Donna Martin Graduates!

With absolutely no regret or shame I can state that I adore Tori Spelling. In the fourth grade, I used to plug my headphones into my television to watch 90210 since it was on past my bedtime. When her show So NoTORIous was on VH1, I literally wept tears from laughing so hard. Now, of course, I am not too hot AT ALL on how she started her relationship with her husband Dean, but I also cannot help but adore him. His sexual, smartass remarks remind me way too much of my husband's comments.

So I seized the opportunity to meet her yesterday at a book signing in Costa Mesa. I've read all of her books and loved them. Let me just say she was an absolute doll! She made time for each fan, having a little conversation with each of them and posing for pics. She was just so gracious and sweet; it definitely made this month (after the Harry Potter park of course)



If you haven't read any of her books, trust me, giver her a shot. She's hilarious.

I Went to Hogwarts!

WARNING: This post is EXTREMELY picture heavy!

Hi Lovelies, I have two conferences down now and one more to go. Yesterday, I got back from the Renaissance conference I attended in Orlando, FL. Renaissance is an academic rewards program designed to reward students who do well in school with different incentives like t-shirts, classroom rewards, etc.

Being that I was going to be in Orlando, I had to make a trip to the Harry Potter park. I absolutely adore the series of books, and to actually have the chance to go to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade...I just couldn't pass it up.

So after the conference, I stayed an extra day. And I went to the park ALL BY MYSELF.


Here I am in front of Hogwarts. I speed walked all the way through the park and almost peed my pants when I saw the castle. Sweat was literally streaming down my face at this point. Just so you know, NEVER visit Florida without shorts in the summer.

I waited about half an hour to go into Dervish and Banges, where I bought my own wand (the line to get into Olivander's was an hour and a half!)




After making it out of the store, I decided to get a nice cup of butter beer, and it was dee-lish! Imagine a root beer with more of a vanilla taste. I highly recommend getting a frozen cup, in which they add a little bit of soft serve vanilla ice cream to the top.


After enjoying that cup of butter beer, I finally got in line to ride the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. Waiting in line for this ride is fun in and of itself because you get to tour through Hogwarts first before you board the ride.

Waiting in line in Professor Sprout's herbology greenhouse.


Talking paintings inside the Hogwarts castle.

Dumbledore's Pensieve

The Sorting Hat

As for the ride itself, I really hadn't gone on anything like it before. It is a truly interactive ride that takes you through various scenes in the movie as you chase after Harry, trying to get to a quidditch game. You encounter a dragon, which breathes smoke in your face. You get spit on by the huge spiders in the forest. And you'll be terrified by the dementors who pop up and follow you. I waited in line for forty-five minutes the first time before a fire alarm went off, and I was evacuated along with all of the other tourists. I almost cried out of fear that I wouldn't get to ride this ride. Thankfully, they fixed everything. Trust me, the wait for this ride is well worth it. I went on it twice.

I then got in line to ride the Dragon's Challenge, an exciting roller coaster ride. You travel through one of the rally tents before you board the dragon of your choice.





The ride is insanely fun, and a must at the park. The wait for this ride was extremely short; I guess people are too afraid to ride roller coasters?

I then walked around Hogsmeade for a bit and had dinner at the Three Broomsticks.





And what visit to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts would be complete without taking a picture with the conductor of the Hogwarts Express?

Even though I was all by myself, this was one of the most exciting, fulfilling things I have ever got to do in my life. How many of us get to visit the places in our favorite books? If you love the books as much as I do, I highly recommend going if you have the opportunity. It is something I will never forget.

Hogsmeade at Night =)

Blah San Diego

Hi lovelies,

I thought I could escape this darn June gloom that has persisted into July down here in San Diego while attending a conference on the Constitution, but no such luck. It has been like this since I arrived down here on Tuesday:


Yuck!

I am also staying in dorm housing on a college campus, which is not making the situation better. This:

only reaffirms that I am glad I never chose to dorm but just commute from my parent's house to college.

Anyhoo, the only thing pulling me through is the surprise my husband managed to line up for tomorrow night. More later...(I'm hoping I'll have pics!)

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July, lovelies. I have to admit though, I wish we were celebrating the 2nd of July. That is the date that all of the colonies voted to actually move towards independence. The fourth is when they adopted the final wording of the Declaration of Independence. Oh John Adams, I agree with you. The second should have been the day that was celebrated! Anyhoo, I plan to drink a few of these:


Eat two of these tonight:

(But not with ketchup, that is a big no-no in my book!)

And then bake these:


Whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a fabulous day!

Eclipse Withdrawal

I...am...not...going...to...see...Eclipse...at... midnight. ::gulp:: I know, I know. Overdramatic much? Maybe. I am truly heartbroken over the fact that I am not going to the midnight showing of this film. It's my favorite book from the series, and I always just assumed I would go. I had relented though and agreed to go with my friend and sis tomorrow afternoon; however, my sis cannot go, and I feel too guilty not seeing it without her. I told my hubby how sad I was, and he actually said he'd go to the midnight showing; however, the theater near us is sold out. I guess I'll wait until the weekend now.

BTW, don't Rob and Kristen just look adorable in this photo?

Latest Girl Crush: Grace Potter

OK, growing up as a teenager, it was always my dream to be a rock star. There was just one problem: I can't sing. An ex, who is a musician, never ceased to remind me that I couldn't, and humored me as I would sing along to tracks driving to his gigs. ::sigh::





If I could sing though, I would definitely be this woman: Grace Potter. I got a text from my sister a few weeks ago that stated, "Have you heard of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals? I think you would really like her." The name stuck, and when the hubby and I were looking at LCD TVs while at Best Buy, I stumbled upon her band's CD. Not having listened to one track, I took a chance and bought it. And boy, was I glad I did.



Grace is that hip rock n' roll chick we all aspire to be going out to concerts. She's stunningly gorgeous, has great fashion sense, is ridiculously talented, and has a voice I would die for. The whole band is something I wish I could have dreamed up, tracks reminiscent of The Black Crowes mixed with Heart. She is my latest girl crush, and I HIGHLY recommend you check out her music.

Hello Summer!!

(Me doing a little victory jump after our promotion ceremony Wednesday)

Hello Lovelies!

Long time no chat, huh? The end of this school year really wore me down, and between running assemblies, organizing our end of the year trip, and grading I really just couldn't find time for myself. What's hilarious is that I still took pictures of all of these delicious recipes I was making; I just didn't blog about them.

Anyhoo, as I was cleaning off the lovely penis mark that was drawn with a sharpie on a desk during the last day of school yesterday, I thought about all of the things I have to look forward to this summer:

1) Re-watching the first season of Felicity
2) Savoring the new episodes of Entourage, Hung, and True Blood
3) Taking a SLR photography class in my town's community center
4) Finishing up a number of projects for the house I have planned
5) Playing all of the new games we have for our Wii
6) Losing 15 pounds
7) The free concerts at the lake we get to attend (Hello, Kenny Loggins!)
8) Mimosas at our new patio set
9) Baking all kinds of cupcakes using the new mixer I just purchased
10) Trying all the recipes from the Martha Stewart, Sunset, and Rachael Ray magazines that I bookmarked
11) Long afternoon naps
12) Lounging in my backyard
13) Finishing off the pile of books on my bed stand that I haven't gotten to tackle
14) Hopefully getting to see Tonic and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
15) NOT WORKING (well, at least as hard as I do during the school year; I'm actually planning on going over my curriculum and updating things)

You'll be hearing a lot more from me more frequently now, ladies.