Addiction

Addiction.

Merriam-Webster's defines addiction as such: "compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal."

I think they need to add one more word in that description for not only me, but for many of us (and I don't mean the word 'Disney', but that certainly can fall into the category as well). The word I'm thinking of presently is 'Olympics'.

Yep, as usual, and as you can tell from my previous post, I can't get enough of the Olympics. I'm not even a big sports nut, but every time the Olympics come around, I can't help myself. I tell this story to people, but back in 1984 when the Olympics were in Los Angeles, my mother and I got hooked on pin trading. There was this huge inflatable Coke bottle near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and we went nuts. And then when Disney started with the pin trading, well, those of you who know me (and are equally addicted) know about that.

It didn't help that many of the events happened all over Southern California, but that addiction started back then. So now, thanks to Tivo, I'm able to watch Olympics when I get home from work, after dinner, when I get up in the morning before I go to work...you get the idea.

And to top things off, now I can also Beijing Cam, thanks to one of our local news stations. And let me tell you, anchor Eric Perkins (Perk) and photojournalist John Drilling (Drill) are hilarious to watch when they are at their desks. They will do all sorts of wacky stuff for the camera. See for yourself.

http://www.kare11.com/news/olympics/beijing/default.aspx?menuid=141

When they are away, you get nice views of Beijing. Thankfully, I'm too busy at work to spend time watching that all the time, but will sneak a peak at lunch. Check out their blog, too. Those boys are nuts. They went to the wrong airport here and almost missed their flight. But then, like me, when in Los Angeles, they had to eat at In-N-Out Burgers.

Okay, have to check out the scores and the medal count....

Ni Hau, Y'all!

It's time for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and I'm excited! In fact, I decided to throw an Olympic Opening Ceremony party for some friends. How sad is that?

Since I had a short time to plan, I didn't get to go all out, but we did have lots of Chinese food, personalized Chinese Zodiac place mats, Chinese and Greek trivia, and customized fortune cookies, all with Star Wars sayings. We even had our own drinking game based on what Garry would or wouldn't say.

With Hercules meeting Mulan, my Disney decorating theme was strong with my Disney friends. And I also have to thank Carl for sending a WDCC Olympics Goofy poster for my door and to Michelle for calling us to see if we were having a good time.

But the biggest thanks has to go to Sara, Dani, Chris and Garry, for putting up with my constant Chinese trivia ("You are now eating bao. 'Bao' means 'treasure' in Chinese."), my attempts are cooking some of the food, and for making them pose with these lanterns.

I'd be surprised if they ever came back for another party. But at least I didn't make them dress up in the Olympic colors and make them pose like the rings, like I told them I would make them.

They even posed for a picture (we were well into the drinking game at this point).

And here's the welcome sign I made for the party. I think my neighbors will steer clear of me after seeing the party theme.

Star Wars: Nothing But Star Wars

Well, I'm going to be releasing my inner-Star Wars geekness now. St Paul was lucky enough to be one of the cities to host the Star Wars exhibit at our Science Museum. Here's proof that I was there.

To quote my favorite Star Wars character, "We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life." If you are brave enough, click the link below to see all the pictures I took at the exhibit. May the Force Be With You!

http://picasaweb.google.com/disneytimon/StarWarsExhibitAtStPaulScienceMuseum

Mr. Mom?

My sister has four kids, and every time I see her I have the utmost respect for how she manages the family (even though I think she's crazy).

So in between my other chores, I wanted to give her and my brother-in-law a break as well, so Uncle Tim helped out with being Mr. Mom. I drove the kids to school, helped them with their homework projects (can I just say that what they expect parents to do these days is INSANE!), did the cooking and ran errands.

Now I know why I'm single with no kids. I'm too selfish, and will freely admit that. However, the trade off of unconditional love is something I only get a taste of, whereas you parents get this all the time.

Here, my youngest niece is being cute with me as we were driving to the storage unit. Uncle Tim is very proud of her that she knows every Disney princess and their stories, but her knowledge of the classics like The Three Little Pigs and Peter Pan is lacking. Uncle Tim will need to make a return trip soon so he can help illuminate her on these stories.

My family was amazed, but not really, when she was telling stories they could barely understand, but she and I were communicating. I told them that I can't tell if she's getting better at talking, or because I know about Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella better than she does. Right now, Ariel and Tinker Bell are her favorites. She wanted to leave the house every day in her PJs, so I guess I'll have to head over to The Disney Store to buy her some dresses.

Surprise!

For my Mom's 70th and for Mother's Day, I decided to fly out to Colorado Springs and surprise her. My Dad and brother-in-law picked me up from the airport, and just about when we got home, I called her. They went into their house and while I was talking to her, I walked in. Surprise!

The rest of the week will be spent frantically getting their new townhouse ready for them to finally move in. Wow, is their new place nice! I have to say they certainly deserve it (having to put up with me for 43 years!)

Happy 30th, Sara!

Yesterday was Sara's 30th birthday, but she and Quinn decided to celebrate their birthdays together today.

I think Sara liked the gift that Dani and I gave her to commemorate her hallmark birthday.

Happy birthday, dear friend!!!

Back in Action

Marketing people love me. When I saw this in the store, I had to buy it. Even I have to admit it's wacky having a "limited edition" cereal box, but with all the other crap I collect, I won't be keeping these.

I just can't wait until the new Indiana Jones movie comes out on May 22nd. I'm debating on taking the day off from work (not even with a "cough-cough" day).