Jojo's Birthday

After taking Finn to school, we went to have the car inspected in prep for the registration in July. When we got there, we fell in line, they did the first test and we waited in the small waiting room. Then they didn't do the other tests. One attendant drove the car to the exit and said it was too early to have the inspection since we were due in July. Oh well, we left and thought maybe we could watch a movie instead. This was before 11am. We arrived at the cinema and it was still closed. Usually they're open already with the first show after 11 or around noon. We called them up and turns out they don't have early shows anymore and the first one starts after 1pm. We can't watch coz then we'll be late in picking Finn up from school at 3pm. So we just had lunch at this Portuguese/Spanish place near the house. We were the only ones there (^_^) Jojo ordered the grilled calamari and I got the house special of linguini with lobsters, shrimps and clams (both dishes yummy!) I wasn't able to finish mine coz there was a lot so I doggie-bagged the rest. After lunch we went home and took a nap ... hehehe. I woke up at 2 and hubby was still asleep. When it was time to pick Finn up, I left without him. Didn't want to wake him up. When Finn and I got home, he was awake and waiting. We watched some anime and then left for dinner before 6pm. As usual, we went to Minado. It's becoming some sort of tradition for us to eat here for birthdays (^_^) Finn ate 6 bowls of udon! I stuffed myself silly with mostly sushi rolls and sashimi. Jojo had a wide variety of eats. During dessert, the servers came with this delicious strawberry cake and sang the birthday song. Even if we were full already, we couldn't resist the cake (^_^) So then we went home, stuffed and satisfied and sleepy ... again.

Happy Happy Birthday Jojo! We love you (^x^)

Backyard Part 4

Ok ok, maybe you're tired of hearing ... or rather reading about our backyard. But I'm gonna write about it anyway (^_^)

After Finn's TKD class, we had lunch at Arby's and then went to buy soil mixes, mulch, stepping stones, and grass seeds. Why stepping stones when I've already laid bricks? We didn't really like my messy brick laying job and the one we bought looked like bricks but is one big piece of stone. Hence, no gaps in between and no loose bricks. When we got back, I took out the ones I laid and spaced the new stepping stones so Jojo can "plant" them. Meanwhile, I was assembling the windmill you see at the far end of the first photo. After the stones were in place along with the windmill, Jojo started prepping the veggie patch at the end and bordered it with the bricks that we had. I was spreading the sand from underneath the bricks that we took out in preparation for a swing that will be on the left side. We'll probably lay the bricks there so the swing will be on a level and stable area. Jojo also spread grass seeds. I hope the birds don't eat them.

It was another tiring but productive day and I'm happy with the results so far. Our neighbor was also pleased when he learned of what we were planning. He said this part of the house was always neglected, just a lawn, nothing interesting. We want it to be a nice area to hang out as an extension to the deck. And when you're down there sitting on the swing (which we don't have yet), you have pretty things to look at once the flowers and other plants start growing. Can't wait for that (^_^)

Travel to the Past

For Jojo's early birthday celebration, he bought us tickets to go to Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament. Doors were open 1.5 hrs before the show so you can take a look around the castle. Right after the ticketing booth, they will give you color coded paper crowns representing the color of your knight. There are a total of 6 knights (yellow, blue, black & white, red & yellow, red and green), so there were 6 seating sections in the arena. We were gonna cheer for the Red & Yellow Knight. You also get to have your picture taken with someone, I forgot what her title was. Once inside, there were a lot of bars and souvenir shops where they sell all sorts of stuff from the common key chains and magnets to steel swords and costumes and all that. One hour before the show, the King held a knighting ceremony. For an additional $20, you can get "knighted". I wanted Jojo to do that but he declined (KJ ... hehehe).

There were 3 entrances to the arena, and the Chancellor announced which gate particular colors will enter. We were on the 2nd row of our section representing Perelada and the personal champion of the Count of Perelada - the Red & Yellow Knight, Lord del Font. On the table were our little banners, program and DVD (we upgraded our tickets), pewter plates and bowls, mug and napkin with the night's fare. Very generous serving too. We had garlic bread, tomato bisque, roasted chicken half, spare rib, herb-roasted potato, pastry of the castle, 2 mugs of soda and coffee. I wasn't able to finish my food, much less Finn. There weren't any kid's meal, everybody had the same portions. And, to keep with the theme of being in medieval times, no utensils. I knew this beforehand so I made sure not to forget my hand sanitizer and I also packed some wipes (^_^)

The show started soon after being seated and our Wench came by to brief us on the food and that we will be cheering for the Red & Yellow Knight. She also said that we can cheer for any other knight except the Green Knight ... hmmmm. So when the Knights were introduced one by one, their sections would be cheering loudly for him. When the Green Knight was introduced, everybody booed him ... hehehehe.

The show was very entertaining - beautiful Andalusians showing their skills and elegant maneuvers, great riders parading on their horses, a falcon free flying in the arena and of course, the games of the Knights concluding with the Joust and final battle between good and evil. Finn got so caught up in the fight that when the Prince was being whipped, he started crying! He even yelled "I hate you!" to the Green Knight. He was like this even when he was little, but at least he wasn't bawling like when we watched Superman Returns.

Anyway, in the middle of the program there was this sort of intermission where the Chancellor announced that in the black and white section, there was someone using utensils!!!The nerve! I guess their Wench reported this to him. So he goes on saying that utensils are only used by witches and what do they do with witches? Burn them! Bwahahahahaha. He said "if you don't want to end up like the roast chicken served to you, use your hands just like everybody else" (^_^) And so the crowd started cheering "use your hands". It was a fun atmosphere coz the different sections would show-off their cheers and jeered the other sections, especially the green.

The show lasted about 2 hours. I kind of wanted to wait for the King and his Knights after the show to take pictures, but there were a lot of people and it was late so we went home already.

Board Breaking Class

Finn took the special board breaking class yesterday and broke 5 boards using different techniques (^_^)

Sudoku

Remember I told you that Finn finished a Sudoku grid in less than 4 minutes? Here's some of his times in different modes on our Electronic Sudoku: easy - 2.33, medium - 1.44, hard - 2.13. That's insane especially since he's only 7!

Backyard Part 3

Lots of work being done in the backyard (^_^) Our patio set arrived Thursday afternoon but we assembled it just this morning. There's a total of 6 chairs but the other swivel chair needs replacing so only 5 chairs for now. After lunch we started planting ... or rather, Jojo started planting flowers and shrubs while I finished putting the stepping stones. It's not really done yet coz there are still bricks at the end that we need to clear out. And we haven't bought veggies to plant yet either. Since the veggies will go at the end, we'll just do it on the same day.

Right now I'm tired. Hauling bricks around and digging is a work out. But our backyard is looking better and better don't you think?

UPDATE: We decided to clear out the bricks already (^_^)

Backyard Part 2

Since spring is coming, we wanted to prepare the backyard for planting. Right now there's a brick spot at one end where a play area used to be (as you can see in the photo). We're gonna remove that so we can plant fruits and veggies at that end. I already mentioned in my post yesterday that we were able to plant our grapes (the 2 bordered and mulched spots on the upper left). This afternoon, we started clearing out the bricks. Instead of buying stepping stones, we repurposed those bricks for that instead. So far, we made four. The stepping stones will go all the way to the other end so it's easy to harvest whatever it is we're gonna plant there. Our blueberries got planted as well, anchoring the front corners of the garden.

Next week we're gonna visit some nurseries to look for crops, flowers, and citronella. I guess once all the planting is done, then we'll get grass seeds. We might also use the rest of the bricks for borders, unless Jojo prefers something else.

Our backyard is coming along fine. Can't wait for the summer when we can fully enjoy the fruits of our labors (^_^)

Zing Zang Zoom Part 2

I was in a hurry to post the other night that I forgot to include some videos from the circus. Enjoy!

Here's the only double human cannonball (^_^)


And this is from the swingers.


Now a really intriguing act. Still not sure how they did this coz they lift their feet every now and then. And they were upside-down for a long time. They even played badminton ... but I wasn't able to record that (-_-)


The wheel walkers.


Finale of the wheel walkers.

Backyard

After Finn's Tae Kwon Do class, we had lunch and then bought a charcoal grill, 2 grape plants, 2 blueberry plants, 2 different soil mixes, and mulch at Lowe's (^_^) As soon as we got home we started assembling the grill. We were nearing the half-way point when we saw that one part was defective. Jojo had to go back to return it. Good thing he needed to bring in only that part and not the whole thing. It was also a good thing that they had that part in stock. Otherwise, the attendant said he'd have to disassemble the display and give us the part from that.

Meanwhile, I started doing a layout for our garden. Jojo wants to plant fruits and veggies and flowers so the fruits and veggies go at the end (yellow rectangles), the grapes are the 2 small purple rectangles, the flowers are the pink ones on the right, the circle will be some kind of ornamentation (a fountain or something), the rectangle on the left will be a bench, swing, or hammock, and the small squares are stepping stones. And that is one of our grapes. Jojo was in the process of putting mulch when I took this picture.

The blueberries will have to wait to be planted coz we still have to clear out the fruits and veggie area tomorrow. Right now there's a patch of bricks where the previous owners had a small play area. After we clear that, we'll plant the blueberries. Next week we'll probably go to a nursery to shop for the veggies and flowers. Citronella is a must coz the bugs are nasty in the summer! You can't stay out in the yard too long.

So anyway, we finished the grill and covered it up. Jojo also ordered our outdoor dining set online this morning. Not sure when that will get delivered. Once that arrives, we can fully enjoy our backyard! Can't wait for the weather to warm up so that we can open the pool too. Weeeee!!!! (^_^)

Zing Zang Zoom!

"The Greatest Show On Earth" is in NJ and we got to watch the show tonight (^_^) We were there very early coz we wanted to see the pre-show event. Everyone can go to the ring to watch short performances in different areas. Plus you can have your program (if you bought one) signed by the artists. We were only able to have 2 sign our program.

The show started at 7.30pm and ended before 10. It was great! As long as you don't think about the overpriced (popcorn is $7 and cotton candy for $12, but it did come with a wizard's hat) and so-so food ... hehehe. I wish I could experience being part of the circus. It looked like so much fun! Of course it's a lot of hard work too but I'm sure I'd have a blast performing (^_^).

At the beginning of the show, the clowns handed the microphone to one guy in the audience and he said a short speech and proposed! Lucky for him his girlfriend said yes. Imagine his embarrassment if she didn't (>_<) And maybe the rest of us would boo the girl ... hehehe.

And then there were the Circus Celebrities - they got to sit on a special bench in the ring! They also got to participate in a few clown tricks. Tickets for that is $150 tho (0_o) Ummm ... no thanks. Our seats were fine. We were on the lower level, not in the middle but still ok. Maybe if we were gonna watch Cirque du Soleil, we'd consider saving up for Tapis Rouge tickets.

After the show we went to buy food (coz a hotdog, a small bag of chips and a small drink isn't enough) and just ate at home. We were tired but had a wonderful time (^_^)

Miss Me?

I was offline for a few days coz my laptop got infected and Jojo had to fix it. As a result, my C got wiped out and he had to reinstall everything. Fortunately all my important stuff are in external HDs and I'm only missing my fonts and the faves in IE. I have a lot of bookmarked sites and now they're gone (-_-) On the bright side, it's running faster now that all my junk is gone ... hehehe. Lesson learned - no more downloading PC games. I think that's what got me. Oh well.

So what's been happening? We went to NY last Sunday to attend something, then went to IKEA afterwards. Got ourselves a TV bench and a floor lamp. We have to go back in 2 weeks for the TV panel that goes with the bench. They were out of stock of the color we wanted so we reserved one and will pick it up next time.

Today I'm waiting for what's going on the TV bench ... our new TV!!! Delivery is between 3-7pm. Weee (^-^) Our old TV is in the basement and that's what we use for gaming. Plus we wanted a flat panel so Jojo looked for a good deal online and bought it just this week. Our living room is finally looking more and more like a living room!

I wanted to share this with you too ... Finn played on our electronic Sudoku handheld last night and was able to finish a grid in under 4 minutes (*_*) He has his own Kid's Sudoku Book but he hasn't played that in a long time. This is his first "real" grid and I'm so proud of him! That's all (^-^)

UPDATE: Our TV finally arrived at 8.15. The photo doesn't do the picture quality justice tho. It's so amazingly clear! And we decided not to get the back panel anymore since it looks ok as it is. We haven't paid for it yet so it's all good.