ARRRR MATEYS!

The invites are finished and the jewels are spilling out of the treasure chest.

They will be delivered tomorrow and then there is NO TURNING BACK!

The party will be on. Dozens of kids will be running around dressed as Pirates and hunting for treasures.

This has really been one fun party to plan out and I can not wait to see it all come together.

It will be the first time we have held the party at a park rather then inside. Each year the party got bigger and bigger and we just ran out of room.

The bad thing is we have to haul all the stuff to the park and set it up there. It shouldn't be to bad though because we reserved a big spot that isn't to far from the parking lot.

It will be nice to have more room to spread out. Plus, even if it should rain we can carry on because it's all covered and so we won't get rained out.

Though we have still been having summer time weather so I doubt if it will rain.

I think only one year we had a few sprinkles on our Halloween party.

I got a great compliment that I thought was super! My sister, Maureen (who is Trinity's grandma) works at the school where Trinity goes. She told me every day kids are coming up to her asking when Trinity's party is going to be and asking if they can attend.

I thought that was such an honor because the word is out that Trinity has the best parties and even kids who have never been to one of her parties wants to go to one.

What could be better then that! That made me happier then even if the parents would have said it. My goal is to throw parties that Trinity will always remember and all her guest will have fun and remember too. Looks like I met that goal.

ALL POUNDS ARE NOT CREATED EQUALLY

It's Tuesday and that means weigh in day at Weight Watchers for me. So I got dressed and drove to my meeting. Got on up on the scale and was told I was down another 1.8lbs! That is now a loss of 20.4 lbs in 9 weeks.

I'm very happy with my loss so far. This time has been so different for me.

Normally I go on a diet and I feel deprived, a bit depressed and just look forward to the day the diet is over.

If I eat something that is not on the "diet" then I feel bad and mostly likely quit. Only to gain back everything I've lost and then some.

This time, I'm not on a diet. I don't feel like I'm on a diet. I'm not eating diet food. I eat what I want and if I have a craving for something I eat it.

The only difference is I practice portion control and will only eat a little bit of what it is that I want. I will also exercise more to help me continue to lose.

I search for ways to get more movement in. Things like walking tours, going places that you know you will walk more, like Disneyland or the beach.

I try not to eat out as much. I drink more water and I now stop before I eat to see if I'm really hungry or just bored, tired or depressed.

So I think that is why this time it's working and I'll stick to it.

Have you thought about what a pound really is? I've posted a picture to show you that a pound of fat is not the same as a pound of muscle.

Fat takes up much more room in your body. Fat also burns 2 calories per pound. Yet muscle burns 6 calories per pound.

That is why when you work out and build up your muscle you not only look thinner but you can eat more and still not gain.

In fact, when you build a pound of muscle you not only burn the 6 calories per pound of muscle but you will burn off the fat even while you are sleeping or sitting watching tv. So, it's like sucking away 4 calories of fat and 6 calories of energy for every pound of muscle.

Just another reason why we should be moving more. Build up those muscles and burn off that jiggly fat.

So how did you do this past week? Did you meet your goals?

By Thursday I will have joined the gym. I have to be honest and tell you I'm not looking forward to this at all. I must retrain my brain to enjoy exercise. It's something I'm going to have to do for the rest of my life so I have to make peace with it.

Hope you are all doing well and if you messed up last week, well it's now in the past and time to work on this week and moving towards your goal.

MORE HALLOWEEN DISNEYLAND FUN!

Yesterday was my sister, Maureen's birthday. What better place to celebrate then at Disneyland!

Every year Disneyland decorates for Halloween. This year was no different. Bright orange pumpkins were everywhere. Golden yellow mums, pretty fall colored leafs and wheat made up beautiful arrangements.



Main Street welcomes you with open arms and the whole way down you see the colors of Fall and Halloween.

A giant Micky Mouse pumpkin provides the perfect back drop for family photos.

But, not all pumpkins are smiles and cheer.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Halloween and Christmas collided together?

Well, wonder no more! Just head on over to the Haunted Mansion and you will find The Nightmare Before Christmas!

Jack is dressed up as Sandy Claus and shows you the way in.

The Mansion is all decorated for Christmas, I mean Halloween. No wait...well it is decorated for, for both!

Scare crows made out of scary pumpkin heads with a cute Santa hat.

The bird bath has been filled with berries, holly and dead plants.

The "car" in the driveway is all done up with Christmas garlands. Only these are made of dead holly and berries. Scary pumpkins smile at you from inside.

Christmas lights have been turned into dripping candles.

A pumpkin patch greets you as you walk by the... cemetery.

Normally people hang pretty garland around the house for Christmas. So of course that has been done. Only this garland has sculls hanging from the garland.

The door way into the mansion has a nice welcoming touch to it. Or is telling you to stay away?

As you step inside you notice there are NO doors and No windows to get out. The walls start to stretch and the pictures stretch out to show strange pictures that are 1/2 Halloween and 1/2 Christmas.

The lights turn out and then way up above the lights start to flash and then there is Jack all dressed up as Sandy Claus. Thankfully the doors show up and you can finally walk out of the room into the Mansion.

Down the hall the photos turn from cute little winter/holiday scenes to creepy Halloween ones.

Oh my! This place is very dusty and full of spider webs. They really need to clean up this place.

You are then guided to your "Doomed buggy" and your ride begins.

Christmas presents are wrapped in strange, spooky paper.

Sandy Claus and Zero stop by to say hi.

Snow drifts and ice mountains with pumpkins are around every corner.

Lovely angels with pumpkin heads make beautiful music.

It was hard to take photos in here because you are being twisted and turned every which way and just as you get ready to snap a photo you are spun around into another direction.

But, I hope you got an idea of what waits for you as you step inside The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Actually Disneyland is not as decorated for Halloween as California Adventure is but we didn't want to walk around and see everything over there because we got tickets for the Disney Trick or Treat Party.

In a few weeks we will go to California Adventure after the park closes for a fun filled night time party. So we didn't want to spoil the surprise of all the decorations until that night.

I will be sure to share it all with you when we go though.

CANDY CORN ACRES

Today we went to Disney's California Adventures. We didn't stay long because we were just going to go on one ride and then head on over to Disneyland to meet up with some friends.

However, we did have to stop when we passed by the sign that said Candy Corn Acres.

After all, who doesn't love Candy Corn? Did you ever know where it came from? Did you know that it's actually a vegetable?


I always thought Candy Corn was made in a factory like other candy. So I was very surprised to see that it actually can be planted and it will grow.

You don't believe me? Well, come and take a look. You are going to be shocked. We sure were.

Here it is growing like carrots. With big green tops that have to be pulled off. Just like carrots.

Here is Candy Corn growing in clusters on ivy just like grapes. Yum!

Now this wasn't as shocking as the other ways Candy Corn grows. After all, it is called Candy Corn, so seeing on grow on stalks makes sense to me.

Candy Corn stalks are much prettier then corn stalks. Don't you agree?

Here are really big Candy Corns growing like pumpkins. They look ripe and ready to me.

Candy Corn on cactus too? Well that just is plain odd.

Look at this giant Candy Corn. How long do you think it would take you to eat that one?

I can see it now. Kids all over the world thinking they have been good because they "only ate one piece of candy corn".

Well look at this, Candy Corn also grows like tomatoes. They need to be propped up with cages just like you do with tomatoes.

Leave it to the people at Disney to make something we all thought was nothing more then sugar and color and turn it into a nice, fresh, healthy vegetable.

I bet a lot more kids would eat their veggies if it looks and taste like Candy Corn.

I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO

Sometimes if we wait long enough we can see our dreams come true. You are never to old to cross off one of your dreams from your list.

Tonight I was able to have a dream come true and now I can cross that one off my list.

Way back in May, it was my birthday, and my dear sister, Patty, got me two tickets to see Tony Bennett.

I know many people think I'm silly for loving him but I do. I always have, for as long as I can remember.

So I was thrilled to get these tickets and tonight it was finally my turn to see my dream come true.


I went with my friend Sandra. You know her, she was the one who had the party I shared with you yesterday. She loves Tony too and since it is her birthday, Patty told me to ask her to go with me.

She was thrilled and was able to get a babysitter to watch her son.

So off to the Orange County Performing Arts Center we went.

We got our program and while we were ready to go see where our seats were the doors were not open yet.

We got a drink and waited out in the lobby. No, I wasn't bad. I had a diet coke. No extra calories for me this night.

Finally it was time to go inside. We found our seats and I was very lucky I had a tiny girl sitting in front of me so my view was great.

I know we are not supposed to take photos but I just had to. I kept the flash off and clicked away.

But, my punishment for breaking the rules was, not one photo came out clear.

The bright spot light they kept on Tony Bennett made his face wash out in every photo.

I must say that this is one singer who sounds just as good in person as he does on a CD or on TV.

His voice is the same today as it has always been. Crisp and clear.

There was even one point where he had the microphone turned off and he sang the whole song without it. You could still hear and understand each and every word.

This man can belt out a song.

This is when he was singing I Left My Heart in San Francisco. My all time favorite song of his.

I was so sad these photos didn't come out.

His daughter opened the night for him by singing four songs. Sadly she does not have the same pitch as her father. She hit so many sour notes that I felt sorry for her.

He did thank everyone for being so nice to his daughter though. I think he knows she doesn't sing that good but it is her dream to be a big star so he gave her a chance to preform in front of an audience.

I couldn't get over all the standing ovations Tony got. It was almost every song that got the crowd clapping madly and standing on their feet.

He even got a standing ovation when he first walked out on stage and had not sang one note yet.

Oh there is his smiling face. I had to use a photo I found on line since none of my photos turned out.

He just seems like such a kind man and so down to earth.

I had a great time tonight. I got to hear a man I love sing in person. It put a smile on face and song in my heart.

Thanks to my dear sister, I had a dream come true tonight. I'm a very lucky girl.

PINK AND BROWN PARTY

Yesterday was my friend, Sandra's birthday. She was celebrating 50 wonderful years on earth.

For the past several years, on her birthday she has a group of girls come over and we all have lunch, lots of laughs, scrapbook and then dinner.

Every year she does a different theme.


This year she did a Pink and Brown party. As always her table was set up so cute. I loved these plates.

Since it was held durning the week our group was smaller then normal this year. But that was a good thing as we all had more time to talk to each other and eat at the table without feeling crowded or putting others at another table.

Sandra is my friend who loves to throw parties like I do. We like to have everything match the theme and of course there always has to be a theme.

I loved the little pink glasses. They look vintage even though they aren't. She served pink lemon aide in them.

In the other room she sat up an area for us to scrapbook. She is so sweet! At each place setting she always has the project we are doing all ready to go in our own bags and even though we got a darling gift at the dinning table (a cute Brighton purse charm, a note pad and pen in pink and brown and candy) she also had another gift at this table.

See the pink bag. Well it's actually one of those bags that you can use as a lunch box or to hold a 6 pack of soft drinks. Inside she had a three pack of booties to keep us warm on the upcoming winter nights, a black and pink recycle bag to take to the store and help save the trees by not using the bags there, lip gloss, two different pink pens, candy and gum.

How fun to go to a birthday party and go home with lots of gifts yourself!

So we all made a darling photo album that looks like a purse. I didn't take any pictures of mine yet because I have not added the photos.

We then had cupcakes and cheesecake for dessert. YUM! I ate way to much though.

So today I'm being extra good.

Of course, we all gave Sandra birthday gifts too. I loved this gift she got and wanted to share it with you.

The box alone was so pretty and would have made a great gift. But wait until you see what is inside.

It's Paris in a box. There are four glasses, plates, napkins, napkin ring holders and also a stack of paper napkins or hand cloths to use in the bathroom.

What a great idea! I love how it all fits in this box and can be stored in here when finished being used.

Isn't this a super idea for the up coming holidays. You could pick any theme and make a box for someone you know.

Sandra's cousin gave her this. I have to say, it was the best present, in my eyes!