Monday, March 16, 2015
Mel's Gift that Kept on Giving
Mel gave me some lovely Lush products for Christmas. Their bath items are to die for! Well, I used some, but saved some. So, the other day, I enjoyed a bath with some of my Christmas present. Thanks, Mel, for being so thoughtful! I love you! I would love you even if you didn't give me bath stuff.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
A Visit from a Childhood Friend
The Adams moved to Pleasanton in 1970. I think that's what Cami told me. I can't remember not knowing them. I remember vividly being in elementary school and they moved to Germany for a while. My BFF was leaving. I cried in the living room of our home on Tanglewood Way. Cami had two older brothers, Darin and Jeff, an older sister, Michelle, and a younger sister, Cherise (nicknamed Poodie). The Adams were in our ward and Cami lived close enough that I could ride my bike to her house. I probably wouldn't let my kids ride that far and that young age now, but it worked in the 70's.
We grew up together, always in the same ward. We began in Pleasanton 2nd Ward, then 3rd, and ended in 4th. Brother Adams was a math teacher at a community college. He was our seminary teacher during 9th and 12th grade. He was an exceptional teacher. He was also the consummate entertainer. The Adams had the best birthday parties. Our ward had the best road shows and we had the best youth activities, including the annual all-night party at the church, thank to Brother Adams.
Sister Adams was an elementary school teacher and always involved in Primary at church. She made the best German pancakes when I would spend the night at Cami's house. They seemed to take forever to bake. Now I know it's only 20 minutes. It seemed like an eternity when I was a kid.
Cami went to BYU when I did. She went on a mission to Germany. She married Jay Hansen and they live in California. We have kept in touch only through facebook, which is good, but a bit superficial. It's nice to know what she's up to, though. They have 3 daughters. They are very talented and musical. Cami teaches music at a private school. That way her girls have been able to attend this performing arts school. She battled breast cancer a couple of years and beat it. She's cancer free. The cancer was caught in a routine mammogram. Her family has been very involved in Susan G. Koman race for the cure cancer runs.
Cami was in town to see her daughter perform in a BYU theater production, so she stopped at the foods lab. It was fun to introduce her to everyone and catch up. She stayed for over an hour and we had a lovely visit. I must look her up when I go to the Bay Area next time.
We grew up together, always in the same ward. We began in Pleasanton 2nd Ward, then 3rd, and ended in 4th. Brother Adams was a math teacher at a community college. He was our seminary teacher during 9th and 12th grade. He was an exceptional teacher. He was also the consummate entertainer. The Adams had the best birthday parties. Our ward had the best road shows and we had the best youth activities, including the annual all-night party at the church, thank to Brother Adams.
Sister Adams was an elementary school teacher and always involved in Primary at church. She made the best German pancakes when I would spend the night at Cami's house. They seemed to take forever to bake. Now I know it's only 20 minutes. It seemed like an eternity when I was a kid.
Cami went to BYU when I did. She went on a mission to Germany. She married Jay Hansen and they live in California. We have kept in touch only through facebook, which is good, but a bit superficial. It's nice to know what she's up to, though. They have 3 daughters. They are very talented and musical. Cami teaches music at a private school. That way her girls have been able to attend this performing arts school. She battled breast cancer a couple of years and beat it. She's cancer free. The cancer was caught in a routine mammogram. Her family has been very involved in Susan G. Koman race for the cure cancer runs.
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| Here we are in the foods lab. She looks great! |
Cami was in town to see her daughter perform in a BYU theater production, so she stopped at the foods lab. It was fun to introduce her to everyone and catch up. She stayed for over an hour and we had a lovely visit. I must look her up when I go to the Bay Area next time.
Mel and Mom Mini-Vacation
California, here we come! Mel and I packed our bags and left after lunch on Wednesday, February 20, for Disneyland and LA shopping. I didn't have to work and Mel was able to miss school, so we took advantage of the free time to have a little trip.
Mel is a fabulous driving partner. She plays great music and when that gets old, she finds awesome clips from the "Ellen" show to listen to. Time really flew. We arrived at my friend Jenny Hebdon's house by 9:30 pm. Jenny was a student and TA of mine. She and her husband, Andrew, and their son, Blake, live in Orange, about 20 minutes from Disneyland. They were kind enough to let us crash on their couch. It was awesome to meet Blake and catch up with Jenny. She is a great gal. She's the personal progress leader in her ward. Andrew is in school, getting his masters in engineering. They live in a cute apartment and manage a bunch of units for Jenny's parents. I'm just mad that I didn't get a picture of me and Jenny and Blake. Dang it!
We had great sleep on their couches and got up and on the road early. No traffic issues getting there. Got our tickets and went straight to "Space Mountain." It was kinda crowded, being the Thursday AFTER President's Day. Not too bad, but not the usual empty February Thursday. Jenny and Blake met us mid-afternoon to ride a couple of rides. Mel and I had a blast! We rode rides and ate yummy food. Wow, the chicken strips in Frontier Land are fabulous. Mel got a churro. I just couldn't eat much after the entire order of chicken and fries. We should have shared it. I kinda laughed to myself, thinking that Mel and I don't look like a mother-daughter duo. Did people think I was some random white lady who got a cute tan teenager to hang out with me?
The most funny thing was that the castle was covered! What!? The iconic castle? I just feel sorry for people who had saved all their pennies to go to Disneyland to only find "a doodle of a castle" as Mel liked to call it. We found out it was actually the original rendering of what the castle was to look like when the park was in its planning stages. Still looked like a doodle.
We played, rode rides, ate and ate and walked and walked. We had done about everything by 9:30 pm. We had a choice: use our space mountain fast pass or go home? I deferred to Mel. It was her trip. She chose to leave. Now she looks at that unused pass and says we should have gone on the ride. Eh, it's ok. We've been a million times and we'll be back. So, we drove to Derek and Rachel's house. It was nice to get there before midnight. Rose was still up, waiting for us to get there. She had recently turned 4. What a big girl!
We had good sleep and were in no hurry to get up and get going. We were going to the fashion district in Los Angeles and because of traffic, we wouldn't be leaving until after 10:00 am anyway. Well, Mel took full advantage of the opportunity to sleep in. We left their place just before noon. We went straight into town without incident, Mel being my navigator. We found the fabric part of the fashion district. Wow, that's overwhelming. We didn't even know where to start. But, we gave it our best effort. We were there for a little over an hour, in a one-to-two block area. We hit a few stores and Mel found 3 fabric pieces with which she'll make some dresses or tops. I don't remember. After looking a lots of prom-type fabric, which we didn't want, Mel decided it was time to head to the Grove. It's an outdoor mall in LA.
On the way there, we drove LITERALLY past Mood Fabrics. I had NO IDEA there was a Mood in LA. Oh, that was heaven. We spent more than an hour in that one store. Mel found a nice striped jersey knit. I got an Italian cotton with which I made 3 infinity scarves (one for me, one for Allie and one for Mo for her birthday). It's a beautiful store. Designer fabrics for great prices.
At the mall, Mel shopped and found a few items. She then navigated me to Free People and Urban Outfitters. Then we headed back to Burbank and hit Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx. Mel was out of money and stores were closing. We got all our shopping done. We had given ourselves 2 days for shopping, but in true Hunter fashion, got it done in just one. We can shop!
We spent Saturday helping Rachel get things ready for Rose's birthday party, which was quite the bash. They had a luau-themed party. Rae made Kalua Pig, rice, Chicken Long Rice, fruit plate, veggie platter, macaroni salad, puffy Cheetos (Rose's request), a pina colada slush and an AMAZING sand castle cake. Wow, that was a busy, but productive day and the party was a hit with the kids and parents that came. I only got accused of being Derek's mom once. It was an innocent mistake and I really don't care. I know there's a family resemblance. It was just a friend from church who asked if I was his mom. I said no, but had always been confused for such. Mel performed at the party. She did a short hula number to pearly shells and it was awesome. Everyone, even the kids, were quiet while watching her dance. She's still got it.
I made a bag to take on the trip. I looked into buying a backpack, but couldn't find one I liked and wanted to spend money on. So, I had a great idea to re-purpose a t-shirt from my mission. I loved the end result. Mel thought it was horrible. It was great for the trip. I didn't want to carry a purse and I didn't need a big school backpack, so it was just right. AND, I got a compliment on it when we were shopping. Seriously, the guy working at the store complimented me on the bag. I thanked him and told him I made it from a t-shirt I got in Bolivia in the 80's. He went crazy. He said I should make and sell them. Well, I'm not doing that, but I do love it for me. I'm sure the bag will see Disneyland again.
Sunday we got up and came home. As usual, the drive home was longer and more tiring. But, Mel was a champ and entertained me and took a turn driving. The Oscars were televised that day. When we stopped in Beaver for gas and a burger for Mel, we caught some coverage on a big-screen TV in the Burger King that was attached to the gas station. So, we even got to see the Oscars. How often to you watch that at Burger King in Beaver? Probably only once.
I came home with $1 in my wallet. How's that for planning and budgeting?
Mel is a fabulous driving partner. She plays great music and when that gets old, she finds awesome clips from the "Ellen" show to listen to. Time really flew. We arrived at my friend Jenny Hebdon's house by 9:30 pm. Jenny was a student and TA of mine. She and her husband, Andrew, and their son, Blake, live in Orange, about 20 minutes from Disneyland. They were kind enough to let us crash on their couch. It was awesome to meet Blake and catch up with Jenny. She is a great gal. She's the personal progress leader in her ward. Andrew is in school, getting his masters in engineering. They live in a cute apartment and manage a bunch of units for Jenny's parents. I'm just mad that I didn't get a picture of me and Jenny and Blake. Dang it!
We had great sleep on their couches and got up and on the road early. No traffic issues getting there. Got our tickets and went straight to "Space Mountain." It was kinda crowded, being the Thursday AFTER President's Day. Not too bad, but not the usual empty February Thursday. Jenny and Blake met us mid-afternoon to ride a couple of rides. Mel and I had a blast! We rode rides and ate yummy food. Wow, the chicken strips in Frontier Land are fabulous. Mel got a churro. I just couldn't eat much after the entire order of chicken and fries. We should have shared it. I kinda laughed to myself, thinking that Mel and I don't look like a mother-daughter duo. Did people think I was some random white lady who got a cute tan teenager to hang out with me?
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| Don't worry, I didn't buy the Olaf hat. |
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| Front row, baby! |
We played, rode rides, ate and ate and walked and walked. We had done about everything by 9:30 pm. We had a choice: use our space mountain fast pass or go home? I deferred to Mel. It was her trip. She chose to leave. Now she looks at that unused pass and says we should have gone on the ride. Eh, it's ok. We've been a million times and we'll be back. So, we drove to Derek and Rachel's house. It was nice to get there before midnight. Rose was still up, waiting for us to get there. She had recently turned 4. What a big girl!
 |
| Reminds me of Allie. She used to live in her leotards/tutus when she was this age |
We had good sleep and were in no hurry to get up and get going. We were going to the fashion district in Los Angeles and because of traffic, we wouldn't be leaving until after 10:00 am anyway. Well, Mel took full advantage of the opportunity to sleep in. We left their place just before noon. We went straight into town without incident, Mel being my navigator. We found the fabric part of the fashion district. Wow, that's overwhelming. We didn't even know where to start. But, we gave it our best effort. We were there for a little over an hour, in a one-to-two block area. We hit a few stores and Mel found 3 fabric pieces with which she'll make some dresses or tops. I don't remember. After looking a lots of prom-type fabric, which we didn't want, Mel decided it was time to head to the Grove. It's an outdoor mall in LA.
On the way there, we drove LITERALLY past Mood Fabrics. I had NO IDEA there was a Mood in LA. Oh, that was heaven. We spent more than an hour in that one store. Mel found a nice striped jersey knit. I got an Italian cotton with which I made 3 infinity scarves (one for me, one for Allie and one for Mo for her birthday). It's a beautiful store. Designer fabrics for great prices.
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| A scarf I made with my Mood fabric. I had enough fabric to make one for Mo and for Allie. To quote Tim Gunn, "Thank you, Mood!" |
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| Little Caesar's and Diet Dr. Pepper got us through the day. |
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| Mel's lunch on Saturday. Panda Express. |
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| The cake! |
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| The spread! |
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| Baby brother, Charlie |
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| Rose's addition...Puffy Cheetos |
Sunday we got up and came home. As usual, the drive home was longer and more tiring. But, Mel was a champ and entertained me and took a turn driving. The Oscars were televised that day. When we stopped in Beaver for gas and a burger for Mel, we caught some coverage on a big-screen TV in the Burger King that was attached to the gas station. So, we even got to see the Oscars. How often to you watch that at Burger King in Beaver? Probably only once.
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