Childhood Things.

My best friend, Alyx, and I were having this great conversation this morning that sparked all kinds of reminiscing. We were chatting about all of the great things they had when we were kids - things that really shaped our school years. Things that kids today probably wouldn't care about because they're so high tech (wow, I sound old). I decided I would share these things with you because you may have loved them too. Here goes...

1. Book It! - Man do I miss this. Book It was a program run by pizza hut that basically encoruaged kids to read by bribing them with a personal pan pizza (yummm!). I think they still have this program, but I doubt it's as cool. Do kids today get the sweet button that had the little stickers you would get to add once you read a new book? Do they even have the eat-in pizza hut restaurants anymore? Mmmm, I could really go for a quick game of X-Men while I wait to be seated, followed by some delicious breadsticks right now (but only if I get to be Storm).

2. Choose Your Own Adventure Books - These were the absolute BEST! Boy, did I love them... especially the Goosebumps versions (did anyone else make them?).

I wish they made these for adults, because I would definitely read them. I can already imagine the Twilight version. Does Bella choose Edward or Jacob? Turn to page 35 for Edward or page 61 for Jacob.

3. Dunkaroos and Shark Bites - Alyx says they still have these, which is great news because they were SO cool! I loved the Dunkaroos that had the sprinkes in the cookies with chocolate frosting and the sharks that were white. Those were so much better than the rest.

4. Pogs - Heck yeah I played with Pogs! My grandfather would buy me so many of these. I had such awesome slammers and I have great memories of playing with my cousin Jason during our annual Christmas Eve get together. I wonder where mine are? I must have at least 5 containers of them somewhere.

5. Yikes Pencils - I was obsessed with these. They were all swirly and colorful. Plus, they had those crazy erasers that came in weird shapes. They were totally a plus while doing school work. Especially if you added one of those squishy, finger protector things.

6. Trapper Keepers and Lisa Frank Folders - Everyone had these. And it's true, you weren't cool without them. The zippers, the velcro, the crazy colors!
I wish these were required supplies at work!

Man, I could go on and on. There were so many other cool things I loved. Guess I'll have to save them for another post, but what cool things did you have as a kid? Did you love any of these things as much as I did?

One Song. Glory.

Last night I saw RENT! And, boy, was it amazing. It even featured original cast members Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Gwen Stewart. I think this was my second time seeing it live, but I've probably watched the movie a million times! I was basically bouncing around in my seat the whole time, silently singing all of the songs. Everything about the play is wonderful - the set, the music, the perfectly rhymed lyrics - but my favorite part is probably the message. I think these lyrics sum it up perfectly: "There's only us. There's only this. Forget regret - or life is yours to miss." It's so true. We're only here for a short amount of time and in the end, all you really have are moments and people that have touched you. RENT should inspire everyone to live life in the moment... to the fullest. A hard thing to do, believe me. Most of you know that I'm constantly planning, so this is something I've struggled with. I'm going to try to live the lyrics for now though, and maybe if I forget to do it after a while, I'll have to see the show again (no complaints here).

So, I'm wondering what your favorite show is. Mine is for sure Phantom, but RENT is a close second. What shows and music touch you? Let me know!

And, if you're obsessed with musicals like me and live in San Diego, check out Broadway San Diego's Web site. Todd and I just bought a flex pack that includes tickets to Wicked (I'm giddy already), The Lion King and In the Heights. I wanted to buy tickets to every show, but I don't think I could have convinced Todd to see Legally Blonde... hmmm :)

Anza

This twentysomething has been a busy bee (hehe) at work. I just got out of a meeting all about blogs so I decided to "practice what we preach" here at work and get to updating! This weekend was another adventure for Todd and I, as we decided to venture out to the desert. Well, actually, we had our trip planned for another weekend, but that's a whole other story. Friday was our packing day and they Saturday morning, we were off! The drive to the desert is a beautiful one, and I'm still always surprised at how quickly the terrain changes. San Diego is just one of those places, I guess. You really can see it all - snow, desert, beach, city - within a fairly short drive. Anyway, our drive started out through the strangely peaceful and tree-line streets of Scripps Ranch, through stop-and-go Ramona and briefly in Julian, where Todd and I made a quick detour at Dudley's Bakery. For some reason, I really had to stop at Dudley's. I feel like I've been going on and on about it ever since this camping trip was planned. I think it has something to do with high school and the fact that we stopped there our our field trip to the desert, but anyway, we stopped and picked up some bread. I got a cheddar loaf and Todd got jalapeno. We also ordered a sandwich for later, which gave us some time to look around the gift shop that was full of Native American nick nacks. After Dudley's we were back in the car and back to winding roads through the beautiful mountains and valleys. I think the drive was something like an hour and 30 mins, and when we finally made it to Anza-Borrego, we realized we weren't the only ones who had the idea of going to the desert! There were millions of people everywhere, and it took us a while to finally find some parking and get hiking. We did the typical Palm Canyon hike, which according to the park ranger, is a 5.5 mile-hike from the visitor's center to this crazy palm tree oasis in the middle of the desert. It's the weirdest thing ever - there's all this sand and cacti and then all of a sudden there is water and trees. It's totally worth the hike! Once we were done with our workout for the day, we headed back to the campground, which really turned out to be nice (I was kind of freaked out prior to checking in since it really was in the middle of nowhere. City girl, remember?) Todd and I had fun doing nothing. We played the game of Life, where I chose to go to college and then ended up being an athlete who only made 20,000 a payday.
Todd, on the other hand, skipped college and ended up as a multi-millionaire. I guess I learned my lesson! We also made hot dogs (I'm embarrassed to say how many), jiffy pop and heated cookies over the fire (the best idea ever). We also watched a movie, because, hey - we're high tech! Todd even made this crazy contraption to hold his iPhone up like a movie screen so we could lie in the tent and have the movie playing above us. He basically kept saying: "Be prepared. It's the boy scout motto," which made me laugh, but it's true. We had all these random things that were really useful! The only thing we were missing were camping chairs. So, all in all, I am going to say that camping was a success! We somehow avoided seeing any bugs, made it through the freezing night (OK, not freezing, but still cold) and made it back to Julian in time to have delicious apple pie and coffee for breakfast!

Next trip stop - Disneyland :)