Healthy choices at Disneyland

I'm a big believer in personal responsibility, so you're not going to find me vilifying fast food companies like McDonald's or soda companies like Coca-Cola for making the products that they do.  I truly believe it is possible to incorporate these foods into your diet, as long as you keep in mind that it's an indulgence (and by indulgence, I mean occasional, not every other day) and watch your portions when you do indulge.

That said, I always appreciate it when big companies acknowledge the huge influence their food and their marketing practices have on the average consumer, and work to inform and educate the consumer, as well as provide healthier options.

Olympics: how sweet it is

My obsession with the Olympics continues... the Brits are beginning to look at me strangely, because I can't seem to stop taking photos whenever I see a product with an Olympics logo.   I was at Selfridge's Food Hall last week, and there was I was impressed by the number of Olympics-themed edibles (both licensed and unlicensed) the Olympics-crazed consumers could consume.  From candy to cookies to cakes to crisps to coke, companies are offcompanies are taking the word "consumer" literally!  Here are my favorites:

Would you pay a premium for Official London 2012 cookies (or, as the British call them, biscuits)?  Sure, the frosted mascot and Olympic medal designs are cute, but it's not like you can keep them as a souvenir.   They did have cookies in special Olympics tins, which I would totally buy: after the cookies are gone, I can use the tin to store my souvenir Olympics pins, key chains, pens, snowglobes, coins... on second thought, maybe the frosted cookies would be better for my budget.

London Prepares: Olympics decorations around London

It's less than a week till the London 2012 Olympic games, and the whole nation is excited!  All the newspapers have daily Olympic inserts featuring Olympic athletes and updates on the preparations for the games.  It's not all good news -- there are reports of lost athletic equipment, 4-hour detours, and traffic congestion and confusion due to the special Olympic traffic lanes around London and the other games venues.  But for the most part, everyone is getting into the spirit.  It's hard not to, what with the whole of London putting on its Olympic party clothes!   Here are some of the Olympic trappings I've seen around:

Would you like chips with that Big Mac? (McDonald's in the UK)

When we visited France two years ago, I wrote a post about the local menu options at McDonald's.  I've always been fascinated by how McDonald's customizes their menus to cater to local palates and tastes, so now that we're in the UK for a while, I thought I'd show everyone the different kinds of McDonald's dishes you can order here!

Pin trading at Disneyland

Every time we go to Disneyland, I like to buy the kids a Disney themed t-shirt.  This time around, we found that the shirts I got them for our previous trip still fit them, so I decided to buy them some pins and lanyards instead. 

Olympic Torch Relay, Day 54: Salisbury

Today, The Pea and I attended our first Olympic event: we saw the London 2012 Olympic Torch pass through Salisbury!  The torch has been making its way around the UK since mid-May, with 8,000 torchbearers carrying the flame through more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages.   June 11 was Day 54 of the Olympic Torch Relay, and I was determined to see it.

Olympics-themed candy

Olympic fever has definitely hit England.  Many English households have their homes decked out with British flags -- they were originally put up for the Queen's Jubilee, and the owners have let them stay up for the Olympics.  The papers and tabloids all have an Olympics section with a daily countdown and daily feature of a British athlete.  Stores are filled with Team GB logowear (Olympic logowear is rare; I'm assuming only the official London 2012 stores will have them) and you can buy Olympic-themed everything and anything you want.  Here's a sample of some of the Olympic-themed candy we've been munching on:

Disney's World of Color lights up the night

Disney's World of Color never fails to give me goosebumps.  I love the light-up characters, the Bellagio-style fountain show, the Disney movie music that brings back wonderful memories of childhood.  I didn't think the show could get any better, but I was wrong.

London 2012 Official Programme

I don't buy many physical books or magazines these days; thanks to our Kindle and iPad, we can read pretty much any book or magazine we want, without adding bulk or weight to our luggage.  But this Official Programme to the London 2012 Olympic games is a keeper.  We like buying souvenir programmes to all the events we attend, and since this is the world's biggest sporting event, it's worth the space it will take up on our library shelf.    And since it's probably not going to be available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, I thought I'd share what's inside:

American Girl Place, LA (2nd time around)

Two weeks ago The Pea and I visited the American Girl Place at the Grove Shopping Center in LA.  It was my second time to visit the store (my first visit was 2 years ago), and although the main purpose of our visit was to have lunch at the Cafe, we made sure we had some extra time to walk around the store and soak in all the American Girl magic.