Sweet Dreams

I often have dreams where I am working on a project that never ends or I'm endlessly running around trying to do something. I wake up completely exhausted and wondering why I bothered going to bed at all.

Last night, I had the best opposite of that dream. All night long, I spent a day at "the spa." I've never actually spent a day at a spa so my subconscious had free reign on exactly what that entailed. I had a massage, spent some time in a steamy sauna, had a pedicure, had my every whim catered to, and otherwise relaxed all night long. I woke up well rested and ready for the day. Well done, Subconscious!

"I'm Looking for a Game . . . "

OK, I was not going to blog about games anymore, lest someone might think I'm obsessed, but "anonymous" asked for it (NO, I did not post that comment myself!) so I will post what I learned this month about choosing games.

Not so long ago, when someone asked about a good game, I would merely list some of my favorites. However, after working at the game store for a month of pre-Christmas craziness (By the way, December retail is NOT for the faint of heart!), I have learned that recommending just the right game is an art. What I like is irrelevant (as evidenced by Deli-Sub's reaction to two of my very favorites). The critical questions are:
1. Who is the game for?
2. How many players?
3. What ages?
4. What length is their attention span?
5. What other games do they like?
6. What games don't they like?

95% of the time, after answering all of these questions, the obvious choice is that they should buy yet another copy from the mountain of Ticket to Ride boxes stocked to keep up with holiday demand. I keep trying to get around it but it continues to be the best choice. Everyone in the world except me and Bill (a game store buddy) love this game. Thus my number 9 on Thursday's top 10.


Other good choices include Carcassonne, which I actually do like a lot . . .


And for the younger crowd, Gulo Gulo and Dancing Eggs

Top Ten Thursday: Things I Want to Accomplish By This Time Next Year

10. Research Sri Lanka.

9. Give pot, I mean Ticket to Ride, another chance. Unlike the Germans who made this their 2004 game of the year, and most other people who have played it, I don't love this game. It is often referred to as the "gateway game" for Eurogamers and it was that for me. It was the first one I played and I went back for more. So why don't I like it? Maybe I'm missing something. I will try it one more time this year.

8. Decide on a color scheme for my bedroom. (I probably won't actually implement said color scheme until next year but I want to at least have a plan.)

7. Decorate my guest room, or at least hang up the pictures that are sitting on the floor in a box.

6. Grow something beautiful in my yard. Last growing season was a miserable failure due to my lack of effort and a few sprinkler malfunctions. Who knew roses actually had to have water consistently to produce flowers? The Chinese elms seemed to do okay without it.

5. Finish my 72 hour kit. This has been a work in progress for years. It's time to wrap it up.

4. Spend every dollar on paper, on purpose. (That means budget better for the non-Daver's.)

3. Start hiking again. I did not spend nearly enough time communing with nature last year.

2. Paint my living room and kitchen. I've had the color picked out for over a year. It's way past time to get it done. (To see the color, go to http://www.rlhome.polo.com/rlhome/products/paint/default.asp and enter Paint Color NA 49. It's a lovely shade of neutral.

1. Blog more. If anyone is thinking "I sure wish Daphne would blog about ________" please share! I'm having a terrible time coming up with material.

Happy Birthday to Bubba!!!

Top Ten Sunday: Things I Like About Winter

10. I can ignore my yard and not feel like a slacker.

9. The endorphins that result from shovelling the sidewalk. (Why did I buy a corner lot? That's a lot of sidewalk! One of those things you just don't think about when buying a house in September. . . )

8. How cool is it that something as simple as salt can clear an icy sidewalk? (Can you tell what I did yesterday morning? We had at least 4 inches of snow from a storm that was supposed to be next to nothing.)

7. The Edison "white elephant" Christmas party. I work with a bunch of really fun people and my face always hurts from laughing after this one.

6. My birthday.

5. Bundling up. There's something really comforting about wrapping up with a scarf and gloves.

4. Christmas carols.

3. Seeing kids faces when a big snowstorm hits. Every year since I started teaching, I have had at least one student who has never seen snow before. It's so fun to see their reactions!

2. Hot cocoa, especially with peppermint.

1. Looking out my window and seeing everything all covered in snow.

Happy Birthday to Det Rode Hus!!!

Top Ten Friday: Game Night Games

OK, I guess if Det Rode Hus is on the bandwagon, I'd better not wave from the side of the road any longer. However, since I have commitment issues, I have decided not to commit to a certain day of the week. You'll get my top ten lists whenever I feel like doing one, or when Paris Soul Mate comments that I need a new post. Since I don't have any kids to spotlight, this week's topic is the top ten reasons I love the game store.



1. When I have a crummy day at work, I can go there and find I have forgotten all about it even having a job by the end of the evening.

2. I couldn't ever get bored because there are so many great games to play.

3. I know I will rarely win, but I don't care because I'm having so much fun.

4. People who play games are just nice people. They're all about having a good time.

5. My OCD tendencies pale in comparison to most die hard gamers, making me feel just a little less freakish.

6. Everybody knows my name, just like Cheers.

7. Tracie, John, and Bill-- They can make any game hilarious.

8. They're paying me to be there during the holidays AND giving me a great discount on games. How many people can say they get PAID to be in their happy place? (Yeah, I have to do work and stuff, but it's my happy place!)

9. Last Night on Earth . . . a truly entertaining zombie game that all who want to can play with me since I will be purchasing it with my new discount.

10. Greg the manager, who, in response to my accidentally charging someone's credit card $411,111,000,000 laughed and said, "I'm so glad you did that so I can teach you how to fix it" with a genuine smile.

Chicagoland

Twenty-five years ago, I visited Chicago for a day. I remember going to the top of Sears Tower and walking along the lake. It was a beautiful summer day. Last weekend, I returned for another few days. Some highlights . . .


Chicago Stuffed Pizza



The lions outside the Art Institute of Chicago. . . Apparently when the Bears are doing well, the lions wear Bears gear. Unfortunately, this year they are naked.



"The Bean" at Millenium Park, reflecting Chicago's famous architecture



A true Chicago hot dot, complete with onions, mustard, a dill pickle, and celery salt. I have to say, I didn't even miss the ketchup.

To Do Homework or To Blog? . . . That is the Question . . .

Due to a series of excused absences and such, I have suddenly found myself 3 weeks behind in homework for tomorrow's math class. Since tomorrow will not be an excused absence, I expect that I will be expected to produce said homework. So, despite my preference, I must choose homework. Chicago was awesome. Pictures and details are forthcoming.

Chicago for Beginners

Every year, Utah students and teachers look forward to the two day vacation in the fall that is UEA. Yeah, there is a convention that goes on during those two days. and it wasn't intended to be a vacation for teachers. But seriously, given the choice of sitting around in a convention and spending 5 days in Chicago . . . the choice is obvious.

In preparation for the trip, my friend gave me a couple of pointers so I could appear more like a local. I must remember to:
1. Refer to Chicago as Chicagoland.
2. Refrain from all temptation to put ketchup on my hot dogs. (I wonder what they would think of fry sauce!)

Stay tuned for pictures and more 1,000 Places to See sites.

(Is that good enough PSM? Gosh!) :)

My Latest Epiphany

Long Distance Therapy: 2.5 cents/ minute
Game Night Membership: $10
Accounting Course at the Community College: $500
Finding Out You Really Shouldn't Have Become an Accountant: Priceless

It turns out Accounting is a good puzzle but not a career choice. Now what?

**Disclaimer: Any endorsement of credit card use or abuse is unintentional and not the point. Credit is bad, Dave rocks!

Someday I Will Color the Whole Map!

Thanks to PSM's friend The Last Unicorn for providing me with material to update my blog. This is great!

Tag You're It

Tag You're It

Paris Soul Mate says I need to post something new so she tagged me. (Thanks, PSM . . . I was trying to think of something new to post)

Jobs I have had:
1 – Cotton Candy Girl at Liberty Park
2 – Cashier at Dan's
3 – Day Camp Counselor/ Bus Driver at Kiwanis
4 – Salad Bar Girl at Wendy's (Many thanks to the Wendy's corporation and Eddy the manager for motivating me to finish college so I wouldn't have to work there forever)

Movies I could watch over and over:
1 – The Sound of Music
2 – Dead Poet Society
3 – Star Wars
4 – The Wedding Singer

Favorite TV Shows:
1 – Amazing Race
2 – Grey's Anatomy
3 – Heroes
4 – Survivor

Favorite Hobbies:
1 – playing at the game store
2 – planning and taking trips
3 – making cards
4 – reading blogs

Places I have lived:
1 – Salt Lake City, UT
2 – Columbus, OH
3 – Richmond, IN
4 – Cambridge, OH

Favorite Foods:
1 – Jr. Crown Burger with fries, fry sauce and a chocolate shake
2 – Paradise Bakery chicken artichoke panini
3 – Chocolate chip cookies
4 – Rusted Sun bbq chicken calzone

Places I'd rather be:
1 – Paris
2 – San Francisco
3 – Bremerton
4 – Camping

Websites I visit:
1 – desnews.com
2 – All of the blogs on my sidebar
3 – gamenightgames.com
4 – netflix.com

Who I am Tagging:
1 – Margie (because she needs to post something new)
2 – Cylcic Drama (because he needs to post something new)
3 – Liz
4 – Deli Sub

My Inner Vampire

Paris Soul Mate found this quiz to see which Twilight character I am. I'm posting it here for those who don't read her blog. (By the way, you should read her blog . . . It's great!)

You're Jasper Hale - You have a calming personality and a simplistic way of looking at life. People like to be around you because you can help keep peace and are friendly to everyone. Although you do have a quiet side, you would be well balanced with a bubbly, spunky mate. Take this quiz.

Literary Letdown

So, I spent all summer devouring vampire books, Harry Potter, and all manner of travel guidebooks. Now I need a really good read. . . Not something I have to trudge through . . . Something I can't put down. Something I can't wait to get back to when I have to go to work or something. Any ideas?

Personal DNA: Encouraging Leader

I found a link for determining your personal DNA on my favorite stranger blog . . . Gathering Around the Table (Deli-Sub-- She also has a slideshow of lovely northern Idaho you should check out :) ) Hers was "benevolent architect" which sounded pretty cool. I was disappointed when mine didn't sound equally cool, but such is life. Here's mine:


Here's what I learned about myself from the report:
My personalDNA Report I thought it was pretty accurate. I think it would be more fun to be a benevolent architect.

You too can find your Personal DNA here.

Deli-Sub tagged me so . . .

Two names you go by:
1. Daph
2. Miss Marchant

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Sweats
2. T-shirt

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Play games
2. Make lists

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. A good night's sleep (I HATE allergy season!)
2. Underground sprinklers

Two favorite pets
1. Molly
2. Bugsy

Two things you did last night:
1. Watched Heroes on DVD
2. Cleaned the kitchen

Two things you ate today
1. Potato soup
2. Ham sandwich

Two people you last talked to:
1. Deli-Sub
2. Cheese

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Stewing about faculty meeting
2. Accounting homework

Two longest car rides
1. Salt Lake to Bremerton via San Francisco
2. Portland to Salt Lake via San Francisco

Two favorite holidays
1. Pioneer Day
2. Thanksgiving

Two favorite beverages
1. Water
2. Diet Coke with lemon

Now, here's what you're supposed to do ... and please do not spoil the fun.
Hit forward, delete my answers and type in your answers (or post on your blog or on my comments.)
Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know INCLUDING me!

TAG YOU'RE IT!

Career Opportunities

Sometimes I wonder if I will make it through 20 more years of teaching or if I need to explore back up plans. My favorite kindergarten teacher is wondering the same thing. We are considering accounting since a beginning accountant makes what we make now with 10 years experience. Our other option is to open a "beverage shop." We will call it Mo-Joe and it will have two counters. The Mo counter will serve steamers and cocoa. The Joe counter will serve coffee. We think we could give Starbucks a run for their money.

Dog Sitting

It turns out I forgot an important trick last time Annakin came to visit . . . When you put his ball on top of the fridge, it signals to him that play time is over and he suddenly becomes calm and mellow. Who'd have thunk?

Since he is spending so much time just laying around now instead of putting his tennis ball in my hand at every possible moment, I have a little bit of time on my hands.

Annakin's Celebrity Look-Alikes Profile

Annakin


Eddie from Frasier

This Child Got Left Behind . . .

And Dad Bread thought Utah's geography curriculum was bad . . .

New School Year

At church today, I overheard a mom saying she couldn't wait for school to start. Time was not passing fast enough for her. The only two people near her were another teacher and me. Of course, our perspective was a little different. . . Time is passing too fast and we are not ready for the day so many mom's are anxiously awaiting. There is much to do, and many meetings and trainings getting in the way of the doing. However, the beginning of the school year energy is abundant and the big day will arrive, ready or not. (By the way, if any of my loyal readers are bored tomorrow, I have some cutting out, decorating, organizing, copying, planning, etc. you can do!)

Every year, someone out there in cyberspace publishes a list to put things in perspective and make me feel a lot older than I am. I am sharing it in honor of the new school year and because it's always better to feel aged with friends.


Most 2007 college freshmen were born in 1989 and probably barely remember any the following… it’s scary:

The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Ronald Reagan
The Cold War and the Berlin Wall
Hardback (Funk & Wagnalls) encyclopedia sets
Getting tangled up in a long kitchen phone cord
Setting the record timer on your VCR
When Michael Jackson and the moonwalk were cool
Recording music off the radio
Desert Storm
A floppy disk
Windows 95
The Nintendo Entertainment System (and Duck Hunt)
The Oklahoma City Bombing
The O.J. Simpson Trial
Life before the World Wide Web

Eclipse

This series is sweeping the world . . . My friend Margie tells me that all of the teenage girls are reading it, and so are their 40 year old mothers. Although I am neither a teenage girl or a 40 year old mother, I have to admit I am hooked as well.

For those who have not been following the blogging book club discussion on Det Rode Hus's blog, we were discussing the first two books in the series there but were giving away all of the sequel details to Deli Sub so I thought it would be nice of us to not give away any more of the plot till she reads it herself and am moving the discussion to a new thread. (I know DRH . . . that's a huge run-on sentence.)

Happy Birthday Pike's

Pike's Place Market in Seattle is celebrating their 100th anniversary this month. As part of the celebration, there are artistically decorated pigs all over the city. Some examples . . . Pearls Before Swine (wearing pearl necklaces), Piggy Bank (with pennies all over and dollars for eyes, and (my favorite) Green Eggs and Ham, found in front of the library.

I am Prince Harry's sister . . .

Deli Sub's celebrity look alike profile made me wonder just who I look like so I ran my own . . .

The Newest Eurogamers

I was lounging on the couch this morning when Pickle wandered over and asked if I would play the game he got for his birthday with him. I suggested that Cheese might want to play with him (because I was busy lounging, of course). He looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Come on, Daph. I'll go easy on you." How could I resist that? He did go easy on me, but Cheese kicked my tail.

The Great Adventure of Daph and Baloney 2007

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Culinary Art

My 1,000 Things to See book recommends a little restaurant in Berkeley called Chez Panisse as a must see. Apparently, it came to be back in the day when all restaurant food was chopped iceberg lettuce and tasteless cherry tomatoes. Alice Walters, after a tour of France, changed all that. She started serving vegetables grown organically in her own garden and food prepared in ways previously unknown in America. She is known as the founder of California cuisine. . . a revolutionary of sorts.

I thought Chez Panisse was in the book because it was the starter of a trend, but I learned tonight that it is in the book because it is the BEST FOOD EVER! Throughout the meal, I kept hearing things come out of my mouth that I never thought I would say . . .
1. This lettuce truly melts in my mouth.
2. These tomatoes are delicious.
3. This cooked spinach is delicious.
4. All future noodles will be unacceptable after these.
5. I'd like some coconut ice cream with a coconut cookie please.

I don't even have words to describe how this food tasted. It is something that must be experienced to be believed.

California Bumper Stickers

I tend to have a hard time with change so these bumper stickers advocating maintenance of the status quo were somewhat comforting to me.

Bumper Sticker of Note #1: Keep Tahoe Blue (or in some carros, Mantenga Tahoe Azul)

Lake Tahoe is known as the "Jewel of the Sierra." It is the second deepest lake in the U.S. and covers 192 square miles. Its annual evaporation is equivalent to LA's water consumption for 5 years. It has an average depth of 1000 feet. At one time, it was possible to see a dinner plate dropped into the water to a depth of 100 feet. Currently, it is losing about 1.5 feet of visibility per year so the locals have launched an effort to solve the problem.






Bumper Sticker of Note #2: Keep Santa Cruz Weird

Did you ever wonder where all the old burned out surf bums went? They have made their home in Santa Cruz. A few months ago, I attended a teacher workshop on vocabulary development. The presenter lives in Santa Cruz and told us about a time when she was in a shop on the boardwalk and overheard two middle aged surfer-looking men having an entire conversation that consisted only of the word "Dude." As I was walking near the boardwalk last week, I overheard a young surfer-looking teenager telling a buddy "I'm just keeping my sh** real, dude." His middle-aged future flashed before my eyes. (The same teenager was later overheard telling his fellow surfer teens to send anyone looking for "herbs" his way.)

Weather Extremes and the Bard

I just got home from a week at the Shakespeare Festival with friends. It was a delightful week, made much more interesting by a few freak weather moments. A few minutes after we arrived at our condo in St. George (where it was 112 degrees), the power went out. Turned out that there was a lightning-sparked fire burning nearby and it was getting close to the power lines so they shut them down. Who knew smoke conducted electricity? (Besides DB of course) It was all up and running again by the time we returned from an absolutely delightful performance of Twelfth Night. How have I never experienced that play before??? I have been cheated. :)




The next day, we went to Bryce Canyon and were caught in a sudden rainstorm/ hailstorm, the likes of which I have never seen. Because I am all about getting on the bandwagon, I followed the deli sub's example and caught some footage. However, I was getting really wet through the open car window so it's not as long as hers.






Wednesday included a trip to Zion N.P. with hiking and many beautiful photo ops. We took a moment to appreciate LB and BB's trip up Angel's Landing (as we passed the trailhead in the shuttle) and decided they are clearly insane but are definitely very cool.



Thursday brought performances of Candida and The Matchmaker. I thought Candida was a little on the boring side (and took a catnap to demonstrate my boredom) but The Matchmaker was a riot. It was the inspiration behind Hello Dolly, which I have not seen but have just added to my Netflix queue. Today, we caught a matinee performance of Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical, which was also very good.

I'm glad to be home for a minute or two, and am busy packing up once again for the next adventure.

1,000 More Things to See

I bought a new book yesterday and it has become quite clear that I will need to live to be at least 237 years old. It's the sequel to 1,000 Things to See Before You Die . . . Same title, only with in the USA and Canada added. Now, instead of a mere 150 entries in North America, there are 1,000 just for this continent.

I like this new edition for several reasons . . .
1. I thought there were some must-sees left out of the original book. . . . Many of them have been included this time. Definitely a much more comprehensive list.
2. Northern California has many more entries, thus ensuring many more visits there seeing and doing things I have not previously seen and done.
3. Minnesota had only one original entry, the new book has 12. That means that when I visit the deli family there, I will be able to check things off my list without having to spend a week kayaking to a destination that lacks all of the conveniences I require when camping.
4. There are many places of which I was not aware almost in my own backyard . . . or at least in my surrounding states . . . giving me many ideas for close to home destinations.
5. Several of the new entries are places that were already on my itinerary for my upcoming trip to the West coast. Now I get to see them AND add them to my blog list.

Things I Learned from my Grandma

1. Never pass up an opportunity to see the world.
2. Getting lost is not bad, it's just taking the scenic route.
3. Nothing is better than fruit right off the farm.
4. You can never serve too many types of produce at one meal.
5. The best way to help someone is to help them be independent.
6. Time spent reading a good book is always time well spent.
7. Time spent playing games is always time well spent.
8. Time spent on a road trip is always time well spent.
9. Feed banana peels to your rosebushes.
10. Never take the canyons for granted.

Harry Potter

One of the perks of being a teacher is I can attend the 10 am showing of a new summer movie on its first day out and not have to wait until it is old news or fight my way through the evening crowds on the off chance that I just might get a ticket.

While they obviously had to leave out many details to avoid making a 10 hour movie, I thought it was quite good. I can't wait for that next book!

A Great Party Idea

This weekend I attended a birthday party with a theme worth sharing. It was advertised as "Gary's GIANT Birthday Party." I was unsure whether that meant that he was really old, or if a lot of people were invited to attend. As it turned out, it was neither (although there were a lot of people and some younger than I might say he is really old). All of the food was miniature. Tiny hamburgers and tiny hot dogs on tiny rolls with tiny pickles, tomatoes and onions. For dessert there were tiny chocolate chip cookies. The cake was served with tiny ice cream taster spoons. It took everyone a while to get it, but suddenly we went "Ooooh" (just like Nicole :) )and realized that we were supposed to be the giants. Very clever!

On another note, the cake was decorated with a toy army tank. . . The birthday boy was turning 40. This party occurred at the same time as the Transformer event described in my previous post. Enough said.

Inner Children

I remember days past when Sina, Bubba, and the Chow boys sat on the porch at the 5th East house and played with their Transformers. They had them all figured out . . . I could transform all of them about half way, then could never figure out the rest. I felt a little dumb, but over time something new came to take their place so it didn't matter anymore. Just a passing fad, right?

Tonight I was at Cheers (a/k/a The Game Store . . . where everybody knows your name) and someone brought in his new and improved, way more complicated and lots bigger than the 80's versions, Transformer toys. My thought was, "Hmmm, they're back. I probably still can't figure them out. Back to the game." It was at this point that gender differences became very clear. Just about every man in the place spent some portion of the evening completely enthralled by them. Everyone had to try to transform them. Those in the know showed off for those less capable. There was much reminiscing of their childhood Transformers experiences. When I left at 1:00 am (2 hours after the store was supposed to close), they were still at it. Apparently, there are some things you just never outgrow.

Shout out to Fuki

I found this as I was walking around the streets of Paris . . .

Last Night in Paris

At this time of year, it gets dark around 10:30 pm in Paris. Because of this, I never seemed to be near the Eiffel Tower in the dark, so we went for a late night drive around the city Monday night to see the lights. It was worth the wait.

What I Missed in London

There will always be just a little place in my heart for the obsession of my junior high life . . .

Giverny

Walking around Giverny, it is easy to see how Monet found his inspiration. The house is modest . . . not so different from the Beehive House or Great-Grandma Cope's house really but the grounds are absolutely breathtaking. There is a large garden with all kinds of flowers, then a walk through a tunnel to the water lily pond that he used as the subject of many paintings under many different types of light and in all seasons. I can definitely understand wanting to spend so much time there. If I had any shred of artistic ability, I would likely have wanted to paint it as well. Since I lack that talent, I took lots of pictures . . .

Brugges

I love that in Europe, I can take day trips to other countries. Yesterday, I went to Brugges, Belgium. . . home of fancy lace, chocolate, and beer. It is also called the Venice of the North due to the river that meanders through and around it. The town was built in the Middle Ages and retains much of its character from that time.

I Heart Euro-NY

New York
Times Square
Bagels, pizza, and hot dogs
Central Park
Brooklyn Bridge
Yellow taxis everywhere
Subway stops
Tons of tourists
Cheap street vendors
Starbucks every 2 blocks
Everybody dressed in black business suits
Broadway lovers' paradise
Really great accents

London
Piccadilly Circus

Fish and chips, salt and vinegar, and shortbread
Hyde Park
Tower Bridge
Black taxis everywhere
Metro stops
Tons of tourists
Cheap street vendors
Starbucks every 2 blocks
Everybody dressed in black business suits
Broadway lovers' paradise
Really great accents

Yesterday I took the high speed TGV train to London. At 275 mph, the trip took 2.5 hours. I spent the day touring in a double decker bus, eating a fish and chips lunch, and enjoying the city. I'll definitely be going back for a longer visit someday.