Orlando Trip Recap

Okay, I know this is several weeks belated, but I had a blast in Orlando and wanted to share some pics.  There are more on Facebook, but these are just a few to go along with my favorite memories of the trip.

Universal Studios is definitely a more adult oriented place. Walking around the park with a cold beer is definitely encouraged.  The height requirements on most of the rides means that almost everything is geared toward older kids.  I did a lot of meandering on this trip since I had a lot of days to spend at the parks.  You could definitely do the circuit on these parks in two days based on the crowds when I went.  Take the time to enjoy being an adult at Universal Studios, then go be a kid at Disney.


A huge shout out goes to Mark J. who served as my local tour guide and drinking buddy for the duration of my trip.  I had a blast running around the town with you, Mark!  Another shout out goes to the best bar, Finnegan's, and the best bartender, Dan.  

Best food was definitely Mythos in Islands of Adventure. I got the Risotto of the Day and it was amazing.  It was Spinach and Oxtail Risotto with Beef Medallions and Asparagus.  It was really amazing.  So flavorful and hearty.  I wanted to eat it all, but I just couldn't get any more inside of me.

My favorite area of either park was Seuss Landing.  I absolutely loved the Cat in the Hat ride, which is very Winnie-the-Poo-esque for Disney fans.  My sister and I have an inside joke about being Thing 1 and Thing 2, so that was probably a huge factor on why I liked it so much. 

The best ride by far was Simpson's.  It replaced Back to the Future, which gave me a headache the first time around.  It was a fun ride, even though I'm usually not a fan of the 3D with moving cars.  I remember getting a wicked headache from my head slamming against the side of the Back to the Future car when I rode it last.  I laughed so hard in this one.  It's one that doesn't get old when you ride it over and over because there are little things you pick up on each time.  I rode it three times.  Honorable mention on best ride goes to Men In Black.  I'm sure if I got a score more than 50,000 it'd be higher up on my favorite list.

The best roller coaster was Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket.  You get to pick the music that plays during the ride. I picked Kanye West's "Stronger" and it definitely added to the experience.  I didn't get a chance to ride it and compare to other songs.  The coaster itself was really cool, but the pick-your-own-soundtrack was definitely ingenious.   Honorable mention for best coaster goes to The Mummy, a dark air-conditioned roller coaster, similar to Space Mountain.  Very well done.

I missed the opening of the Harry Potter area by a month and only saw the teasers of the tops of buildings from afar.  I was able to get to see the map of what will be where and it looks like it will be a lot of fun for Harry Potter fans.   But since the employees have since been let into the area, it should be okay to share the map with all of you!

Restaurant Adventures in SATX

I apologize for the recent post hiatus. Life's been busy!  But I do have stories to tell!  I have made it out to several new-to-me restaurants the last couple of weeks.

First was Blue Star Brewery.  This place has been on my list of places to go for a while.  My Basic Prep class met for dinner as an end of semester celebration.  After only seeing my classmates in our required uniform, it was interesting to see everyone in street clothes.  While there, I got a tasting flight of all their beers made in house. The Pale Bock and English IPA were okay, but I'm not really a fan of the hoppiness of pale ales.  The one I didn't like at all was the King William Barley Wine that was reminiscent of my stinky running shoes.  But then, another friend loved it, so to each their own.  The had a cask-conditioned stout that was okay, but again not my cup of tea.  There were three I really liked: a stout that smelled like chocolate and was very drinkable; a pale bock that was like a light Mexican beer; and an excellent amber that was my favorite of the lot.  The brewery also had pretty good munchies, a step up from normal bar food.

Cappycino's and Cappy's are locally owned restaurants in Alamo Heights right around the corner from Central Market.  I have a friend that works there, so I got great treatment while I was there. 
Cappycino's is more of a burgers-pizza-coffee shop kind of place.  I got a seat at the bar that overlooked the kichen so I could chat with my friend.  I got the Mediterranean Grilled Cheese Sandwich - fontina cheese, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. Absolutely fantastic.  And the honey vinaigrette on my side salad was quite excellent too.  Top it off with a lovely decaf latte and biscotti, and I'm hooked.  Absolutely going back there again.

I got personal delivery of Cappy's. Mind you, this is not a standard service, I've just got the hook up.  I got a crusted halibut on some vegetable fettucine with a butter sauce.  It was incredible.  I also had some bites of the Catch of the Day, but I didn't remember what the fish was.  It was a grilled steak like tuna, but sweeter and not as heavy.  the chef's special vegetables that day were a mixed vegetable medley that included yellow beets.  I also had some wilted spinach.  It's so easy to have bad wilted spinach, but this was some of the best I've had.  I am really impressed with the menu and creativity in the dishes I've tried.  I can't speak for the dining experience there, but after a quick walk in, I am intrigued and want to eat there for real.

For Mother's Day, Mom requested to go to Los Barrios, recommended to her by some of her coworkers. It was also the subject of an episode of Bobby Flay's Throwdown about puffy tacos.  I didn't actually have the puffy tacos, since they're not my favorite Mexican fare.  I had Pollo a la Salsa with a poblano sauce, which was really pretty good, but fairly heavy.  Mom had enchiladas.  The salsa had the heavy flavor of tomato sauce and had a good kick to it.  Pretty good, but not my favorite.  On the table they also had a kind of chimichurri that was really mild but had great flavor, mostly of cilantro lime and garlic. 

I loved finding these new San Antonio only places after going to a lot of chains in the past couple of years.

April Book Mash-Up

Again, April was way hectic.  I get some reading done, so here are the mini-reviews for those books.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This was recommended by Amanda and Brittany.  I devoured this one almost nonstop, or as nonstop as I can get with my current schedule.  It reminded me a lot of Lord of the Flies since it involved kids in the wilderness having to deal with very adult issues.  But any other similarities or differences may be lost on me since I hated the book in high school and didn't even finish it.  It also reminded me a lot of the huge amount of reality competition shows that currently make up the TV schedules.  It had a beautiful ending, one that could forever let the reader wonder what happens next or be a launching into a sequel. 

The Runner's Rule Book by Mark Remy.  This was an awesome read.  It timed it really well, as this is what I used to kill the hour and a half I was at the Austin Cap10K starting line waiting to go.  Remy is one of the daily bloggers on RunnersWorld.com and one that I try to read every day.  His humor is perfectly suited to these short quips.  It was a really quick read and it made me want to go out and run, but to make sure I took the time to enjoy it when I did.

Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr.  This is the fourth book of the Wicked Lovely series.  This book features Ani, a half-faery, half-human of the Dark Court and Devlin of the High Court.  It featured characters previously introduced in Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity.  It was really interesting to go back and reread Ink Exchange and see the seeds Marr planted in the earlier books that came to fruition in the later books.  It speaks of master of the plan for the Wicked Lovely world, almost like Harry Potter, but a much smaller scale. The only thing that bothered me was the more omniscient point of view.  I was used to Marr's style switching between a couple characters alternating at chapter delineations.  But this was further away from the characters and switched mid chapter.  It was harder to follow.  I'm starting to get over this series.  If it had an indefinite end, I'd probably quit reading at this point.  As there is just one more planned, Darkest Mercy, I will probably finish out the series.

Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels.  So I was contemplating changing up my workout routine.  I get the spam email from JillianMichaels.com, one of which advertising this book.  This is the first book of hers that I picked up.  I haven't followed Biggest Loser in order to know her methodology.  I was disappointed that this book didn't include more of the explanation behind the plan.  It didn't allow for the reader to apply the lessons for themselves, particularly in the diet plans.  This book is meant for people who want to get "ripped" in thirty days.  Its style was close to a "shut up and do what I say because I know what I'm talking about."  The particular exercises she uses are very specific to her, ones I've never heard of before. I'm sure that this book will give results to those that stick to the plan.  But this isn't the plan for me.  I am not going to follow blindly.

Unbound.  This was an anthology of short stories: Ley Line Drifter by Kim Harrison.  Harrison is author of the Hollows series which I loved and plowed through all of the books available last fall.  This short story stars one of the major characters, a pixy named Jenks as he takes an investigation on without his employer, Rachel Morgan.  He is his usual comedic self, complete with his hilarious swearing that I catch myself saying in my head.  It was a great short read and complements the rest of the Hollows world well.  Reckoning by Jeaniene Frost.  I wasn't familiar with this author.  It's about a vampire, Bones, who hunts down two ghouls who are committing gruesome murders in NOLA during Mardi Gras.  Eh, wasn't very impressed. Dark Matters by Vicki Pettersson.  Also an author I've never heard of before.  I absolutely loved the idea behind this world.  Superheroes and supervillians exist in isolation and work to keep humans unaware of their existence.  Comic books actually are the documentation of politics and current events in their world.  The characters in this were great, and I definitely want to read more from here. The Dead, the Damned, and the Forgotten by Jocelyn Drake.  This story made me suddenly VERY over vampire stories.  I really didn't get into it very much and found it too like all the other vampire worlds out there.  Two Lives by Melissa Marr.  Marr is another of the headliners on this anthology that made me buy the book.  This story is about a young glaestig (a particular species of fairies) named Eavan who is trying to prevent a drug dealer from enslaving young women.  This story had no ties whatsoever to the Wicked Lovely stories.  It was a good story, but again I'm getting a little tired of Marr.  Overall, it was a good quick read and I'm glad it introduced me to Jocelyn Drake, but otherwise not fantastic.


I am still working my way through Wicked, but I am finding I enjoy reading on my nook or iPhone. It's really portable and convenient.  The books that I have in hard copy are gathering dust on my shelves, but the eBooks I go through really quickly.

April Movie Mash-Up

Because I'm behind and feeling lazy today, I'm doing a combo review of three movies I've seen recently.  None of which really merit their own review anyway.

Kick Ass wasn't what I was hoping for.  I hope it was a comedic slant on the superhero theme, but it ended up being perhaps a kid's version of The Watchmen.  It was much more violent than I thought it was going to be, the majority of the violence coming from the little girl.  The story of the average guy and the one with Big Daddy/Hit Girl didn't really meld too well.  Not great.  Oh, and don't take your kids to see this one.

The Backup Plan was probably one of the worst chick flicks I've seen in a really long time.  Okay, maybe not worst, but least likely to actually happen.  I believed Jennifer Lopez's character and her back story, but I came out of the theater almost pissed off at how unrealistic the dude was.  He pursues her more ardently than any guy I've ever met, almost to the point of being a stalker.  When he finds out she's pregnant, he doesn't bail like a normal guy would, which perhaps is modern day heroism, but it's also highly unlikely. 

The Losers was probably the best of the bunch.  It was kind of a relief to see new faces in a movie, aside from Zoe Saldana (StarTrek, Avatar).    I liked that they brought back the comic book graphics element to the titles and in little pieces throughout the film.  I also liked Chris Evans and Oscar Jaenada. They had a Jay and Silent Bob feel to their characters. For a guy movie, it was okay.


 I'm ready for the good summer movies to come out now.

LASIK or Bust

This post will be my story as I recover from LASIK surgery. I’ll update it as I go through the next month since my vision is supposed to improve over that time. I hope anyone who has gone through the surgery can relate and my experience can help anyone wanting to have it!


Day 1 – Surgery Day. The excitement is tempered with nervousness. I have a hard time imagining what it will be like. Will it be like HD versus Digital? Instead of seeing trees will I be able to see leaves on trees?

My sister picks me up and we chat about classes on the way to the doctor’s office. Ava plays with the magazines that have been set out in the lobby. Soon I am taken to the exam room and the prep work starts. I am getting quiet, but Ava breaks the silence as she gets into a mood that cannot be soothed by Baby Einstein. I am finally taken into the operating room. One wall is glass so that those in the waiting room can see. A flat screen TV shows images of the actual surgery to those waiting.

I lay down and the nurses get me in position. The doctor comes in and they start by cutting the flap on each eye. It is the most painful part of the procedure, but it is more uncomfortable than painful. The put what my sister described as a torture device on my eye and pushed on it until all I could see was black. Then in thirty eight seconds the laser has made its cut. I twist my long sleeves in my hand while it works, and then again as they do the same to the other eye.

Then comes the actual vision correction with a different laser. They tell me to look at the blinking red dot, which really looks like a red pulsing blob. Or a Lite Brite starburst made from only red pins. Or a kaleidoscope. Then comes forty three seconds of clicking like a ratchet. There is a burning smell, like smoldering ashes. I try not to relate that smell to burning human flesh. I am afraid that I am looking the wrong way and may mess up the procedure, making the four grand I spent on five minutes ineffectual.

Faster than expected it is all over and the doctor clears me to go. The first things I see in my greased-over vision are the shadows of my sister and niece and I know all is right with the world. I close my eyes on the way home like the doctor says. I go to bed wearing my oh-so-sexy safety glasses that will be my bedmate for the next week. It burns and I cry as Ambien takes me into dreamland.

Day 2. I am almost afraid to turn on the light. Already some of the greasiness and fogginess has abated. On the way to the follow up appointment, I notice that the headlights and street lights are haloed, like they said they would be. It looks and feels like I have had my contacts in to long. They say I have 20/20 vision already and that it will get better from here. I have drops to take really frequently as my eyes heal. I am still having trouble wrapping my head around it. And my life is now changed.