Over the River & Through the Woods...

(Over the 60 and thru the 909 is more like it...)

Yesterday, we took our monthly jaunt out to the Inland Empire (why on EARTH do they call it THAT?!?) to visit my mother-in-law. This time, we were visiting in honor of Grandma's 78th birthday, which is on July 3! Happy Birthday, Grandma!

I convinced the boys to make a quick stop at "Disneyland For Rednecks" (the cashier told me that's what it's called) in Rancho Cucamonga. I love this place. That's right, I'm a left-wing, Obama-lovin', anti-gun, fish-hatin' former sociology major, and I LOVE Outdoor World. What can I tell ya. I'm a contradiction wrapped in an oxymoron.

And this here is Grandma's house. She lives in a retirement community, which is good, cuz they keep an eye on her for us. She toodles around the park on her scooter with a bright orange flag on top.

One of our favorite things about visiting Grandma's is that they recently put in a PORTILLO'S! You Chicagoans know what I'm talkin' about! That's good eatin'! My spousal unit gets the Italian Beef, natch.

The second best thing about goin' to Grandma's is... WINCO! WinCo rocks. People drive outta there with tons of CEREAL cuz it's usually about $1.98 a box! And don't get me started on the canned goods -- OY!

That, my friends, sums up a typical visit to Grandma's house! I'm glad I could take you along on our journey this month.

School's Out For Summer!

Here is my young'un (and his papa) on the first day of 4th grade! Hard to believe 4th grade is now officially BEHIND him, and he will soon be a 5th grader...


Congratulations, Sweetie, on your *awesome* grades and another great school year. We're super-proud of ya!


WOO-HOO! LET SUMMER BEGIN!

The Camera LOVES Miss Kelsey

Kelsey loves the camera almost as much as it loves her.

I Kid You Not.

For dinner tonight, People, I had:

1 McDonald's Filet O'Fish sandwich

Large Fries

2 glasses Alto Moncayo Garnacha

Now, that may not seem so strange at first glance. Red wine with fish? Not everyone's first choice, but not unheard of, either.

But... a $50 BOTTLE OF 93-pt. GRENACHE... with McDONALDS?!?!?! That, my friends... THAT is gutsy, I don't mind telling you.

I stand before you, the proud coordinator of this meal.

Eat your heart out, Food Network.

Father's Day!

Well we Siegels enjoyed a happy and jam-packed Father's Day! We began bright and early with our now-traditional Father's Day brunch at local hilltop dining establishment The Odyssey. Then it was off to the Huntington Library, where we hoped to make good use of Dad's new digital SLR camera! We were not disappointed, as there was a veritable plethora of terrific photo ops. All of the pix below were taken with said awesome new camera.

If you haven't been to the Huntington lately, do make the trip. It now has a really stunning Chinese Garden and lagoon; a beautiful Children's Garden and Greenhouse; and the 2nd floor of the main house has been filled with art, china, silver and antiquities and is now open to the public.

New Kix!

Lookit!

I went to the Skechers outlet today and got me some awesome new kix. It's hard to tell in the photo, but those ones on the right have crazy tiki masks on 'em with rhinestones for eyes!

Kate Documents Her Love For Starbucks

Did y'all know I love Starbucks??? Well, I do.

Link to my flickr set here.

Look what my hubby got me!!!

Now I can have my own "Tijuana Picnic" with The Colonel!

Soriano is HBP, has broken paw

Poor Fonzie! Poor Cubbies!

And once again,

MADDOG GETS A NO-DECISION. Even though he held the Dodgers to one run and 6 hits. AAAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!

Wiley Veteran v. Young Rookie

Tonight's Dodgers/Padres game features the young rookie pitcher, 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw, versus The Professor himself, wiley veteran Greg Maddux.

I can't wait!

Cubs @ Dodgers... CUBS WIN!

Well, despite my previous musings to the LA Times sports section, we had a lovely time at this ballgame. As you can see by the pix below, we had great seats! Terrific view of the action. My DeRo, bless his heart, was even kind enough to hit a homer for me in the top of the first inning. *swoon* He went on to be the top-producer of the game, going 3 for 5 with 2 ribbies.

As y'all know, I also love the Dodgers, and at this game was treated to some excellent ballplaying on their part as well. There was some fine base-stealing by Mr. Juan Pierre (a.k.a. The Hardest-working Man In Baseball) as well as some impressive work both at and behind the plate by catcher Russell Coltrane Martin.

So, all in all, a fine evening at Chavez Ravine.

Go, Cubs! ;-)

MadDog gets another no-decision

So, my poor MadDog. This guy cannot get a win for nuthin'. He pitches his heart out game after game, and stays stuck at 350 wins (not a bad number to be "stuck" at, to be sure). The other night, against my Cubbies, he threw 69 PITCHES, people -- 47 of them, strikes -- and still gets a no-decision. I guess it's better than working that hard and having your team LOSE, which also happens to Greg alot this season.

I just really feel for him, that's all. He doesn't seem to care, which I guess is part of why I love him. (The humility, and the cheesy 'stash he used to sport -- see rookie baseball card at left.)

My only consolation the other night was that my Cubbies remain the team with THE BEST RECORD IN THE MAJORS. :-)

Awesome old album covers

My husband is a collector of super-cool old vinyl LPs. Many of these come with super-cool album covers! I don't have any samples of the ones we own, but I would like to direct your attention here, to a website featuring other cool, and in many cases hysterical, old album covers.

Enjoy!

(Didja see how I embedded that link up there?! Oh yes my friends, I'm rockin' this bloggin' thang!)

Rest In Peace In A Long Red Cardboard Tube

Dr. Fredric J. Bauer, inventor of the Pringles can, passed away last month and apparently had "part" (!!) of his cremains placed in a Pringles can! Pretty cool!

Thank you, Dr. Bauer, for your contribution to American snack culture.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080531/NEWS0104/805310357/1060/NEWS01

(Someday, I will learn how to embed these links within the blog copy...)