Watson’s has been right where it stands for over 100 years. It is still a working drug store with a pharmacy as well as a wonderful diner. Offering a wide aray of long forgotten sodas and shake combinations. My grandparents came to Watson’s, my parents came to Watson’s and today I took my boys to Watson’s. Just feels right.
And for those of you who hate to watch videos (it is only 3 minites), here some favorite pics. This wasn’t a full blown field trip- just a little lunch and a quick walk around Orange Circle (or Orange Plaza for the historians reading) through the antique shops and silly stores. Including a stop in the Army-Navy Surplus store. Just because you can never do enough firearm and camo shopping with your kids I say.
His first Blue Cream Frostie Soda! And he loved it!
So we took a visit to Bowers Museum in Santa Ana today. And saw a bunch of old stuff. Of course I could have done without the exhibit on death and burial rituals with graphic videos playing every time I turned a corner. “No mommy doesn’t know why they are dancing with the dead baby”…just not something I ever thought I would have to say. But the Quilt exhibit was neat as were all the ancient Chinese artifacts. Such a lovely peaceful place to visit. Museums are like my church. They recharge me.
My mom went with us. (I know, I know we look a lot alike) And as you can see Tucker got dressed up for the day in his new Tie T-Shirt from Santa. And Jack is still wearing his new flannel-with EVERYTHING. And EVERYday. I wonder if Kurt Cobain’s mom had the same complaint. Of course she was probably more concerned about the HEROIN and not so much his fashion sense.
(I promised to use my giant camera while my other P&S is in the shop. So this is an overload of photos to make up for the last few days)
An update to my camera trauma. I made it to the glorious Canon factory this morning, soon after they opened. Took a number and told my sad tale the girl at the counter. She said it would be ready for pick up in A WEEK. So since I have no photos of today’s events I will have to describe. First, my boys got their haircut at a new place today. This place was more suited for toddlers than my boys who think they are in high school. Complete with the rainbow sign and playhouse on the inside. But there they were sitting in a booster chair with a fisher-price themed cape around them, while the Little Einsteins played on a near by TV. In the end their hair looked great. But when Jack was asked if he wanted a lollypop he just smiled and replied ‘naw, I’m good.’ That little event was followed by a visit to PCH Dog in Orange. Which is a photo worthy eating experience. The menu is printed on a surf board and the guy serving me was about as nice as the soup-nazi. Tucker had a chili dog. Or the chili dog had him. Hard to tell- but when he was finished there was plenty of chili on his face, clothes and HAIR.
So there you have it. My day. Sans photos. Don’t worry- tomorrow I am gonna use my ginormous camera. I simply can’t function without someway to share the comedy of my life. Now what did I do before blogging?
I am starting to make plans for a little get-together, happening sometime next Summer I think. Just a gathering of OC (and near) Bloggers. We will share ideas, have a cocktail, meet each other face to face, have another cocktail and make each other laugh. BlogHer and BlissDom are great….and I wish I could attend both of them. But I have a real interest to build a local network of fellow ‘online journalists’. I am currently contacting hotels and venues to see if I can find a generous (and wise) location that wishes to donate their space in exchange for some positive bloggy mojo and reviews. I am also hoping to find local OC companies that wish to help sponsor the event. Nothing like generating good internet karma for pennies on the dollar! Could be good for everyone involved. So if you know anyone that might be able to donate or help, please let me know!!!
A few days ago Jack borrowed my most beloved possession. My Canon SD950 IS camera. He wanted to shoot a video of Tucker standing on his head and singing ‘Single Ladies’ (Beyonce’)…so it seemed like a good reason to me. And he came back and said the words no camera mother wants to hear ‘I dropped it’. I really didn’t think too much about it. I mean this camera has a titanium case (for reals) and it basically lives in my not-treated-gently purse everyday so I didn’t check it right then. So Christmas morning came around and low and behold…it is broken. Stuck in ISO200 and blowing out all the photos. In layman’s terms..the photos were all ruined. But I was too busy to stress and grabbed my professional (read: BIG) camera for the rest of the day. So today when I actually sat down to see what was wrong, and discovered it was really and truly broken. I CRIED. Not my proudest moment. But my cameras are so so important to me. I can barely function without them. The Canon repair factory place isn’t open until Monday. I plan to be waiting at the door when they open. Until then I will be in a fetal position, begging my children not to do anything cute or funny or camera worthy until I can get it fixed. And I will be praying I can afford the cost of the repairs as well.
Until then, I think I might be on a little bloggy break. Cuz I really am that upset. {insert eye roll here} I know it is just a THING. But to me- it is how I see the world. How I live.Perhaps this is some lesson to be learned?
(note: I am a die-hard 20+ year user of Canon and only Canon products. And this is my first repair needed. Yeah, seriously. I love me some Canon)
Christmas came. Christmas went…and I am exhausted. This year it was my moms turn to host the family party. But with my dad gone and her back hurting I of course helped to make it happen. And it is a lot of work to have a sit down BANQUET for 26 people. Bringing over tables, chairs, moving furniture, getting decorations down etc. And of course cooking, cooking, shopping and cleaning. There was the china to get out and the silver to polish and all the other details. And it was worth it. I love to see my family…and for reasons I can never put my finger on, we RARELY get together through out the year. It is something that both bothers me and baffles me. I mean- we all really like each other. All we do is laugh and have a great time…..but we do it about once a year. Maybe I am the only one who likes it so much? And today I promised to help my mom get her house back in order. And of course there is my obsession of DE-Christmasing my own home. I have a strong motto of ‘no Christmas-after Christmas’….so down came the trees, the stockings and all the rest. Now I am going to take a hot bath and bribe my kids not to kill each other for about 30 mins so I can relax.
(Photo: Tucker got a PSP (handheld game thing) from grandma and was thrilled. Jack told grandma he didn’t want one, so he got some other things. All great stuff, but pretty soon he was playing on Tucker’s new PSP and asking if he could save all his money to get his own. And today Tucker took his OWN $136.00 from his birthday/Christmas money, called his dad at work to take him to the store and he bought Jack a PSP of his own. (I kicked in the balance with my Christmas money)….talk about sweet….I just love how my boys love each other. Now that is a Christmas miracle.
And for those of you who hate to watch videos (it is only 3 minites), here some favorite pics. This wasn’t a full blown field trip- just a little lunch and a quick walk around Orange Circle (or Orange Plaza for the historians reading) through the antique shops and silly stores. Including a stop in the Army-Navy Surplus store. Just because you can never do enough firearm and camo shopping with your kids I say.
