Croissants Bistro & Bakery

I'm not much of a breakfast person.  I learned a long time ago that it is important for me to eat something in the morning so my stomach doesn't growl, hence embarrassing me.  I'm usually a granola bar type of person.  This morning, I had breakfast at Croissants Bistro & Bakery.

Maybe it's a bit unfair of me to judge them based on my particular breakfast, since I only had a fruit plate.  Regardless, let's talk a bit about the restaurant, shall we?  It's not just about the food.

Croissants is located on 38th Avenue, so it is actually rather convenient for me.  They open their doors at 7 o'clock, giving me plenty of time for a bite to eat before I have to be to work.  There weren't a lot of diners at that time, which was nice.  It was easy to get a table and get served.

The server was very nice, and she was also in the Halloween spirit, dressed as a witch.  She still had her uniform on though!  She got the order right and timed everything appropriately.  I didn't feel rushed, nor did I feel I had to wait for anything.

There are all sorts of good breakfast choices on the menu, but I opted to get the fruit plate.  I know it doesn't sound adventurous, and when you consider it was $8, it wasn't a great deal.  I could have had eggs and hashbrowns with toast for that cost.

The fruit plate consisted of strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe  honeydew, and blueberries.  It was quite a large portion and the fruit was firm and tasty.  The strawberries were a bit tart, but they couldn't have foreseen that.  I'm not usually one for dipping my fruit into anything, but it would have been nice to have some sort of fruit dipping sauce for the strawberries, to sweeten them up a bit.  Sugar would have also worked.  I can't fault the server, as I didn't ask for any sugar.  Frankly, it was tasty regardless of tart strawberries.

Someday, I would like to take Mark to Croissants for breakfast.  I had an enjoyable experience.  It's a bit on the expensive side for a fruit plate, but it was really good.  If you're sick of the normal breakfast places, give Croissants a try.

Google Docs

Did you ever find out that you've had access to something awesome but never realized it was there?  I was looking for a program to write something up* and was getting frustrated.  It turns out that my Word program is acting wonky.  On top of that, I don't have Word on my new laptop.  I started wandering around the wasteland that is the internet, looking for salvation, when I discovered Google Docs!  Seriously, is there anything Google can't do??

Google Docs comes with thousands of templates.  You want to make up a newsletter?  They have hundreds of templates for that.  Need to update your resume?  Never fear!  They have a doc for that.  You need to do a presentation?  There's a doc for that!

You can tweak the templates to be exactly what you want.  Even better, as you work on your task, Google Docs will keep saving it.  It will even show you how you changed it from the template!**  I actually discovered that I had something saved on there from 2009.  I haven't been in Google Docs since then, but it's keeping that file for me.  It's a loyal service.

I've primarily used Microsoft Word and Printmaster for writing related projects.  No more!  Now, I shall immerse myself in Google Docs.  It's free too!

*It wasn't a review, so I couldn't do it here!

**I've used a lot of exclamation points in this short review, but it's warranted!

Joss Whedon on Mitt Romney

Once again, Reddit has shown me the awesome.*  Reddit takes all the most interesting things on the internet and shows them to me.  I have had quite a few reviews inspired by random bits found on Reddit.  Today's review is another one of those.  Today, I want to talk to you about Mitt Romney, as Joss Whedon sees him and his political plan.

For as long as I can remember, actors, musicians, and the like have been only too happy to tell the masses all about their political beliefs.  Often throwing their support very publicly behind one person or another.  This review has nothing to do with who you should vote for on this election day.  Instead, I want to discuss this video.

We've all seen the political ads, and we've all seen how ridiculous they can be.  Listening to Morgan Freeman endorse anything make me think that's a good choice.  The very idea that we can be persuaded to endorse something because someone we like in movies feels that way is a mockery of the entire political structure, but it's also very accurate.  There are many people out there that vote strict party lines or base their decision on who seems "nice".*

These celebrity endorsement ads are silly, but they are also effective.  What I love about this one is that it manages to vilify a candidate while also making a mockery of celebrity ads in general.  I'm not sure if that was Joss Whedon's point, but after seeing the Cabin in the Woods, I like to believe that he can deconstruct a political ad the same way he can deconstruct an entire genre.

Due to the current time of year, we've all seen way to many ads for the presidential candidates.  This one is my favorite.  Once again, I'm not endorsing a candidate; I'm recognizing the humor and silliness of the circus that has become the political arena.

Seriously, if you haven't clicked that link and watched the video, do so now.

*For those of you that don't visit often, Reddit is a place of kittens, atheists, and liberals.  As such, there is a lot of anti-Romney stuff on there.

**Note, I'm not saying all voters think this way, but I've spoken to people that do.

Disney Cupcakes

When you go on vacation to Disney, cupcakes aren't the first dessert you think of having.  When there are eight different kinds of bread pudding, rice krispie treats shaped like Disney characters, and twelve flavors of fudge, there are better choices.*  Since cupcakes are pretty standard and uninteresting, your eyes will probably pass right over them, even the ones decorated like Disney characters.**

Even though there is such a wide variety of dessert choices, give the cupcakes a shot.  As I'm not particularly wealthy or picky, I either make my own cupcakes using box mixes or I buy them at Wal-Mart.  Have you had a Wal-Mart cupcake lately?  They're really not very good.  I'm not sure what they've put into the frosting, but it stays kind of wet and sticky forever.  I remember back when frosting would dry out a bit, making it almost crunchy on the outside while retaining its soft consistency in the center.  Those were the days.

Behold the cupcake!

I am happy to report that you can still have that experience!  Disney cupcakes have that amazing frosting.  We got one from the bakery to split, and it was so great that we got another one before the end of the trip.  It actually made the trip home with me, only to be devoured.  Because they're kind of large, I didn't quite finish it.  It turns out that even though cats can't taste sweet, Mr. Kitty thought the frosting was good too.  I caught him eating it.

I know I've been so obsessed with the frosting that you might expect that the cake portion is lackluster.  Actually, it is also quite good.  It's moist, yet firm.  It doesn't crumble when you bite into it.  The cupcake holds its shape, yet tastes delicious.  I'm kind of looking forward to having another one when I convince Mark to take me back for a long weekend.

*There are also apples covered in random sweets, as well.  It's seriously mind blowing.

**Oh, and there is cotton candy!  Plus, they have random cookies too!

Disney Trading - Pin & Vinylmation

My family spent years being proud of our ability to recognize and avoid "crowd control".  We didn't often watch parades; there were rides to ride!  Shopping was usually kept to a minimum; we could be riding rides!  We didn't bother with fancy sit down meals; it wasted too much ride time!  I'm sure you're sensing a trend at this point.  We were a bit commando* when at Disney.

Well, in the past ten years or so, that has begun to change.  It was little things at first, maybe a bit more shopping.  We started seeing the value in absorbing the atmosphere, rather than just riding rides.  We began exploring the countries in Epcot, not just catching the ones with rides.  We recognize that there is more to Disney than just their rides.  I think we always knew, but we also knew what we were most interested in experiencing.

Years ago, my mother and brother started doing the pin trading at Disney.  Mark and I traded a little bit, but we're rather slack about it.  When we remember to bring our pins with us on vacation, we usually forget to take them to the park.

That being said, it is really fun to trade pins.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with the activity, Disney sells pins, lots and lots of pins.  Cast members wear lanyards covered in pins, and if you want one of their pins, you can trade one of yours for theirs.**  It's fun.  Some people will buy pins online beforehand to have a bunch to trade, as they are expensive when bought in the parks.  Supposedly, there are fake pins out there that people buy, not knowing any better.  I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I can believe it.  Mark and I bought our pins from a yard-sale from some family that wasn't interested in them anymore, so ours were genuine.

Pin trading can add a whole new experience to your Disney trip.  Since there are so many pins and so many cast-members, you could spend all day trading.  Some shops even have a pin board, which opens up your choices even more.  At the same time, if pin trading holds no interest for you, it doesn't impact you at all.***

Disney, in the past few years, has attempted to force another trend, Vinylmation trading.  Now, Vinylmation are little plastic Mickey statues done up to look like different things, often Disney related.  I never really got into them; very few actually appealed to me.  I only own one.

Isn't he adorable??

Mark bought him for me, and I've never found another one I like as much.  They have done different lines, ranging from theme park ones to job-centric options.  Last year, in October, we saw one in a case that was painted up like a Disney road sign, and we wanted it****.  Unfortunately, it wasn't for sale.  You had to buy one out of a mystery line and hope to get it.  I bought dad a Vinylmation out of that line for his birthday, and when he didn't get that one, we began trading.

This year, I planned on celebrating my dad's birthday when we were there, as I am not going to see him on his birthday.  Since I have a problem, I made multiple visits to the Disney store.  I want to say the Vinylmation sell for around fifteen dollars in the park.  When I found some for $2.99 in the Disney store, I picked one up.

I gave it to my dad on the first full day of the trip, so he could get some trading in.  Certain stores have black boxes with numbers on them.  When you want to trade, you pick the number you want to see.  If you like it, you trade; if you don't like it, most places will let you pick a second number to see.  Some stores make you trade for one of the two; other stores will let you keep yours.  Now, I could be crazy, but I think the smallest box I saw had twelve choices, but I want to say there was one with sixteen.  I'm fully admitting I could have made that up in my brain.

In addition to the black box, most stores that did trading also had a clear box with two or three in it.  You were free to opt for one of those if you didn't like the one you got blind.  They actually didn't have that box at our hotel.  What's neat is that they put those extra ones in the black box, giving us two when we traded one time.

There is no limit to the number of times you can trade during  your stay, and the only cost to you is the initial outlay for your first Vinylmation.  It's another way to enrich your trip.  Last year, my dad ended up with Hoth Leia.  This year, he got a Yoda one pretty early on, hence ending our trading.

The day we were supposed to pick up Mark from the airport, we went to Downtown Disney to eat dinner and kill some time.*****  While walking past Marketplace Fun Finds, I remember that I had seen some Vinylmation marked down in there when we visited in the past.  I told my parents I would be right back and ran in to check.   When I realized they had some for under $5, I went and got them.  We got one for each of them, so we could keep trading.

I feel like we've come a long way.  We have become people that don't just equate a good trip with how many rides we experienced.  It's more about the quality of our time.  There are so many amazing things to do at Disney, and it turns out that the Disney trading trends are really fun.  If you're going to visit Disney and have a near-by Disney store, grab a couple Vinylmations to trade.  You can usually get them pretty cheap, and it's a fun experience.******

*I feel like I should make some sort of Arnold reference.  It was a good movie, but I don't really have anything.  Just insert random Commando flavored Arnie joke here.

**If it is a green lanyard, they will only trade with children.  If you don't have any, just borrow someone else's.  Be sure to ask first.

***That's not entirely true.  If you have a pin trader in your group, you'll find that you occasionally lose them.  My mom would stop to trade, and we wouldn't realize it.  All of a sudden, we would realize she was a good twenty paces behind us, checking out pins.

****I'm sure most of you are wondering why a road sign Mickey would be a highly desired object.  I have no idea why other people would want it; I only know why my family wanted it.  We have video from years ago of us arriving on Disney property.  This was after Mark joined our little crew, but I believe it was before we got married.  Now, my family can be incredibly loud, and we're very open.  While we aren't loud in public, the van we had just driven twenty hours in was a safe space.  There was a sign stating that our hotel was the next left.  Some yelling ensued, debating whether it was the immediate left or the one after.  Mark weighed in, saying the sign was misleading.  To you, that's not funny.  To my family, it's freaking hilarious   We will randomly mention the next left.  I actually took the wrong left when I drove down two weeks ago, thanks to that sign.

*****Always take the bus to Downtown Disney.  It might take longer, but we wasted just as much time looking for a parking spot.  Seriously, we just kept driving in circles.

******Of course, the experience can be better or worse depending on the cast member.  Even when we had some grumps, we still had fun.  Sometimes, it's just fun trying to figure out what they're supposed to be.

The Jungle Cruise

You're got to appreciate Disney's ability to change.  While it may not always be for the best, there are times that they improve the show by being able to adapt.  Such is the case with the Jungle Cruise.

When it was originally rolled out, it was to be treated realistically  but as time has gone on, the ride has begun to look more and more dated.  While the audio-animatronics still function and easily convey what they're supposed to be, they are much less convincing than some of their counterparts.  How do you keep the ride popular?  How do you keep the people coming back to see it?  You make it funny.

Each trip on the Jungle Cruise is different, which is what makes it a great Disney attraction.  While many jokes are re-used from skipper to skipper, there is a good chance you'll hear something different.  It's less about the actual ride and more about the pun filled stand up routine that goes on.  The jokes are often simple, but it's amusing, nonetheless.

Some of my favorite jokes:

• Seeing the backside of water
• The wingspan of the butterflies
• Favorite plants
• The pair of docks
• The Macarena statues*
• Getting the point in the end

Now, I'm not going to explain any of those jokes to you.  If you've ridden the ride, you may pick up on some of them.  If not, you may ride it in the future and hear one, so I don't want to ruin it for you.  That's the beauty.  You could ride it hundreds of times and never hear all of those.**

Of course, the theming is quite good too, which further plants this ride in my mind as a classic.  The queue line has random bulletins and a jumping spider.  It's simple stuff, but it's funny.  I really want to adopt one of the kittens they have an ad for.***

The Jungle Cruise is in now way, shape, or form a technologically advanced ride.****  Yet, it survives, finding its niche.  People like to laugh, even if it is at something silly.  It's a good boat ride and a great show.

*I have only ever heard one skipper make this particular joke, and I have ridden this ride many, many times.

**You could hear them all.  Some of them are actually pretty common.  Hearing all the jokes is like catching all the Pokemon.

***Once again, if you've paid attention when there, you'll know what I'm talking about.

****Not anymore, at least.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

I have now attended a total of five of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties.*  Three times, we did medieval costumes.  Once, we did a steampunk theme.  For our most recent party, we opted to go as pirates.

Held throughout September and October, MNSSHP allows guests to visit the park in costume.  Usually, only children are allowed to dress up.  While there is an additional cost, I feel it is worth it.  We got a discount this year because we are annual passholders!  You an also get a discount by buying early.  The tickets run around $60.  That is pretty steep, so you have to make sure there is something at the party that appeals to you.  Obviously, there is something that appeals to my group because we keep going to the parties.

Our party preparations begin well before the trip because we dress up.  Last year, we started prepping in July.  My mother is an amazing seamstress, so she ends up tasked with sewing all the costumes.  Since we designed last year's costumes to be more functional, she didn't have to do much sewing this year.  As sad as it sounds, we also had a great deal of our accessories already.**  We had to get an extra hat, as my dad didn't have one, and the ladies needed boots.  Otherwise, most pieces were already assembled.

The day of the party,  you can get into the park in costume as early as four.  Since I had picked up our tickets at the Magic Kingdom ticket booth area on Monday, we just had to get dressed and get there.  For whatever reason, we have never made it to a party at four.  It doesn't officially start until seven, so it's no big deal.  It is annoying, however.  Something always goes wrong, and it always takes longer to put on a costume than we think it will.

We had returned to the room around a quarter after two because it is good to take a break before tackling the party.  By the time we roused my father and got everyone dressed, it was after four.

You always have to take pictures before you leave the room.

After that, costume pieces begin to go missing.

We strolled up to the bus stop by 4:22 and were on a bus by 4:30.  One of the fun things is seeing the little kids when they notice your costumes.  It's fun, especially when they like your costume.***  Mark made it a point to yell pirate stuff whenever he saw kids dressed up as pirates.  He is ever the showman.

The bus stop is an excellent place to meet pirates!

By five, we were at the park.  We had made it through the turnstiles and gotten our wristbands, as well as our trick or treat bags.  There were no long waits to get those items, which was nice.  The bags have images from current Disney releases.  This year, they featured Wreck-It Ralph and Tinkerbell.****

Now, the real party festivities didn't begin until seven.  This left us with about two hours to mess around before obtaining candy became the prime directive.  We started out by riding Pirates of the Caribbean because that's what you do when dressed like a pirate.  The wait was minimal.

Since we had a long night of pillaging planned, we decided to get some sustenance.  Pecos Bills was the perfect choice, as it was close.  Tortuga Tavern would have been better, but it was closed.  Lame.  Dinner was where we had our first snafu of the evening though.  I left Mark with the table while the rest of us obtained food.  I dropped off our food then went to get my parents, as they didn't know where we were sitting.  In my absence, Mark managed to get chili on himself.  We were already hot, and this just frustrated both of us.  Once I cooled down and Mark realized his costume was still awesome, we were both okay.  I don't think we had any other attitude issues.

To get into some air conditioning and because it is one of my favorite rides, we decided to experience the Haunted Mansion. Besides, if you're doing a Halloween party, the mansion is required to be one of your stops.  After having a ton of fun, we exited around six thirty.

As we were walking through Fantasyland, we lingered around the entrance to the new Fantasyland.  They were doing dress rehearsals throughout our trip, but we had heard that it could possibly be open during the party.  We took turns going to the restroom and just kind of waited.  A little before seven, someone who seemed important announced that if they did open up, it wouldn't be any time soon.

After her announcement, we decided to just join the Werther's candy line.  It was maybe five til seven, and getting candy was about to become our driving force.  When the party officially starts, they do an announcement by the ghost host over the loudspeakers.  They also start checking you for wristbands everywhere.  When you cross between lands, there is a line of castmembers.  When you get candy, a castmember checks your wristband.  The same happens at rides.  If you don't have a wristband, you don't get any candy or fun.

If I don't say we were doing a specific ride, we were trick or treating.  We occasionally took breaks from trick or treating to ride something or get a snack.  My dad absolutely loves getting candy.  I think it is because he didn't get to do that kind of thing as a kid.  We focused on candy for over an hour before we changed things up.

This was after about an hour.  As you can see,

they give you some good candy.

Around eight, we were circling back through Fantasyland when we discovered that they were letting people into new Fantasyland.  Of course, we immediately headed in.  They were running the new Little Mermaid ride.  You could also visit Gaston's Tavern.  We decided to ride first then get a snack at Gaston's Tavern.  Of course, after our ride, we took some pictures.*****

This is outside the Little Mermaid ride.

You can see Eric's castle from another angle, as well.

The ride was okay.  I expected a bit more.  Disney has made a huge deal out of this expansion, so I wanted to be blown away by the ride.  It was definitely neat, but it wasn't amazing.  It didn't help that there were people taking flash photos throughout the entirety of the ride.******

Disney has done a great job with the theme throughout the area, which is to be expected.  They do it better than anyone else.  Belle's village is really convincing, and Gaston's Tavern is really neat.  There is a fountain of Gaston out front, which is a great photo op.

Amazing!

This is exactly what I would have imagined.

The tavern itself offered some different items than the other quick service places.  There was hummus, as well as a special drink.*******  We just had beverages.

The barrel IS the cash register!

These are tired pirates.  They weren't too tired 

to protect their booty at all costs.

This was a much needed break.  It was pretty warm, so wearing the multiple layers that comprised the pirate costumes was taxing.  Furthermore, pirate hats are also very hot.  On an unrelated side note, it was weird to see a girl in the same room charging her phone using Disney's electric.  I'm sure it is probably socially acceptable now, but it rubbed me the wrong way.  I might not have noticed if my dad didn't point it out.

Having re-fortified ourselves with drink, we continued on our pillaging spree, claiming even more candy.  We seriously just kept circling the park, hitting all trick or treat lines.  We didn't really have to wait, which was nice.  We didn't catch the shows, the parade, or characters.  If they didn't offer us candy, we didn't bother.

Finally, about a quarter after nine, we were passing Space Mountain, and I requested to ride.  My love for this ride has recently resurfaced.  After depositing all bags, hats, and swords with my dad, we entered the queue.  We were on the ride in less than ten minutes.  Frankly, waiting wasn't an issue for me.  We were in the air conditioning.

When we re-emerged into Tomorrowland, we went to find my father.  If he is waiting during daylight hours, he'll be somewhere in direct sunlight.  Seeing as it was full dark, we just headed for a grouping of benches.

We found him.  I'm pretty sure that was him 

being incredulous when it was proposed that

maybe he helped lighten some of our

candy bags.

Around this time, Mark admitted defeat.  In his defense, he was wearing lady boots.  We had made it back around to Adventureland, when I asked Mark if he was okay.  He admitted that he was finished.  I really expected my dad to quit with Mark, but he didn't.  The call of candy was too much!  We sent Mark off to bed and continued our clock-wise journey around the park.

We paused at the Haunted Mansion to see the ghost lady who hangs out in the grassy area in front of the mansion.  She interacts with guests and is pretty funny.  We opted not to ride, as we already had.  The fact that there was a line only made us feel better about that decision.

Isn't she pretty?  Also, I want my house to look like that.

Think about how much it would freak out the 

neighbor kids.

After even more trick or treating, we started to acknowledge our sleepiness.

He couldn't even pull the sword out of the stone.

We called it quits a quarter of an hour past eleven.  We had each filled two bags of candy to the top.  It was a pretty good haul.

We left the park and entered the bus line.  Let's just say that it looked pretty intimidating.  It took two buses to get us loaded.  By half past, we were on a bus, heading back to the resort.

MNSSHP is a really fun event.  It's worth the money to wear a costume in Disney.  You get to trick or treat and be a kid again!  The atmosphere is amazing, and this year, we had the bonus of seeing some of new Fantastyland.  My only regret is that mom used make-up on me that was nigh impossible to get off.  It was horrible, but that's the price you pay to look awesome!

*Henceforth, these will be referred to as MNSSHP because I am not typing that again.  I could copy/paste it, but that sounds like a lot of work too.

**Mark likes to dress up. For Halloween this year, he dressed up at work on three different days, a different costume each day.

***My reaction to that might have to do with that darn clock I always hear ticking.

****I think Tink was on one side.  It was a long night, and I didn't save them this year.

*****My mother had a new camera this year; I don't think she ever stopped taking pictures.

******You almost always encounter people that will take flash pictures throughout rides where you're not supposed to do so.  I generally don't freak out about it since I've experienced most Disney rides numerous times.  It was incredibly annoying in this instance.  Frankly, they were outright rude.

*******I can only imagine it is their answer to Butterbeer.  It's not as good, nor does it have the street cred.

ESPN Club

When on vacation, I usually take pictures of pretty much any food that my party orders.  It is rare that I slip, but for whatever reason, when we had lunch at the ESPN Club, I only took three pictures, all of the same subject.  What's sad is that it would have been nice to have the pictures to help refresh my memory.  Our meal at the ESPN Club was great, and it was actually reasonably priced.  I'm already wondering if we'll be returning there on our next stay.

We had been at the Studios in the morning and decided to head to Epcot.  We missed the boat that was at the dock when we left the park.  We waited about fifteen minutes or so before another boat arrived.  It was pretty nice out so we sat outside for our journey to food.  We had decided to visit the Boardwalk, probably for food, definitely to look around.  

The boat's first stop was the Swan & Dolphin.*  Since it was pleasant out, we decided to hop off there and walk the rest of the way to our destination.  We were able to walk from there and the entire length of the boardwalk in less than fifteen minutes.  As we strolled, we checked the menu at the Big River Grille and Brewing Works, as well as the ESPN Club.  After a small amount of debate, we ended up at the ESPN Club.

Now, I have always wanted to try the ESPN Club.  I had discovered food porn and thought their stars looked tasty.  Additionally, a few years ago, I discovered a love of nachos, and the nachos at ESPN Club are supposed to be amazing.  For whatever reason, I didn't get nachos.

We were seated in a round room at a high top.**  The first thing we noticed was how cold it was.  We cozied up to the windows to try and get a bit warmer.  The second thing we noticed were all the TVs.  The place was covered in them.  We're not sports fans, but it was still pretty  neat.  They had signed footballs and jerseys scattered around too.

The menu, which you can see at Allears.net, is full of game day type food.  There are wings, nachos, sandwiches, and such.  Of course, they had a large assortment of alcohol.  We didn't have any of that, but my mother did get some fancy drink all virgin style.

That's the Zone.  (I think.)  It's so fruity

that I am sure my husband would

have gotten one.

Our server, whose name I can't remember, was amazing.  A great server can read his table.  He knows who he can joke with and who needs serious (aka boring) service.  We were definitely a table that was up for a little ridicule.  When my dad ordered a coffee, the server informed him that he had to walk all the way to the other end of the restaurant to get it.  He kept bringing it up.  He also picked on him for not deciding what to order.  He often has my mother pick if nothing jumps out at him.  When he told the server that my mother would be choosing, he got picked on for that too!  It was all in good fun though, and it made for a memorable interaction.

Both of my parents ordered the Philly cheesesteak.  Because she hates mushrooms, Diane ordered hers without them.  I believe they both had fries as their side.  I was in the mood for wings, so I ordered the wing appetizer, boneless and medium.  I requested ranch, cucumber salad, and fries.

When the food arrived, it was quite good.  My parents loved the sandwiches.  They were huge.  You get used to paying a lot of money for minimum food at Disney.***  ESPN Club was the exception.  They almost provided more food than any one man could eat.

As is often the case with boneless wings, they were a bit hard.  I couldn't even cut into one of them.  It skittered across the table when I tried.  They did taste pretty good though.  I can't tell you how my fries were, as they never came.  It was no big deal, as I just helped myself to my parents' fries.  My cucumber salad was very tasty.

ESPN Club was one of our favorite meals this trip.  You got a lot of food for a decent price, and our server was amazing.  He was very friendly, poking fun at us without being mean.  Even though my fries never materialized  his overall attitude and attentiveness over-rode any negativity I could have had for missing part of my meal.  If you are looking for a simple place to eat, it's worth trying the ESPN Club.  At 2:10 on a Wednesday, we had no wait, an amazing server, and good food.

*For those not in the know, it stops at all the resorts between Epcot and the Studios.

**That's one of those tall tables.

***There are places where that isn't the case, but it is rare that  you feel like you got a good deal.

Country Bear Jamboree

Disney attractions fall into one of three categories.*

1. Absolutely must ride - These are the rides people wait in line for.  No matter what you have to do, it's a ride you really want to experience.  
2. Take it or leave it - Rides in this category tend to be good but not necessary.  You see a short line, you get in it.
3. Rather not ride - There are rides at Disney that you have done once so you can cross them off of the list but would rather just skip in the future.  For me, a lot of shows fall in this category. 

For me, the Country Bear Jamboree falls into category three.  While it is a classic attraction, once is generally enough.  I don't mean once a trip; I mean once ever.

The Country Bear Jamboree was recently down for a re-vamp.  Aside from renewing the coats of some of the stars, the show was changed up.  The songs have been trimmed down, resulting in a shorter, tighter show.  I only have good things to say about these changes.

While the Country Bear Jamboree used to be very long, it is now a more acceptable length.  I know there is a great deal of complaining about people having shorter attention spans, but for a theme park attraction, this show may have been too long to start with.  When you factor in the type of music, a shorter show is most definitely a good idea.  This type of country music isn't terribly popular nowadays.

During my most recent viewing of the show, I was just over-whelmed.  My first thought was that it was purely nostalgia causing my reaction, but I never really looked on that show that fondly.  I think it was a combination of being with my parents solo for the first time in forever and missing my grandfather.  There is something about Big Al that reminds me of Papa J that probably only makes sense to me.  Since I was a kid, I associated the two.**  I was just hit with such a sadness that he was gone while being equally over-joyed to be with my parents, who I hadn't seen in over ten months.

I don't think the Country Bear Jamboree will ever fall into category one for me, but it may get upgraded to category two.  I now have a new happy memory to associate with it.  The fact that the show is much better is just icing on the cake.  Frankly, they added in some great touches that endear the show to me.  There are three heads on the wall, Buff, Max, and Melvin.; they now interact with each other throughout the show.  Even if you can't hear them, it's clear they are talking to each other, much like you do in a theater.  I just love it.

*Where rides fall for me is probably different than yours.  As a matter of fact, it can change from trip to trip.

**For a bit of extra background for those that don't know, my grandfather passed last year.  It's been a bit since it happened, but it's weird when we miss people.  I can't explain it.

Óhana

I have eaten at Ohana a total of three times, including my most recent experience.  The first time, I was underwhelmed.  The second time, it was much better.  The third time fell back into that underwhelming category.  The experience wasn't all bad, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped.

Getting into Ohana is difficult to start with.  I spent the last few weeks trying to get the three of us in.  I checked ever day, multiple times.  Finally ,about a week ago, I got lucky.  I was going through the motions when a slot opened up for 5:05.  Awesome!

We arrived about five minutes late for our appointment, but we had no problems getting checked in.  All of five minutes later, our buzzer went off, calling us to dinner.  The gentleman seating us was very fun, naming my father the Bread Princess.*  He showed us where the meat was prepared and gave us a bit of a preview of what we were in for.

Our server was over a few minutes later, and she was quite nice.  There is usually a second person who assists the first, to keep the tables all covered.  It appears that they are responsible for a large area and many people.  Once our drinks were taken care of, we patiently awaited the food.

Not counting the bread that we were served as we walked in, salad was the first course.  It had a raspberry lime dressing, and it was my favorite part of the meal.  It was amazing.  The greens were crisp, and the dressing was the perfect level of sweet.

At this point, our drinks started to run a bit low, and our two servers were a bit more pressed.  I was going to order a fancy frozen drink for my dad, but the servers never gave me enough time to ask for one.  I finally just decided to walk over to the bar and order one.  By the time I got back, the next course had arrived.

The pot-stickers and noodles, some of my favorites from the past, were lackluster this time.  The pot-stickers were the better of the two.  Aside from being a bit crispy around the edges, the flavor was good, as was the temperature.  Unfortunately, the noodles were dried out.  It made them pretty much inedible.  I mean, I could eat them, but there was no point.  If you're not going to enjoy it, why eat it?

Ohana's main offering is various meats brought around on skewers.  They had chicken, steak, shrimp, and pork.  Except for the pork, we saw all of them twice.  We didn't see the pork for the first time until after that.  It was a bit disappointing, as we were full by then.  Some of the people brining around the meats were really fun.  Mom asked for two pieces of shrimp once she realized she like it, and she was informed they don't do only two.  He gave her seven.

The meats were all pretty good but not amazing.  My mother said the shrimp were great, with a buttery flavor. While the other meats weren't inedible, they were disappointing.  I was pleased that they weren't dried out though.

While the dessert tried to save the night, it wasn't quite able to salvage the experience.  The bread pudding, topped with ice cream, comes with the sauce on the side for you to put on.  It's quite tasty and well made.  Considering I don't like bread pudding, they did a pretty good job.

While the food is just okay, the service was not.  While I never felt the servers were particularly bothered by our needs, I never really felt like they were really our servers; they never stuck around long enough for me to make requests.  I'm not sure whether they're overworked or just don't care.  I hope it's the former, as the latter just makes me sad.

Right now, Ohana is a difficult reservation to land.  If they keep up this level of service and quality of food, that's going to change eventually.  For the amount of money it costs, Ohana just isn't worth it.


*Of course, that made me happy.

Garmin GPS

I've talked about using technology on vacation before, so it should be no surprise that I'm about to do so again.  Things that happen to me on vacation end up reviewed quite frequently, hence today's review.  So, please keep your hands, feet, and all objects inside the review until it comes to a complete stop.  Have a magical day!

A couple years ago, I had a Droid phone, and I loved it.  One of the features that Mark really liked was the turn by turn directions.  Essentially, you could use your Droid as a GPS.  When we upgraded to iPhones, that went away  We actually almost got lost trying to do the same thing with our iPhones.*

By July, it had been a few months since we had my Droid, and we hadn't really taken any long trips.  We had, however, had to use printed out directions a few times, and it didn't really work for us.  As we were choosing our new car, we were prepared to pay for the highest package to get a built in GPS.  When Mark and I realized the GPS was the only feature we wanted from the more expensive package, we decided to just buy a GPS, since it would be a fraction of the cost.

One online review filled trip to Best Buys later, we walked out with a Garmin.**  In September, we traveled to Miami for a wedding and really put the machine through its paces.  I didn't rely on it solely until I had to drive to Florida by myself.

We were scheduled to meet my parents in Florida on Wednesday of this week.  Once I realized I had enough vacation to come down for the duration of my parents' stay, Mark and I began discussing the possibility of me driving down by myself.  I had never driven such a long trip solo.  After much discussion, Mark gave me the okay.  About a week beforehand, I started worrying that I wouldn't be able to do it.

It turns out that I had absolutely no problem making my first big solo trip.***  Part of my success came from the GPS.  Let me tell you how many ways that thing is awesome:

1. It gives you directions.
2. It gives you directions in different accents!  Our GPS is currently British.
3. The screen is large and easy to see.
4. During the day, the background is a light color.  At night, the background is a dark color.  They do an excellent job minimizing the GPS' distraction level.
5. Recalculating!
6. It displays the speed limit, as well as your current speed.  If you are going over the speed limit, the little numbers turn red.  This way, if you get carried away with your speed, the GPS sometimes helps you realize it.
7. When you approach a road change, the GPS warns you and shows you what the lanes will look like.  If there are going to be five lanes, two turning, it shows you!

Having never used another brand of GPS, I'm not sure which of these features is solely a Garmin thing.  I realize they all give directions, but beyond that, I'm not 100% sure.  What I do know is that my Garmin is amazing.  If you don't have one, you should get one.  It takes a bit of time to get used to glancing at an additional item while driving, but it's well worth it.  If you are still using maps and paper directions, think about getting a Garmin; they're great!

*On a completely unrelated note, Mark says I'm a bad navigator.

**I don't know which model it is, as it's in the car right now.  It's got a bigger screen.

***Except for that thing with the big blue truck.  If you're out there, sorry!

Salon Edge

Welcome back to my on-going quest to find a salon that I like.  The journey may have finally come to a close with my discovery of Salon Edge, located in North Myrtle Beach.  I wouldn't normally travel up that way to get my hair done, but Pam, one of my co-workers, has amazing hair and happens to get it done there.  She was kind enough to get me an appointment on relatively short notice.

The night before my appointment, Mark and I had business in North Myrtle Beach.  Since I was nervous about finding the place the next day, we did a drive by.  Since I was driving, it was hard to see, but Mark spoke up when he saw it.  I took note of the area, so I would be prepared.

Unfortunately, my preparation didn't serve me very well.  When I went to find Salon Edge again, for my appointment, I managed to look right past it.  I pulled into the parking lot that Mark had pointed out, but I didn't see the salon.  I ended up, when I pulled out of the neighboring parking lot, to drive off of a curb I didn't know was there.  It wasn't going so well.

After another circuit around, I finally found the place.*  Even though there seemed to be a ton of people around in North Myrtle Beach, there was plenty of parking.  The drive itself is pretty simple.  I chose to stay on 17, but most people were telling me to take 31.

Now, let's get into the salon itself.  When you walk in, there is actually a store in the front.

The couch wants you to have a seat!

It has fancy jewelry and bags; it's very artsy.**  The colors are pretty, and the area is put together well.  There is a counter and a section of wall that break the space into the shop and the salon.

Fancy!

Behind the wall, the salon is laid out, quite like most salons.  Unlike other salons, most of the furniture is white.  It makes the place seem very bright and welcoming.

Now, there was only one other soul in Salon Edge, and that was Suzee McQuaig, the woman who was going to take care of me.  Apparently, she is the only one who works on Saturday, and I loved it.  I get overly nervous around people***, and I loved having a salon experience where I didn't feel like all the other customers were best friends with the stylists.  I didn't feel like an interloper.

The stylist was super patient with me, as we discussed what I wanted.  We decided on some semi-permanent hair color.  As she worked, we discussed having fine hair, as well as other random matters.  She was very gentle with my hair.  After she put the color on my hair, she stuck me under the dryer for about twenty minutes.  She left me with my thoughts and my phone while she went to have her lunch.  It worked out quite well.

After I was done baking, she shampooed my hair and led me back to the chair.  She began combing out my tangles, and we began discussing the possibility of a trim.  I didn't expect to get a haircut, but I've wanted to get rid of the layers in my hair.  After establishing my hair length and what it would be after cutting up to the layers, I gave her the go ahead.  She was pretty shocked, but we went for it!

When it was all said and done, she had cut off over four inches and given my color a pleasant boost.  It was time for the worst part of most salon experiences; it was time to pay.  I was quoted $100 just for color.  She charged me $90, which included semi-permanent color and a blunt cut.  I know $90 is a lot of money, but it was actually less than what I've been charged at other places.  Since the service was also a ton better, it was money well spent.

I fully intend to return to Salon Edge.  I was happy with both the service and price.  If you are looking for a salon, you should give Salon Edge a shot.

*Thank you, Ham.  I saw the striped awning!

**In a good way!

***If I am at work, I can chat away.  Put me in a more social setting, and I end up hiding in the corner.

Mirage Hair Studio Revisited

I'm not fond of negative reviews, and I'm not going to retract my earlier positive words about the services I received at Mirage Hair Studio.  I do feel, however, that there is an additional addendum based on my most recent experience.

I was scheduled to have a hair appointment on Tuesday, October 22.  When my trip to Florida was moved up, I called to move my appointment.  Imagine my surprise when the girl couldn't find my name anywhere.  I was not listed in appointment book.  Believing that I could have been wrong about setting the appointment, I decided to call again, after I looked for my appointment card.

Before we go any further, let me give you a bit more background information regarding my post salon experience.  The color for the highlights was amazing.  I really liked it, and it stayed nice for a while.*  I continued to wash dye out of my hair for a good four or five days.  I've had dye washing out after the job but never for that long.  I didn't really think much of it, but I did take note of it.

I saw the person that referred me to Mirage Hair Salon a couple weeks later.  I was having a stressful time that day and had my hair pulled back.  She commented that it looked like I hadn't had anything done at all.  I made mention of the amount of time dye washed out of my hair.

The lady who referred me just happened to have an appointment with the same hairdresser, so she told her all about my hair.  She told her that I didn't like it and was unhappy with it.  I appreciate that she was trying to help, but it ended up not working out for me.  The stylist asked her if she thought I would keep my appointment since I was unhappy with her work.

Fast forward about six weeks, and I am calling to find out about moving my appointment.  I went home and found my appointment card to verify that I had made the appointment.  Indeed, I did.  Now, there could have been a mistake in the books, but it seems unlikely.  When I called, there were no apologies for losing my appointment, which is what makes me feel it was intentionally removed.  I explained to the nice young lady on the phone what had happened and asked her to tell the stylist that I was quite pleased with my finished result and would have been back.

If my appointment was accidentally removed, that's just poor management.  If it was intentionally removed, that's just unprofessional.  If you don't want someone as a client, you let them know.  I understand that she had a customer tell her I was unhappy with it, but that should have been verified with me, especially when it resulted in a cancelled appointment.  I would have been livid had I showed up on Tuesday to find that they couldn't take me.

Either way, I won't be going back to Mirage Hair Studio.  While the services were a bit expensive, they were well done and very professional.  Unfortunately, the professionalism was non-existent when it came to my follow up appointment.

*Any fading was to be expected; red is a hard color to maintain.

Avocado Roll

I know I shouldn't judge all of sushi-dom on one particular avocado roll, but that's exactly what I'm about to do.  I can't be reasoned with!!!  Anyway, I tried sushi in the form of an avocado roll.  When I heard the word "avocado" in the title, I should have been wary, but sometimes the lure of a review is too much.

Not knowing much about sushi, I can only guess that the piece I had was properly prepared  It held together well; it felt firm.  There's rice in it, as well as avocado and maybe some seaweed thing.  I also had pickled ginger and wasabi to accompany it.

Mark offered to put some wasabi on the top of the roll, and I had him go ahead.  I was looking for the full experience.  I had heard it should be used sparingly, so when he put a giant gob on my roll, I had him scrape most of it off.

I'm not sure if you're just supposed to pop the whole thing in your mouth, but that's what I did.  It was a mistake, a huge mistake.  I imagine most of my unhappiness with the produce came from that smear of wasabi.  It just tasted terrible!  It tasted a bit like burning with a base flavor too.

Like Peter Griffin, I just wanted to make a disgusted noise and wipe it off of my tongue.  As we were at some fancy Sam's Club thing, I endured.  I don't care for avacado usually, so that didn't help either.  When I had finally finished the roll, I grabbed the pickled ginger, figuring anything to get the taste out of my mouth would be a good idea.  The ginger helped, but that's not something I really want to eat again either.

I don't see myself trying any more sushi anytime soon.  Perhaps I'll give a California roll a try some time.  If I do, I can assure you I will not have wasabi anywhere near it.  To those of you that can eat sushi, I salute you.

Behold the offending creature!

Blogger

Since I've been using this on almost a daily basis, I suppose it's time we talk about Blogger.  Obviously, it's the site I use to host my reviews, and it's pretty swell.  It's easy to use and has some nice features.  It probably has snazzy features that I don't even know about.

Originally, I was just posting my reviews as notes on Facebook.  A couple people suggested that I put all my reviews together in some sort of blog, so as to make them easily accessible for those that want to read them. My Facebook notes were getting lost in the feed.  Back in February, I finally joined up with Blogger here, and the rest is internet history.*

The best part about Blogger is that it's easy to use.  For the longest time, I didn't use pictures in my reviews.  One day, when I decided to figure it out, I was pleased with how easy it was.  Anything you want to do with your blog is pretty easy to figure out.  They give you tools to help design it, or they offer some preset designs.  You can be as impressive or simple as you want to be.

In school, they always stressed that you should save your papers as you wrote them when using the computer.  This is so very true, and Blogger knows it.  That's why, when you're writing, it periodically saves your work.  Unfortunately, it does not do this when you are editing a post.**

If you find yourself wanting to start a blog and aren't particularly tech savvy, Blogger is a good place to start. They've already got it figured out; you just have to fill it with your ideas.

*It's not really internet history.  We all know that.  Now, carry on.

**I learned it the hard way when I lost all of the review I had written thus far for my Universal Studios trip.  I was so frustrated that I haven't gone back to re-write it.  I'll try and get around to it soon though.

Batman: The Animated Series

Sometimes, I worry that I watch too many cartoons, but then I realize that the cartoons I watch are awesome, so it's all okay.  Tonight, I was flipping channels, trying to find something to listen to while tidying up the house.  I stumbled upon the old Batman cartoon I used to watch, and all was well with the world.

Obviously, there is a little nostalgia influencing tonight's review, but while Yester-Holly is all happy and bubbly, Current-Holly is a cruel mistress.*  Lucky for Batman, the series is actually very, very good.  It's stood the test of time pretty well.

Probably the most obvious dating factor is the animation.  It's actually got its own style, but you can tell it was done a while ago.  It's not as crisp as the stuff being made today.  Of course, that's not a bad thing.  It's not un-watchable and is pretty good when compared to other Saturday morning cartoons.

Considering the man who voices Batman, Kevin Conroy, pretty much became the voice of Batman in all things animated or CGI, you have to acknowledge that the voice cast is solid.  I believe this was our first taste of Mark Hamill as the Joker, which is just amazing.  While some of the bit players aren't as impressive and are a bit sillier, it doesn't detract from the show.

This particular Batman series wasn't afraid to deal with themes that were maybe a bit deeper than one would expect from a Saturday morning series.  The episode I watched tonight dealt with the fact that Wayne's biggest fear was that he was a disappointment to his father.  While there were obvious constraints due to the show being aimed at children, it wasn't as dumbed down as some of its competitors.

Someday, I'm hoping to catch a few more episodes of Batman: the Animated Series to see if it really holds up as well as I recall.  I only watched one episode tonight, and I was impressed.  Let's hope I stay that way. It makes me happy.

*I mean I'm pretty harsh on things I used to like if they don't hold up.

Argo

I'm not sure why I was so excited to see Argo.  I really enjoyed the town and trust Ben Affleck as a writer and director, but that wasn't wholly the reason.  You see, I love movies.  I think they're just amazing, and they have the potential to make us as an audience feel so many things.  The idea that they attempted to rescue people under the guise of making a movie just appealed to me.  What's makes it even better is that it is based on a true story.  It is the kind of outlandish plot you expect in Hollywood movies, but it had roots in reality.  How could I not want to see it?

Normally, I spend time talking about what they did well and what they did poorly when I talk about a movie.  In this instance, I really don't have any points for the latter.  From start to finish, Argo is an amazing film.  Each aspect was carefully considered and crafted to make a fantastic entry into cinema.

We've already established that they had a great story to work from.  Set in the early 80's, the film focuses on a group of people who escaped the American Embassy in Iran as it was being overrun, making them the only people to elude captivity.  For the vast amount of people my age or younger, I can't imagine they are overly familiar with the hostage situation that the film coincides with.  I had not studied it, nor was I overly familiar with it.  I had heard of it but only in passing.  It's scary that such a big event isn't really focused on in general teachings.  It just goes to show you that things that seem to be a big deal to us today will fade for tomorrow.

Before I wander any farther off topic, let's get back to movie.  A good story needs the right words to become great.  The dialogue throughout Argo is spot on.  There are minor bits of humor where appropriate, and what is being said feels real.  You don't have outbursts of unrealistic genius.  You don't have extreme caricatures   Each sentence serves to build upon the situation, serves to illustrate who the people are and what they're going through.  It's not overblown or overdone though; it's subtle and effective.

Of course, all the amazing dialogue in the world can be butchered by inexperienced, bad actors.  Luckily, Argo is littered with talented people.  The cast is well balanced, with no one standing head and shoulders above the rest.*  Each actor brings gravitas to their role and feels like an integral part of the cast.  I can't point fingers and declare a weak link.  You may not like different characters at different times, but you don't dislike anyone due to poor acting.  You recognize the weakness of the character, not the actor.

After putting so much into the script and performance, it's no surprise that the other details, both large and small, are also taken care of.  It's the early 80's in the film, and the costumes and vehicles all work together to convince you of that.  Affleck, in an attempt to evoke the time period even further, filmed the movie in such a way as to make it grainy.  We're used to the pristine appearance of today's films, and it's an interesting touch to disregard that to pull you back to the early 80's with such a simple and effective technique.**

I'm always happy when a smart film comes out.  When it was released, I really enjoyed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  Argo has that same quality, but it will be a bit more accessible to people.  Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy required the viewer to be attentive at all times, while Argo is a bit more forgiving.  That being said, it is in no way dumbed down.  While I'm sure some liberties were taken with timing to create greater drama, the film rings true.  It's particularly neat to see the side by side images over the end credits; they show the original images that inspired certain scenes in the film with their Argo counterparts.  It really hammers home that this was a real story, regardless of any cinematic license that may have been taken.

If you haven't seen Argo, you should.  I understand if you choose to wait for it on DVD instead of visiting the theater, but either way, it is well worth your time.  It's an intelligent film that is well written and perfectly executed.***

*Well, technically, Ben Affleck is quite tall.  There is a scene where his head is literally higher than all the other people around him.  It's kind of off putting.

**Bravo, sir.  (Cause I totally know that Ben Affleck is reading my reviews.  I'm totally a big deal.)

***Also, Canada is totally rad.  Thanks, guys!

Nibils Restaurant

I'm not a big breakfast eater.  I usually force myself to eat something in the morning to keep my stomach from rumbling.*  Half of my family really likes breakfast, so I've learned to like certain things, but I usually don't eat much.  Mark is in love with the idea of brunch, but I just don't get it.  In an attempt to pacify him, I took him to Nibils for breakfast today.

Their current location is on King's Highway here in Myrtle Beach, and it used to be a Pizza Hut.  They've repainted the outside, and it's actually quite nice looking.  Most Pizza Huts are pretty dark, but they're also repainted the inside, making it seem much larger than it is.  It's very bright and inviting.  There's a lot of white and pale blue, with beach scenes painted on the walls.  Aside from the window shapes, it no longer resembles a Pizza Hut at all.  Mark didn't even realize until I told him.

The breakfast menu is pretty standard, but that's not a bad thing.  They've got something for everyone.  I can be picky, but I opted for the French toast today, with a side of sausage.  Mark ordered a Southwestern omelette with home fries and rye toast.  Drink-wise, Mark had hot tea.  I had water and fresh squeezed orange juice.

My meal was quite good.  Instead of the overly prissy french toast that you get at a lot of places, this stuff reminded me of something my mom would cook.  So many establishments drown French toast in powdered sugar, whip cream, and anything else lying around the kitchen.  This stuff was simple and tasty, with just a sprinkling of powdered sugar.  The sausage was pretty good, maybe needed a bit more flavor.  I would highly recommend the orange juice though; it was amazing.

I'm pretty sure Mark would suggest their omelettes, as well.  The Southwest omelette has peppers, tomatoes, cheese...all the normal stuff.  The eggs were very well cooked, very thin.  The omelette itself was stuffed, but not too much.  Mark said it was just right.  The taters were delicious.  They did bring him the wrong kind of toast, white instead of wheat, but it was delicious.  Mark let me have half of it.

We also ordered fresh pineapple, which was the smartest move we made all day.  It was served on the husk, chilled.  It also came with a couple strawberries and fruit dipping sauce.  The pineapple had a very good flavor, rendering the sauce unnecessary.

If you want to try a new breakfast place here in Myrtle Beach, give Nibils a shot.  It's locally owned, and I look forward to trying their lunch someday.  Until then, I'll look fondly upon their breakfast.

*I learned that lesson in tenth grade.  There's nothing quite as humiliating as having your stomach growling so loud that others can hear it in Honors English.

Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner

I'm sure you already realize this, but cleaning the bathroom is the opposite of fun.  For years, I have sought the best way to clean the walls of the shower to no avail...until now!  See, I clean the tub portion of the shower using Pine Sol and a hard bristled brush.  It cleans well and smells super clean.  I've tried using Pine Sol on the walls, but I had never figured out a good delivery system.  I have tried multiple sprays and magic sponges, and none of them have done an acceptable job.

I am happy to announce that if you're looking for something to clean your shower walls with, you can stop looking.  Go buy Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner.  It's in a tall, metal aerosol type can.  You spray that stuff on the walls from six to eight inches back and let it rest for a couple minutes.  Then, you come back and wipe it off with a damp sponge.  I prefer to use a magic eraser because it helps pull up any left over residue.

I have now used this method two or three times, and it will be my new default for this job.  I'll continue to use Pine Sol in the tub, but to wash the walls, I'm going to stick with the Scrubbing Bubbles.  It easily pulls the soap scum off of the walls and makes them sparkly.

Arrow

I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to certain types of tv shows.  Superhero properties can be tricky to start with, and when you couple them with the limited budgets found in television, it can be a recipe for disaster.  For example, we tried to watch the Cape last year.  We really wanted to like it, but it just didn’t work.  My hopes for Arrow weren’t very high.

Imagine my surprise when Arrow turned out to actually be pretty good.  I should probably preface this review by stating that I know very little about Green Arrow and his story.  I know some of the related character names, but the story as a whole is new to me. * 

As the episode opened, I sat there with my low expectations and became incredibly confused.  I’m pretty sure Green Arrow, as he is shown in this entry, is alternate universe Batman.  He is a rich playboy who undergoes a life changing event that causes him to swear to save his city.  Heck, the mansion he lives in looks like Wayne Manor.  I kept expecting to see Alfred wander into frame.  Also, there are additional similarities to Rachel, from the Nolan Batman films.

Once I got past the initial Batman shock, I settled in to see what the show had to offer.  Most of the acting is solid with only a few overdone moments here and there.  The casting seems pretty solid, with the main character being a passable superhero type. 

The effects are also solid, and there is a whole lot of parkour going on.  Thankfully, the camera stays pretty steady so you can appreciate the action pieces and understand what’s going on.  It’s a smart move, as they could have gone more frenetic to further push the vibe but chose to stay steady.

Usually, shows put their all in to the first episode, knowing that is their chance to land an audience.  I just hope they can keep up the quality work throughout the series.  The groundwork has been laid for a great show, with a great deal of foreshadowing regarding other important characters, as well as the potential for evil in many of them.

Arrow is a solid entry into the fall television line up, and I just hope people give it a chance.  Don’t let the similarities to Batman turn you off, and don’t be bothered by another gritty version.  Sometimes, they work.  In this case, it’s a good move.

*I’m not counting what I learned from Young Justice.  That show is awesome but doesn’t focus too much on the adult story lines.

The Name of the Wind

I love to read.  With everything that's been going on, it's not always easy to find time to sit down with a good book, but I do the best I can.  I'm also one of those weird people that will re-read books, which is what I did with the Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

The novel follows Kvothe from child to adult, but it's not quite that simple.  You are introduced to him as he tells his tale, after he is grown.  You see where he is now, but you get to wonder how he gets there, how all these stories and tales have popped up about him.  There are magics and monsters, damsels and bards.*

The book is long, but it never feels long.  The writing style is easy to read but not too simple.  Magic is treated almost like a science, with explanations as to how it all works.  You learn as Kvothe learns.  You experience his losses with him, as well as his triumphs.

The story has some very dark times, but without them, you cannot appreciate the better, lighter moments.  Before picking it up to read again, there were parts of the book that I wasn't looking forward to re-reading, but when I got to those parts, they were still interesting.  I found that my aversion to those parts were more because they were sad.  The writing is so powerful that the impression of sadness stuck with me, even though I didn't realize it at the time.

The Name of the Wind is an epic book.  It dabbles a bit in most types of fantasy, never afraid to stray here or there.  Rothfuss is also not afraid to just skip over the parts he doesn't want to tell, attributing it to Kvothe refusing to tell that bit of the story.  It's a neat and unusual decision, but it works.

Were I to choose any particular weakness found in the novel, I would have to point out the love interest.  Remembering her from my first read, I found her dull and un-worthy of the main character.  Upon re-reading the novel, I started to think that maybe I was wrong, maybe there was more to her than I remembered.  It's interesting how we remember books and such.  I still feel that the girl who has piqued the interest of Kvothe isn't quite what I would have chosen, but Rothfuss knows what he's doing, as he's proven in the novel.

If you're looking for a good book, pick up the Name of the Wind.  There are two books out from the series now.  I do have to warn you that you'll really like them and be frustrated that the next one is possibly years away.  Happy reading!

*Don't judge it based on bards.  It's okay.  Just breath in and out.

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

It seems that the art of making bread is largely lost.  I'm sure there are people that bake bread for the holidays, but it's not something people do on a daily basis.  It's time consuming, and there are so many ready made options that you don't really need to.  I've made banana bread before, and I will again.  Until then, we'll use Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.

While they have their good and bad qualities, the good far outweigh the bad.  First of all, they're easy to make.  Pop them out of the can, roll them up, stick them in the oven, enjoy.  You get the happy bread type smell and have the product in about ten minutes.

If you have a normal size family, you can buy the standard size, which is eight rolls.  If you are just cooking for two, you can find mini cans with only four rolls in them!  That's super because if you don't eat them fresh and hot, they're kind of gross.  Fresh out of the oven, pure awesome.  An hour after dinner, pure yuck.  Either way, you can get a quantity that suits you.

Additionally, they don't just have to be rolls.  You can wrap little cocktail weenies in them and make a neat appetizer.  You can use them to make certain recipes from Pampered Chef.*  I wrapped shredded buffalo chicken and cheese in them one time.  The Pillsbury site has tons of suggestions, and it's kind of fun to mess around with them.

Since making bread isn't something most people do on a daily basis, the Pillsbury options are a good choice to accompany your dinner.  You can even make them the main course, if you should desire to.

*Seriously, you can make a food wreath out of them.  It's amazing.

Scope Outlast

You always hear about how you should brush three times a day and floss.  You don't generally hear that you need to use mouthwash.  I mean, their commercials tell you to, but it doesn't seem to be as important as the first two when you talk to the average person.*  I'm here to tell you that mouthwash is incredibly awesome and useful.

Dentally, I'm not coming from the strongest genes.  I won't go into it here, as it's none of your business.  I will say, however, that teeth in my family fare about as well as Mr. Kitty when I have the hair clippers out.**  Maybe because of the genetic blueprint we were given, my parents really pushed us to take good care of our teeth.  I'm not sure we took them as seriously as we should have.

Nowadays, I worry pretty regularly about my teeth, but I'm pretty much terrified of the dentist.  In an attempt to keep him away, I've warded the house with garlic.  Wait, that's not right.  I've taken to brushing three times daily.  I should use my water pick more often***, but it's messy.  I'm also lazy.

Recently, I've discovered Scope Outlast mouth wash and learned what it can do for me.  You want to know the first thing that attracted me to Scope Outlast?  It was the bottle; it looks like a freakin' potion bottle!  It's like using a mana pot to clean my mouth!

Aside from the cool bottle shape, Scope Outlast has a pretty good flavor and doesn't burn.  I know Listerine is supposed to burn; that means it is working.  Still, I'm not a big fan of pain; it hurts me.  Scope Outlast cleans my whole mouth with little to no pain.  My tongue does burn a bit after I spit it out, which is weird, but I can live with that.

Someday, I hope that the marketers behind mouthwash are as successful as the floss guys in making you realize how useful it is.  I have never been a huge fan, but recently, I've learned to love it.  Now, go brush your teeth, floss, and rinse with Scope Outlast!

*For this exercise, the average person is me.

**I mean they end up a bit weird looking, with normal bits missing.

***It's the water streaming thing that I prefer to use over traditional floss.  It seems whenever I use regular floss, my gums swell.  I'm probably not doing it right.  Either way, the water pick doesn't cause the same trauma.

Pioneer Woman Perfect Pot Roast

Here we are again...about to talk about the Pioneer Woman or rather her pot roast.  For whatever reason, I decided I wanted to make a pot roast a few days ago.  Mark supplied the chuck roast via Sam's Club, and I found the recipe via Google.  It was a good day.  The question is...was it a good recipe?

Let's start with the gathering of ingredients and tools.  Ree suggests using a large stock pot or a Dutch oven for the cooking.  Would you believe that I don't have either of those?  Well, I do have a huge stock pot type pan, but since it is coated, I was worried about whether or not it would work.  As such, we went on the great Dutch Oven Adventure!  Yesterday, we went to both Target and World Market and opted to buy the Lodge brand cast iron Dutch oven.  Today, Mark calls me from Sam's Club to tell me all about the awesome Dutch oven they have there; it's bigger and coated for the same price.  Needless to say, I went about returning and buying a Dutch oven again today.

The ingredients were pretty simple.  Carrots, onions, fresh thyme, and fresh rosemary were all waiting for me at BiLo.*  I also bought the red wine there because you can do that in South Carolina.**  As I previously said, we got the roast itself from Sam's Club because they meat they sell is quite good.

Once I got everything back to the condo, it was time to get organized.

This is me being organized!

After washing my new Dutch oven, I set it to heat.  See, I had to sear the onions, carrots, and meat before they went into the oven.  Let's just say that Ree made it sound much easier than it was.  That oil was hot!  The onions didn't want to stay together.  The carrots didn't want to sear.  The steak was unwieldy.  It had to be seared on each side, and I struggled to do that.

Not pictured: my struggle.

I'm sure it would have been hilarious to anyone watching.  By the time I was done, I think I had used four different utensils.

Seared!

Once the searing was done, I deglazed*** the Dutch oven and started assembling everything in the pot.

Avengers, assemble!

It fit nicely, and I'm glad I upgraded to the larger pot.  I already had the oven ready to go, so I put the pot in and wandered away.  I was given warning not to mess with it, so I didn't.

A little over three hours later, I had put the finishing touches on my amazing mashed potatoes****, and it was time to pull the roast from the oven.

Food!

It smelled great, and both Mark and I were excited.  Would it taste great?  Was it going to be worth the cost?*****

Don't be distracted by the taters.  Focus on the roast!

It was.  It was very, very good.  Mark loved the carrots, while they weren't my favorite.  They were cooked very nicely, but I don't like my carrots cooked with meat.  I'm weird; I know.  The roast came apart beautifully and tasted very good.  The only change I would make would be to listen to Ree more.  She said to salt and pepper the meat a lot, but I got nervous and pulled back.  More salt and pepper would have worked well when I seared the meat.  Still, the roast was great.

After this experience, I'll be checking the Pioneer Woman site for more recipes.  The recipe was easy to follow, expanded my horizons a bit, and was a success.  I won't be making anything else this exciting this week, but I think one cooking adventure a week is enough.

*I got to use one of the cute little carts!  I love them!

**Since I'm not much of a drinker, I wandered around for quite a while trying to find the cheapest acceptable wine.  I knew we wouldn't drink any that was left over, so I found these cute little wine bottles that contained about a cup of wine.  They were shaped like a Guinness cup!  I did have to look it up to make sure the type I was getting was a red wine.  Don't judge me.

***I had heard of the word glaze, but deglazing was a new term for me.  Thanks, Ree!

This is what deglazing looks like!

****They just are.  Trust me on this.

*****After buying the ingredients and the Dutch oven, I figure this whole thing cost around $65.  Granted, most of that was the Dutch oven, but that is still a lot of money.  We do have enough roast to last another five or six meals.