Getting the Party Started

The beginning of December (last week) always signals the countdown to Christmas. And as I've said before, we don't usually decorate our house or even put up a tree until closer to Christmas. (Yes, ours is the "dark house" in the neighborhood for most of the month, but that's not important right now.)

But just because we don't start decorating, doesn't mean we don't start celebrating!

We went to Disneyland last week with my BFF, Pam and her husband, Pastor Gene and their daughter, Mary and grandaughter, CJ. Our friends live over 250 miles away and we only get to see them when they come down to Disneyland which is, of course, the perfect place for us to hang together. In fact, Pam and I have been hanging out at Disneyland (particularly at Christmastime) for over 30 years now.

That's me, Pam & Gene. Circa 1977 on the porch of one of the facades on Main Street. I remember it was the year they opened Space Mountain and besides Christmas shopping, and taking our Christmas Card photo in front of the Disney tree, we went specifically to ride Space Mountain.

I have a pretty good memory for these things. Which is why I told Pam, "We need a photo right here on this spot."

She agreed.

I love that in spite of time and distance we are still friends. Disneyland friends. Best Friends, Forever. =D

We had such a great day. It was not too hot and not too cold and we rode rides and ate and watched parades. All the same things we used to do so many years ago. Only now, maybe a little slower. (Shut up.)

 

I think our kids love the thought that maybe we were both young once and they kind of like that sense of shared history. You know, like, "Mom was once young. Who knew?" =D

So we rode my favorite, the Jungle Cruise.

 

Pastor Gene and Adam braving the wild jungle adventures.

 

I do I love the Jungle Cruise. Except for the part where my kids like to point out that I'm as old as this particular elephant who has been showering here since Disneyland opened in 1955. Sheesh!

 

Which makes me think, "Hey, I look pretty good for my age...."

 

Here we are at the top of Tarzan's Treehouse. Somewhere I have videotape of us bouncing up those stairs to get there. This day it took us a while to catch our breath. Ha! But we got the photo!  (I just wanted proof I had done all those stairs.)

The day culminated with the lovely parade and the magical moment when they light the castle and shoot off fireworks and it snows! Can it get any more magical than that???

 

The fireworks! Stupendous! Made me cry. (they always do!)

How much more magic can I stand? We got to kick off our Christmas celebration at Disneyland with some of our favorite-practically-like-family friends. Adam bonded with their grandaughter, CJ. They were so cute together.

 

And of course, by the end of the night, I was able to get my four kids in a photo together rockin' the castle in the background. (Which was a main event for me.)

 

Aren't they just adorable? CJ liked how they looked away and wanted to do it too.

 

I like how the balloon happened to escape into the photo too. A nice touch. (Look at CJ's face, she was really working it!)

 

And of course, The Pensieros and the Castle.

What a practically perfect day.
Glad I got to share it with my best friend, forever. In my favorite place. With my favorite people. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Hi Pam! Love you MORE!

So you see, even if we don't have decorations up, the celebrations have already begun.

Merry Christmas!

Magical Summer Moments

Sunday, September 6, 1970. My very first concert.

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Their opening act was Little Stevie Wonder who had just had a big hit with "Signed, Sealed, Delivered."

This was my very first concert. I found the ticket tucked away in my high school photo album. Thirty-nine years ago today.

 

I remember being a little salty still from the beach (Playa del Rey) earlier in the day.

I remember it was a double-date. My date, Terry, who was sixteen at the time (I was fifteen) had only had his driver's license for two months and drove an ancient red station wagon. Seatbelts? What?? =D

 

We drove up through the Hollywood Hills. You have to drive through a neighborhood of palatial homes to get there. I remember being shocked and surprised by this as only a wide-eyed fifteen-year-old can be.

But, ah... once we got into the Greek and found our seats...

The music was classic Motown. The air smelled clean and fresh as only outdoor concerts can. There's that roar and rush as the performers take the stage.

The lights! The sounds! The oh-my-gosh-they're-RIGHT-THERE-onstage amazement! Our favorite songs being performed live. They have never sounded better.

It was a magical night for me and one of my very fondest memories. My first live show. Notice the ticket price - $5.00. Wow.

I love that I can pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with live shows. There was nothing like it. NOTHING. The music seriously came alive in a way that couldn't be captured over the radio or through vinyl.

It was live. And I was alive. And I was THERE.

That feeling has never left me. I have been to dozens of live shows since. And am never disappointed.

I recently took a Facebook quiz and was able to list over 50 acts that I had seen live, not counting stage, plays, and musicals.

The first two will always be Smokey and Stevie. It was one of those definining moments in my life. Who knew?

1. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. *
2. Stevie Wonder.
3. Chicago.
4. The Beach Boys. *
5. Glady Knight and the Pips.
6. The Temptations.
7. The Four Tops.
8. The Grateful Dead. *
9. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. *
10. The Moody Blues. *
11. Fleetwood Mac.
12. Rod Stewart.
13. Linda Rondstat.
14. Carole King.
15. James Taylor.
16. Barbra Streisand.
17. Tito Puente.
18. Oscar de Leon.
19. Celia Cruz. *
20. Willy Chirino. *
21. Marc Anthony.
22. The Tubes.
23. Elvis Costello.
24. KC & the Sunshine Band.
25. The Monkees.
26. Tower of Power.
27. Johnny and Edgar Winter.
28. Bruce Springstein. *
29. J. Geils Band. *
30. Peter Frampton.
31. Boz Scags.
32. Michael Jackson.
33. U2. *
34. Chayanne.
35. Alejandro Fernandez.
36. Jethro Tull.
37. Huey Lewis and the News.
38. The Doobie Brothers.
39. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. *
40. Van Morrison.
41 The Allman Bros.
42. The Rolling Stones.
44. Brian Wilson.
45. Paul McCartney.
46. Peter Gabriel.
47. Loggins & Messina. *
48. Julio Yglesias.
49. The Go-Go's.
50. Jimmy Buffett.
51. Andy Garcia.
52. Gloria Estefan. *
53. The Marshall Tucker Band.
54. Lynrd Skynrd.
55. Charlie Daniels Band.
56. The Who.
57. Stephen Stills.
58. Warren Zevon.
59. Junior Walker and the All-Stars.
60. The Rascals.

(NOTE: There are many more. I keep remembering a few more each day...)

Even now, the excitement and fun of a live concert or show still calls to me. Of all the fun things we do now, going to shows is still high up there on the list.

 

These are programs and tickets from just this summer.

Amy and I saw Dirty Dancing at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.

 

We have season tickets to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. This was for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

 

And of course, here we are in New York, on Broadway, waititng to see Wicked.

Las Vegas at the Wayne Brady Show.

Andy Garcia at the Conga Room.

David Copperfield at the Long Beach Arena.

 

Dana Carvey at the Orleans in Vegas.

 

We collected our favorite friends to accompany us to see Fiddler on the Roof (which coincidentally happened to fall on Lucy's birthday, but that's not important right now.) Go figure!

And of course, Disney's Electrical Parade.

 

We usually take the cheesy "I-was-there" photo. And even if it's blurry, we call it good. This was at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater where we saw the Pacific Symphony on their Rodgers and Hammerstein movie night.

 

That's us in all our Uber-Geeky glory.

We have passed on the love of the theater and live entertainment to our kids. In fact, we've taken to scouring ticket sales at the beginning of the summer to find the best deals.  (I know. Uber-geeks.)

But I was reminded that this is a love that started thirty nine years ago (today) in what was for me, a magical moment in time. And even though the ticket prices are way higher than $5.00(!) live theater and concert-going is still very much a part of my life and of my family's life.

And I have the ticket stubs and cheesy pictures to prove it. =D

Do you have a favorite concert or show? Do you remember your first one? Tell me about it. I want to know.

It's my blog and I'll whine if I want to

List of stuff that's stressing me out right now:

• We returned from our trip to Washington D.C. and New York a week ago and I'm still catching up on laundry.
• Lucy has a performance this coming weekend for which I am painting backdrops and overseeing costumes. Our first technical rehearsal was today and I'm pretty exhausted.
• Jonathan and I are working furiously to complete a scrapbook from our trip. (Digital, of course. =D) This is his end-of-the-year project and he's doing a wonderful job of mastering Photoshop Elements, getting historical details right and putting up with my perfectionism all at once.
• I am struggling with pain in both my knees (old cheerleading injury. *sigh*) which is making me fussy because of everything else I'm trying to get done so I'm going all Carly-Simon-"I-haven't-got-time-for-the-pain" about it.
• I haven't cooked a decent meal for about a week now. (While sometimes this is a good thing, right now I'm just feeling all slackery about it. I should add right here that my amazing husband has not complained even once and has even been helping to procure food for the kids and for us. Smart man knows he'd just be going hungry too, but that's not important right now. Thanks, E!)
• Did I mention that I helped launch ANOTHER blog?? Yes, I know. Shut up. (Go check out the Tiki Tiki here.)
• I'm old. {*big, fat, heavy sigh*}

List of stuff I have to be GRATEFUL for:

• We got to go to Washington D.C. and New York!!! (Umm... hello?!)
• Lucy is going to be wonderful as Mrs. Mae Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie next weekend. I can't wait!
• Jonathan is such a smart and creative kid. He's a delight to work with. (How many 13 year olds can you say that about?)
• My doctor prescribes vicodin. ;-)
• My husband is a golden god.
• I have had the privilege to launch another blog!! It's such a great project. I love it already. (Go check out the Tiki Tiki. I mean it!)
• I got to celebrate my birthday at Disneyland and yes, I'm actually as old as Disneyland, which makes me doubly cool. ;-)

See what I did there?

As Amy Kikita would say, "You just added some cheese to your "whine." 
Okay. I'm over it. Thanks for listening.

Tomorrow we'll be back to our regularly scheduled blogging....

"Snap out of it!"
~ Loretta Castorini, Moonstruck

Celebrate TODAY.

Disneyland. The Mandatory Mickey Face Picture. March 2007:

Disneyland. The Mandatory Mickey Face Picture. May 2008:

Disneyland. The Mandatory Mickey Face Picture. January 2009:

(I guess most people use a calendar to mark the passing of time. =D)

This is exactly why I am totally loving Disneyland's tag line for this year:

*HEAVY SIGH*

Disney Celebration just for ME? (you shouldn't have....) ;-)

=D

I feel so accidentally cool. (thanks, Helen!)

I've got some good news and some bad news...

I'll tell you the bad news first.

My camera died.
My beloved Olympus E-300 Evolt won't shoot anymore.
Yes, the one I use EVERY SINGLE DAY to document my extraordinarily ordinary life.

It was quite sudden, too.
It was working just fine.
And then it just stopped.
Just like that.

No more pictures for me, Precious.  (She said, in a sad, pathetic little voice.)  =(

I'm taking in in to the camera shop ASAP and I hope there's a fix for it.
Because I'm seriously feeling sad over this.
Like the death of an old and loyal friend.

Oh, but wait...there is good news.

This is the very last picture it took:

Like a final parting gift... *sigh*

(But, hey, how cute are we? And isn't the castle especially beautiful? =D)

Marta Darby's Day Off

Can you guess where we were today?

You know, just because we homeschool, doesn't mean we don't ditch sometimes.  ;-)

Okay, the truth is that Lucy had PSAT Testing and Jonathan had his Literature and American History classes. They've both been working really hard and they both were through at noon and well, it's Halloweentime at Disneyland and all the pumpkin decorations are SO STINKING CUTE. 

And no. I don't "do" guilt. =D

How an arcade game can double as a personality test or WARNING: Perfectionism can strike at any moment!

Our good friends, Gene and Pam were visiting this week, so of course we met them at Disneyland. ;-)

My entire goal for this trip, besides spending precious time with my BFF, was to experience Toy Story Mania, the newest attraction at Disney's California Adventure Park.

So, I call my niece:
"Helen, I'm going to meet Gene and Pam at C.A. and so I can finally go on the Toy Story ride."  (She had been telling me about how much they have enjoyed it, and it's been closed the last few times I've been there, but that's not important right now.)
"Tell me what time and we'll meet you there." (That response right there is one of the major reasons why I so love my family. Can you say, SPONTANEOUS?)

Anyway, through the technological magic of text messaging and cell phones, we all coincided at the attraction at once. How on earth did we coordinate anything before cell phones??

Then we had to make the monumental decision of the day: Who Rides With Who? (or is it Who Rides With Whom?)

Ben chose Lucy, of course.

Which left the other seven of us to pair off by twos.
Gene sacrificially chose to be the solitary rider. (He's a pastor. It totally fits his personality that he would do this, but that's not important right now, either.)

Here he is sporting the mandatory 3-D glasses:

So, Pam and I end up on the ride together. It's a 3-D arcade game. I was Player One (on the left).

The telling question:

What does the Final Score vs. Accuracy ratio tell you about our personalities?

Life would be so dull if we were all the same, wouldn't it? =D

I love you, my friend!

The Wish

I was born in May of 1955.  At the end of that summer, which my family was spending in Varadero Beach, Cuba, as usual, a friend of my mom's came to visit to meet the new baby. 

Her name was Conchitica.  [NOTE: "Concha" is the Spanish word for shell, as in a Conch Shell.]  This particular "Concha" was the third in that descendency to receive the ubiquitous family name.  Concha was the grandmother. Conchita, the mother. And this person was saddled with the hyper-diminutive Conchitica, or Concha The Third, but that's not important right now.

Conchitica had just returned from the opening of a brand new amusement park in California, USA.

An amusement park for children where life size animals existed and moved, yet they were not real.
A boat cruise through a real jungle!
A tree-house right out of Swiss Family Robinson.
There were real trains and fairy tales that had come to life.
A gorgeous carrousel.
A rocket to the moon.
A larger-than-life, but not-as-big-as-real-life castle. 

"You must take your children there!" She insisted to my mother, who was still recovering from the birth of her 6th and last child at the age of 41. 
"It's a magical place that must be experienced in one's lifetime."

"California?!" my mom balked. "I WISH!"  She imagined taking the baby in her arms to this magical place.

But no. Impossible. California was not only 3,000 miles away, it was in another country.  A foreign country. It was another world. A complete impossibility. She could only wish.

Because, you see, her life was set.  She was Cuban and Havana was her home. She had her husband and her six children and her life was set. She would never get to California, let alone the magical amusement park, but still she was fascinated.

Ah, but she had made The Wish.

And The Wish took on a life of it's own.

Fast-forward eighteen summers (and a lifetime!) later.  My mom and dad and the two youngest of the six children can be found living just blocks from the original Magic Kingdom in Anaheim, California. In fact, during the summers, all we had to do was to go sit outside on the porch at 9:20 each night to enjoy the fireworks from Disneyland.

But... that was impossible! California was so, so far from our island home. Not just geographically, but in our imaginations.

But now, as I write this, I've lived in California for the majority of my life. As my mother held me and listened to the stories Conchitica had to share, she couldn't have imagined it.

And yet, here we are.

As soon as I finish this post, we're going to Disneyland for a few hours for lunch and the parade and maybe to ride the Jungle Cruise.  It's my favorite ride.  (I know. Uber-dork.) Because as a very small child, I heard stories of a wonderful cruise through a life-like jungle that had captured my mother's imagination.

I swear that I get emotional when I ride that ride. Because I always think back to Conchitica and The Impossible Wish. And it makes me realize that we sometimes think that things are set in stone, but God has other plans. We can't imagine the life that awaits us.

At least I couldn't. And neither could my mom. And yet, here we are.
And life is good. Better than we could have wished...

"A dream is a wish your heart makes..."
                                                     ~ Cinderella   ;-)

Yo Ho, Yo Ho....

(Indulge me here while I delight in my grand-nephew, Ben, who is three years old today.)

And like most three year old boys he's got his ..... umm....... opinion about things.

Take Disneyland for example.
If you're a three year old boy and you're going to Disneyland, you must dress up.
Preferably like a Pirate. Your costume should include a faux-parrot which sits precariously on your shoulder.
Of course, the adults you're with will take you to dinner at the Cafe Orleans because that's where they will give you a Pirate-hat menu (they also happen to have the very BEST Monte Cristo sandwiches on the planet, but that's not important right now), and which you will wear the rest of the day at a jaunty angle and all will exclaim at your cuteness.

 

You must ride around the park on the Disneyland Railroad. This is totally fun because you get to yell, "ALL ABOARD!" at the top of your lungs for the duration of the ride and most everyone thinks it's cute. If you're the adult, do NOT yell anything at the top of your lungs. Just trust me on this one. ;-)

 

It's important that you go on all the rides that involve pirates or boats. This includes getting over to Tom Sawyer's Island to visit the Pirate's Lair, riding Pirates of the Caribbean (duh.), the Jungle Cruise, and the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. As long as the ship is seaworthy...  Pirates are versatile that way.

You'll be pretty tired from all your Pirate activities at Disneyland....

But not too tired to have a Pirate Birthday/Beach Parrrty. (the arrr is Pirate talk, you see.)

When asked how old you are, you will focus intently and hold up exactly three fingers...

 

... or maybe you focus so intently that you screw that up and hold up six fingers instead, but hey....

"To err is human, but to ARRR is Pirate." 

=D

(okay, that was really fun.)

Happy Birthday, Ben!!