boxy bear's adventures

oops, cookies are almost all gone...

hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! i’ve been a busy lil bear — going to holiday parties and spending time with family and friends. of course, consuming lots of yummy food is part of the holidays. i got this cookie box from a friend with homemade cookies, isn’t it so nice? i meant to share my cookies, but they were so yummy i almost ate them all by myself.

wishing you all a spectacular new year – may 2010 bring you lots of happiness, success & prosperity!

It’s the holiday season! And it wouldn’t be complete without going to a Christmas tree lighting ceremony…on the Queen Mary in Long Beach! I got there a little early so I could explore the huge ship…and part of the ship has been transformed into a hotel where guests can stay in the old rooms…here is the looooooooong hallway where the rooms are located. Looks a bit creepy, no?

Looooooooong hotel hallway on the Queen Mary

I wandered around a bit more and found this piano, which is an original to the ship…and that means it’s been on the ship since World War II! It’s now in a lounge area.

Queen Mary piano with windows looking out across the bay

Okay, now for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. There was lots of caroling and singing, and this elementary choir was especially cute. They’re dressed in cultural outfits from various countries around the world!

International children's choir

The X-mas tree is finally lit! And Santa is standing in front of the tree

Queen Mary Christmas tree

It was a fun night of listening to carolers and drinking hot cider to stay warm! This is the view of the Long Beach harbor and lights at night from the ship…isn’t it so pretty?

Long Beach harbor lights

laptop privacy?

what a strange contraption! i wonder if it’s comfy…

oh so tasty: frozen yogurt with fruit toppings

who else is addicted to frozen yogurt?! it’s one of my favorite snacks, but grabbing to too often does add up…so now i would like to share some good news: until Dec. 11, print out & bring this coupon for a buy-one-get-one-free deal. woohoo!

…with vanilla ice cream! it was soo yummy, i ate the whole thing all by myself. here are the before & after photos:

before: the cake was all warm & melty inside, and the vanilla ice cream nice and cold

chocolate lava cake

after: it looks like a big mushed up melted mess now, but oh so yummy. i think i may have had a lil too much

chocolate lava cake...after i inhaled it

Here’s another great printing company if you need to order prints! Just click on the banner and a new window will pop up.

we all gotta buy new clothes (especially with it being fall and winter coming up real soon) and what better time to go than with 30% off? from nov. 12-15, get 30% off purchases in store at Gap, Banana Republic, & Old Navy when you print out this coupon. the coupon also works for Gap Factory and BR Factory stores.

when you shop with the coupon this weekend, 5% of what you spend goes to CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty.

lookie what i got to try - blueberry beer!

i’m usually not a fan of beer, but this one tasted like blueberries, yum. and the bottle is awfully cute…

pretty wildflower i found on the trail

Hope everyone had a fabulous and fun halloween!

I went hiking last weekend up near Castaic on the fish canyon narrows trail, whew, what a long hike but it was nice being out in the wilderness. We saw only 2 other people on the trail the entire day, so it was a nice excursion if you like less crowded areas. One thing I didn’t know though is that quail hunters also use the area, so it can be a little worrisome to know that hikers and people with guns are using the same space. Just FYI! The hike is ~ 8 miles roundtrip but can get longer depending on how much you explore. I was expecting a lil more water in the stream but there were still nice clear pools of water, very cold and refreshing on a hot day.

To get to the trail head, exit Templin Hwy off the 5 Fwy just past Castaic, and head east ’til you reach the end of the road (blocked by a gate) and park your car. Hike on in past the gate and follow the paved road, which turns into dirt. Take the left fork and continue down the path, eventually passing through an old campground. This is the part that gets a bit tricky…the directions I had told me to follow a dirt trail heading north, but it was just climbing in elevation so i eventually turned around and backtracked to the campground. A hiker we passed earlier on in the day mentioned he had followed a dry streambed, so we tried that option and eventually came upon an area that seemed to be the narrows. Nice shady trees, boulders and rocks to hop around, and some water to play in.

taking a break

throwing rocks and making the water splash!

boxy bear & heggie the hedgehog

i’m spending the day with my friend heggie today! not sure what our plans are, but we’re always up to no good