Universal Studios

Last weekend some of Al's family stayed with us before our cruise and we decided to go to Universal Studios. The day got better with us becoming annual pass holders and now we can go ANYTIME we want:)
Yay for Shrek

Al 4 and 5 with Doc from Back To The Future. It was kind of creepy how much that guy really looked like Doc.

The Water World show which was pretty impressive.

KRUSTYLAND
The best picture ever with the random Asian couple. I love Al's face....hahah
A beautiful view of San Fernando valley where we reside.
The studio tour
The Delorean from Back To The Future
A movie set for one of the Fast & Furious movies.A set for a rainstorm and flood. If you are really bored watch the video, it's pretty cool.

A water tank that has been used in several movies, none of which I remember. However I do remember they said it was used for the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer swims in the ocean.
This mini set was used for King Kong which comes out this summer.
JAWS

Wisteria Lane in Desperate Housewives
From the movie Psycho. That creepy guy chases after the train with a knife.
A huge airplane crash......I forgot the movie, lol.
This next picture is funny because those people sitting behind Al's dad aren't supposed to be there. It's supposed to be a photo opp, but people have to sit their lazy butts there and ruin it for everyone else.
FRANKENSTEIN
Fred and Wilma. While taking the picture I quickly realized that my head would look better on Fred and Al's would look better on Wilma
So we switched

The best ride at Universal Studios.....Jurassic Park

After the best ride ever. Lexi and I were a little suprised because we didn't expect to get so wet.

One last picture before we ended the day. If you come to LA and want to go to Universal Studios you should totally call us!!

Before And After

I received great news yesterday that Stacy was staying with us for the night. I've been wanting to reupholster our dining room chairs for awhile and since Al hates Jo-Ann Fabrics and I'm always too indecisive to choose something I knew Stacy would be perfect for this project. Ideally I would like a new table, but since we don't really have a big dining room I figure I should wait until we have a house. Here are the before pictures of the original fabric that I was so sick of looking at.

During our project
Notice my Lakers colors in the next picture. We totally wanted to go down to the Staples Center after the game, but figured the riots could be a little too much. I am from Utah after all.. It's amazing how many people will talk to you when you are wearing Lakers colors. Some lady came up to me at the mall and said "are you wearing purple for the Lakers?" Of course I said and then she proceeded to unbutton her trench coat and show me her Lakers shirt. I just smiled and said Gooooo Lakers!!
We were eating at a restaurant at the mall when the game ended and I've never seen anything like it, honking, screaming, and running around like crazy people. I'm sure alcohol had something to do with it, but we were only in Glendale. I can only imagine what downtown L.A. was like. Way to go Lakers!!

Sorry for that detour....back to the chairs. 10pm on a Thursday night probably isn't the best time to reupholster chairs and it took waaaaay longer than we thought it would. Getting those corners to lay proper was tricky.
This is at midnight.....still smiling and ready to throw the chairs through the window.
AFTER.....finally. I love them. I think they look so much better and now I can stop thinking about getting a new table for a few months:)
Just enjoying one more box of Jr Mints before we go to bed. So good to see you Stacy. Come back soon.

Happy 60th Anniversary

To Hot Dog On A Stick!! For those of you that didn't know today Hot Dog On A Stick was giving away free hot dogs from 5-8pm. What we didn't know is you could order as many as you wanted....lol Al's eyes lit up and he said "I should order 8", but he wasn't greedy and only had 3....lol That's like $10 worth of Hot Dog On A Sticks. If we were really spontaneous we would have drove to Santa Monica and gone to THE ORIGINAL Hot Dog On A Stick, but we settled for our local mall location. Happy Anniversary Hot Dog On A Stick

Descanso Gardens

We have lived 10 minutes from Descanso Gardens for almost a year and just discovered it. Descanso Gardens is a 150 acre botanical garden. It used to be owned by Manchester Boddy who was an interior designer and owned the Los Angeles Daily News. There is a huge mansion you can walk through at the end of the gardens that Boddy used to live in. You can rent it out for weddings and parties, so fun. Everything was so beautiful.
In the rose garden there was an art gallery with artists painting pictures. Megan if you are reading this you should totally come here and paint a picture.
So many beautiful flowers. I wish I knew what they all were:) There is a mini replica of a Diesel train that takes visitors around a small section of the park. Al is lucky it was closed when we left because I totally wanted to ride it.
The flowers I'm standing by in the picture below smelled AMAZING.
I spotted a racoon in one of the rivers. He was tring to catch fish.
The Japanese Garden was my favorite. So pretty and peaceful.

They also had vegetables growing in some areas. I've always wondered how artichokes grow and here is a picture. I was soooo tempted to pick it!! I loved Descanso Gardens and want to go back on Easter weekend when they have an Easter Egg Hunt and tulips are in full bloom.
I made a Corn and Blueberry Salad today, compliments of Better Homes And Gardens. I must say it was pretty amazing since all those blueberries were hand picked by us and all the vegetables were fresh from the Farmers Markets. I highly recommend it!!
Corn & Blueberry Salad

6 ears fresh sweet corn, husked
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 small cucumber, sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped*
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Directions
1. In Dutch oven bring salted water to boiling. Add corn. Cook, covered, 5 minutes, or until tender. When cool enough to handle, cut corn from cobs.

2. In a serving bowl combine corn, blueberries, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeño. For dressing, in screw-top jar combine lime juice, oil, honey, cumin, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cover; shake well to combine. Add to salad; toss. Cover and refrigerate overnight (up to 24 hours). Makes 6 to 8 servings.

3. *Hot peppers, such as jalepeños, contain oils that can burn skin and eyes. Wear plastic gloves when working with them. If using bare hands wash well with soap and water.

Randoms

I have a bunch of random pictures I've been meaning to post, so I will start with the best one first. Ever wonder what brain surgery looks like? Well here is an up close and personal picture of a day at the office for Al. This is one of the many devices Al sells called the brain retractor. If you look closely at the left middle piece, it holds the brain open. Pretty crazy right?Our first softball game last week. I got really bored playing Right Field, so I snapped some pictures of the Verdugo Hills. It's probably one of the coolest softball fields I've played on which is only like 2....hahah
Just doing my job out in Right Field. Al is that dot on the far right. He is by far the best player on our team and I'm not just saying that because he's my husband.
I was hoping there would be some dandelions or something to pick, but no such luck. Good news we won our first game. Only 11 more to go.....Ahhhhhhh
I was going to get our mail the other day and spotted this sign, so funny.
Tonya and Billy were so nice to drive all the way from The OC to Glendale to come see where we live and meet all our Armenian neighbors. We took them to downtown Glendale for some Thai food and Thrifty's ice cream afterwards....Tonya's childhood memory. Dear Tonya & Billy, Please move to California soon. XOXO Whitney
Lastly Lakers Fans. There are a lot of them in LA and if we could afford to buy tickets I might consider being one. I laughed when this jacked up Excursion drove by me on the freeway with his Lakers flag flapping in the wind.