The Most Magical Place On Earth

Happy...um...New Year! Ok, so it's February.  The year is still fairly new.  I haven't even had my birthday yet (Holy Cow! I'll be 30 this year!).

Last weekend, we went to Disney World! D's family decided it was a good weekend for everyone to go, and they invited me along.  :D  The boys had never been before, so it was really fun to get to experience their first time at Disney with them.  Last Friday night after work, the 4 of us headed up to my sis's house for the night.  They live a little less than an hour away from Disney, so we decided to crash with them for the weekend.  Saturday morning, we met up with his family at The Magic Kingdom.   The 4 of us go there much earlier than the rest of them did, so we spend the first few hours riding rides on our own and enjoying the shorter lines before all the crowds showed up.  His family arrived around 11:30, and we had a great time hanging out all together.  We managed to ride *almost* everything, and even did the Haunted Mansion twice. 

D's dad had wanted us to do a nice sit down meal for dinner, so we got reservations at the Liberty Tavern.  Unfortunately, since we waited till the day of to get them, we couldn't get reservations until almost 9 PM (The Magic Kingdom was staying open until 1:00 AM).  It was an unexpectedly cold night, and we were all freezing after dark, but we had a great time.  The boys all LOVED the electric light parade and watching the fire works, but by dinner time they were all exhausted.  All three boys (S, N, and their 4 year old cousin) fell asleep on the table before dinner even arrived.

They sure missed out.  The Liberty Tavern is a family style place with a fixed menu.  They brought us out platters full of roast turkey, pork, and beef as well as mashed potatoes, green beans, glazed carrots, stuffing, gravy, rolls, honey butter, and an apple craisin cake.  It was delicious and well worth the wait. 

After dinner, we ended up having to carry the boys back to the Monorail, tram, and eventually car.  They were OUT! It was after midnight when we finally got back to my sister's house.  It was a very long day, but so fun!  And yay! because we got Wild For 3 passes, so we get to go back two more times in the next few months!

Back To Disney

I kind of feel like I've neglected the blog this month. Blog, are your feelings hurt?  I'm sorry. :(  Or maybe I'm not.  Suddenly and unexpectedly I seem to have found myself landed in the middle of a semi-social life.   I love you, blog, but you aren't as fun as hanging out with actual people.

At any rate, I'm here now to tell you about yet another trip to that oh so magical land we call Disney World.  I'd been wanting to make a trip to Disney for awhile.  The last time I was there was last September, and call me spoiled, but that is TOO LONG!  So, a few weeks ago some friends and I decided it was time to make a trip.  I booked us into the All-Star Movies Resort, bought my new season pass, and Saturday morning we headed up to Central Florida.  :)

We spent Saturday morning and early afternoon at Animal Kingdom.  Oddly, though I'm not exactly what anyone would classify as an animal lover, I really do enjoy Animal Kingdom.  Somehow it always seems more peaceful and relaxing there than it does at the other parks.  The different themes throughout the park are also done so well.  It's just fun to walk around and see everything.  This trip we even got to see a baby gorilla (or "bagrilla" as the little one in our group called them) who had been born not even 24 hours before!  For  a gorilla, it was really very adorable.

Saturday afternoon we checked into our resort.  I hadn't visited or stayed at any of the "value" resorts at Disney before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  The staff was very accommodating when we asked to change to a room with two beds (ok, so we booked a room for two people and then put 4 of us in it...hey, it was cheaper that way!).  The movie theme and decor was very cute and fun.  The pool area, while lacking the slide that most of the more expensive resorts there have, was fun with a giant Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey fountain shooting water into the pool.   The food court and gift/convenience shop offered lots of choices.  Everything was very comfortable.   I would absolutely stay there again. 

Saturday night we ate a late dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian.  It was a character dining buffet with Cinderella, her step-mother and sisters, and Prince Charming.  It was probably not something I'd want to do again, but the food was good, and the experience was special for the 3 year old girl who was with us.  After dinner, my one friend and her daughter headed back to the hotel while my other friend and I went over to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours.

Sunday we spent the morning at the Magic Kingdom.  We had planned to head over to Epcot for the afternoon, but we all decided we were done with the parks for the day and spent the afternoon at Downtown Disney instead.   We had lunch at T-Rex (very fun restaurant!) and ended the trip with dessert at Ghiradelli.

Now I've had my Disney fix and should be good for at least, oh, another month or so. ;)

Could Someone Spare Some Focus?

It's been too long since I've posted anything. I feel rather like I'm being pulled in 57 different creative directions right now. Of course, I'm the one doing the pulling! And what happens when I want to do so many things? Well, I end up focus-less and doing nothing, and that is not cool!

I've been working a lot lately on my vidding. I have completed several Lois and Clark videos (see the youtube link in the sidebar if you care to watch) in the past few weeks, and I'm working on a new one for Doctor Who that I am pretty excited about. I've learned some new techniques and effects that I'm having a lot of fun playing around with. I have about a million video ideas in my head right now, and I can't wait to get going on all of them.

I recently decided to get over my fear of knitting and give that a whirl. I started by watching some youtube videos and reading some online tutorials. Once I got the hang of the basics I hit the library for some knitting books. I ended up making myself a hat that I will probably never get to wear in this Florida heat, but I'm still pretty proud of it. I want to start working on something else, but I think I'm still hanging on to some fears that I really can't do it. Sure, that hat was simple, but can I really tackle a more complicated project. The truth is, I probably can, but I just hate to fail! I especially hate to go out and spend money on yarn and then fail. I guess I need to do some more small projects with the scrap yarns I already have. That way I can improve my technique before going on to more difficult projects.

For awhile I was crocheting like crazy, but the fact of the matter is, there are only so many little dolls that one girl needs! ;) I'd really like to find some patterns for things that are more useful, but I haven't found many that I think are worth making yet. I did see a pattern for a clutch that I may make this weekend. It's a fairly simple pattern that could be fun to do on the long car trip I have ahead of me...but more on that later.

I really, really, really (is that enough reallys?) want to start working on improving my nearly non-existent sewing skills. I mean, sure I can use the sewing machine. I can piece a quilt, and I've made a few fairly simple things in the past (with a ton of help from my mom!), but I would love to be able to make some of my own clothing. I'm totally in love so many vintage clothing styles, but I don't love digging through piles of nasty clothes at a thrift store in hopes of finding that one great treasure. My preference would be to simply make my own clothes based on those styles. I suppose I just need to get some cheap fabric and some simple patterns and dig in and start practicing, but as I said with the knitting, I HATE to fail. That fear of failure thing is a huge issue for me, but that's subject matter for an entirely different post.

To go along with the subject of vintage clothing, I am now also going to be trying out some vintage hair styles. Last night, quite by chance, I discovered youtube video tutorials on 1940s hairstyles. I watched several of them, and said to myself, "Self, we can do this!" (Ok, I don't actually talk to myself like that, but you get the idea.) So, this morning I decided to try out a 40s style. It would have turned out better if I'd had the time to curl my hair, but I still like how it turned out. I'm pretty sure this will not be the last time this sort of hairstyle graces my head!

Anyway, so many projects, so little time...wait! What am I saying?! I work 25 hours a week, and about half of those hours are spent sitting in a room with sleeping children! I have loads of time. I just need to get going!

Speaking of going, I'll be heading up to one of my favorite places this weekend! Time for a little Disney trip! I'm going up with some friends from church for Night of Joy. We will be leaving sometime around the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and coming home Sunday afternoon. Yay for Disney!!

ETA: I am so jealous of all these blogs with beautiful, professional looking photography! I apologize for my crappy web cam pics, but really, it's the best I can do for you right now. ;) Perhaps I should hire my photographer sister to start taking my pictures for my blog.

Weekend at Disney

Now that I have been home for a few days and seem to have recovered from my exhaustion, it seems like a good time to blog about my trip to Disney. This is a little absurdly detailed and more for my own memory than anything else. Feel free to not read or to skim or just look at the pictures. :D


This past Monday was my nephew's birthday, so my sister, brother-in-law, nieces, nephew, and I all went up to Disney for the weekend. Friday afternoon we hitched up the camper, piled in the car, and headed off to that most magical of places...Fort Wilderness Campground. ;) I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but Fort Wilderness is part of the Disney resort system. It's a campground so a bit rustic, but still with the feel of being a part of the Disney magic. I love staying there. We got up there Friday night, and I decided to hop on a FREEZING Disney bus and go over to Epcot on my own to enjoy the extra magic hours. I stayed there for a couple hours and rode on the Test Track and Mission Space.

Saturday morning I put my one year old niece in her stroller and headed back to Epcot to enjoy it by day. The Flower and Garden Festival is going on right now, so the landscaping was especially fun. Disney goes all out with their Character topiaries! A lady stopped and offered to take a picture of us in front of these giraffes (my favorite animal!) We went on a couple rides (Journey into Imagination with Figment and the boat ride in Mexico), walked around a bit, and then headed over to the Boardwalk resort to have some lunch. By mid-afternoon when I finally got her back to the campground for a nap, she was totally worn out. She was so sweet the whole time though. She's such a happy girl!

Saturday afternoon I took my
nephew over to Downtown Disney so that the camper would be quiet while the girls took a nap. He really liked Downtown Disney and eve was good enough to let me take pictures of him...a rare thing indeed! He built a race car at the Lego store and then got to race it against the other kids' cars. He was so proud of himself for winning! After a couple hours, we headed back to the Boardwalk to meet the rest of our group for dinner at Spoodles. If you ever get a chance to go you should. I tried butternut squash ravioli for the first time...sooooo good. Saturday night I was wiped out and feel asleep at 10:00...very out of character for me.

Sunday morning I went by myself to Animal Kingdom and rode Kali River Rapids and Dinosaur. Somehow I never seem to get very wet on those river rapid rides. Everyone else on the ride with me can get soaked, and I'll be practically bone dry. I don't really understand this. I met up with my sister and her family for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, then went over to explore the Animal Kingdom lodge for a little while. I met back up with them for dinner at T-Rex (very cool place) in Downtown Disney.

Monday was my nephew's actual birthday, so he got to go into the Magic Kingdom for free. My sister and brother-in-law didn't have or want to get tickets, so it was just the two of us. We had a total blast. He loved everything...even the Pirates of the Caribbean which he said he was too scared to go on because of the "waterfall" (a small drop). He decided that now that he's bigger, he isn't really scared anymore. At the Pirates gift shop, I bought him these rubber pirate handcuff things, and he made me wear one end and him the other while we stood in the lines. He said it was so I wouldn't get lost. It would have been a perfect day had it not been for the deluge we got stuck in. At one point I was carrying him with the umbrella stuck between us while trying to push his stroller. Finally I gave up, had him sit in the soaking wet stroller, gave him the umbrella to hold over his head, and just walked through the rain. My shoes and socks were soaked. It didn't matter though. We both had a great time and the rain didn't stop us from doing any of the things we wanted to do. By 2:30 we were headed back to Downtown Disney to meet up with everyone else and head for home. We were tired and wet, but we had a great trip, and I can't wait to go again in (hopefully) the fall!

A Bit of Disney Halloween Fun For You

When the crypt goes creak,
And the tombstones quake.
Spooks come out for a swinging wake.
Happy haunts materialize,
And begin to vocalize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

Now don't close your eyes,
And don't try to hide.
Or a silly spook may sit by your side.
Shrouded in a daft disguise,
They pretend to terrorize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree,
Spooks arrive for the midnight spree.
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes,
Start to shriek and harmonize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,
Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell.
Restless bones etherialize,
Rise as spooks of every size.

If you would like to join our jamboree,
There's a simple rule that's compulsory.
Mortals pay a token fee.
Rest in peace, the haunting's free.
So hurry back, we would like your company.

Disney Magic

I'm am back from my trip to the most magical place on earth. You know, it doesn't seem to matter that I've been there about a million times, it still is magical for me. I still fills me with wonder and excitement every time I go.

This time I went with my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, niece, my BIL's brother and his wife and kids, and my BIL's parents. While I did spend time with all of them, I ended up hanging out a lot on my own this trip. I really don't mind that. I find that I occasionally enjoy being able to explore and park hop on my own without worrying about if other people are happy or what they want to do. I actually made some discoveries this time. Example, how on earth have I not know all this time that there is a boat and a walkway that can each take you directly from Hollywood Studios to Epcot or the Epcot resorts? How have I never been to the Boardwalk before? Why is it that in all these years I never thought to use the back entrance to the park even though I knew it was there? Why have I never been on Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom before? I guess we just go so often that we are stuck in a rut. We go on the same rides, eat at the same restaurants, and use the same modes of Disney transportation every time we go. It was so much fun to find new things.


The Boardwalk at night






Last night we went to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I had never been to it before, and I really enjoyed it. The park closed down for everyone except those with a special ticket just for the party. People dressed up in costumes, they had trick or treating all over the park, there was a special Halloween parade and firework show, and the smaller crowd meant smaller lines on the rides. Several in our group dressed up...

I went as a pirate of course (Look, I swiped the flip flops off an unsuspecting tourist while searching for the fountain of youth, ok?).









My BIL and his nephew went as Lord Vader and Anakin Skywalker.

We literally could not stop for more than 5 seconds without a line forming to get autographs and pictures with Darth Vader. Everywhere we went there were dropped jaws, ooohs, ahhhs, and other various comments from people in awe of him. When we got on the boat at the campground to go the the Magic Kingdom, nearly everyone on the boat applauded. The rest of us may as well have just worn shirts saying, "I'm with Vader." Thankfully, it was a very cool evening. Otherwise he probably would have passed out in there. As it was he said it was very hot. I found the weather to be just right for my pirate costume.

My nephew went as Buzz Lightyear and my niece as the cutest little lamb ever. For my nephew, meeting the "real" Buzz Lightyear was the highlight of the trip.




It was a great trip, and I'm really looking forward to going again (though I'm not sure when that will be yet). However, it will be nice to sleep in my own bed tonight, and I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Well see if I still feel the same way next Monday, but for now it is nice to know that I have a reason to get out of bed and get dressed in the morning.

"I wuv you, Wauren."

...These words, spoken from the mouth of my 3 year old nephew, make up my very favorite phrase. Over the past few days I have heard them often. My Aunt and Uncle from Michigan are spending the week at Disney at the Old Key West Resort, and they had invited me to come stay with them for a few days. Tuesday evening, while my sister and her kids were over, I was getting ready to leave my house. When I went to say goodbye to my nephew, he looked at me with his big blue eyes and said, "I want to go with you, Wauren!" At first I figured he'd just get over it when he realized it would mean leaving mommy, but he was insistent that he wanted to go. My sister was OK with it, but I was a little hesitant. I was afraid we would get up there and he would want mommy and daddy, and I admit that I was selfishly concerned that I wouldn't have as much fun if I had to chase him around the whole time. After much deliberation, I decided that I would take him along. It's so hard to refuse that precious little face, and I love being able to spend time with him. I packed up his stuff, put him in the car, and hit the road for a 3 hour drive to Orlando. Five hours, a flat tire, and a trip to a sketchy tire store later, we arrived in Disney world. Wait, I think that story deserves it's own paragraph...

Just under an hour from home I started to hear pieces of tire flapping up and hitting my car. As this did not seem like a good thing, I decided I should probably pull of on the side of the road. Naturally, the first thing I did was call Dad in a panic to ask what I should do. I HAVE changed a tire before, and in general I know how to do it. However, I haven't changed a tire on my current vehicle, and it has been about 5 years since changed one at all. My dad talked me through what I needed to do. I managed to get the spare out from under the car and pop off the hubcap, but I was seriously struggling with loosening the lug-nuts. I was beginning to think I was going to be hitchhiking home, when I heard a voice behind me asking if I needed any help. I hadn't noticed them pull off, but a couple about my age had stopped to help me out. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and gratefully handed over the wrench. The couple was very friendly, and they guy got my tire changed much more quickly than I would have ever been able to do it. It may be anti-feminist of me (not that I care, I've never claimed to be a feminist), but I totally agreed with his statement that, "this is no job for a woman!" I thanked them profusely, and got back on the road. Since it seemed unwise to drive all the way to Orlando on a spare, my dad called around to some places in the area and found a tire place that was still open. My first choice for an establishment to sell me a new tire would not be a place called OK Tires, but beggars can't be choosers. It got me to Orlando and back home again. Through all the stress and craziness of the evening, my nephew was cheerful and sweet as he could be. I actually somehow felt better having him with me. When we finally got to the entrance to Disney, we were both very excited and a bit giddy. I'm not sure which one of us was more excited about seeing those big Mickey ears.


We spent all of Wednesday at the Magic Kingdom. He is now tall enough for some of the bigger rides, so I decided to take him on Thunder Mountain. He sat between my aunt and me, held tight to us, and repeatedly said, "I don't like this ride!" He didn't cry though, and when we got off he was happy and ready to go on to the next thing. He was so good for me the whole day. He loved almost everything and was full of questions and energy. His favorite part of the day was going to the Tiki Room and seeing all the singing and talking, animatronic birds. He was still talking about that today when we got home. Thursday we went to Epcot, and while he was still very good, it was obvious that he was a little tired. We had a few moments when his attitude and mouth needed some correction, but for the most part he was excited and happy to be there. He especially loved going to the Living Seas and seeing all the Nemo stuff. I cannot begin to count the number of times he would spontaneously give me hugs and kisses or tell me that he loves me. He can be a bit stingy about hugs and kisses, so I was loving every minute of it. I know that I will cherish the memory of this trip for the rest of my life. Every night I would give him a bath, and then we would snuggle up in the big hotel bed and go to sleep. Never have I been so OK with going to bed before 10:00 PM! All my selfish concern about not having as much fun was totally washed away. It turned out to be one of the best Disney trips I've ever had (and I've had A LOT!) Last night, as we talked about going home in the morning, he was so torn. He wanted to go to his home and see his mommy, but he really wanted to go back to Disney and see Nemo and Mickey again. I understood. I felt the same way. Except for me, it wasn't Nemo and Mickey I was going to miss, it was that sweet little guy that I got to have all to myself for a couple days. When he is at our house, Grandma and Grandpa are there and he can get a bit snotty to me. This time it was just us. My Aunt and Uncle were there, but he doesn't know them well, so I was his familiar face. It was nice. When I got home this afternoon, my dad asked if I felt like a little burden had been taken off of me. I said that I didn't. Instead, I felt like I'd dropped off a little piece of my heart at my sister's house. I guess, in a way, I did.



BTW, I have a job interview in my area tomorrow. I really want this one to work out. There is a little voice in my head saying, "Go off and experience a new place and new things," but there another voice. It is small but insistent. This little voice has big blue eyes and arms that wrap around my legs. I can hear it whispering in my ear. It is saying, "I wuv you, Wauren."

Back to Square One

Another week half over, and I'm still no closer to a job. I did finally hear back from the family I had been communicating with, but the answer I got wasn't really the one I wanted. Apparently they had hired a temp for the time I was out of town, and now the temp wants to stay on permanently. The mom told me she hadn't decided for sure, but I'm not going to be holding my breath. I've contacted a few more families, but so far haven't heard anything back. In the mean time, I'm beginning to grow accustomed to unemployment, and I'm not particularly happy about that.

Last night I decided to go to Wednesday night service with my parents. I generally don't go on Wednesdays as my Bible study takes place on Mondays, but frankly I'm tired of sitting around my house. I'm glad I went. It was a prayer service, and it was really nice to have the chance to pray with others and lift up the needs of my church family. After church we had dinner at Crispers - one of my favorite restaurants. I love their tropical chicken sandwich...yum!!

This morning I did some housework for my mom, and now I'm sitting around being lazy again and watching X Files on DVD. I've never watched this show before. I put it in my netflix queue one day because I couldn't come up with anything else to put in it. I'm on the second disc of the first season, and I'm finding that I actually enjoy it. I'm sure I would have hated it back when it was originally on, but thankfully tastes change in a decade and a half.


If you haven't noticed by all the Disney blogs my blog roll, I'm obsessed with Disney World. I'm a season pass holder, and I go any time I get the chance. I haven't been since May (I know, poor me) and I'm starting to go through with-drawl. If it weren't for the money I'd have to spend on gas to get there, I would go tomorrow by myself and just hang out for the day. If only I had someone to share the ride and gas with me, but alas most people have jobs and lives and can't just up and go to Disney anytime they feel like it. Maybe I should look for a nanny job close to Orlando. ;)

Happy Birthday, Jenn!