Celebrating a little piece of local history!

on September 8th, Sylvan Cemetery will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary! yes, that means that it was established back in 1862. it started out with less than an acre along Auburn Blvd in the heart of what I call “Old” Citrus Heights. now the cemetery covers 18 acres......... way more than I realized. 

Photo from Sylvan Cemetery District website.

the Sylvan Cemetery District was established in 1926, the oldest in Sacramento County, and covers from Folsom Lake to the other side of the Sacramento Metropolitan Airport.

what is a District? in the case of cemeteries, a District is a local agency created in an election and governed by a board appointed trustees. the District is accountable to the public and are responsible for governing the care and maintenance of the cemetery thought the collection of an endowment fund. they collect money from plot purchases to place in the fund but can only use the interest earned to take care of the cemetery. I totally didn’t know this stuff!

anyway…….back to my story……..this Saturday the cemetery is celebrating its 150th Anniversary and throwing themselves a party! from 11am to 3pm they will be hosting tours of the cemetery and telling stories about the 1,300 soldiers from as far back as the Civil War and Spanish-American War buried there along with many of the founding families of Citrus Heights. there are some beautiful headstones and statues to view and you might even learn a few things.

so bring your curiosity and come see a piece of history in our own backyard! also bring a couple bucks as they will probably be asking for donations to fund a bell tower. I wish it would be similar to a church bell that would count down the hours. I am sure the kids next door at Sylvan Middle School would hope for the same. but it sounds like it will chime for funerals and other formal occasions. either way, it sounds like a lovey addition to a site that makes Citrus Heights a beautiful place to live…….and die?!?!? (and it is tax deductible)

7401 Auburn Blvd, Citrus Heights, 11am to 3pm

Looking behind the @SacBurgerBattle

I'm not a food blogger. I eat food. I love food. But I'm more in to events......well and food, but you know what I mean. I tend to spend more time thinking about how events are organized.........about the time, effort, and money put into doing an event........ the organizational detail oriented side of things. What can be calculated, sliced and diced in an Excel spreadsheet. So.....when a friend said he was putting together Sacramento's First Annual Burger Battle, I saw this as my opportunity to be nosey and ask all those questions that had plagued me.

imagine this: 800 people ready to eat burgers and 15 restaurants making burgers (not including the beer, cider, and wine spots) all gathered at Raley Field for an evening of awesomeness all to support the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. how does one decide to do something like this? do you just wake up one random morning and say "hey, eating burgers would be a great way to raise money for charity"?!? and where oh where would you start?

to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) Rodney is the man behind the event. He runs BurgerJunkies and eats burgers......lots of burgers. Rodney's daughter was diagnosed with Crohns when she was 5 years old. Crohns is an autoimmune disorder that keeps the body from absorbing important nutrients in food. Not a good thing for anyone, and especially an adorable little girl who has a lot of growing to do! so Rodney wanted to combine his love for his daughter and his love for cheeseburgers and came up with the Battle idea.

last year, Rodney was introduced to Lisa from the Downtown Sacramento Partnership by a Foodspotting buddy, Larry.  (dontcha love social media?) they really helped Rodney decide that this crazy notion of his was a viable concept! Rodney started talking to restaurants and venues to piece together the event. he had attended the Burger Battle in Denver and had some insight on how an event like this would need to be organized. restaurants were quick to jump at the chance to show off their burgers (please note I totally resisted an off-color comment there). in fact, Rodney had more restaurants wanting to participate than he had space for! that's a lotta burgers! anyway, at this point, Rodney has spent 5 months making phone calls and personal visits to get the restaurants and venue lined up, promoting the event and the other hundred details that need attending.

here is where I start itching and I want to make lists....lots and lots of lists.....

800 people are coming to this event, two weeks from today. assuming that each person eats at 3/4 of the restaurants (I am kinda assuming that no one is really going to have room for ALL the burgers and that some people might share their burgers) and that each burger is cut in 1/4 for service, we are talking..........2,250 BURGERS!!!

assuming that the burgers average $10 retail (which I guarantee you is low based on the restaurants and quality ingredients involved).......we are talking $22,500 for the burgers. this doesn't include either having additional staff working......or as some places will be doing, shutting down their money making restaurant so they can be at the Battle. that also doesn't include the beer and wine and raffle prizes. (oh yeah, didn't mention those, did I? well there are raffle prizes. awesome ones......but I'm not telling what they are. you'll have to be surprised!)
that is a lot of time and effort for a 3 hour event (4 hours if you pony up for the VIP tickets - if there are any still available) taking place on a Tuesday night in the middle of September. I would say it is going to be hot......because it might be......but Raley Field is laid out perfectly for that wonderful Delta Breeze and I am sure the patron saint of burgers (who might that be?!?!) will make sure the weather is fine!

before I close, I want to talk about every single restaurant that is coming together for the Battle. they all deserve a blog post of their own......on a blog that gets a whole lot more traffic than mine......but I can't type that much and have already rambled on more than normal......so here's what I can do:

AWESOME BURGER BATTLE RESTAURANTS

and then tell you that I have personally been to 9 out of the 15................ and would go back to all of them ...................and am looking forward to trying the other 6 either before or after the Battle. (update: make that 10 out of 15 with 5 left to go......) and while the actual burgers the contestants (right? this is a competion) are preparing is a top secret secret, I can tell you that The Eatery actually made a burger in Rodney's honor. it is called the Junkie Burger. ask them about it when you go in. it isn't on the menu but those in the know can request one. I can also tell you that my own burger loving husband has said he could eat Krushburger's Ninja Burger every day for the rest of his life. and don't let my lack of a nifty neato keen comment about a place give you the idea that I think less of their offering........any of these places all on their own would make a burger lover happy!

Disclaimer: Rodney didn't pay for this blog post or give me tickets. I already bought my ticket and did this post because I am a nosey parker and am in awe of all the work people are putting in to make this event a success..................I want to hug them all!

ALSO.......now that he has his blog post live, check out Round About Sac Town for a review of the Denver Burger Battle AND a chance to WIN tickets to the Sacramento Burger Battle! be sure to tell 'em I sent ya!

I look forward to seeing you on September 18th! promise, no taking pictures of me with burger juices running down my shirt. I promise the same in return!

take me out to the ballgame.....@RiverCats

after several years of randomly going to see some River Cats games, we decided to get season tickets this year. well, for a family as over booked as ours, we didn't actually end up with SEASON tickets.......we ended up with a Flex Plan. that means we got vouchers to use for a certain number of tickets/games. other than a few games (weather too hot, weather too cold......gosh we sound like Goldilocks here), they have been the highlight of our summer.

these games are FUN!!!! seriously! even if you aren't a big baseball fan, minor league games are a BLAST!!! (I assume every team is as fun as the River Cats......perhaps I shouldn't?!?!?) but LOOK! you get ex-governors (including actual sized egos) running around in circles. and a special treat at the end of the 6th inning (Thurs - Sun games only, thankyouverymuch), great weather, reasonably priced food (especially if you buy the refillable soda cups and remember to bring them).

one homestand left over the next 2 weeks and we are going to 5 games. a bit more than our average but those were the times we had available to head out to Raley Field. and yesterday, the River Cats announced ticket sales for the playoffs. there are definitely two games on September 5th & 6th and possibly an additional two games the following week. I think we will have to add atleast one to our calendar even if school has already started!

if you haven't been out to a game this year, time is running out to go. come join us for the 7th Inning Stretch.....and maybe a Dinger Dog (notice I did NOT suggest the Donut Cheeseburger?!!?). and if you go.......keep an ear peeled for the guy selling COTTON CANDEEEEE! he makes us laugh every game!

The Odd Movie (I mean LIFE) of Timothy Green

I hadn't read this book before seeing the movie. why? well, because according to Barnes & Noble there is no book for this movie to be based on. how odd is that? seems that most movies these days are based on books.......or on previous movies. so an original movie concept was......well........odd!!

but the movie was able to interest Jennifer Garner to the lead female role so I knew it had to be worth giving a try. I don't give Disney as much credit.

the basic premise of The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a couple unable to conceive plants a box of their dreams for a child. lo and behold, one shows up. odd, huh? (okay, I'll stop with that......) now in the real world, CPS would swoop in and snag the kid away and it would take years for them to get Timothy back again.......assuming they weren't imprisoned for kidnapping him or something. but this is Disney, so that doesn't happen. but, that doesn't stop odd (sorry) and magical things from taking place. like the fact that no one questions a boy mysteriously showing up and the school not making the parents show 24 forms of proof of birth and immunizations......

Disney knew exactly how to pull the punches in the script. from the type-A sister saying that Timothy wasn't a "real" son (that irks all us adoptive parents who want to know how a kid isn't real) to the unattentive parent who makes the dad strive to be a better parent. we are set up to fight for the Green family to succeed. does it work? I don't really think so. the ploys were too obvious and the ending a little too perfect.
despite all that, the boy who plays Timothy, CJ Adams, is totally adorable and the perfect fit of gawky young boy and wizened old man. his impish charm adds to the adventure. somehow he keeps this sappy story from truly plummeting head first over the cliff of saccharine sweetness. and I'll be honest, it teeters so darn close!!

while this is a Disney movie, it is rated PG and for a reason. there isn't anything that will permanently scar children, but they won't enjoy the movie and the simplistic look at adoption and how children are "gotten" is a little odd (last time). I'd save this one for a rainy afternoon to watch while you are drinking hot chocolate.

Cheesy reminder! The @TillamookCheese kind...

As promised, Tillamook has updated their Loaf Love Tour Schedule with the Sacramento area dates! They start TODAY!!!

I still think you should come see them at the Sacramento Zoo on Saturday (see HERE for more info)......but in case you can't, here is their schedule for their Cheesy Sacramento Take Over (nifty title courtesy of moi).

Just wanted to let you know.......

The Tillamook is coming! The Tillamook is coming!

(imagine Paul Revere riding through the streets of Sacramento shouting that......thanks)

 like the title says, it is one of my favorite times of year: back to school and Tillamook's Loaf Love Tour! seriously, I do enjoy cheese and Tillamook makes some darn good cheese! (did you know they make ice cream, yogurt, sour cream and butter too?)

so......you have a few options, you can go check out the world's most adorable cheddar colored mini VW van at a grocery store near you (see tour schedule to be updated with Sacramento's cheesy goodness)......

OOOOORRRR........... you can come check them out at the Sacramento Zoo!! really, this is the option you should go for! really it is!! why? you ask why? well.......because it is super fun! and because it is cheese....and the zoo.....and cheese! and while you can't pet a tiger (I've asked).....

 

and doesn't he look like he wants a good belly rub? but anyway...... there is still all kinds of cheesy zoo-ey (??) fun to be had!

 

seriously, the first 100 people who show up on August 11th at the Sacramento Zoo wearing ORANGE will get in for free!! (after that the cheddar colored clothing will garner you a dollar off admission) and whether you are wearing the color de rigueur or not, you can join in the cheesy fun! and I can tell you that Tillamook brings the fun! last year's frivolity included hide and seek, zoo bingo, and lots of cheese tasting. oh, yes, and the world's most adorable cheddar colored mini VW vans! did I mention those?

wanna know more about Tillamook? check out their site but don't go if you are hungry!


Disclosure: they sent me an email. they asked me to post about the event. they will be giving me free samples of cheese and I'll get into the Zoo for free. but hey, that's cool because I was going anyway! (see paragraph about cheese......and the zoo......and cheese)

Disclosure #2: the zoo is probably really smart in not letting me pet a tiger even though I am continually asking to. that is why they are in charge of the animals.

a promise.....

I promise that before I go to sleep on Sunday I will have:

1. posted an actual blog post (that you will like.........I am not promising you will like it.......but I promise I will post one)

2. I will update the photo in the corner of the blog to something that isn't 5 years old.

yeah.......that's all you get! I've got a busy weekend people.