Ho Ho Ho?

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Ever wonder why Santa says "ho ho ho?" Where did he get that? Was he just trying to warm himself up- you know breathing out with gumption to warm up the front of your face and one of his elves said, "Hey Santa, that would make a great catch-phrase. You should start yelling that- it'd be good for PR. Makes your belly shake like a bowl full of jelly. That's the kind of image we want- jolly old St. Nick."

So of course I had to ask Tyler- remember from a previous blog that he's good for that. But he wasn't here. so of couse the next best, ask Jeeves at ask.com.

I went and looked- can't find it! Does anyone know? I found a wesite that said they couldn't find the origin of Santa's ho ho ho either! They found it mentioned in Shakespeare but nothing that would tie it to Christmas.

I am very curious now. Kristen said that maybe it was just his way of laughing- perhaps she is right but why? Who made it up? These deeper questions must be answered! If you know let me know please!

Hypocritical

That's me in my car, heading out to work:)

I have this huge pet peeve about people not using their blinkers while driving. It makes me crazy! How am I supposed to read their minds and just guess where they are going? I can't and no one else can either.

Well earlier this week my blinkers went out. Yup, nada- I flick the little switch and not a darn thing happens. I'm planning on getting it fixed on Friday- hopefully they will work then. But obviously I haven't been able to use my blinkers. Now I could use hand signals and I have but its cold outside and, to be quite honest, having the window down makes for a lot of wind and I don't want to mess up my hair- wind makes it frizzy, although that is no excuse for not signaling.

Also, I must admit, using hand signals makes me feel like a big fat dork. One person thought I was waving at them- doesn't anyone know hand signals anymore? I knew them way before I knew how to drive a car- you learn them in like bicycle safety class in elementary school. You know that "class" that was really just a great excuse to bring your bike to school and ride it all over while practicing turns, stops, and hand signals. I think it was even a cop that taught it. It was just a one day kind of deal. At least that was what we had in the OC when I was in elementary school.

Back to the blinker problem- I guess I learned I shouldn't be so quick to judge other people and call them idiots or morons in my car when they cut in front of me or surprise me in some way out on the road because of their lack of blinker use. Right now I too am one of those jerks.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I love this Christmas special- definitely one of my favorites. How can you not love Charlie Brown and the whole gang as they discover the true meaning of Christmas.

I also totally dig jazz so I think the sound track is just awesome- I have it. I keep meaning ot bring it to the office but I keep forgetting- not really that surprising.

Ever notice how they dance and sing in Charlie Brown flicks? I think the dance is groovy! There are a couple of different variations. The head up then head down while hopping almost and pointing with your fingers in alternating downwards motions. There is the shoulder shake/neck jerk that goes side to side. Can't forget Pig Pen and his dust cloud as he dances. So much good stuff. They all sing the same too- heads up so you see uo their noses (if they had nostrils) and those round mouths sing it out:)

Who could forget the little Christmas tree and Charlie and Linus pick out and how everyone is so mad at him but then at the end, when the realize that Christmas isn't just about toys, getting things and the decorations, they all dress up the tree and sing around it.

When Linus busts out his speech- sometimes I am amazed it is allowed to air, he quotes straight from the Bible! I am glad that it is a beloved film and I hope we keep on getting to watch it in the years to come:)

When that movie came out your parents were kids (your age and younger) and some day your kids will watch it and you can tell them their grandparents used to watch it when they were kids! Sometimes thinking that way really bakes my noodle.

The Tortoise and the Hippo

I'm sure you haven't heard this bedtime story before! I got it and the pic from Niki! So read on- it is super cute.

One thing to note- I didn't realize baby hippos were so small. I mean baby elephants are huge, baby giraffes are too- hippos are big animals ergo I concluded incorrectly that they had big babies.

NAIROBI (AFP) - A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa, officials said.

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

"It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park, told AFP.

"After it was swept and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added. "The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added.

"The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years," he explained.

D-Land

Did you know there is a basketball half court inside the Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland? There are so many cool behind the scenes kind of things that even Disney lovers don't know about.

I love Disneyland, the happiest place on earth, where the magic of childhood lives on. There are so many awesome things there- I just love going. One time I left work, met my friend there, we went on Indiana Jones (my favorite ride) went over to CA Adventure and got ice cream and then went back to work- it was a blast!

Right now is one of my favorite times at the Magic Kingdom- I love all the decorations they put up for Christmas- and the snow- wow, so fun. I must say the fireworks show that they brought out for the 50 year celebration was spectacular- the most incredible fireworks display I have ever seen. If you missed it you must go and see it. I think it is playing through this month and then it is over. Its only on certain nights of the week so make sure you check their website for when it is showing.

I heard that some people were complaining about Space Moutain- since they refurbished it- I say those people are crazy. Its awesome. They kept the feel and the excitment of the original but jazzed it up with a great soundtrack and a smoother track for the actual ride. The mountain is darker inside with much better star and space effects. The seatbacks are lower so you feel more wind in your face. I don't think the ride is faster but it feels faster.

Let's see- what else to say about Disneyland- I could go on and on. I gotta give a shout out to the muppets over at CA Adventure- they put together a great 3-D show, so funny. If you like the Muppets you will LOVE it, if you don't know the Muppets you will still laugh because its pretty stinkin funny. I definitly see the potential in CA Adventure- it will be a great park one day, its still in training wheels in my opinion. They have some good attractions and some great shows but it still has a ways to go. The original park on the other hand- oohh, I'm so excited to go again! My pass expired but I asked for one for Christmas- I hope I get it, I'm having Disney withdrawls. A bunch of us at work have the annual passports and so sometimes we would leave after work or just ask Trav if we could leave work early- it was a blast!

Here's a cool tidbit for you- from the front of the park walk over the drawbridge and through the castle gates. Center yourself in the middle of the walkway and watch the ground. Not too far after you are out from the castle you should see a metal disk in the cement. Congratulations! You have found the exact center of the park!
Another quickie- continue into Fantasyland until you are in front of the upstairs window above the Snow White ride. Wait and watch- you'll get a treat!

Mexican Hot Chocolate

I have been rather truant lately in my blogging- its been crazy with work and planning a wedding- no, no excuses, yesterday I just plumb forgot.

What I really want to talk about is mexican hot chocolate. Have you ever tried it? It is incredible!!!! The best hot drink ever! Its richer then regular hot chocolate and they add all these spices to it like cinnamon and nutmeg and I even don't know what else! Trust me though it is tasty!

They don't serve it just anywhere though- no this is a specialty drink. Starbucks does NOT have it, the only 2 local places I know about that serve it is the Naked Bean on Melrose across the street from Starbucks and the Mocha Market in San Marcos on restaurant row. You should get some- tis definitely the season!

"Funner" to be a runner

That was the slogan of my elementary school's extracurricular fitness program. You would get points for however many laps you ran before and after school and you could turn in your points for stuff- kinda like tickets.

The reason I put this in here is because funner is not a word. Yup, that is right- my school taught me a word that did not exist. Still doesn't- try to look it up- I'll even help you. Go to www.dictionary.com and type in "funner." What did it say? No entries found- that's right "funner" is not a word.

If I made up words I would make up better ones then "funner"- like fandabulous. It means fantastic and fabulous combined as in, "Wow, that movie was fandabulous","Hey, did you try their chilli cheese fries, they're fandabulous!" That word is just one I use regularly. A friend of mine made up "yicky". It's beyond yucky or icky- its yicky. "Eeeeeeewww, Tyler! That fart was yicky!"

The difference between using these words and when people use "funner" is that I know they are not real words where often times it seems that people who use "funner" don't realize that. So remember kiddos- "funner" is not a word!