Today is the day! Bill and I have been married for 13 years! Hard to believe, as time just seems to fly by! Not bad for a couple of high school sweethearts, huh? Our dating anniversary is next month on the 17th, and we will have been together for 17 years! That is even more amazing!
Monday, July 30, 2007
13 Years!
Today is the day! Bill and I have been married for 13 years! Hard to believe, as time just seems to fly by! Not bad for a couple of high school sweethearts, huh? Our dating anniversary is next month on the 17th, and we will have been together for 17 years! That is even more amazing!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Disney Tidbits, Tips and Fun Stuff!, part 2
While doing all of this Disney research, I have stumbled on some fun ideas and activities for before and during our trip.
- Free Custom Disney Park Maps - If you go to http://www.disneyworld.com/, you can create your own park maps based on your favorite rides, attractions and shows. Disney will print the maps out in full-color and mail them to you FREE of charge! It took about 2 weeks for us to receive our maps and they are a great keepsake. Not really a map I would want to take to the parks with me, but it is a great souvenir! And FREE!
- Printable Journal Pages - Because our girls will miss a couple days of school, I was really interested in finding out how other families approached the issue with their child's teacher. One suggestion was to create journal pages for your child to complete while on the trip. I found really great journal pages at: http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kids/journal.shtml. I put each girl's journal in a folder and labeled the folder with their name and favorite Disney character. These will also make great souvenirs that they will appreciate more once they are older!
- Stuffed Animal Fun! - If your child takes stuffed animals to Disney, the "mousekeepers" will arrange the animals after they have cleaned your room. Many stuffed animals have been found arranged on the bed with the tv remote in their "hands". Some have formed pyramids. This is just something cute to come "home" to after a long day at the parks!
- Little Ones Early Magic Hour - This is a special time at Magic Kingdom where Fantasyland is open one hour early. Not only are the guests able to play and enjoy the attractions, many characters are out and about as well. I have read that this particular event is not very crowded and it allows for great interaction between the kids and characters. Wendy and Peter Pan like to play tag and hide & seek with the kids. Stitch likes to ride Dumbo with the kids. This is a must for us! I hope to be able to blog more about it once we are back!
- Character Finder - If you are looking for a specific character, or just want to know which characters will be where you are going to be, you can go to this site: http://pscalculator.net/pswebtools.shtml#t006 and download an Excel spreadsheet.
- Mousekeeping Tips - I am a very infrequent traveler, and I have to admit that I hadn't thought of ever tipping the housekeeper for my hotel room. I have since found these great envelopes to print, so that I can tip our mousekeeper: http://www.remleml.com/mouse/ Btw, she has lots of awesome disney printables on her site! I love it!
- Photopass - Remember in the olden days when you went to an amusement park and right when you entered it, there would be a photographer there to take a family photo? Then you would have to go to their photo store and decide if you wanted to buy the photo. Well, Disney has come up with a new concept called a photopass. When you get stopped by one of the photographers, they take your picture and hand you a card. Then, any other times that you have your photo taken at any of the parks, that photographer will link those pictures to your card. When you get home from your vacation, you can then view all of your Disney pictures that are linked to your card. You can also upload your own photos to the photopass site. There are editing features available and you can use the Disney photos and your own photos to create a scrapbook of your vacation! The scrapbook is really cool. It comes with a very nice leather cover that is customized with your name and date. The pages are full-color pages and you are able to journal on them as well! I can't wait to get my photopass card, so I can order one of these! You can find more information by visiting: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/
Friday, July 13, 2007
Disney Tidbits, Tips and Fun Stuff!, part 1
Yep, here we go with another Disney blog! I know everyone was just waiting on pins and needles looking for something else to read about Disney! Sydney gave me the go ahead, so here we go......I have learned many things since we decided to take our trip to Disney. Most of it was learned online and most of that was learned on the DIS Boards at WDWInfo.
Here are a few tips for keeping an organized hotel room, what to pack:
*Pack a collapsible hamper for your dirty clothes. This actually works for any trip and I recently used a hamper when we stayed at my mom's house this past weekend. I was able to take the full hamper and pack it in my suitcase. When it is time for laundry, I can just dump it in! Some people actually take 2 hampers and sort their clothes, too!
*Pack an Over the Door Shoe Organizer for Toiletries. I found one at the Dollar Tree and you just hang it over the bathroom door, to keep the clutter from around the sink and shower in your hotel.
*Pack a Power Strip/Surge Protector. This is handy for plugging in and charging all those electronics you just can't live without: digital camera, video camera, laptop, cell phone, etc. The hotel room never seems to have enough outlets to suit this purpose!
*Pack a small carry-on that holds clothes and necessities for one day. This is especially good for those who are going to Disney and using the Magical Express Service. It can take up to 3 hours to get your luggage, and if you are wanting to hit the parks right after checking into your room, then the carry-on would be great for freshening up. And there are the occassional times when the DME loses or misplaces your luggage until the next day. (Not sure if we are going to do this, but thought I would include it anyway.)*Copy all important information onto a small card and keep with you at all times. This would include things like flight numbers, reservation number, advanced dining reservation numbers, park hours, etc.
*If you like to drink lots of water, pack bottles of it in a suitcase and take it with you! I never would of thought of this. Not that we are big water drinkers, but I am thinking that taking along a 24pk might be a good idea. You have to be mindful of the 50lb limit on checked luggage. Also, if you use a suitcase expressly for this purpose, then when you come home, you have an empty suitcase ready to hold all those can't live without souvenirs! There also a couple of grocery delivery companies in the area who will (for a small fee) deliver not only water but groceries to your resort as well.
Part 2 coming soon.....
Books, Books and more Books!
I love to read! It has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember. I am sure it has a lot to do with my competiveness and my 3rd grade teacher! She decided that for every book we read, we would write our name on a giant colored circle. Then she put the circle on the wall by the ceiling. Eventually we had a giant caterpillar-like string of circles going around our classroom. My competitiveness drove me to have the most circles than anyone in our class! Thus, my love of reading was born. Makes sense, right?
I had another reading type marathon the summer before I started 7th grade. My mom used to babysit kids and during the summer it was simply unbearable for me (an almost teenager) to be around so many kids younger than me.....can you imagine? ;o) So, instead of helping my mom out like a good daughter, I holed myself up in my room with Nancy Drew and the Sweet Valley High Twins!
I have to say after I got married and moved into the real world, books weren't a high priority on my list of things to do. There was a new husband, jobs, then kids, etc... Our first summer having three kids, Bill was home with me since he had gotten fired from his job that April. I am still so grateful for that time that we all got to spend together, and I got to keep my sanity! Anyway, he isn't one for sitting around the house all day eating bon bons and watching soaps (LOL), so he took the girls to the city library. With flashbacks of our college library in my head, I had no desire to tag along. Then one day, I did......
Now, four years later, and I am hooked! There is not a week that goes by that I don't visit our library at least once, but usually two or three times! And being the nerd that I am, I have taken reading to the next level by keeping a database of books I have read and need to read. I keep track if the books are available at my library, and if they are not, I keep track of them until they are, so that I can be the first to request them. I research my favorite authors (only about 50!) so that I know when to expect their latest best seller! Like I said, I am nerd and just a tad obsessed!! ;o)
My favorite genre is mystery. I have two favorite authors that I simply cannot live without and they are J.D. Robb with her Eve Dallas In Death Series and Janet Evanovich with her Stephanie Plum Series! It is really a shame that I read so fast, as I finish the new books so quickly and am left wanting more! That's a sign of a great author, though, right?!?
I also enjoy contemporary romance novels. And, I need to clarify that a lot of these novels have their share of smut, but they (almost) always have a great plot to carry you through. A couple of my favorite authors here are: Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, Carly Phillips, Catherine Coulter, Heather Graham, Jennifer Crusie, Linda Lael Miller, Suzanne Brockmann....Okay, I could really just go on and on with this list!
You would think with my extensive list of favorite authors, I would hardly be out of books to read from the library. But it seems a cold spell has descended and I am left re-reading some of the oldie but goodies! I have restarted the In Death and the Stephanie Plum books. I usually cannot stand to read the same book twice, but I have really been enjoying it so far. There are 25 In Death Novels with 3 anthologies thrown in the mix, and there are 13 Plum Novels with about 2 anthologies thrown in. So, it has been awhile since I read the beginning of these, and I found that I had forgotten quite a few things like how Steph and Joe got hooked up when she detested him so much and just when did Peabody hook up as Eve's aide.
If anyone is interested in starting either one of these series', you'll need to start with:
I had another reading type marathon the summer before I started 7th grade. My mom used to babysit kids and during the summer it was simply unbearable for me (an almost teenager) to be around so many kids younger than me.....can you imagine? ;o) So, instead of helping my mom out like a good daughter, I holed myself up in my room with Nancy Drew and the Sweet Valley High Twins!
I have to say after I got married and moved into the real world, books weren't a high priority on my list of things to do. There was a new husband, jobs, then kids, etc... Our first summer having three kids, Bill was home with me since he had gotten fired from his job that April. I am still so grateful for that time that we all got to spend together, and I got to keep my sanity! Anyway, he isn't one for sitting around the house all day eating bon bons and watching soaps (LOL), so he took the girls to the city library. With flashbacks of our college library in my head, I had no desire to tag along. Then one day, I did......
Now, four years later, and I am hooked! There is not a week that goes by that I don't visit our library at least once, but usually two or three times! And being the nerd that I am, I have taken reading to the next level by keeping a database of books I have read and need to read. I keep track if the books are available at my library, and if they are not, I keep track of them until they are, so that I can be the first to request them. I research my favorite authors (only about 50!) so that I know when to expect their latest best seller! Like I said, I am nerd and just a tad obsessed!! ;o)
My favorite genre is mystery. I have two favorite authors that I simply cannot live without and they are J.D. Robb with her Eve Dallas In Death Series and Janet Evanovich with her Stephanie Plum Series! It is really a shame that I read so fast, as I finish the new books so quickly and am left wanting more! That's a sign of a great author, though, right?!?
I also enjoy contemporary romance novels. And, I need to clarify that a lot of these novels have their share of smut, but they (almost) always have a great plot to carry you through. A couple of my favorite authors here are: Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, Carly Phillips, Catherine Coulter, Heather Graham, Jennifer Crusie, Linda Lael Miller, Suzanne Brockmann....Okay, I could really just go on and on with this list!
You would think with my extensive list of favorite authors, I would hardly be out of books to read from the library. But it seems a cold spell has descended and I am left re-reading some of the oldie but goodies! I have restarted the In Death and the Stephanie Plum books. I usually cannot stand to read the same book twice, but I have really been enjoying it so far. There are 25 In Death Novels with 3 anthologies thrown in the mix, and there are 13 Plum Novels with about 2 anthologies thrown in. So, it has been awhile since I read the beginning of these, and I found that I had forgotten quite a few things like how Steph and Joe got hooked up when she detested him so much and just when did Peabody hook up as Eve's aide.
If anyone is interested in starting either one of these series', you'll need to start with:
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Scary Thought!!!
You know how you can totally become (okay I'll say it) obsessed with one thing, that you completely block everything else out? Well, a very scary realization hit me yesterday......
As you all know, we are going to Disney. We have had this trip scheduled since April. We have our standard countdown of days, but we also have a countdown of events. So in order, the countdown goes/went like this:
11. My Class Reunion
10. Last day of School for Girls
9. Sydney spend June with Grandma & Grandpa
8. Steve & Keri's Wedding
7. Hayley spend 1 1/2 weeks with Grandma & Grandpa
6. Bill goes to Colorado Springs for School
5. I go to PTA Summer Seminar in Austin
4. Emyley spends 2 weeks with Grandma & Grandpa
3. PTA stuff to get ready for back to school night
2. First day of School for Girls
1. D * I * S * N * E * Y
Okay, what?!?!? Back up a minute! First day of school????????? Yep, in all my one-track-minded-ness with Disney, I was totally overlooking the fact that the girls have to start school first! I knew it, in the back of my mind, but it wasn't my main focus, ya know? So yesterday, I realized, if we have 2 months til Disney, then the girls only have 1 1/2 months til school starts!! EEEEKKKKKK!! Where has the summer gone?
As you all know, we are going to Disney. We have had this trip scheduled since April. We have our standard countdown of days, but we also have a countdown of events. So in order, the countdown goes/went like this:
7. Hayley spend 1 1/2 weeks with Grandma & Grandpa
6. Bill goes to Colorado Springs for School
5. I go to PTA Summer Seminar in Austin
4. Emyley spends 2 weeks with Grandma & Grandpa
3. PTA stuff to get ready for back to school night
2. First day of School for Girls
1. D * I * S * N * E * Y
Okay, what?!?!? Back up a minute! First day of school????????? Yep, in all my one-track-minded-ness with Disney, I was totally overlooking the fact that the girls have to start school first! I knew it, in the back of my mind, but it wasn't my main focus, ya know? So yesterday, I realized, if we have 2 months til Disney, then the girls only have 1 1/2 months til school starts!! EEEEKKKKKK!! Where has the summer gone?
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