So close yet so far away!

I insisted that we walk over to the main gates on our recent trip to Downtown Disney. Halloween Time is one of my favorite times at the park. I was happy that the pumpkins over the main entrance were still up. I love Disneyland. So many happy memories. Countless hours spent there hanging out with family & friends. I'm so glad that I was able to have a pass for so many years. It was so great to be able to go whenever I wanted: lunch break, on the way to or from work, all day or just for a couple of hours. With the increasing prices most everyone I knew that had a pass doesn't anymore. It's like a chapter in our lives has closed. I will always treasure the great times I spent at Disneyland and Ca. Adventures and hope that I get a chance to go again soon.

Lego Store

I love going to the Lego Store in Downtown Disney. We went there Monday evening. Not only do they have really amazing lego sets there that you don't see anywhere else but they have legos you can play with and really impressive lego creations like this woody which is fairly new since I've never seen it before. You can buy legos by the piece and also build three lego people for $10 and purchase that. There's new lego girl hair that was quite cool that I wanted. I also was tempted by a couple of the people key chains they had. But I just window shopped. Another funny thing that we noticed was the names on the mugs pictured behind Josh. They didn't have any form of my name there. I've noticed that lately on personalized items. Maybe my name is becoming less popular. I guess I should look into that.

Birthday Treats

So having a birthday the first week of the challenge was not good timing. Yes, we get a free sugar day for our birthdays but since my birthday celebration tends to spill out over a couple of days I ended up losing a couple points for sugar that week. If you are going to have a sugar day it better be worth it. Below is a picture of the slice of cheesecake I got from the Cheesecake Factory the night of my birthday. It's their newest variety - Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cake. It was amazingly delicious. Above is pictured my usual birthday "cake" - Chocolate Satin Pie form Marie Calendar's. So good. Rachael had her cousin that lives in our Stake deliver it to me. It sure was good. Halloween was a free sugar day too but all I had was a few pieces of candy and it didn't really seem worth it. If you are going to have a dessert make it something yummy.

Mustard's vs. Pink's

On our last trip to L.A. over Labor Day weekend my sister in law told us about a hot dog place that they love to go to called Mustard's. We didn't get a chance to try it then so on Sat. when we were trying to decide where to grab some lunch we took the opportunity to try it out. Now mind you I hardly ever eat hot dogs so I'm not any sort of authority on the subject but they were pretty good. I just got a plain dog with mustard and that's it. They serve Chicago style dogs there that "snap" when you bite into them. Their buns are steamed to perfection and have poppyseeds.
Several years ago a couple of friends and I ended up in Hollywood. Our original plan fell through so somehow we ended up going to Pink's for the first time. It was quite an adventure. Finding parking is a feat in itself and then there's always a line of an hour or so no matter what time of day or night it is. A couple years later when Josh and I were in Hollywood we went and he thought it was overrated. Whatever! Anyways, recently they've opened a Pink's near the entrance of Knott's Berry Farm. This past Sat. night we were going to get some Knott's Chicken Noodle Soup to go which is one of our favorite things to do in CA but when we got there we found the Pink's and opted for a hot dog instead. Similarly to Mustard's their hot dogs snap when you bite into them and they have amazing steamed buns that are sans poppy seeds which I prefer. Both my dad and Josh thought the Mustard's hot dog tasted better than Pink's. I got my toppings of bacon, guacamole & cheese and enjoyed it thoroughly. Guess if I ever end up at Mustard's again I will add my favorite toppings and see how it measures up.
I do hope that Pink's does well at Knott's and that it becomes a favorite destination for many. It kind of takes the fun out of the adventure of having to go up to Hollywood to get a Pink's though.
Unfortunately I didn't get any pics. at Mustard's but you'll just have to take my word for it. Here's a couple pics we took at Pinks.

Tron Night!

A couple weeks ago I noticed on facebook that you could get free tickets to a special Tron Night so of course I immediately signed up for tickets and was so relieved to get some. You were supposed to get there an hour early to make sure you got your seat and it wasn't given away to someone in standby line so I'm all stressing out today about getting there early enough and wouldn't you know it there's hardly anyone there. All those years in CA have ruined me. I always think there's going to be a ton of people but at this IMAX there wasn't. I absolutely love having an IMAX theater so close. (It's just one exit away). Since I'm always figuring out ways to score free movie tickets we always use them to see IMAX 3D movies. I figure if it's not in IMAX 3D we can just wait to rent it at the library.
Anyways, it was pretty cool to go to this event tonight. We got these cool wrist bands and movie posters. It was about 25 minutes long. They showed a couple of full scenes and then a few clips. Josh loved it. I'm not really into it. I thought the original movie was a bit strange and could probably live without seeing the new take on it but I'm sure I'll see it at some point since Josh is so into it.
I'm glad we were able to attend the special even tonight but wish there would've been more people there. I think there were only about 40 people in the theater. I wonder if the other IMAX theaters in the PHX area were busier. Hopefully they were. It's kind of nice not having to fight crowds to go to an awesome theater here. It's one of my favorite things about where we live in AZ.

Extra Point?

I think I should get an extra exercise point today because not only did I exercise for 50% longer than the requirement but I also pushed a 2 year old in a stroller the whole time. lol! It was quite fun and my little friend loved it. Even though it was after dark he was thrilled to be outside and was looking around and pointing out the stars and everything we went past. When we finally got back to the house he did not want to get out of the stroller and go in the house but we wrestled him inside and distracted him with some toys and he was fine. It was fun to go on a different route this evening since we are babysitting while my friend is off to a play.

Feeling Hopeful

It's funny how so many things are up in the air right now but at the moment I'm feeling like everything is going to work out. I don't know how. I don't know when. I wish I did but I don't so I just have to keep on going and doing all I can and know that somehow, some way everything will be fine. It's hard for me to do that. I like to have a plan. Living in CA forced me to plan things way in advance. If you want to go to something you have to buy a ticket the second they become available or you miss out. I got used to living that way. Now I don't know more than a few weeks out. I like having something to look forward to. I guess I'll learn patience. I just have to trust that everything will come together how it's supposed to. Sometimes I'm just surprised that I'm not stressed out more than I am. Guess I've just been in survival mode so long. Anyways, I know this doesn't make much sense without many details but we're supposed to do a journal or blog everyday with the habits challenge I'm doing so this will count off for that.