Lupo's Char-Pit Spiedies

"The Original Taste is Only in One Place"

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I have a little secret I've been keeping from my southern friends. Spiedies. Oh, you've heard me mention them, but have you sampled any? Not likely. Lupos Spiedie Sauce, without which one cannot make spiedies, is only found in one tiny part of the US, so when a Yankee friend (read: Rene') brings me a bottle, I stash it away and keep it to myself.
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Sit back and let me tell you about the love of my life.

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These are spiedies. Marinated chunks of meat cooked on a skewer over a grill (preferably beside a pool with a dog nearby). Spiedies ("spiedo" is Italian for "spit") are originally from Italy and can only be found in the US in the Broome County area of New York State, in which, by the grace of God, I happened to be born. In Italy, they use lamb. In NY, it's usually pork or chicken, sometimes lamb or even venison.

To turn chunks of meat into "spiedies," you must have spiedie marinade, which now is sold online, so you Southerners can try 'em out. Get you a bottle. Cut your meat into chunks and place in shallow container. Pour the marinade over the meat. Soak at least overnight - two or three nights make's them better.
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On day two or three, take each chunk and slide it onto a skewer, fill up the skewer and lay them babies on the pre-heated grill beside the pool and the little bobbing dog. Don't over cook them. Once they are slightly browned, toasty and look done, cut one open and make sure there's no pink. When they're done remove from grill and enjoy. I eat them straight up. Most people take a slice of thick Italian bread in their left hand, skewer in the right hand, and squeeze the spiedies tightly in the bread, sliding the whole thing off the skewer. If you like, you can put a little extra marinade (from the bottle, not the raw meat soaking container) onto your sandwich to kick it up a notch. I've never needed to do this. I like to use my sauce sparingly.
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I know you Southerners will want your sweet tea, but we Yankees still drink milk with our meals. (that's what makes us so big and strong and able to do our chores)
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Every month, Lupos on line offers special sales, click here to view.
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The John Lupo story is pretty neat, too, I couldn't find it on their website, so I'll share it here, straight from the back of the bottle:
"Back in 1953, John Lupo invented his now world famous recipe for Lupo's Spiedies. Initially, John opened a meat market where he sold his Spiedie meat. In 1966, with the dawn of the fast food industry, Lupo's Char-Pit was born - a drive-in restaurant specializing in charcoal-broiled Spiedies. John always joked he needed to have someplace for his five children to work. In 1975, with John's untimely passing, the tradition was handed down to his five children."

Helpful Hints: Reading your Medical Chart

Guest Writer: The Cheap Senior Citizen

One of the drawbacks in becoming a Senior Citizen is the increased medical problems and trips to the doctor. Doctors tend to talk on one level with their patients and another level with their nurses and peers, always causing me to wonder what exactly they aren't telling me.
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Well I'm happy to announce that I have managed to break the code. With great stealth and superior sleuthing worthy of a Perry Mason episode, I have discovered the meaning behind some of the codes marked on patient files at your average doctor's office.
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ESCS - Early Senior Citizen Status [you get lots of mail from AARP, but you don't yet qualify for discounts on senior citizen day at Kohl's]
ESCS2ATWM m- Early Senior Citizen Status to the 2nd degree Almost Totally Worthless Mind
ALSHEIMER* - All Likely Sorting of Highly Essential Information Might Exit Repeatedly
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* I know, the doctor misspelled this, but think about this: the reason you can't read a doctor's handwriting is to cover up the fact that they cannot spell!
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....and one more thing......
uh, I'll get back to you when I remember it.
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The Cheap Senior Citizen is a Guest Writer who occasionally shares helpful hints she has learned through her vast experience.

EWC 2010 Round 3, Husaberg Video

I've been keeping an eye on the Enduro World Champsionship across the pond. Still nothing like the Dakar, but a little something to watch between Dakars.


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Check in with my friends at The Race Shop for all your Husaberg needs.

Seinfeld Scene It? Yada, Yada, Yada

We played our first round of Seinfeld Scene It? on Eden's 21st birthday. She and I knew going in that Tom and Tommy would be impossible to beat, but secretly I was betting Eden knew a lot more than she let on. I thought of her as my ace in the pocket and secretly thought girls might beat boys. (we didn't) (Yes, mom, I see I need new decor' pillows) {{{blushing}}
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To play the game, you first select a DVD master, the one who will control the buttons, usually the alpha male. We chose Tommy because he knows how to operate the dvd player. DVD Master will then choose the short or long version of the game; you are at his mercy.
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Then, my favorite part, each player choses their token. You can select from: Cigar Store Indian, Chinese TakeOut Box, Jerry's Puffy Shirt, and a big box of cereal. I chose the puffy shirt.
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When it's your turn, roll the 8 sided dice and move that many squares (circles really). Read the challenge of that square and do what it says. It may be something just for you or it may be open to everyone on an "all play."
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You may have to watch a snippet on the dvd and answer a question or you may have a trivia question. Your activity might focus on "details" of the show, or "dialogue" -- who said what or what comes next, or "yada, yada, yada" which focuses on pop culture surrounding the show.

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We had a lot of laughs recalling old Seinfeld shows. Tom and Tommy still watch Seinfeld reruns almost every night, so they will be hard to beat. But when they come out with a Gilmore Girls Scene It, I guarantee you I'll win the game.
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Social Media and Event Planning #smbclt

I set my site on Charlotte and headed North on I-77 for a Social Media Charlotte breakfast (#smbclt) and panel discussion about using social media in event planning. I was hoping to learn a little something that would help in my work primarily with Charlotte-based TroutU -- maybe they can sponsor a flyfishing expo or flyfishing twitter meet-n-greet, some sort of event, but I also knew I'd learn a little more about using social media for a variety of my other customers and, I admit, I wanted to do a little networking. I'm a member of Social Media Columbia and I wanted to schmooze a little with my twitter friends in Charlotte. I met a lot of great, friendly, helpful people.
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The panel consisted of Wayne Sutton (@waynesutton), the passionate "Technology Evangelist" from the Raleigh-Durham area. Wayne's currently buzzing about a little sump-sumpthin' called TriOut.
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Also on the panel, Jason Keath (@jakrose) from New York, NY, founder of SoFresh, excellent one-day conferences.

Ted Boyd, Charlotte's @GreenMarketGuy also served on the panel. Ted manages and promotes uptown Charlotte events.
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And the final panelist: Nathan Richie (@nathanrichie), Social Media Breakfast CLT's chairman and all around Trade Show Guru who, upon seeing my caffeine-fueled social media passion and vibrancy, quickly misidentified me as a morning person, something he most likely won't repeat.
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Also I want to give a shout out to Becca Bernstein (@beccabernstein), hostess extraordinaire and fellow Content Developer who validated my parking pass, I am forever in her debt. Great event, Becca, thanks for all your work.
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Enjoy the following snippets, quotes and tweets from the breakfast meeting. There's some good stuff here to help you utilize social media in planning your next event, such as, say, my birthday?
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Social Media has changed the playing field for Event Planning. On the one hand, you are already overworked preparing for an event & feel like you can't possibly put any time into social media. Or perhaps you are one of those running around piously or ignorantly saying “I don't have time for twitter or facebook, I have to work.” On the other hand, if you're not utilizing social media, you're making your job a lot harder, why don't you just beat your head against your office wall a few times a day.
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Tip #1: Get Started Early

1. Start thinking about social media long before you start other preparations for the event
Find like-minded people on twitter to get the word out, draw them in on the planning process. These are "Brand Champions" of "Members of Influence," people who can "get the word out." This core group will tweet and blog about the event and get the buzz out for you. Having a good team here is crucial.
2. Invest, on a personal level, in this select group. Build a relationship, don't let the conversation die, talk with them every day.
3. Advertise. Google and FaceBook ads can be modified in several different ways, you can direct your ads to just people local to the event or to people with like interests, you can zero in on people who have visited particular websites, you can almost hand-pick who sees your ad. Take advantage of this. Use an ad in cities that you aren't well-connected in.

Tip #2: Use Your Members of Influence
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This requires organization and strategy.
1. Have a place for them to pull everything together -- Website, FaceBook, Evite, TriOut, Guestlist, Twitvite, etc. You want a central site with all the details, so you don't spend time repeating conversations with each person.
2. Plan with purpose. Wayne said he has found that some parts of the country (west coast) use facebook for events more than others, such as the Raleigh-Durham area, which is using TriOut more. Pick the social media that event locals are using.
3. Personalize the strategy for each event. Some event materials you can duplicate and some you can't (hashtags), you may have to tweak your "Members of Influence" or landing pages, find people who are either local to the event or passionate about the subject, this may vary per event.

Tip #3: Strategize

• Have a strategy and an ability to track your results.
• What is your goal for the event?
• How do you measure it?
• How will you aggregate the content?
• What will be an effective hashtag?
• Should you incorporate social gaming?
  

Tip #4: Hashtags

• Help with marketing and promo
• Aggregate content
• Find people with like interest in different cities, build a community relevant to your industry or product
• Use as a customer service tool - monitor attendee experience
• Helpful for physical navigation during the event
• Useful for pulling all the info. back to review after event
• Collect user information, track your demographics
• On-site communication, everybody's walking around events now tweeting
• Informative, convenient and generous for people at home who could not attend the event

Tip #5: Reward Your Customer
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Play trivia on twitter using your hashtag and offer prizes. Use social gaming -- big right now is Foursquare. Issue foursquare badges and points. Points can earn them a hot dog or drink or something. Event check-in can earn them a badge and points can be earned setting up a booth, etc.
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Final Advice:
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• Everybody has a network on some level; you just have to be creative how you utilize it.
• The personal touch – investing in people, building relationships is too crucial to ignore. If you ignore your customer, I guarantee you, someone else won't.
• If you're doing a small, intimate event, make it feel big to everyone who came. If it's a big event, make it feel small.

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Social Media Tools:

Jason Keath's 14 Essential Social Media Tools for Event Planning.

Columbia, SC: Saluda River

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Tom and I got out on the Saluda River this past weekend, thanks to the generous guys at TroutU who loaned us their canoe for the summer. I took a lot of photos and created a video (at end of post) specifically for TroutU to determine if they'd like to review the Saluda for the Streams area of their website. The video is boring, nothing happens, no fish are caught, but it should help TroutU and other fishers determine if they want to fish the Saluda.
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After paying the $4 per car park entrance fee, we put in at Saluda Shoals Park off Bush River Rd. in Irmo.

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By putting in here, we could slowly float/paddle our way from Saluda Shoals Park to right above I-20, the bridge from which we both always look longingly at the water as we cross. It was very satisfying for both of us to be on this end of the view this time.
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Putting in at Saluda Shoals also offered us the advantage of a safe place to leave our truck and trailer, a recommendation of the water levels and flow for the area to be paddled, and a shuttle to get us and the canoe back to our truck. All of which are very nice conveniences. The Park offers shuttle service ($10), canoe and kayak rentals and guided trips or unguided trips. This is an excellent park, it offers a whole lot more, too, other activities like horse riding, and {{snicker}} a doggie park. Remember this doggie park? Well apparently, SC is all kind of citi-fied now.
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But I digress. Back to important stuff. Like.. fishing. The Park also offers a Fisherman's Pass, a 12-month pass ($65 Resident, $83 Non Resident) which allows 24-hour access to the park.
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Oh, OKAY, you dog lovers, there's also a Barking Lot Pass ($40R/$53NR), but it's not for 24-hour availability and it's for well-mannered canines. (Luckily, the well-mannered stipulation isn't specified for the Fisherman's Pass) Along the river, we saw a large, beautiful, peaceful looking place with swings and rockers overlooking the river, a playground, swimming pool, and steps that led down to the water, but we couldn't figure out what it was. A sign said it was for "Residents and Invited Guests." (Ladies Retreat, anyone??) There weren't very many houses along the route, just a few fishing shacks like this cute and adorable one.
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The river was Quiet, it was easy to forget we were smack in the middle of a city of 130,000 people. Along the route, Tom showed me where Lowe's or Walmart would be just on the other side of the trees, but I couldn't hear the angry moms and screaming children or anything, it was amazing. It felt like we were up in the mountains. Tom found a place to pull over and anchor so we could have our picnic lunch. He got out of the boat and explored a little, I did not. The river banks are pretty much steep, muddy and overgrown, nothing about that appealed to me. "They" (Columbia? Lexington? Irmo? SC?) are building a paved trail to connect Saluda Shoals with the paved trail that runs along the canal at RiverFront Park. Bascially, that trail would run right along the area of river that we paddled and as Tom walked around, he found evidence of this trailblazing. That will be an awesome trail.
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Technology has intruded upon this quiet little stretch of river. Tom had his new backpacking gps and was mapping our trail, which is cool, but then he also received two phone calls (one of which was from a TroutU Professor checking in on our scouting endeavors).

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And I spotted this fisherman with his phone tucked between his ear and shoulder while he was fishing. I was kind of impressed he could do that. Then unimpressed because he couldn't get away from it all.

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I'm sure my son and brother will be taking the canoe to Saluda soon; by the way, the guys we saw fishing were looking for Striper and Trout. I want to return to the river with a group, that'd be fun. Also I want to return to Saluda Shoals and take Eva to the Splash Zone. Our little jaunt took 2 hours at a leisurely pace.

Here's the video, but really, it's quite boring and not up to TroutU's high quality standards, so don't blame them, it was my lousy camera and poor editing skills. Now go on out and get some fresh air!

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Drivin' A Truck With My High Heels On

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Several of you have asked about all my tweets and fb posts about driving my truck with my high heels on...... the Weird Al song that kept playing in my head for days.
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I borrowed my daughter's truck for a few days and buzzed up to Charlotte for a Social Media Charlotte meeting and while I was there I met up with TroutU''s Professor Jerry who graciously loaded this canoe to my truck.
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I then dragged this canoe through Charlotte traffic and down into Columbia for a meeting with some Carhartt Reps for another customer, Tyler Brothers.
It was a lovely sight - me pulling into the Hilton Garden Inn in this raggedy old truck and canoe get-up. But hey, it goes well with the Carhartt Lifestyle Image.
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We're going to paddle down the Saluda today.
Take it to Brevard and DuPont State Park soon.
And paddle around Congaree Swamp before we return the canoe.
Anyplace else we should go?

The Race Shop: Husaberg, KTM, Beta

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The Race Shop in Alpharetta, Georgia, within a stone's throw of Atlanta, is proud to announce the acquisition of their new domain www.TheRaceShop.com. Broadstreet Consulting has converted the domain from the previous www.AtlantaRaceShop.com to www.TheRaceShop, which holds true to the name of the business.
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James Embro opened The Race Shop in 2008 near Norcross, GA, to "specialize in Husaberg motorcycles -- from sales, service and parts, all the way to putting together adventure and training rides." Embro is passionate about Enduro and saw a need for an east coast source of quality, exotic, Dakar-worthy bikes. Embro partnered with Broadstreet Consulting in 2009 to build a website that would further promote the sport and share his passion with like-minded riders. Within two years, the business had to move to a larger location at 5665 Shirlee Industrial Way, Alpharetta, GA. and Broadstreet Consulting is currently in the process of expanding The Race Shop website to include online sales and products.
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In addition to providing Husaberg, KTM and Beta service, parts and bikes, The Race Shop has a racing team that participates in various Enduros, Hare Scrambles and Dual Sport Rallys, including SORCS, SE&TRA, GNCC, NASA and more.

They often go west for the Best in the Desert (BITD) fun, especially the Vegas-To-Reno run. The Race Shop has a support truck that goes with them. The support truck is tricked out with Blazin' Belltech aluminum storage products that utilize every inch of space in the truck. The truck carries a little bit of everything so if you're out on the trail and need some extra parts, look for The Race Shop truck and they'll be glad to help you out.

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I began working in the Content Development Dept. of Broadstreet Consulting a few years back when they began developing the site for The Race Shop. I guess it was my passion and "wanna-be" history with motorcycles that landed me this job. Working for Broadstreet has been the best work of my life, I love it. Creating new websites involves meeting people in a variety of businesses, all of whom are passionate about what they do, and it involves constantly learning about interesting people and events. I'm mostly a writer, but truly....

I'm a purveyor of information.

I find cool stuff and pass it on. I travel near and far to introduce you to new worlds. I am passionate about it and try to pass that on to others. However.... sometimes.... the travel wears me out.

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And now, my friend, I'm off to Charlotte's Epicentre for a 7:30 am Social Media breakfast. You know how much I love Charlotte. I love the hustle and bustle of a weekday morning, this will be great, but I have to wonder: Why the Epicentre in the morning? It's a nightlife party kind of place -- boots n bikinis -- which I'm sure they don't want me to participate in. I can't wait to report back to you what the Epicentre is like at dawn, as I tip-toe around the sleeping drunks.

Port Charlotte, FL: Edgewater United Methodist Church

We found a great little church when we were visiting Tom's family in Port Charlotte recently. Edgewater United Methodist, 19190 Cochran Blvd. Sat. Contemporary: 6 pm, Sunday Contemporary: 9:30 and 11. Sunday Traditional: 8 am. 941.625.3039. If you go to their website, check out their ministries.
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We went to the Sunday contemporary at 9:30. This little church is in an old movie theatre, very, very cool. In one theatre, they have the traditional service and leave everything set up. It is traditional Methodist and has lots of candelsticks and formal objects that I know nothing about since I'm a Baptist, but lots of gold and velvety material and the pastor wears a robe. And maybe a crown? Hat? Not sure.
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I popped in a big room with coffee and snacks, most excellent. I then went in the contemporary theatre whereupon I discovered that old theatres make dreamy sanctuaries. Stadium seating so everyone can see. Comfy, cushiony seats. Drinkholders (!!).
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On this particular Sunday, the pastor spoke about the Prodigal Son story (Luke 15:25-32, Romans 5:10), posing these initial questions:

1. What is your understanding of lostness?
2. What are the signs of lostness?
3. What can we do about it?

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What is lostness?
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Instead of immediately discussing the lostness of the lost son, we examined the lostness of the older son who never left home. His righteousness keeps him lost. Both sons wanted to control the father's things. The analogy of the parable is that we, of course, are the sons and God is the Father. We can derive two ways to be lost, apart from God, to be our own Lord:

1. By keeping all the rules
2. By breaking all the rules

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By keeping all the rules, Jesus isn't your savior, you are. You think you earn salvation, you feel that God owes you.

Signs of Lostness (for self diagnosis, not to elbow the guy next to you)
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1. Deep Anger. You feel you deserve something better or different.
2. A Joyless, Mechanical Obedience. It's a duty, a means to an end.
3. A Coldness Towards Younger-Son Types. Self-righteous, non graceful, mericless attitude.
4. A Lack of assurance of the Father's love. You will never be sure if you're good enough.
5. An Unforgiving, Judgmental Spirit.
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What to do about this spiritual condition?
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1. Know and understand the difference. The younger son knew he was lost. The older son didn't know he was lost. Most self-righteous people don't understand the lack of value in their self-righteousness.
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2. Get a fresh perspective of this story. Jesus was telling this story to His mortal enemies, that they have fundamentally misunderstood everything, yet Jesus was loving and tender. God is loving and forgiving to the repentant, even to the self-righteous. He is a God of second, third, fourth.... chances, reminding us that the angels rejoice when just one sinner turns in repentance.

Miss You, Will!

The Summer Sundays at the Slikers Series has resumed. Sadly, we found ourselves Will-less. Will is doing well and pursuing life, it's a bitter sweet kind of thing.
I love Summer! I laced a special treat throughout the movie just to annoy you. See if you can find it. - Enjoy!

Click here to see Summer Sundays Series of the past.
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Helpful Hints: Understanding Today's Computer Terminology

by our Guest Writer, the "Cheap Senior Citizen."
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Today's Senior Citizen must be computer savvy. He or she must have a few email accounts, a twitter and facebook profile, maybe a Linked In account and, although this scares us to the very core, we must at least try to do online banking. But before you can do any of those, you have to learn the lingo. This exciting period in technology history has entered a whole new set of terms into our dictionaries, which we no longer have in book form since we have dictionaries online now, but if we did have a dictionary made of paper, it would include the following new terms.
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You will find, as I did with much surprise, that today's computer terms are peculiarly common among Senior Citizens. And because I'm an outstanding leader in this age of computers and this age group in general, I have defined the terms for those of you who haven't quite grasped them yet.
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Windows: What old geezers look out of in the Winter to see if their Social Security check has arrived.
Windows7: How many times old geezers look out in the Winter to see if their Social Security check has arrived.
Screen: What old geezers look out of in the Summer to see if their Social Security check has arrived.
Byte: Catchin' dinner when the Social Security check hasn't arrived.
Modem: What you do in the hay fields to get extra fiber even when the Social Security check has arrived.
Log-On: What you do to the fire to get heat when your Social Security check hasn't arrived.
Down-Load: Getting the firewood off the truck. [Download-er isn't a real term, but it is getting the firewood off the ground where you dropped it.]
Megahertz: When you're not careful getting the firewood, such as when the firewood downloaded on your toe.
Floppy Disk: What you get from trying to download too much firewood. [A Non Floppy Disk is what you go to the chiropractor for.]

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....and one more thing......
uh, I'll get back to you when I remember it.
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The Cheap Senior Citizen is a Guest Writer who occasionally shares helpful hints she has learned through her experience.

Letters To Juliet: A Review

Letters to Juliet should have been corny, cheesy, but they pulled it off spectacularly. Predictable? YES, but enjoyably so. And the cheesy parts? Exaggerated (brilliant!) as if making a point: it's cheesy! (leaving you thinking: .... but it could happen!?)
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I want to be Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) when I grow up. Claire has aged well, but she's aged indeed and she's not trying to hide it. She is graceful, stylish, serene. Not dottering or angry. At 15, Claire found true love but didn't have the faith for it. It seemed reckless, too good to be true, so she bolted, leaving Lorenzo standing alone, waiting for her. Claire then married the person she was expected to marry and they had a reasonable, well-balanced life til death (his) did they part.
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Then Sophie came on the scene. You'll remember Sophie from Mama Mia, she was Sophie there, too. Movie crossovers - I love 'em!! They narrow the gap between virtual, make believe worlds and real worlds, why not blend the two for pity's sake?
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Sophie (Amanda Seyfried - Mama Mia, Dear John), an engaged young woman herself, is in Italy with her man who is very much ignoring her, caught up in his own life. Sophie finds Claire's ancient break-up letter to Lorenzo, the boy she ditched at 15. Sophie writes Claire and the two meet and begin recklessly searching for Lorenzo, 50 years after Claire last saw him, much to the chagrin of Claire's devoted, elitist, fine-mannered and wildly handsome grandson (Christopher Egan). Sparks fly between said grandson and the betrothed Sophie. (did I mention predictable?)
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Can you rekindle an old flame? Would you allow your 65-year old grandmother to chase after an old dream with possible, probable, heartbreak at the end?
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What if you had a second chance to find true love?

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I have been counting down the days for this movie to open. If I was a true romantic, I would have been at the 12:01 am showing. I'm sure I would be.... if I was 65. I'm going to be like that. But today, I had to work. And I was tired. And I'm in the busy-ness of a middle-aged marriage.
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What did I want from this movie? I wanted to roam the beautiful hills of Tuscany. I wanted to meander through the old cobblestone alleys of Italy, to sit at an outdoor cafe' and feel the furious, passionate Italian language swirl around me, I wanted to curl up in happiness and imagination. The movie delivered.
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Written by Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan, directed by Gary Winick (Bride Wars, 13 Going on 30).
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One to watch: Gael Garcia Bernal who played Victor, Sophie's distracted finance'. Bernal's been in a ton of films, mostly foreign, none of which were wildly successful among American audiences. He began his career in a Mexican soap opera. For real. But keep your eye on him, I think he's just launched. He was hilarious and believable. I loved him even though he was totally self-focused and had no clue about his girlfriend. That's good acting.
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PS. Vanessa Redgrave (Mrs. Dalloway)? At 73 years of age, she's in the midst of four other films, three of which will be released in 2010, the other in 2011. She's unstoppable. When art beckons, she must respond. That is why I want to be Vanessa Redgrave when I grow up.
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Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the Princess
It's a love story, baby just say yes.

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- Love Story, Taylor Swift

Dadgummit. I'm a stupid romantic girly girl.

Disney Magic Kingdom Tips

We did it, Disneyland, in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a financial disaster - closed and forgotten within the first year. - Walt Disney

For Eva's fifth birthday, we took her to Disney World. This was my fourth time to Disney so I wasn't totally ignorant of the value of strategic planning for a successful trip. But when a friend heard we were spending only one day at Magic Kingdom and offered up some helpful tips, I was impressed. The tips were fantastic and thus I will now pass them on to you. But first... the video.
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1. Go Early. The park opens at 9:00. 90% of parkgoers will arrive at 8:30. Plan to arrive at 7:30. You'll get a great parking spot, ride the monorail over without a wait, buy your ticket without a wait and be standing in line at 8:30 with the first fifty to enter the park. It's a pleasant 30 minute wait. At 8:55 a welcome show begins and you are in an excellent position. The characters, including Mickey and the various Princesses will come in on a train to welcome you to the Park, the excitement level is off the charts.

Gates open at 9:00.
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Go in, rent a double stroller on your left, purchase an autograph book if you haven't already done so, and proceed to your favorite ride. Because of traffic and long monorail & ticket lines, you have until 11:00 before the other 90% of parkgoers are fully in the park. Be aggressive, don't spend your time shopping.

2. Rent a Double Stroller. You are wondering why the double stroller. Disney lets you bring soft coolers and backpacks into the park. Take a large soft cooler full of drinks and lots of water. Take a backpack full of snacks.
The double stroller ($30 in 2010) will carry these items for you, as well as one kid and you will have a kid who wants to ride a lot, regardless of their age. The stroller will also carry all your purchases and it has two drink holders, so it'll carry your drink, too. It's a marvelous invention. Strollers are parked outside the rides and nobody messes with your stuff.
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3. Do the Fast Pass. The popular, really busy rides have a Fast Pass entry. Go ahead of time, punch your ticket and you'll be assigned a time to return and get on the ride with almost no wait. Don't zig-zag all over the park to do it and wear yourself out, but be strategic and take advantage of it when possible.

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4. Take a Break. This can be difficult to do, but trust me, take a break from 12-2 or 1-3 or more. The Park is at its peak with crowds, the sun is high and hot. You've been there 3-4 hours and your feet hurt. You're grumpy. You're saying bad things about the mouse. Turn in your stroller, keep your receipt so you can get another one at no charge when you return and walk away. Go to your air conditioned motel, nap, eat lunch, swim, whatever. Return to the park refreshed at 3 or 4, you'll feel the excitement you had at 9:00.
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While other kids are screaming, parents tempers flying, they are hot and sweaty, you are totally refreshed and having a great time.
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The park will come alive and seem new all over again.
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5. Ask for Character Schedules. Go to the information desk and ask where and what time would you be most likely to see Snow White or Pinnochio or Woody or whomever. There are scheduled times and rooms to visit, but then there are also places where they tend to "hang out" and surprise you. If you can't ask at the info. booth, ask various employees, some will know and some won't, keep asking.
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6. Birthdays. If you are celebrating a birthday, as Eva was, you can get a Birthday pin to wear around. There is a limited quantity of these, so that's another reason to go early. You can get your pin outside the gates before the park opens at the little info. booth. The pin will have your name on it and just about every park employee you see will say "Happy Birthday Eva!" The most impressive time for us was when we got on the ferry. As we boarded, Eva saw the captain up in his little room. She waved. He waved. Then he boomed over the loud speakers "Happy Birthday, Eva!" She was so proud.
Then, after we set sail, he came down and presented her with a ring, set with a glittering pink gem, and he put it on her finger.
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As he walked away Eva sighed, "I'm never taking this ring off." (I think it was gone within 2 hours)
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Those are all the tips I have, they came from a guy named Ron who goes to Disney every year. Thanks, Ron!
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Oh, here's a little tip. You take the autograph book around for all the characters and princesses to sign and each page has a sleeve for a photo. If you take your own photos for this, take them landscape instead of portrait. I took most of mine portrait (see to the right) and then I noticed the autograph book sleeves are made for a landscape layout.
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A warning. I had no idea how devastating the Day After Disney would be to a five year old.
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Eva woke up the next day, jumped out of bed, pulled me down to her level and nearly shouted "What are we going to do today?!!!" When I told her our plans, she burst into tears.
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Be prepared. Nothing can compare to Disney.
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You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality. - Walt Disney

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Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
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We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have fun- together.
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If you can dream it, you can do it.

I believe in being an innovator.
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- Walt Disney

Cupcake, Columbia, SC - Take 3

OK, my hungry little readers, we did it again. We nabbed some more cupcakes from Cupcake and tried a few new flavors for you. I am happy to report that this trip, my friend, this report will definitely save you some time and money: We found a cupcake we don't like. No point wasting your hard earned money.
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It's that innocent looking one down in the bottom right-hand corner. A pleasant little chocolate cupcake with a hideous peanut butter frosting and a delightful little Reese's peanut butter cup adorning the top. This poor thing. When we had completed our taste-tests, 30% of this cupcake remained on the table uneaten. Nobody wanted to finish it off.
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If you read no further, Read This: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake is to die for. 2nd only to the unforgettable Turtle, which holds the #1 reigning title.
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Today's Flavors: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, Red Velvet, Lemon Blueberry and Chocolate Peanut Butter (which is probably really fine if you like peanut butter a lot).
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I was looking forward to the Blueberry Lemon for awhile now and was so disappointed, but I should have known it wouldn't be my fave: I don't like fruity cupcakes.
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Fruity muffins: Good.

Fruity Cupcakes: Bad.

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So here's Bob, we dragged him into this cupcake taste test because it was Tom's birthday and he said Bob had to do whatever Tom wanted him to do. Drum roll, please. The results:
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Tom's Ranking:

1. Lemon Blueberry. (but maybe it's his fave because it was the first one he sampled?)
2. Red Velvet
3. Peanut Butter
4. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Bob's Ranking:

1. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
2. Lemon Blueberry
3. Red Velvet
4. Peanut Butter

Valerie's Ranking:

1. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
2. Red Velvet
3. Lemon Blueberry
4. Peanut Butter

Click here for our review of Key Lime, Peach, Chocolate and Turtle (a #1).

Click here for our review of French Toast, Double Chocolate Lemon, Tuxedo and Strawberry.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to the Gooviest Mom of all. In school, everybody wanted my mom to sub. Years later, when I got on Facebook, all the old friends I reacquainted with just wanted to know about mom, how is she? what's she doing? she was so much fun! and all that. So really, mom, this Happy Mother's Day greeting comes from everyone, not just me, I'm sure. You're the bomb.

Teacher Appreciation Week: Kathy Sliker

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What's really, really cool this year is that my sister-in-law graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University's college of Education last week -- Teacher Appreciation Week.
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And while I think it may be a little weasely of me, I want to recognize her on this Teacher Appreciation Week, when I know I should fully support the poor, struggling, exhausted teachers who've been in the trenches already. Kath, said sister-in-law, has only taught two years (internships) and is currently seeking a job in the budget-cut public schools, but her passion is at, what will probably be, it's peak.
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You get a glimpse of her personality here in her cap, dress and shoes. Kind of a "live out loud!!" kind of person, fully engaged in life.
She's 40, did I mention that? She entered the College of Education 7 years ago. While being educated, she's been working and raising a son.
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So if I want to appreciate her this special week, I think it's called for, weasely or not.
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We crossed the Caloosahatchie River and arrived at the Arena in Ft. Myers a little before showtime. Here's Kath doing her diva impression while her son, Kelly is pointedly indicating he's not interested in carrying her purse & her brother, Tom, is loving his man-purse & not the least bit ashamed. At least he's gonna have reading materials and water during the 4 hour event.
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Our seats were fairly close to Kath, far from the stage. There was about 45 minutes pre-show in which we could squirm and chat and watch the graduates chatter excitedly. At first the graduates sat in their assigned seats quietly while we waited, then gradually they began chatting and moving around. After snapping a few photos with our zoom lenses, we were just sitting there when Kath got up to move. I nudged Kelly hard, "Target's on the move!!" and like good paparazzi, we yanked our cameras back up to eye level and due to my alertness, we caught her chatting with this friend.
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Kathleen Marie Sliker graduated from the College of Education, Cum Laude. She was something like 1/100th of a point from being Summa Cum Laude.
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Kath was somewhere around grauduate #731 out of around 1,000 to cross the stage, so our minds wandered a bit while other names were called. Some, however, grabbed our attention, such as:

A girl named Shasta
A boy with the last name Funk. Mr. Funk.
F. J. Fedorczyk (how would you say that?)
V. Ziajka (go ahead, say it)
N. Menendez (fun, fun, I love saying that)
J. Louwsma (what?)
R. Squicciarini (double what??)
K. Winklepleck (I'm using that one at restaurants)
V. Klein-Wischebrink (she's probably OCD)
D. Juchnowicz (must sound like a sneeze)
M. Veniaminovna Grebenshikova
B. S. Abbondandolo
L. Yunck (I am so using that one, too)
C. Divirgilio
and let's not forget:
Marielys Del Carmen Figueroa Sierra
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In this last picture, I thought Kelly was gaining a Boy Scout merit badge by "helping an old lady across the street," but Kath said he was saying
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"I'm so proud of you, mom!"

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PS. If I picked on your name here, it was done so totally with love (and a smidgen of boredom)

Nashville, TN: The Little Church of Love

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:3-5

• Do you remember who you once where?
• How bad it was?
• Why do we forget that?

What is it about us that doesn't allow us to remember the crap we were living in before coming to Christ?

And yet..... we run to that, right back to it, over and over again.

Alive.

What does that mean to you?
God gave you life, action, animation, do you feel it?
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Why do we act so dead? Cynical, tired people, using terms like "through the mill" and "end of my rope." -

This is the message we received from this loving little church in Nashville. (Ha! and you thought those words above were my own brilliance, no, they are notes I took from a sermon) This church is a branch off a big, downtown church, started in the historic Trinity Episcopal Church building on Lafayette Street near the artsy Belmont University. Being near Belmont, we suspected the congregation would be young, ecclectic. They were.

I wanted to chain this little church to the back of my car and take it home with me. I fell in love with these people.
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We got a cup of coffee in the back, made our way to a seat down front and listened while the band set up.

After sweet worship, the pastor entered and it seemed to me he had a bubble of love around him much like the bubble of dust around PigPen, the Charlie Brown character. I kept thinking of Toby Mac's lyrics "When love is in the house, the house is packed...." Love most definitely was in this house..
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The pastor introduced John, a young artist from their downtown location.
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John's role was to draw on a white board as the Pastor spoke, just draw and doodle whatever came to his mind as the Pastor talked. I have never in my life seen that in a church and it spoke (screamed) to my doodling, journalistic self, I loved it. (That's the pastor down front, sitting down with styrofoam cup of coffee, hand on cheek) By then John had doodled a self-portrait of himself doodling a self-portrait of himself doodling.....
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Colossians 2. The Pastor wanted to talk about two Pauline concepts:

• Redemption
• Restoration

One, he said, we talk about a lot & one we hardly think about. Many of us have the mistaken theology that if we look deep inside ourselves, we can find our flaws and fix them -- If we can find our way out, then we can fix it & we can get a grip on our problems. (which very commonly results in our walking right back into our prisons)
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In Colossians 2:13, Paul reminds you of what you were before you came to Christ -- Finding yourself dead in your sins and God making you alive in Christ. He indicates in Ephesians 2:1,2 that it is almost like being under a spell, rendering you totally unable to respond to God. It's important to understand the deadness, how deep the sin to understand how great the mercy, how great the Life.
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And that brings us back to the top of this post, where I began: What does aliveness look like? It is NOT your weakness, your faults, your sins. Sin or weakness -- or your worst trait -- is not the defining thing about you, yet that's how most of us define each other. Oh, he's a ______ or she's a _______.

• Is that why Christ died?
• Is that what aliveness looks like? To keep bringing up the past, our failures?
• Do you think you are unloveable?
• Is it love that makes you alive?

What animates us as believers, this breathing of life into us? This love that Christ brings? Even though we think "How in the world could you love me?"
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The work of Christ on the cross is what makes us alive, that puts life into dead men and women. Don't you ever think it's your personal work that did it. If your personal work did it, then your personal failings could un-do it and that's just not true.
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Then, as if the doodling on the white board wasn't enough to make me feel understood, then, people, during the altar call, the pastor instructed us to "pray, sing, journal, whatever it is you feel led to do right now......" Journal?!!! My jaw dropped. This is the first person in the world who gets me. I journaled, you know it. It's the altar call -- people are singing, praying and I felt complete ease & acceptance to journal. I'm alive and my heart was moved, my heart's desire was to journal, capture it, ponder it. My heart was moved and nobody thought I was weird. I love that little church.