wanted to share... some pretty well-known musicians (Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Jonny Lang, Keith Richards) are donating used guitar strings to be turned into eco-friendly jewelry (bracelets, necklaces) that then get sold for charity. I'm just waiting on Richie Sambora to donate, then I will make my purchase :)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

poignance, direct from my tivo

Catching up on Tivo last night and this line from a sibling-centric Sunday night soap really hit home:
"Do you ever feel that sometimes you missed out on being who you were supposed to be because you're so busy being who everybody expected you to be?" 

Yes, yes I do. And I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I think it's time to get serious about a plan to find the me I'm supposed to be.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

something to think about

Officials see Prop. 21 as key to future of California's state parks - latimes.com

$18 a year/car to keep beaches and parks open... and then California licensed drivers don't have to pay $8/visit to park.... Why is passing Prop 21 even a question?

Proponents (mainly a group called "Californians Against Car Taxes") say it's not fair to charge every person in California with a car -- many of whom may never use the state parks -- to keep the parks open and maintained. But doesn't every person in California who may not drive end up paying for roads via state taxes on employment or property? Doesn't every homeowner, whether they have children or not, pay taxes to keep our public schools (those that remain, and however crappy they are) running?

Others say it's not fair just to charge tourists to park when they visit. Hate to burst a bubble here, but $8 for a day on a hiking trail or at a beautiful beach is way cheaper than what tourists get charged for parking + admission at Disneyland, Sea World, Universal Studios or to park in Hollywood to look at stars and handprints on the sidewalk. So I really don't think there's going to be a major uproar or tourist exodus from the state.

If this passes, the $130 million the state currently spends on parks would go back into the state general fund to be spent on other things. (May I suggest hiring good teachers and filling in potholes as two possible expenditures?)

However, if this passes, proponents feel this would also set a really bad precedent. Don't like the way the legislature is spending the budget? Create a proposition to tax people and funnel funds to your initiative of choice. It's called "ballot box budgeting" and it's the one thing that's making me really think about how I'll vote on Prop 21. Although, right now I'm leaning towards the opinion that if voters vote to pay more money out of their pocket for an initiative, then the government should be more than happy to let them...

my boss' boss' new boss + 1

This is certainly a change. As a peer just posted on Facebook, "Here we go..." Then someone asked if it was a good, bad or uncertain "here we go"? Wish I knew the answer to that, but I have a much more worried feeling than I'd have if we just had one new President instead of two.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

you really CAN make a living doing what you love

Check out this article on my ex-roommate, Julie. She used to be a retail merchandiser for a major department store and really did not like it. What she did like were her dogs. So she took that passion for pets and has turned that into a booming pet-sitting/kennel business in Prescott, AZ.  Yay Jules A-K!

the only good thing that happened this week..

Considering that -- other than Alice Cooper -- they are the only "rock" artists on the list, this whole nomination process better just be a formality...

Bon Jovi † The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Announces Nominees for 2011 Induction