January 2005: McAllen, Texas

My mom and I left on Saturday for McAllen. We flew from Muskegon to Detroit to Dallas to McAllen. The temperatures all week were in the 60s, which was much nicer than 12 degrees, which we had here.


As soon as we got to Texas, Beulah drove us around the town. We dropped off her dog, Missy, at her friend, Kitt's house. We got to see the trailer they rented last year. She wanted to show us this restaurant called Pepe's that is the place for the young people, but it closed at 6 p.m. We had a heck of a time finding it in the dark. It is right on the Rio Grande River. So, then we decided to eat at IHOP. Grandpa isn't doing too well. His health is ok, but his mind isn't there. Plus, he gets very tired and doesn't want to do much. It is sad to see him this way, as he was always full of energy and always on the go. The first day we were there, I noticed such a difference. He tended to wander around, get ornery, etc.


Sunday, we drove over to South Padre Island, as I wanted to see that. It is narrower than I expected. There is a beautiful bridge you go over. We stopped at the Visitor's Center and got some reading material. They have a free shuttle that stops at different places on the island, so we took that around. It wasn't too busy on the island as it was in the 60s and breezy.
The time to go there is during spring break in March when all of the college kids are down there. But, it gave us a chance to see the area. We also stopped at this lighthouse that is on the other side of the bridge in Port Isabel. We had lunch at this Treasure Restaurant and it was delicious.
Grandpa didn't want to eat anything for lunch. That is unlike him to do that, too.


My mom lost these clip on things for her glasses while we were in Port Isabel. We looked all over the restaurant thinking they were there. On our way out, we looked and grandpa wasn't there. So, then we tried to find him.  He had wandered back to our table looking around for those glasses. He doesn't tell you he is going back to the table, he just wanders. That is scary.


On Monday, Beulah took us to the local mall while she went China painting. The mall has every store you can imagine. I got a leather jacket for $99 from Dillards and then a hot pink leather jacket from Casual Corner for $99 (regular $299) so I was happy with my deals. Then, Beulah picked us up and we went for lunch at Black Eyed Pea Restaurant which is like a Chili's.


We discussed Grandpa's current health. Although his basic health is good, his memory is not. I don't think he has alzheimers, but has the characteristics of it. Beulah said there is no way he should be living alone. She says she notices things he forgets to do everyday. You have to
tell him to change his shirt or shorts, or he wears the same thing every day. He may leave a stove on, forgets to take the dog out, etc. We think it is getting to be the time for him to either be in assisted living or stay with Beulah. Beulah has thought hard about it, but said she would be willing to have Grandpa live with her. She doesn't want to live in his house, as she feels she would be unhappy there, which I agree with. It is a large undertaking to take care of someone, but she wants to do it. We did talk to grandpa about selling his van and he agreed to do that. We can't sell his big yellow car as he wants it to become an antique car. He got it in 1984 and wants to keep it 4 more years. We would like to sell it, but can't at this point. We even asked him if he would like to live with Beulah from now on (even after coming back from Texas) and he said he gets lonely at home himself. We told him if he moved, we would probably have to sell his house, which means he would have to go through all of the appliance parts he has in the garage. Once we clean out his garage, then we will have him go through that when he gets back to Michigan.


It is so sad to see him the way he is, as it isn't like him. He was sleeping much of the day in his lazy boy and watching TV.


On Monday, Beulah took my mom and I over to this Famous brands store as they have everything $16.99 there.
Then, she took us for the ultimate shopping experience. She said we would never
do anything like this before. She said she would give one of us a prize for the best deal. We thought we were going to a place with Ralph Lauren clothes for dirt cheap. We stopped at 'Ropas Usadas' and inside were heaping piles of used clothing that the Mexicans were sorting through one by one. The clothes were smelly and old. We couldn't believe that people actually went through all of that. We got a picture of us in the pile.  One guy was using a fork lift to sift through the piles. The Mexican women had masks on while sorting. It was a sight to see. I guess I couldn't imagine living like that. Down in Texas, the women have Ropas parties where they go to these stores and find clothes and wear them in a fashion show. 


On Monday night, we went to their clubhouse and had a potluck and some entertainment afterwards. Grandpa got Beulah out there and they danced a few numbers. That is the happiest I have seen him in a while. He was doing well on the dance floor. They stopped going dancing last year as he wasn't doing the dances right and the women would complain. He would say it was the woman's fault.


It is really building up in McAllen. Grandma Gonyo lived there for 6 months while my Grandpa was in the service. She worked at a department store there which was across from the hotel she stayed at. We think the location of that hotel is where the present Renaissance hotel is there.


Beulah drove us to Progresso, Mexico to check that out. We walked over the border into Mexico for 30 cents. The line to get back into the US was long. It was wrapped around the block. It took us around 45 minutes to get through the line. There were security cameras all around and sniffing dogs, but I still think it seems to easy for people to get into the United States. I think the security at the airport is much better than at the border.  They look at your drivers license or passport so fast, too.
We got into a rainstorm on our way back and the traffic was backed up for miles. Beulah is sure a good driver for only having one working eye.  She had cancer in one eye when she was a kid so has a glass eye. She sure gets us all over town.
Beulah is truly remarkable.

Tuesday night, we went to see the Dutton family in concert at their convention center. They sure put on a good show.

November 30, 2004: Maggie's 1st Birthday

I decided that I wanted to celebrate Maggie's first birthday by throwing a doggie birthday party. I invited our neighbors, friends, and their dogs to come.    We played a couple of games.  One of the games was to see which dog ran the fastest.  Of course, Maggie won that game, as she knew what to do. The other dogs just wandered around in the backyard.

Cody, Conner, Shannon, Brittanie, Ashley, Jim, Melanie, Jasmine, Patty, Jackie Balcom, and some neighbors came. I had food for the dogs, as well as the humans.    I bought a cake for Maggie to blow out.    Well, actually I blew out her candles.      I think the party was quite a big success.       Maggie is like a kid to me, so why not throw her a birthday party.

October 16, 2004: Columbus, OH/Longaberger Homestead

Well, we made it here to Columbus, Ohio. We got here around 9:15. We had some stops to do on the way, so that is why it took us longer. I usually don't like to drive in the dark, but didn't have much of a choice as I had to work until 11 a.m. today. I think I only have around 6 hours left of vacation.

It is hard to drive when it is dark and rainy and you are in an unfamiliar place.


We are staying at the Marriott Hotel by the Columbus Airport. Then, we will drive over to Dresden, Ohio tomorrow to visit the Longaberger basket homestead. We have reservations to make our own baskets so that should be fun. I will have to keep my basket in a safe place, away from Maggie, as she loves to chew on basket material.

October 2004: Little Sister, Brittanie

I decided that I wanted to make a difference in a child's life, so I volunteered with Big Brother/Big Sister.    They assigned me to Brittanie Kammers.   She was around 8 yrs old and had 2 brothers.        Our first meeting was at her house off of Lakeshore Drive.       The first actual activity was at my house.  She met my mom, as well as my dog, Maggie.    The leaves had fallen on the ground.    I took a picture of her with Maggie in the leaves.      

I took her on many activities over the next few years such as:   Chicago,  Mackinac Island, Spa Day (10th Birthday gift), hockey games, dog walks, movies, scrapbooking, Butterfly Farm at Meijer Gardens,  Badger Trip, etc.     I enjoyed spending time with her.    It got harder to spend time with her as she got older and wanted to spend time with kids her own age.  She truly has been a blessing to me.  

September 24, 2004: Chucke Cheese

Mom and I took the neighbor kids to Chuck E Cheese for Cody's birthday. They were so excited. I think they had a good time. We all got little prizes. One of the girls took forever to pick out a prize so we were all helping her, as we had to get home at the time I promised the parents.

August 2004: Los Angeles Vacation/30th Birthday

August 21, 2004:  Beverly Hills

We left Detroit around 9 a.m. and took Spirit Airlines straight through to Los Angeles. Our cousin Carol was there to pick us up. She got a different car. It is a 2002 Cadillac. It has black leather seats, on-star, Bose sound system, etc. I think we are going to ride in style in Beverly Hills. She told us that on the registration for the car, that it used to be owned by a talent agency. I can't remember the name, but I thought that was pretty interesting.


From the airport, we asked Carol if she had any plans for today and she didn't, so we drove into West Hollywood and stopped at the pet boutique, Fife & Romeo's. The owner had this neat African hat on and had his little white dog, Cookie Monster, dressed in this cute shirt and the hair was colored pink. He used food coloring on the dog's head to get the color. It was so cute. The dog was adorable. It made me miss Maggie. Then, a customer came in with her little dog and the dogs were yapping at each other. This pet boutique is frequented by the top stars. He told us 'what hollywood star hasn't been here'. Paris Hilton buys her dog things at this store all the time. You have to ring a door bell and he will open it for you. That is for security, but also as a service to the famous people who may want a private showing. He said he has only 1 store in the United States but about 5 in Japan, as they aren't so competitive as they are here.


After that store, we went to Sunset Boulevard as I wanted to stop at this store "On Sunset" that is owned by one of my soap stars, Lauralee Bell, from the "Young and the Restless". She is joint partners with another gal, who was in the store. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the actress. That would have been fun to see her. Anyway, the clerk, Maria, was showing me the new trends for this year and tried on this vintage looking necklace on me. It was $195. Nothing in the store was affordable for me, but it was fun to browse.


Then, we went to the Beverly Hills Hotel which is also on Sunset Boulevard. We had to valet park. We ate at the famous Polo Lounge. We had soup as we weren't real hungry. Plus, the prices were high for lunch. We didn't get very good service, though. We think that they weren't good to us as we didn't look like a movie star or something. They didn't give us a knife for our butter, didn't ask how the food was, etc. We never experienced that before, as we were always treated like queens on the cruise ships and the restaurants in Europe, but I guess things are different here.


We went to Rodeo Drive and I finally got to walk the road. It was great to browse the shops. I would like to get a Louis Vitton purse, but one of the imitation ones for $50. The real ones are about $500 or more. I will save my money for the imitation one.


Carol and Eddy live out in Pasadena which is so charming. There are alot of trees and flowers there, whereas, there are mainly just buildings in Los Angeles with not alot of trees.

August 22, 2004:  Mann's Chinese Theater/Cemeteries/Madre's Restaurant

Well, we had another early morning. We drove to Hollywood in about 30 minutes from Pasadena to go to the Mann's Chinese Theater. From there, we took a tour through Starline Tours that went to two cemeteries, Hollywood Cemetery and Westwood Cemetery to see where some old movie stars are buried. Then, we took a tour of some of the stars homes in Beverly Hills and Bel Air. We did get to see Aaron Spelling's mansion which has 123 rooms. It is well hidden behind the trees, though. It is supposed to be the largest home here.

Then, we took at VIP tour behind Graumann's theater. You can pay $20 to see a movie there where you have a special VIP lounge and are served food, waited on hand and foot, and get a special room to watch the movie. That is where the stars go when they have a premiere. They sit in a special room upstairs and the audience sits below, so that they can see the reactions from the audience to their movie.


We drove home and got ready for my 30th birthday dinner which was at Jennifer Lopez's restaurant, Madre's, in Pasadena. It was a gorgeous restaurant with about 11 chandeliers in the main dining room. Jennifer chose every decoration for the restaurant. It served Cuban food. I got seranaded by the band. They played some Puerto Rican/Cuban music which was fun to listen to. It surely was a wonderful meal and something I will never forget as my 30th birthday dinner.

August 23, 2004:  Caramia Justian's Condo in Manhatten Beach

Today was a relaxing day for us. We slept in until around 9, had breakfast, and then got to drive Eddy's 198? Mercedes to the local mall. The mall was very nice. The weather here is perfect. I would love to have that year round. Traffic is quite heavy in Los Angeles. I guess if I had alot of money, then it would be a nice place to live. But, I think I would live in Pasadena or the Arcadia area if I had alot of money as it is a charming community. Los Angeles itself is just a bunch of buildings without too many trees.



In the afternoon, Carol drove us to Manhattan Beach to meet with Caramia Justian, who is the granddaughter of my grandpa's girlfriend, Beulah. We got to see her condo, chat with her daughters, and then she took us on a tour of Manhattan Beach. We walked out to the pier. She also showed us her kiosk in the mall where she sells different gift items. She said it costs about $1800 a month to rent the kiosk. She said she has put alot of money out for the merchandise and not sure if she will continue with that business once January rolls around. She had some beautiful things there.


Then, we came back to Caramia's place and she had made us a roast. It was a wonderful evening.


August 24, 2004:  30th Birthday

Today was my 30th birthday. We got up quite early to drive down to CBS Studios to be in the audience at the Price Is Right. I was so excited because it has always been a dream of mine to see the show in person. This is the 2nd time I have tried to go. The first time I had tickets that my relatives gave me, but wasn't able to go as I couldn't get enough time off of work.



We got to the studio a little after 7 a.m. and they gave us these orange numbered tickets. Then, we had to sit on these benches until 9 a.m. Then, we had to be in numerical order and they went down the line and put a number on your actual ticket. If you didn't get a number, then they put an 'SB' on your ticket for stand by. Well, I was the 50th stand by ticket. There were a ton of people there in line when we got there after 7. We were told to be there at 8, but I didn't realize that many people were there at 5 a.m. waiting. There were even some that camped out the night before.


So, we went to the Farmer's Market and browsed around as we had to come back at 11 a.m. to see how many stand by people could get in the show. If you have a group of 20 or more, then you are guaranteed a seat and they had 3 tour groups coming today, so if they didn't show up, then the stand bys would be chosen. It is a lengthly process to just get into the audience. They only have 325 seats available. What they do is send tickets out to practically everyone in the mail, so there is no guarantee.


We came back at 11 and waited some more. There is one lady who wrote people's names on their nametags, so we had to wait for that before they even got to the standby people. So the standbys got number and only the first 38 people made it. Needless to say, I was quite bummed as I had planned for so many months to go to the show, got the t-shirt made, and was quite excited. Not to mention, I wanted to be on it on my 30th birthday. It may sound dumb, but I was quite upset over it.


Carol and Eddy knew how much I wanted to see it and are offering to drive my mom and I back to CBS early tomorrow morning to try and be in the audience again. Carol and Eddy have been so wonderful to us! They even had a nice birthday cake for me today and made their famous shrimp that we were told was so wonderful.


For dinner, we went to a chinese restaurant. On the way home, we had fun popping our head out the sunroof window. It was fun letting the wind go through our hair. I had seen the daughter on National Lampoons Vegas vacation do that out of a limo window, so we did that.


Even though I was quite disappointed with the process that the "Price Is Right" goes through to just be an audience member, I did have a great birthday with my mom, Carol, and Eddy. They are always so good to us.


So, I have to get to bed now as we are going to get up really early in the morning and try this again. Most people wouldn't even think of trying it again, but there is just something in me that wants to see this taping. After that, I won't ever go to the Price Is Right again, as it is such a hassle and you waste most of your day there. I have never had that experience at another taping of a show.

I am happy to announce that we did make it on the Price Is Right after a long day of waiting.



August 25, 2004:  "Price Is Right"Show Experience

Carol dropped us off outside of CBS studios at 5:30 a.m. That's right, it was that early in the morning. The gates at CBS don't open until 6:30 a.m. When we got in, they gave us an arrival ticket. We were number 130 and 131 this time, so we were in good shape.


At 8 a.m., then they had us line up in numerical order of arrival numbers and then wrote a number on our actual ticket. At that time, we were free to leave the CBS studios for 2 hours. So, mom and I went walking around the Farmers Market and the Grove. Then, we had a bagel across Fairfax Ave which was quite good.


At 10 a.m., we came back as we had to be lined up in numerical order to have them check our photo ID and social security cards. Around 11 a.m., we finally got our price tag name tags. That meant we were going to be in the audience.


We got to know the kid who sat next to us. His name was Christopher and he was from Cleveland, OH. HE had quit college and come out to California to go to school. His sister lives out in Long Beach, but he didn't like that area. Then, the 4 ladies next to us were Mexican and go on a vacation together once a year as a reunion. One lady, Carmen, was from Cancun. She was born in Texas, though. The other sisters were from Dallas, Houston, and San Diego.


At around 1 p.m., we had our mini interview for the contestants. When I told them where I worked, they got a kick out of it.


Finally, it was 2 p.m. and we were escorted into the studio. I guess the soap operas are taped right upstairs from the Price Is Right.


We got seats around 6 rows from the front and in the middle. I am seated behind a guy in a service uniform. The set was much smaller than how you see it on TV. That isn't a surprise to me, as I have seen talk shows like Oprah, Jenny Jones, and Jerry Springer and those sets are small.


All of the games and the wheel are on rollers and they just roll them out. Finally, Bob Barker came out and everyone cheered. He is sure looking skinny and looks like he is about to keel over. The models looked like a size 0. I know that TV adds 10 pounds which I think they need. lol


The taping got done at 4:30, so that means we spent 11 hours at the Price Is Right. Isn't that ridiculous? Well, I fulfilled another one of my dreams so that is all that matters.

August 26, 2004:  Wheel Of Fortune Taping

Today we went to Culver City to Sony Studios to see a taping of "Wheel of Fortune". Sony is sure a huge place. We were quite impressed with how the Wheel of Fortune was run. We didn't have to spend hours in line to be in the audience. The show was shown on stage 11 which was next to where Jeopardy is also taped.



Wheel of Fortune tapes 6 shows in 1 day. We were there for 3 of the shows and then there is an afternoon group that sits in for 3 more shows. I think I would love a work schedule like that. Wheel of Fortune only tapes for 33 days out of the year. Then, the Wheel of Fortune will be on the road in 3 different cities (3 weeks at a time).


It was interesting to learn that the contestants stand on adjustable podiums. That way each person is the same height and it is easier for the cameras to tape that way. Vanna White was very pretty in person. Both Vanna and Pat seemed short to me. The set was also smaller than how you see it on TV.


I found out that the puzzles are decided on by writers, Vanna, Pat, etc. They will spend days writing down possible puzzles for the show.


What was nice about this show is that they raffled out tshirts/hats/bags to audience members during the commercial. We got to meet Vanna's daughter, too.


After the taping, we went on a Studio Tour of Sony. Sony bought out MGM studios. It was interesting to learn that the studios will rent out stages for productions. This gives them additional income.


We saw some real trophies won at the Academy Awards for some movies that won them. They are pretty impressive.


One of the buildings at Sony has been used for several shows. This building is where we saw the Academy Award trophies.


We got to be on the set of "Joan of Arcadia". It was interesting to see the police station, the bookstore where Joan works, and the high school. The actors are told to bring pictures of themselves to use as props on the set.


For a 1 hour show, it takes 8 days to tape. Actors spend about 12 hours a day rehearsing.


Sometimes, they will tape an actress talking to a puppet instead of an actual person. They have ways of just taping the face of the actress. So, they have to be really good at acting. The scenes aren't taped in order. They are constantly taking polaroids of the sets or the actress to be sure that if they tape a scene one day and continue the next day, that the actor's hair is parted in the same place or that a prop is in the same place.


We found out that the character, Ralphie, from the movie "A Christmas Story" is now grown up and is a director for a film coming out in the next year.


We also found out that sometimes an actress will walk up stairs as if they are going to the 2nd floor but there really isn't a second floor. There are all kinds of tricks that are done in film making.

August 27, 2004:  Botanical Gardens in Pasadena/Taping of '8 Simple Rules'

Eddy dropped us off at the Los Angeles botanical gardens and we wandered around there for 3 hours. It is sure a beautiful place. We got to see the house where "Fantasy Island" was filmed. It is the part where the short guy says 'Da Plane, Da Plane". Then, I also saw some parts of where "Wonder Woman" was filmed.



There was a gorgeous Victorian house there, too.


At around 2:30, Eddy and Carol took us to this famous burger joint in California called 'In and Out'Burgers". The fries are not frozen, but made from actual potatoes peeled each day and done in 100% cholesterol free vegetable oil. It was very good.


Then, we drove to Burbank and went to a taping of "8 Simple Rules". The big stars in the show are: Katy Segal, James Garner, and David Spade.


Found out that they rehearse for many hours during the week and tape the show on Friday nights. Some portions of the show are pre-recorded during the week and then the audience that comes on Fridays will watch that clip and laugh. That is how they add the laughing into the clip.


It was neat to see a live taping of the show. I think it will be the 3rd episode for this season.


They have to make sure that the show is no more or less than 21 1/2 minutes long. So, sometimes, they have to tape a clip 3 or 4 times until it is right.


The set is small in person and in the middle is the living room set. To the left, was the kitchen set, followed by the nurse's office set, and school lockers set. To the right of the living room was the front of the house set, then next to that was the girl's bedroom set.


Katy Sagal's 10 year old daughter was in the audience. She said she wants to go into acting, too.


They have quite a few crew people working on this show. Found out that each of the cameras used for filming cost around $105, 000. No wonder why it is so expensive to produce a show.


Again, this is an ABC sitcom, but it is filmed at Disney Studios in Burbank. Many of the shows are not necessarily filmed at the networks studio. The networks will often rent a stage at a studio.


It was neat to meet the actors/actresses and see how it is all done.

Tomorrow, we may drive down to Manhattan beach to visit my grandpa's girlfriend's condo. She went with us on the cruise a few months ago.

August 4, 2004: Grand Am/Blueberry Picking

The car I traded in was a Honda CRV which is considered a smaller sized SUV. It was a good car, but I felt that paying payments like that, the insurance, and gas, were taking too much of my income. So, I got a 2001 Silver Pontiac Grand Am. I showed my grandpa today and he really liked it. He said the price is good too. I will feel better not shelling out so much money on car stuff. I want to have a home someday and don't want my money all tied up in car payments and insurance.

Today, I took the neighbor kids blueberry picking. They seemed to enjoy it. My grandpa took us along. Boy, I have never seen my grandpa act like he did today. He was yelling at me because I mixed my berries in his bucket. Apparently, he was wanting to time himself and see how many he could pick in an hour. Then, he slapped me on the hand and got mad when we went to pay, as he said my bucket wasn't heaping over like he likes it. Then, he didn't want to pay the owner the amount she said he had. I had never seen him act like that before. Then, he got mad when he put his berries in his box. He said I had too much junk in my box. I have gone berry picking with him for many years and he always said I picked the best berries. I usually pick the big ones and I don't ever have twigs and green berries in my bucket, but he usually has a bunch of that stuff in his bucket. So, I found that strange that he would yell at me about that. I think he has alzheimers. He seemed to forget all about it around 10 minutes later.

Then, the kids and I got ice cream and came home. Then, I helped clean the house and then took the neighbor boys down to the lake to play on the playground equipment, then we took Maggie to the doggie beach. At first when the waves came up on the shore, she jumped away. Eventually, Maggie did go in the water and she seemed to enjoy that. She went to bed right away tonight. i guess we wore her out.

Tomorrow, mom and are driving to South Bend, Indiana to visit her friend Judi. We are going to eat brunch at the Studabacher mansion. We went there last year too, and the food was wonderful.