Pure Awesomeness

Here we go again. Thanks, Fresno!

Want to Play?

Anyone feel like joining me in a meaty game of foosball?

Jury Duty

On Tuesday I went downtown because I was summoned for jury duty. Yippy Skippy. The fog was heavy that morning and so was the mood in the jury waiting room. We were told the case would last about two weeks. Uh. I could practically see the wheels turning inside every head in the room, trying to figure out how they'd get out of this one. Fortunately for me I didn't have to do a thing. When the judge was ready, the jury room employees ran our names through the computer and called about 80 people from the group of 100. My name was not on that list. Rad! So they read our names from the short list, told us we had fulfilled our obligation and were free to go. Whew. Best jury duty ever.

Hobby Lobby

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new Hobby Lobby in Visalia since last year when they announced it would be replacing the empty Mervyn's building in the Sequoia Mall. This Hobby Lobby is the first to open in California. My first impression of it, besides being huge, is that there are tons of home decor items in there. Knick knacks, mirrors, silk flowers, frames, reproduction art, candles...stuff like that. They also sell craft materials and tools, party supplies, fabric, and Christian-themed gifts. I wish there were more craft aisles, but who knows, maybe they'll add them in someday.

Interesting fact: they don't use scanners at the register. Every item in the store has a PRICE TAG and the cashier has to manually enter that price when you go to check out. The receipt has no mention of what you bought, just the price. Weird and old fashioned, huh? For such a big and new store, I'd say so.

One more interesting fact: they are not open Sundays so don't make plans to shop there then.

It's hard for me to say what this store is like. I'd say maybe a combination of Jo-Ann, Michaels, Party City and (cheap) Home Goods with some Christian book store thrown in to top it off?

Hobby Lobby was busy on the Friday afternoon we went to check it out. It's a good addition to Visalia and I'm sure will be successful there. I know I'll pay them another visit next time I'm in town. 

Um...here's another one

Like before, this sign is from a school in an award-winning district. The pathetic part about this one is that it's not a sign that changes periodically and it probably was not assembled by a 4th grader. The letters are not stickers. They are printed or burned or whatever-the-process-is-to-make-such-a-sign-ed so this mistake is there for the long haul. My walk today was the first time I've noticed it. I wonder how long it's been there and I wonder how long it'll remain...? Is it possible that the person who made the sign was under the influence of a substance while making it?

New Car

OK, so it's not a new car, but it sure feels like one. Only 5 1/2 weeks after being rear-ended I finally have my car back and it looks great. Just like new. It's so nice to have the freedom to to get out whenever I want again!

Can You Say...Fed Up?

I saw this sign today and had to take a photograph of it for this blog. The car is parked in our general neighborhood but fortunately not on our street. I've seen the SUV there before but always assumed it was the homeowner's car. Obviously I was wrong.

I wish I could see the owner's reaction when he gets back to his car!

(In case you can't read what it says, the sign reads: "This car is not in front of your house")

Smog City

Saturday night Chad and I went to our first roller derby bout. The event was held downtown and the local team, the Smog City Roller Grrls won against Chino's Prison City Derby Dames with a score of 121-70. We had a blast and will definitely go to the next game in September.

*Sorry for the poor quality of this photo. The lighting was way funky in the venue and I had a heck of a time even getting a shot this good...

Blue Man

I saw Paul Karason (aka "the blue man") today. He was recently interviewed on Oprah so when I saw him walking I knew exactly who he was. With a TV crew of 7-10 photographers, assistants and a host (who I didn't recognize) he was interviewed for about 30 minutes outside a local mall. I'm thinking it might have been for a network TV special but I never got close enough to ask anyone.

Rodeo

Today Chad and I went to the rodeo. We didn't know what to expect but it was a lot more fun than we thought it would be. We've already made plans to go again next year.

Here's Chad in his new hat.

American Idol

On a not-as-personal note I'm 100% supporting Jason Castro this season for American Idol. I doubt he'll make it to the top two but as long as he's on the show he's going to get my vote.

Jason rocks!

Up, Up and Away

Friday morning I heard a strange noise in the backyard. Curious, I decided to head to the back patio to see what it was. I looked all around the fence and didn't see anything until I heard that strange sound again. I looked up in the air and sure enough, there was a hot air balloon over our neighbor's house! What?! I ran inside to get my camera and of course it took me what felt like 15 minutes to find it. This was the closest shot I got but the balloon was no more than 30 feet above the roof when I first saw it.

The balloon landed in an empty field a block from our house. For about 10 minutes I watched the crew stabilize and finally deflate the balloon. It was neat.