We're Going to Disney World!

It's official!

Today we booked our trip to Disney World for January '09. My parents are going with me and John, Tim, Patti, and the kids - 8 of us in total! I've been telling my dad forever we need to go on a family vacation (it's been 15 years since we've done one!)

His surprise? It's their treat! Woo hoo! Today we called our dear family friend, Wendy, and we got Disney's Wilderness Lodge, Club Concierge Level. I'm SO stoked! We're going beginning for 6 days...I can't wait! :-)

(ps - I highly recommend our vacation specialist...I've known her my whole life, and our dads are best friends. She's the one person who loves Disney as much, if not more, than me [even Dawn and Paulina!] and her info: Wendy Cugliotta, Dreams Unlimited Travel, Wendy@DreamsUnlimitedTravel.com)

Black Friday or Sleep In?

And here, kids, is the reason I'm up early -- at 4:59 a.m. to be exact -- on Black Friday.

Note, it's the only Black Friday I've ever gotten up before, say, 9 a.m.

I don't do Black Friday, I've never done Black Friday, and with everything being online I can't imagine in the future ever doing Black Friday live and in a jam-packed full of crazies store (unless you have kids, then I can understand the dementia that makes you get up that early on a perfectly good day off to buy the MakeMeGoCrazyElmo for your tyke).

Rent is coming to San Diego Civic Theatre in March 2009, and two of the original cast members, Adam Pascal (Roger) and Anthony Rapp (Mark), are reprising their original roles.

Today, at 5 a.m., there's a pre-sale (I have the pre-sale password code, of course, which is FRIBSD for all you folks who aren't aware of it), and my little fingers will be typing away at Ticketmaster to try to score some premium seats.

John, god love him, understands how much I love the show and knows if it's between getting 2 so-so tickets to go with him or 1 killer seat to go solo, I'm seeing the show by myself.

My best friend Michael and I often spar over who's had the better Rent experience; me, who saw the original Broadway cast back in 1997 (which included Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs, and Jesse L. Martin) as well as the West Coast Premier at La Jolla Playhouse (Neil Patrick Harris, lottery seats - front row), or him, who saw the show in New York via the lottery system 4 times. 

With OBC and NPH on my side, I feel as though I usually win. But then again, so does he.

I'm off to open two browsers (Firefox and Safari) to see which one gets me the better seats (a little trick I learned way back when: you can't have two sessions of Ticketmaster open in the same browser at the same time, but you can have different browsers open simultaneously; thus allowing you to try different seating options at once, and choosing which one is better for you).

Update:

5:19 a.m.

Looks like I'm going solo Tuesday, which is opening night (Row A, center orchestra), then again on Friday night with John (Row A, Loge Side Box). Yay!

Clarification: I have done Black Friday in the past in the retail sector in high school and college when I worked at Bath & Body Works and The Gap, but I was paid to be out and amongst the nuts. That's completely and totally different from going out voluntarily.

Happy Thanksgiving: OCD-Style

I'm not one to gossip, but I received this letter from a friend. She got it from her coworker, whose sister wrote it! (Seriously.)

Apparently, it takes a village to build a Thanksgiving feast...and as we know, every village needs a village leader (or village idiot, as the case may be).

I changed none of the wording except for the names (so they can't sue me when they read this).

Happy Thanksgiving!

---

From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don't feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don't care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel - please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney

---

This makes me look SO normal.

New House Pics

Here's pics of our new place, a lovely little townhouse. Yes, it's been over a month since we moved in, but there was no way I was posting pics until it was semi-decorated (read: void of most of the moving boxes) and painted (I went with all Craftsman style colors).

(Sorry for the picture quality - they're all cell pics.)

A Photo Tour of Casa DeFrias

The main entrance

Our building

Our garage

The stairs from the garage to the main floor

The landing

Looking back downstairs

Xander ready to go out

The living room (from the kitchen)

Another living room view

The kitchen/dining room (from the living room)

Our new dining room set
(conveniently Xander-proof due to height)

The kitchen island (with dog waiting to go out)

Laundry room

Downstairs bath

Stairs to third floor

Third floor landing

Guest bedroom

Guest bathroom

Last Weekend - John's Surprise Party!

Since John's birthday also happens to be the day of his surgery, I decided to surprise him with a birthday brunch the day before his birthday down at the Catamaran Spa & Resort. The brunch is stellar, and we were outside, right on the bay, with 20 or so of our favorite people!

He had no idea...hee hee. Here's the story with pictures.

The tables were set up across from the restaurant, with
balloons and all the people. He didn't pick up on it when
he saw it because we were about 50 feet away.

He wouldn't walk out to the table because he wanted to wait for Susan!
Finally, everyone at the table stood up and yelled, "DEFRIAS!"
and he turned. Here's his face the moment he realizes what's going on.

Walking over to meet and greet.

Getting his bearings.

Still in disbelief - he really had no idea about it.

Laughing about it with Heidi.

Susan totally hooked us up with a pimp location!
It helps having a sister-in-law who works there.

Allie and Greg.

John.

Danielle and Bob.

John and Liz.

Everyone!

Last Weekend - Halloween

So last weekend was eventful. On Saturday night, we went to Rod & Heidi's for a Halloween Party. John went as Mikey from Orange County Choppers (American Chopper on TLC Channel), and I went as Daddy's Little Girl (and by Daddy, I mean Satan).

Ali took this picture and I LOVE it!

We were wicked cute.

John as Mikey, me as sourpuss (in character, of course)

Their place was killer-decorated, and there were about a billion people there. John's costume worked out great, due to his knee being banged up and all.

Little did he know, he should've been watching what he drank because he was going to have to get up early the next day...

Keith Olbermann on Prop 8

Simple. Heartbreaking. Brilliant.

Using the Bible Verse as a Prop 8 Argument

One of my main issues is how certain people (whom I call Cafeteria Christians) eat at The Bible Buffet. They walk up to it and say, "I want that verse, and maybe a little of that one, but I don't want this one because it doesn't suit my needs."

Enter this scene from "The West Wing" that proves my point. With the Bible, either you're all in or you're not. You don't get to pick and choose verses which are convenient to your beliefs and toss out other ones.

*sigh* I miss President Bartlet.

Why Civil Unions are NOT the Same as Marriage

If, like me, you are sick of hearing people say, "I don't have a problem with gays, I just don't want them to marry. Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and woman. Why can't they just be happy with civil unions? Those are the same as marriage."

Except civil unions are not the same as marriage.

In 1997, the U.S. General Accounting office conducted a review of all the benefits that marriage affords couples -- rights which are not afforded to couples in a civil union.

Kathy Belge over at About.com summed up the review quite nicely:

According to Lambda Legal Defense, more than 1,400 legal rights are conferred upon heterosexual married couples in the United States. By not being allowed to marry, gays and lesbians are denied these rights. Even in the state of Massachusetts, the only US state with legalized gay marriage, most of the benefits of marriage do not apply, because the Defense of Marriage Act states that the federal government only recognizes marriage as "a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife".

Here are some of the legal rights that married couples have and gays and lesbians are denied:

1. Joint parental rights of children
2. Joint adoption
3. Status as "next-of-kin" for hospital visits and medical decisions
4. Right to make a decision about the disposal of loved ones remains
5. Immigration and residency for partners from other countries
6. Crime victims recovery benefits
7. Domestic violence protection orders
8. Judicial protections and immunity
9. Automatic inheritance in the absence of a will
10. Public safety officers death benefits
11. Spousal veterans benefits
12. Social Security
13. Medicare
14. Joint filing of tax returns
15. Wrongful death benefits for surviving partner and children
16. Bereavement or sick leave to care for partner or children
17. Child support
18. Joint Insurance Plans
19. Tax credits including: Child tax credit, Hope and lifetime learning credits
20. Deferred Compensation for pension and IRAs
21. Estate and gift tax benefits
22. Welfare and public assistance
23. Joint housing for elderly
24. Credit protection
25. Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans

These are just a few of the 1400 state and federal benefits that gays and lesbians are denied by not being able to marry. Most of these benefits cannot be privately arranged or contracted for within the legal system.

So there you have it. Next time someone tells you they can't figure out why "they" can't be happy with civil unions, you have an answer for them.

In the meantime, I highly recommend visiting www.YesWeCanBeEqual.com. In the wake of Prop 8 passing in California, Michael Fouquette of MikeWorks.net set up the site in the hope of creating a resource for "those who wish to be active in the fight for LGBTQ equality."

Hope. That's something I'm holding onto right now.

Hershey's vs. Cadbury

I like chocolate. In fact, I believe everyone should be able to choose to eat whatever chocolate they wish.

Unfortunately, some people only like Hershey's, and they don't want certain people to eat Hershey's. They say to the other people, "You can have Cadbury's. It's very similar to Hershey's, tastes like it, looks like it. You won't notice any real difference. In fact, we're going to amend the Constitution so that you cannot eat Hershey's."



Sounds kinda stupid, huh? Screw THAT!

I'm very sad this morning to be living in California, where it looks like Prop 8 might pass. Which means my best friend in the whole wide world, Michael, will not be able to marry his loving partner, Ming.

It truly breaks my heart to know that the majority of Californians have decided to write bigotry, discrimination, and hate into our state's Constitution. To take rights away from one group of people, and basically regulate them to the status of second-class citizens.

I voted "no" on Prop 8. In this supposed age of enlightenment, I'm disappointed that more Californians didn't do the same.

Birthday Boy Gets Scoped by Docs

John got the best birthday present a boy could ask for: a knee surgery. Yay!

John at the ER back on Sept. 20

Six weeks after getting ravaged by a shark on Coronado Beach, John and I got up at 4:30 a.m. this morning to take him to the Orthopedic Clinic in La Jolla. He arrive on time for his 5:30 a.m. check-in, and was wheeled in around 6:30 a.m. for final preparations for his 7 a.m. surgery.

Not one to give up on an opportunity to multi-task, I drove over to the San Diego Registrar of Voters to take advantage of California's early voting policy.

News vans catching all the action

Before you ask, yes, I voted for Barack (Palin for President? Puh-leeze, that's the scariest thing I've heard in a long time) and I voted No on 8.

My ballot

I got there at 6:45 a.m. (they opened at 8 a.m.), and was #29 in line.

Filming us walking in to vote at 8 a.m.

I went back to wait for John's surgery to finish. It was supposed to be a 45 minute procedure, but ended up going a little over an hour. There were two ways it could go: take the meniscus out (resulting in a 2 week recovery) or repair it (a 6 week recovery).

John in recovery, waving to me

Lucky for John, once the doctor went in, it was decided to just remove the meniscus, so it's 2 weeks for him! And, come to find out, the anesthesiologist and his team sang, "Happy Birthday" to John as he went under. They found the fact that today is his birthday very amusing.

After the Percoset set in

John's home, resting and recovering. More pics of his RoboKnee in two days once we're allowed to take the bandages off. (And, hopefully, pics of yesterday's surprise birthday bash I threw for John at the Catamaran.)

They drew an arrow pointing to the knee
they were performing surgery on!

Speaking of Moving...Viva Freecycling!

Just a little public service announcement about the greatness that is Craigslist. Craiglist is a local classifieds and forums for more than 550 cities in over 50 countries worldwide - community moderated, and largely free. It has jobs, housing, goods, services, romance, local activities, advice - just about anything really, and started as a hobby by in early 1995.

We moved, which means we needed boxes. Rather than dumpster dive at places like Vons (Genuardi's for you East Coasters) or Albertson's (Acme), we went onto Craigslist and searched for boxes. There were tons! Unfortunately, they go really quickly. Within minutes of posting free boxes, we would email people and say we'd like the boxes, only to find out they were already spoken for!

In the end, we found a TON at a place in Crown Point. We happily drove to Pacific Beach (PB), and found the boxes already broken down and next and tidy in their garage. The person just so happened to be a Penn State alum, which made me happy.

To give back, once we unpacked our house, I put those same boxes back onto Craigslist -- I posted the free boxes at 8:59 a.m., boxes gone from our garage at 9:59 a.m.! Viva la freecycling!