Clam Shell Pumpkin

Does anyone else think "pumpkin" when they see a clam shell?

Materials: brown and orange paint, black cardstock, scissors, craft glue, hot glue, green pipe cleaner, magnet

Begin by painting the shell brown. Let it dry. Use your finger to rub orange paint over the shell. The goal is to cover most of the brown, letting some of the brown from between the ridges show through. While that is drying, use micro-tip scissors to cut facial features from black cardstock or construction paper. Anything goes. Glue them to the front with craft glue. Fold a 1" piece of green pipe cleaner in half and glue it to the back with hot glue, letting just enough stick up to look like a stem. Attach a magnet to the back with hot glue. 

That's all there is to it!

The Value of Scrapbooking

This month, I'm leading Trevor's Webelos (Cub Scout) den as they complete their 'Adventures in Science' activity pin. Since the boys are in fourth grade and I taught fourth grade, preparing the materials was simply a matter of reading through the Cub Scout requirements, then going to the file cabinet and pulling out the appropriate units from back from my teaching days. Between two of the folders, I found this: 

 

It's a picture of me (obviously) in my classroom, printed on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of ordinary copy paper. I have no idea who took it or why it's printed so large and on copy paper, rather than smaller and on photo paper. Worse, I have no idea when it was taken. 

For some reason, I'm obsessed with trying to figure out when this was. My name is written on the poster behind my head as "Miss Jones" so I know it was taken before I got married in 2004. I'm not wearing the heart necklace Steve got me during our first Christmas together in 2002 (nor the engagement ring I got 6 months later), so it wasn't 2003. It was not during my first three years as a teacher, as there are three panoramic photos of graduating classes on the wall. But the first year or two, we were a K-6 school and I didn't teach 6th, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't my fourth year. So that narrows it down to between 1999-2002. There's a poster about propaganda in the bottom right, which was from a new Language Arts adoption somewhere around my fourth year. That was around the same time our TV/VCRs were installed, replacing the large one we shared that had to be wheeled in. No help there. I've tried using a magnifying glass to read names on the Accelerated Reader chart on the wall, or what I'm writing, or whose names are on the birthday chart, but the photo isn't clear enough. I see that I'm still using a shirt box to hold the papers that need to be passed back, rather than the nice basket I used for that purpose in later years. And I see my childhood encyclopedia set on the shelf behind me. If I HAD to guess, I'd say this is 2000. But I don't want to guess. I want to know.

Photos like this show me how incredibly valuable scrapbooking is to me. Having photos is great, but it's the journaling that goes along with them that brings meaning. I can look at this photo and know that it is me, that I'm in Room B-4 at Glen Cove Elementary, and that I was the teacher of either a 4/5 combo or 5th grade class. I recognize almost everything in the picture and know how I used it and when I got it. If Trevor had found this photo after I was gone, he'd probably recognize me, but that might be it. He could guess that it might be my classroom, but he wouldn't know when or where. The next generation probably wouldn't even recognize me, let alone anything else about it. They may not even care, but if just one person appreciates that I've taken the time to record the details of our life in my scrapbooks, then that's more than enough reward for me.

Club 33

If you're a big Disney fan, you're probably aware of Club 33. For those who don't know, Club 33 is a private club in New Orleans Square in Disneyland. It is not open to the public, which makes it #1 on any Disney fan's bucket list. Membership fees are allegedly $12,000 per year after a one-time $25,000 membership fee, and the waiting list to become a member is supposedly 2-3 years long. On top of that, you have to pay for the meals. 

Needless to say, Club 33 membership is a bit beyond the deRosier family budget. 

(The old entrance to Club 33.)

Steve and I have been wanting to go to Club 33 for years. I'm not sure when I first learned that it exists, but the first time I talked with someone who had actually been was when my sister and her husband got to eat there in 2005. They went with his cousin, Kate Abbott, and her husband. Kate wrote an article about their experience for Magically Speaking that is an excellent summary of their experience. (By the way, Kate has quite a few other Disney-related articles I'd encourage you to read. Kate is also the author of Disneylanders, a well-acclaimed coming-of-age story.) Anyway, after hearing about their visit, Steve and I were even more interested in visiting someday. To be honest, I didn't think it would ever happen. Yet 10 years later, it did. And best of all, I was able to surprise Steve with the news. 

A few weeks before our scheduled family vacation to Disneyland to celebrate my nephew Timothy's 15th birthday, my sister asked if Steve and I would like to celebrate Timothy's birthday at Club 33. Would we?! Are you kidding me?! Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!! The only catch would be that the reservation wouldn't include Trevor or Timothy's sister, Allison (age 2). But a family member was willing to skip Club 33 and stay with them in the park so we could all enjoy the meal. I felt bad for Trevor, since he's both a Disney fan and a foodie, but I knew that he'd have a great time at Disneyland with Allison. 

I should state that my sister does not have Club 33 membership. A friend of a friend who does have membership heard that they were celebrating Timothy's birthday at Disneyland and offered to make a Club 33 reservation. Thank you SO much, Anonymous Stranger! It was a birthday celebration we'll never forget.

Club 33 was recently renovated. This is the front door. We were absolutely giddy when we arrived.

At your appointed time, you ring the bell, give your name, and wait to be escorted in.

We were led to a beautiful courtyard to wait for our table to be ready. It was a hot day and the ice-cold apple cider waiting for us really hit the spot.

 

After a 3-minute wait, we were escorted upstairs. This gorgeous mosaic greeted us at the entrance.

The reception area was stunning. I loved the chandelier...

... and the clock, complete with vulture.

The dining room was gorgeous.

I wonder how many people try to sneak out a plate. Probably not too many, as those who have memberships wouldn't want them revoked, and those who are eternally-grateful guests of members wouldn't dare risk destroying that relationship! 

Before eating, we strolled along the balcony outside. 

And, of course, we took a zillion photos. 

Here's that same balcony from street level.

Before I get into our meal, a word about the dress code. Our reservation was for lunch, intentionally chosen for the more relaxed dress code. We were staying off-property and it was very hot, so as much as we wanted to dress up and go all out, it simply wasn't practical. What we wore into the park at 9:00 AM (when it was already 85 degrees) would be what we wore to Club 33 and until we returned to the hotel at 9:00 PM. I wore a nice blouse, capris and comfortable sandals, which was similar to what all of the women we saw there were wearing. Steve and the rest of the men wore polo shirts. 

Here's the menu. I did a 3-course meal (salad, entree and dessert) and had the excellent Orange Lemonade to drink. Steve did the 4-course meal (appetizer, soup, entree and dessert) and had the wine paired with each dish.

My salad: Trio of Beet Carpaccio, Black Walnuts, Smokey Blue Cheese, Orange Tarragon Marmalade.

My entree: Parmesan Gnocchi, Summer Vegetables, Summer Mushrooms, Fennel Essence.

My dessert: Mississippi Molten Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, Passion Fruit Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream (substituted for the Cafe au Lait ice cream, as I don't like coffee). 

Steve's appetizer: Warm Blue Crab and Artichoke Gratin with Lemon Chervil Glacage.

 

Steve's soup: Chilled Summer Tomato Soup, Red Shrimp, Croutons and Olive Oil Sorbet.

Steve's entree: Petite Filet Mignon, Tender Haricots Verts, Cabernet Jus. 

Steve's dessert: Warm Monkey Bread with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream and Candied Pecan Praline.

The birthday boy got a special plate:

 

He also received a very nice card.

 

The food was absolutely outstanding. Every single thing was literally perfect. I've eaten a lot of wonderful meals in my life and this was unbeaten. (Tied, maybe. Bouchon on my 40th birthday was another perfect meal.) It was worth every penny.

After eating, we headed down the hall...

... for the obligatory trip to see the gorgeous bathrooms. The women's room was stunning, with beautiful details everywhere you looked.

 

The men reported that their bathroom was nice, but it wasn't until we compared photos that we saw the huge difference between the men's and women's rooms! It was pretty funny. Here's Timothy with his cell phone with a picture of the men's room and Kari's cell phone with a picture of the women's room in the other. You can't see the phone images, but the look on his face is priceless. He's amused, and indignant, all at the same time.

What an amazing day! The food, the atmosphere, the service, and the company... everything was fantastic. It's hard to express how great it is to accomplish the seemingly-impossible. Eating at Club 33 was truly a dream come true. 

The Big Reveal

I've been keeping a secret from Steve. A huge, exciting, can't-wait-to-tell-him surprise. (No, I am not pregnant. This is more of a Bucket List type of surprise than a completely life-altering surprise.) I knew he would be thrilled when he found out. Rather than tell him outright, I decided to tell him via clues in numbered envelopes. That kind of thing is really fun for me. 

Steve had no idea why I was so excited or what was in the envelopes I'd given him. 

Here's Clue #1:

 

I love the suspense!

Here's Clue #2:

 

He had a guess, but didn't want to say in case he was wrong.

This is Clue #3:

 

The Big Reveal was in the 4th envelope.  

Steve was just as excited as I knew he would be! Have you figured out the big surprise? I'll tell you all about it on Monday!!

Golf Camp, Year 3

Trevor has been participating in a summer golf camp at a local course for the past three years. The first two years were amazing, so we had high hopes that this year would be equally awesome. Unfortunately, it was not. There was a new instructor, which was the primary reason camp was so much worse than the previous two years. On top of that, they enrolled twice as many students AND camp took place during a heat wave. Fortunately, Trevor still loved it.

To represent the hot weather, I used a yellow and orange background paper. It's quite a bit different from the golf layouts I've done in the past.