disney, diners, and dad, oh my!

so, about 10 years ago the fam went to disney world. as we were walking to the tram that would take us back to our parking area, i told dad that i was amazed and impressed that no one recognized him the entire time we were there. we got on the tram and sat opposite a family of four. after a moment or two, the man sitting across from dad saw his hackenberg apiaries hat and said, "do you know dave hackenberg?" he didn't know dad personally, but a friend had gotten a piece of equipment from dad and had told him all about him.

that was then...

since then, dad has been in the news quite a bit with the recent discovery of colony collapse disorder. this past sunday night, dad was on 60 minutes for the second time in 6 months, and the "dave sightings" are already on the increase.

- he and mom were out to dinner with some friends in florida the other night and they had barely sat down when someone came over and said "you're the bee man! i saw you on 60 minutes."
- another time this week, dad was on his motorcycle riding down the interstate. apparently his helmet did nothing to disguise him from the toll-booth attendent, because that guy also recognized dad as "that beekeeper on tv."

needless to say... if we went to disney now, we wouldn't make it to the tram.

one fine day...

yesterday was just that.

it started off with finishing the final season of the gilmore girls. bets and i had a real live marathon with this season (started friday at 6pm and watched til about 3am, then finished it off yesterday from 10ish am to 4pm). it's an excellent series, full of wit and charm, and the man that i love. 1 resolution down, 30 to go. :)

then i made a series of phone calls - 2 of which did nothing but intensify the elation of the day! i talked to my friend anna (who i haven't seen in quite some time, miss her dearly), and i had the joy of hearing that the prodigal clemens' children were in town with their friends and would be joining in the evening's activities!

i think i was a little too high on life to be driving; kudos to erik and betsy for not making me feel too horrible about that. our plans, last minute as they were, fell by the wayside (this brought to you by the number 10 and a lack of reservations), and a night of spontaneity ensued. dinner at bull run and bowling turned into dinner at the tavern and a movie in the manshack. "the kingdom" - an excellent film.

the best part about yesterday (whether brought on by cabin fever from watching tv for how many hours, or by living vicariously through fictional characters, or for no good reason whatsoever) was that absolutely nothing could bring me down. i think that is the happiest i've been in a long long time.

of course, it'd be infinitely better if i could say with 100% certainty that it had nothing to do with sleep deprivation, but hey! a good day is a good day, no matter how you swing it. :)

cake in a cup and my new morning brew

today we celebrated a colleague's upcoming birthday with cake in a cup. this was the first time we had an excuse to have cake in a cup in the new office and it was actually met with a round of applause! cake in a cup has become quite the tradition with us - we have even discussed selling it at the bloom fair. it all started in the fall with a cake and a shortage of plates. the answer? Cake in a Cup! it's the best way to eat cake on the go, or in the office for that matter... i'm not even a huge fan of cake, but give me a gimmick and i'll eat it gladly!

i have a confession to make. this is hard for me to admit, but i now allow trace amounts of coffee substances into my body and semi-enjoy the experience. i blame a certain friend for this, who will remain nameless. please don't get me wrong...i still despise traditional coffee and most coffee drinks...it's just that over the last 6 months i have become accustomed to the occasional vanilla latte from panera bread or starbucks. more recently i have developed a concoction that is almost as tasty and completely free. i call it vanilla kayoffee (i lie; i don't call it anything, but that'd be a great name for it if i did). i take one packet of kayo cocoa (we keep it in spades at the office) and add half a spoonful of this columbian gourmet vanilla coffee that no one has touched since someone brought it in for cookie day. the brew is something between a vanilla latte and a mocha, a sort of black and white of the coffee world.

to those who are worried that i am succumbing to the dark side: never fear! i am still me and i still don't like the stuff. i love the light intensely and only occasionally wade in the shadows of the dark world of coffee.

the holiday: a semi-unbiased view

valentines day: the "it's ok you don't show your love for me the rest of the year, as long as you make one day a year special" day.

i can't say i agree with this holiday, and whether you believe me or not, i stand firm in the belief that my opinion has nothing to do with my relationship status. why should one day out the year be more special than another for telling that special someone that you love them? it's always sounded like a cop-out to me...

gilmore madness (i divulge nothing)

my sister and i have been bonding much lately. we spend hours together at least a few days a week watching gilmore girls. it cracks me up how she has gotten sucked in right along with me (she's usually the strong one). we are now on the precipice of the final season and are quite anxious and fearful to learn what will become of our dear sweet gilmore girls.

tonight we took a gilmore girls trivia quiz and stumbled on some things we shouldn't have. word to the wise...if you love a tv show of the past, the internet is NOT the place to revel in your love of it. even looking up quotes can ruin your day. too many cats that can escape from the bag. i got bit and scratched deeply by the first cat that escaped and then recovered albeit ever so slightly when a gentler beast followed. for the moment my mind is slightly at rest and the bag is tied fast, at least until the 7th season finds its way into our home.

commerce

i figured that is a better title than "ass-enhancers and their magical marketing." commerce is a form of the word commercialism, right?

i was flipping through some coupon papers today, realizing that i barely used any of the coupons i cut out last time, when i made it to my favorite section of the clipper. that's right, the "i have nothing better to do with my time than to buy the most tacky and obscure trinket, clothing, or digital wonder from the coupon saver" pages...

a few weeks ago i was almost tempted to send in for the porcelain elvis christmas tree shrine, complete with neon lights - i decided against it though, as i feared it might break during shipping. today was different - i found the most perfect invention in the coupon book under the phrase "has gravity taken its toll on your posterior?" a form enhancing undergarment that one can use to accentuate the buttocks and curve out that flat posterior. and it looks so real on the model that i decided to send in for my very own pair...NOT! the great news is that the butt pads can be removed, so one day you can please sir mix-alot and the next you can go back to being as flat as a pancake. somehow i think people would notice (and not in a "my she must be well exercised" way, but more of a "how much money do you think she's spent over the last few weeks on butt reduction and expansion?")

i'm sure every once in a while someone may find a great bargain or gift idea from these pages, but i sure hope the posterior enhancer isn't one of them.

btw, what is the correct name for those newspapers inserts that you clip coupons from?

hoola hoop anyone?

last night a few of my friends and i drove to richfield mennonite to a production our friend joel was in of "uncle phil's diner." the show was great (laughs and oldies music - nothing better) and as i'm sitting there enjoying the ambiance, i hear my name called for a door prize! you got it...a hoola hoop.

yup, that's right. i have a hoola hoop and zero hoola hoop skills. i tested it out in the parking lot afterwards with no success.

it makes me wonder what other marketable skills i have lost since my childhood...