San Diego County Fair

This is the third year in a row we have gone to the fair with Anthony's parents. We went this year for Father's Day, and we had a blast! Our tradition is to start out the day with a turkey leg and pork chop on-a-stick from this vendor by the Swine Races (they race pigs... we have never watched), make our way through the barn animal displays (I love the pygmy goats they have on display!), and then make our way to the garden exhibits. Some of the gardens they have there are so beautiful and creative, I could only hope to get a grain of an idea from these folks. We also love looking at all the bonsai on display. There is so much to do and see, and so much to eat! We also play this water game, so one of us always wins. I won this giant hippo this year, which was as hard as a rock. I probably should have picked something else. Elaine (Anthony's stepmom) won a Padres bear and a Chargers bear. She was really pleased. We also found this vendor who sold a lot of beautiful asian plants and bonsai. I got a desert rose and a tuber-like plant (I need to look up the name). I also got a 15 minute acupuncture massage... man were my shoulders in need of a massage!

We also found this machine/gadget that carbonates water for you, so you can make your own soda! We tasted just the plain water that they carbonated, and the water tasted different. We bought the machine, and we carbonated some water and just added a twist of lemon and lime to it. Talk about refreshing... hopefully this will make me drink more water throughout the day, and not drink sodas. I will keep you posted on the DIY soda machine. We are very excited about it!

WJW Foundation

I'm helping a friend of mine set up a foundation to help the elderly with costly vet bills. We hope to expand it and help with adoption fees, and hopefully someday, own some land so we can rescue animals and provide them a permanent home after their mom's and dad's pass on if no one else wants them. I finally finished reviewing the brochure... it's taken me a while to get to it. But I finally got it done! We hope to get it to print soon, so we can set up a fundraiser to raise enough funds to incorporate and file for non-profit status. Step 1 is done!

Empress Orchid

I am almost halfway through this book by Anchee Min that I just picked up on Saturday. It's a historical fiction about this young girl from the country joining the Imperial Court as the Emperor's fourth wife. It's really entertaining, and it sucks you right in to the old world. I can only imagine what life must have been like back then. I find myself going online a lot to look things up that I found in the book.

One thing that fascinates me is the eunuch. I wonder how young men and boys back then go through that process, and what makes them go through that process, and the pain they must have gone through. And what sick person actually performs that... thing. Did these boys do it by choice? It's the same thing with ladies who bound their feet (though there are none in the book). I've seen some of the embroidered slippers that ladies with bound feet actually wore, and I can't even imagine the pain these girls went through to have their feet bound. It's such a different world that we live in today. I'm sure that's the reason these books intrigue me so much... life was so different back then, I can only imagine what it was like in my head.