Adventure Is Out There... Jenks Lake, California

To kick off our first fishing trip of the season we went to Jenks Lake in our beautiful local mountains. My fiance has been a few times before but it was my first so I was even more excited!

It was a short drive to get to Hwy 38 and then from there it's about 10 miles- from the Forest Falls turn-off. There is a sign that says Jenks Lake on the right hand side before the road to turn on. Then another on the right hand side; directly before the left turn into the entrance. It's not a small sign but by no means huge but, if you are enjoying your drive I can see how one could miss it.

After paying $5 to get in you can park any where you want. (Paved parking lot if that matters to anyone!)
It is a short walk down these wooden stairs.

I always love the 1st sighting of the lake!

Not even a 5 minute walk and we found the spot.

It sounded like there was a bunch of bees behind us but nothing ever bothered us so, yay!

Not a lot of weeds which is good for fishing

Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything

A few hours and two small mouthed bass later we decided to call it quits. But not before a quick 30 minute walk around the lake.

For directions you can Google map it or check the website here :San Bernardino National Forest website- Jenks Lake info page

Disneyland Bucket List

 Everyone's list is different. Nobody's list is the exactly same. But everybody has one. At least if you live in SoCal you do! What are we talking about? Well, a Disneyland Bucket List of course :)

 I've been to Disneyland a million times growing up but never cared to record all my fun times for my future scrapbooking habit. If i only knew... So I was thinking of ideas on how I could make sure to capture scrapbook worthy photos for the scrapbook.
Perfect excuse to start a new project(s). The Disneyland Bucket List (Scrapbook)

This is my personal bucket list; what's on yours?

                      

• Meet every character and get picture with them and then...
• get them to autograph it next time I see them
• Ride every ride (day and night) and get pic of me on it
• Become an Annual Pass Holder*
• Find all the Hidden Mickeys  is that even possible?
• Collect all pressed pennies
• get a princess cone hat (Davey Crockett for him)
• be the Rebel Spy
• get a caricature done
• buy a Mickey Mouse balloon
• get highest score on Buzz Lightyear 
• Go on/during specific dates:
• Halloween 
• my birthday 
• Christmas
•  Our anniversary
•  Dapper Day

Me on California Screamin'

Tower of Terror.. can you find me?

• Take pictures of or standing in front of:
•  re create old photos 
• Mickey Mouse/Walt statute*
•  Magic Castle
•  DCA wheel*
• trying for the sword in the stone
• on every ride
• with every character of course

•  Eat:

• churro*
• Bengal BBQ* 
• corn dog*
• Dole whip*
• turkey leg
• at Blue Bayou
• at Be Our Guest 
• cotton candy fresh from machine do they even have that?
• lobster nachos 

Yummy and afforable

 

 *Mission accomplished!

DIY Hanging Christmas Ornaments

Two craft posts in a row- whoa, never thought that would happen! This isn't so much a craft but a super simple way to decorate an empty window during the holidays.

 It's pretty easy so I'll just give you a quick summary of what I did; you can do whatever works best for your needs. You'll need ribbon, plastic ornaments of different sizes and some command hooks, or tape, whatever works!

All the ways I have seen on Pinterest the ribbon is hanging directly from the curtain rod but I didn't want to do that because I like my curtains closed most of the time.

So I kinda went a little...creative. I put a command hooks on the wall behind the curtain rod with a piece of ribbon tied on each end to make a ''ribbon rod''. Then I tied ribbon of different lengths to the newly made ''rod'' and tied the other end to a plastic ornament. (Not lettin' my cat win this one!) Curled the extra and done, simple as that!

I'm just starting out with Christmas decorations and it can get expensive but this really is a cheap and fun way to add more decorations to my ever growing collection. Hope to compete with the great Clark Griswold someday! What DIY holiday decorations do you have that would make Sparky jealous?

Bonus picture frames I painted- I can't help myself!!
                                           

DIY Melted Halloween Candles

    I'm usually not very crafty but this one is easy, I promise. Maaybe I should have posted a bit sooner, but here's to hoping you have time or can save the idea for next year.

 Making fake, melted candles for Halloween decorations. I'll tell you what I used and you can go from there.

• old toilet paper, paper towel rolls 
• elmer's/school glue 
• hot glue/gun 
• tacky glue(optional)
• black spray paint

First I played around and stacked the rolls until I found a patten that I liked. I cut some of the rolls in 1/2 and then some of those halves in 1/2.

Again, you can cut however you want- in 1/3's or 1/4's- whatever strikes your fancy.

Now, onto my favorite part, the drips. I like to use both hot glue and tacky glue.

The hot glue gives it nice thick drips while the tacky glue has a nice long drip appearance but also shows up thinner when dry, so squeeze hard!

You can add all your drips at once or add some, let dry, then add some more.

Either way I add a ring of hot glue around the top of each candle stick. I think it gives it a melty, used candle look.

White drips are tacky glue, clear drips are hot glue

Spray paint black and voila- you almost have Halloween candles!

 After extensive review reading on Amazon I decided on the 12 Battery Operated AMBER LED Tealight Candles Flameless Heatless No Heat Candle Flickering Wickless Led Long Lasing Life Faux Wedding Holiday Christmas Thanksgiving Party Light Dozen They have the perfect 'flame' for spooky looking candles that look like they belong to the scary bitch witch of the house. Also, I don't have to worry about burning the apartment down!

 The tea light candles come white and I can't have white tops with black sticks so I had to keep painting.

Then I stuffed the rolls with plastic grocery bags as a prop for the tea lights to sit on. All in all, I'm super proud of this project and think it came out great!

If I could figure out how to make the drips red  that would be awesome and then I would also try painting the candles white. Any ideas on how that could work?

Places I've Been: San Diego Zoo

I don't live two hours away from just any old I zoo, I live two hours from the World Famous San Diego Zoo! This place is by far worth the money and the 2 hour drive, for that matter. 

How I know we're almost there!

So worth it we have season passes. Dual passes (2 adults, 1 household) will cost you $109, which is only a little more than the 1-day ticket ($44) and is good at BOTH the Zoo and Safari Park for a whole year!

 Unlike other theme/amusement parks in So Cal, these season passes don't have any blackout dates. Repeat, NO blackout dates! If you have a 1-day ticket you can always pay the difference (~$54) and 'upgrade' to the season pass.

Doesn't get very crowded (like at Disneyland) but it does get a little busier on the weekends. The weather is always nice but during the summer it gets pretty hot!! Definitely recommend good walking shoes- you will walk your butt off.  Learned my lesson the hard way when I tried wearing flip flops to be 'cool' - my feet were dirty and they still hated me two days later.

Also something I've learned from numerous trips- bring your own lunch or at least a few snacks. You can bring whatever you can fit in your back pack; no coolers. Also good to note, no straws (something to do with the animals). If we don't have a big breakfast before leaving we'll bring a few PB&J's with us for when we get there. Some of my favorites to bring are Clif Bars, apples and tangerines. Healthy and easy to carry around all day. Best and cheapest spot we found to eat at- Poppy's Patio by the Children's Zoo. Stuff like Hebrew Nat'l hot dogs, french fries, nachos, chili cheese fries- not so healthy but really hits the spot. In fact, now that I think about it I don't remember anyone checking our backpacks or anything- just ID's for our passes.

If you're really looking to save money bring your own water bottle and just keep refilling it at the fountains around the park. I usually just bring 2 water bottles, one for me and one for the fiance and it works out fine.

Call me cheesy but I like getting the animal souvenir cups. $10 with 99 cent refills is okay with me for a cool cup. At one point I remember the refills being free but hey what are you gonna do about it? Another good reason to bring my own snacks is so that I don't feel so bad when I do wanna spend some money.

One of my favorite things to spend money on at the zoo- beer! Yes, beer. Think about it... after you make the long, uphill trek to the very back of the park -and I mean very back- past the elephants, past the lions and all the way at the end of the Artic... cold refreshing beer! Might I also add that the prices at this particular spot are about 50 cents cheaper then the other beer spots, not much but every penny counts right?

Cheers!

All this and I haven't even said anything about the reason for going to the zoo- the animals! Take the guided bus tour to see about 75% of the zoo so you can get an idea of what you wanna go back and see up close. I've learned to take advantage of the express bus; you can hop on or off at 5 different stops throughout the zoo with pick ups every 15 minutes. Top of the bus, right hand side is where to sit for maximum viewing pleasure.

There's so many animals that I love I could never pick a  #1 favorite, but I can tell you which are my must see and why.

Big Cats
Big cats are probably the closest to being #1 if any thing else so, Big Cat Trail is always a must. Actually it's more like a must see at least twice to be satisfied. The big cats are more nocturnal animals so go to see them as late as possible for the most action. Although last time we went early and had perfect timing. The keeper was feeding them breakfast and we just happen to be there right when he was and kinda followed him exhibit to exhibit until he was out of food.

*Note- Not all big cats are on Big Cat Trail but still a must see!

Chinese snow leopard

King of the jungle

This guy lives in my backyard!

Northern Frontier: Polar Bears

These guys are just so cute! Good thing to catch early as they are more active in the morning hours. At least that's what I've noticed so far.

Play days are worth the crowds- get there early!

Amazing to be so close

Other Must Sees

Gorillas, monkeys and orangutans

Gorilla habitat

More gorilla habitat

Silly guy likes to roll around a lot

There's an orangutan under there somewhere

Meerkats

"You talkin' to me?"

My Thoughts On... Food Stamps

     I worked at one particular grocery store for 6 years where I witnessed first hand how much food stamps are used and abused. I have no problem whatsoever with using food stamps, no problem at all,but I do have a problem with people abusing them, especially when there are people out there who really do need every penny.

     You can find on the Food and Nutrition Services website that the "food stamp program was designed to help struggling families put food on the table" and that they "put healthy food on the tables of 46 million people a month"

     It's not even called the Food Stamp Program any more; it's the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Supplemental, doesn't that mean to furnish what is lacking or missing ? Lacking or missing

     Here's what you can buy with food stamps:
Breads, cereals, fruits and veggies, poultry, meats, fish and dairy products. Also seeds and plants that produce food for the household to eat. Normal healthy sounding foods right? How about soda, cookies, ice cream and birthday cakes? Yup! Even candy and certain energy drinks are allowed! Click here to see for yourself if you don't believe me :)

     Here's what you cannot buy with food stamps:
Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco. Any nonfood items like soaps, paper products, pet foods and household supplies. Hot foods and foods that are to be eaten in store are also on list.

     Here's what I've personally seen bought at the grocery store that I worked at:
Starbucks, lobster, filet mignon, specialty  birthday cakes and yes even wedding cakes! (More then one in the last year alone!!)
     Those things are lacking and missing from my diet ...

     Why aren't there better regulations for this!? Well that would be "administratively costly and burdensome". Wait isn't that someones job?? We wouldn't want any to like, actually have to work now would we? In case you haven't noticed people need jobs around here!

     WIC, if you don't know is like food stamps but only for pregnant women and their kids up to age 5. You receive a check or vouchers to purchase specific foods and they are specific! They tell you excatly what you can or can't get with it. It gets broken down from the flavor of apple juice, to how many ounces of milk or Cheerios you can buy.

     Now why are there such strict limits on little babies and growing pregnant bellies but not on grown ass adults who know damn well what is good for them or not?

Like I said before I am definitely not against food stamp users, just the abusers and you should be to!  In some areas people even trade food stamps for money so they can buy drugs or alcohol- what the hell!? Is that how you want your tax dollars spent?

My Thoughts On... Job Applications

     Today My Thoughts On was inspired when filling out job applications recently. They all ask the same normal questions: name, work history and experience to have you ever been a felon or what interested you in this job? uh, having money? Mostly but there are some that I just don't get...

       One of them being, 'Do I have transportation to and from work?' I mean, really? I do understand why but, would I still get the job if I said, 'yea,my legs!'? I don't have a car all to myself (fiance and I share)  and I feel that it isn't any of their business how I get there, as long as I get there and do my job should be all that should matters,right? Okay, maybe I get that one but still!.

      *I should note here that I have only had a car for about 1/2 the time I've had a license (more then 10 years now) and that has never once stopped me from showing up to any job on time and if you know me, you know I am always early.

      On to the next thing I don't understand -Why, oh WHY, did I work so hard, for so long in high school to get that ever so important diploma when it kinda doesn't matter. Using that loosely -I know it matters! But tell me, why it is it when you get to the education section that high school diploma and GED are on the same line?
      I mean don't get me wrong, if you are smart enough to take and pass the GED, go right ahead; but in my experiences the GED test takers I have known didn't go to school every day, do homework every night or study the night before on the weekends like I did just to get that diploma.
     I'm not trying to say that people with a GED aren't as smart as those of us with a diploma but is it to much to ask that we get some sort of recognition for putting in four, whole years of schooling rather then just taking some test? Am I alone here or does any one else feel like this?
      This last thing I really don't understand and makes me wonder how private our privacy really is. Has an employer ever asked for your Facebook password? Me neither, but I have recently noticed in the news that others have been. What is up with that and what's next? You Tube, Instagram and Twitter logins?
      What I do off the clock and in my free time -when you ARE NOT paying me doesn't matter!! So if I'm ever asked I will gladly give it to them -after they give me all their personal passwords as well, which I'm sure they would do right?