remember

The Pea and I are off to New England to spend the weekend with my SISTAH!!!  Triple WOOT!

I don't plan on writing until after I return, but I wanted to leave you with this. 

This weekend isn't about the beach, beer, and bbq for many many families. 

Take a moment to remember, with gratitude, the REASON we get a day off to enjoy OUR families.

Our rights, and freedoms, were hard won and this holiday is about remembering those that paid the ultimate sacrifice in the fight.  Their families will spend the weekend remembering, and mourning...so be mindful, be respectful, and be thankful.

Happy Memorial Day.

5

Good Lord...the past few days have been HORRIBLE.  The Pea passed along her stomach bug to me, and then coincidentally the DOG GOT SICK AS WELL.  I am ready to call this week over and move on...and if I NEVER have to smell shit or vomit again it will be too soon.

On to happier things...DISNEY...and day 5.  Some of you probably noticed I had two day 3s...oopsie...that has since been corrected.

Day 5 is our Disney's Hollywood Studios day.  We plan to make rope drop and head for Toy Story Mania.  With any luck we will get a quick ride AND some FastPasses for later, and then we will more than likely split up.  TheGuy will do Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster and The Pea and I will hit Beauty and the Beast.  Mama Melroses is on tap for lunch and then we should be able to catch the Stunt Show.  Both TheGuy and I want to do Star Tours, so I think the plan is to "baby swap" even though she isn't too small to ride, just too scared.  At some point we will head back to Toy Story, and then Starring Rolls for a cupcake...or three.  We should be able to fit in the Muppets and a few other things and maybe even catch the parade.  Then we will head back to the lodge for date night!

The Pea will go to the Cub's Den and TheGuy and I will go to Artist Point.  We are both looking forward to this one.  The food looks amazing, they have Sake flights (yumm-o!) and it is one of the quieter, more romantic, Disney restaurants.  Check this it out: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/03/11/review-artist-point-in-disneys-wilderness-lodge/

The next day will be our last park day and we will split it between Magic Kingdom and Epcot; more on that another day.  For now, I'm off to bed (early tonight, as I have the past three) in hopes that tomorrow I will finally start feeling normal.

yak

Well after writing about our upcoming trip, The Pea decided to reenact our last trip, just the bad part though, and instead of writing I was cleaning...and holding hair...and drying tears...and doing laundry...lots and lots of laundry.

The Pea is doing much better...so much better in fact that as I sit here trying to focus and form a coherent thought she is flipping around the living room.  Literally.  Flipping her little body ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE.  It might be time for some gymnastics lessons.

Ok...so on to the rest of our trip.  Or at least how much ever I can write about before a lamp, table, couch, or small child, gets broken and I have to jump up.

Day 4 will be Animal Kingdom.  We will get there early, head for the Safari grab some FastPasses for later and ride.  We will definitely do the shows, Lion King and Nemo, and we have lunch plans at Yak & Yeti (neat place, and the food looks terrific: ahi tuna, yumm-o, but I'm still leery of any dining establishment with Yak in the name...hello, really?).  Probably before lunch, cuz we don't need him yakkin up his Yak &Yeti, TheGuy will ride Expedition Everest. 

The Pea and I don't do thrill rides, hell she got sick after Tea Cups...so there will be a lot of "Ok, you ride this, and we will go ride that, and we will meet back here." I think it will work out great because he can ride in the single rider line, which is often much shorter (10 minute wait versus 50) she and I can knock out the ones he has no desire to do, and we can save the FastPasses for the things we all want to do together.  We will do whatever attractions we can in between shows, maybe catch the parade if we get a good spot and feel like sitting for awhile, and then who knows.  If it is warm, and I can convince The Pea, we will ride Kali River Rapids.  I REALLY wanna do this one (unless it is 40 degrees, and then hell no) but we shall see...if we do do it, it will be the last one before heading back to the resort.

The plan for that night is to go over to the Contemporary and eat at California Grill.  I'm definitely looking forward to this one as it should be a really nice meal (here is a review: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2011/11/20/review-california-grill/ )and we can watch the fireworks from there without battling crowds.  After dinner and the fireworks we are a short boat ride away from our bed.

Ok, The Pea has destroyed the living room and it has taken over an hour to write as I keep having to stop so I am signing off for now.

Happy Saturday y'all!

178

178 days until Disney World!!

I made all my dining reservations, got The Pea set up to go to Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique, and have started my spreadsheets.  I am waiting on Southwest to open up their flight schedule for November and for The Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party to start taking reservations, but otherwise we are SET!

Here is the breakdown of our first few days...

Day 1: Arrive Orlando International Airport and take the Magic Express to Bay Lake Tower and check in.  Get our keys, which will, because we have the dining plan, be our meal tickets, and head to Disney's Hollywood Studios Starring Rolls Cafe...Red Velvet cupcake, come to mama.  We are heading to Hollywood Studios first because one, it will be the least crowded park that day, and two, we didn't get a day in that park on the last trip because of The Pea spending two days in bed sick.  After we pull ourselves out of our sugar comas we will hit Star Tours, Beauty and the Beast, Muppets 3D, and whatever else we can squeeze in without too much of a wait.  Then we head to 1900 Park Fare for dinner with the step-sisters.  Finally, The Pea will get to see them...that was the one thing she missed last time that I haven't heard the end of, so we will knock it out early. 

Day 2:  Magic Kingdom!  We will get up and WALK there, hopefully in time for the opening show and rope drop, and then enjoy the day.  The Pea has her Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique appointment in the afternoon and then we will eat an early dinner at Crystal Palace, unless of course the new Be Our Guest is open, in which case we will try and eat there.  Since we are doing an early dinner, that is the night we will plan on doing the Dessert Party.  I'm not a fan of battling crowds, and it is a nice way to see the fireworks without throngs of people all up on you (plus there is CAKE...and pie, and tarts, and chocolate...hmmmmmmmm).  The best part of the night will be the luxury of walking back to the hotel instead of waiting for and enduring a bus.

Day 3:  Check out of Bay Lake Tower and in to Villas of Wilderness Lodge.  This should involve only the dropping off of our bags to bell services at Bay Lake, taking a boat over to Wilderness Lodge and a quick packet pickup for our new room/dining keys.  We shall see...this is my first split stay at two different resorts and while I have heard it is easy, I am not so sure.  We also switch dining plans at this point, from the regular to the deluxe...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Then, off to Epcot we go, first stop: Soarin'.  We will head to The Seas after The Land and do lunch at Coral Reef, The Pea LOVES that place...she won't eat the damn food, but she loves the place...hopefully TheGuy will like both the food and the atmosphere.  Despite it's notorious bad reviews, my one and only meal there was good, so hoping for another.  We will spend the day wandering, doing whatever everyone wants to do and for dinner we dine with the princesses in Norway.  The Pea and I love, love, love Akershus...I suspect TheGuy will tolerate it, but maybe he will get a kick out of pretty ladies stopping by our table for hugs and pictures.  After dinner we will head outside for Illuminations and then probably grab a cab back to the Villas.  Made the mistake of trying to do the bus deal at Epcot closing once, NEVER again.

Are you exhausted just reading?  I suspect we will fall into bed and crash hard after those three days...adrenalin (and cupcakes) can only keep you going for so long.  More on our plan tomorrow...and then over the next six months I will continue to change it, even though it is fine just the way it is.

oy

Well it has been a week, and you would think TheGuy has been gone forever.  I miss him like crazy.  Work has been insane, the Pea has been a wild child, and the whole state is up in arms about Amendment 1.  I'm ready to just crawl in bed with a bottle of wine.

I'm sad that our beautiful state has become the laughing stock of the union, I'm sad that we have politicized marriage and love, and muddied up all that is sacred in the name of religion.  I am perplexed by the venom and hatred.  I am furious that we spent so much time and taxpayer money on this issue when our unemployment rate is higher than, and our primary education testing scores lower than, almost every other state. 

As someone who chose the wrong person TWICE and royally effed up in marriage, I myself have no right to tell anyone else they shouldn't give it a go...and for someone who didn't choose wrong, who got lucky and found "the one" early on and didn't have a bunch of wounds to heal and baggage to carry along, and therefore managed to stay happily married: why would you not want that for someone else? 

I don't agree with any religion, religious practice, law, or political decree that excludes, shuns, degrades, hurts, violates the rights of, or shames anyone, unless of course they are hurting, shunning, degrading, violating the rights of, or shaming another human being.  Hope that made sense.

A friend of mine posted this** on Facebook...I couldn't have said it better.  If you don't like Gay marriage, or anything else for that matter, fine...but you will have to come up with an argument far better than "because the bible forbids it" to get me to agree with you...because with the exception of “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12) I take issue with a LOT the bible says.

**
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. When I burn a bull on the altar as sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Leviticus 1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

4. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states that he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

5. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination according to Leviticus 11:10 it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there "degrees" of abomination?

6. Leviticus 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I do wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20 or is there some wiggle room here?

7. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Leviticus 19:27. How should I go about killing them?

8. I know from Leviticus 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still touch a football if I am wearing gloves?

9. My friend has a farm. he violates Leviticus 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them or can I just take care of it myself? Leviticus 24: 10-16...couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws (Leviticus 20:14)?

TheGuy has me seriously considering marriage again...this vote today though, has me seriously thinking: What gives ME that right, if others can't?

wowza

Wowza...it has been awhile!

Sorry I have been off the radar, I have been spending every free moment with TheGuy.  I suspect you will be hearing quite a bit more from me though, as he is headed to Afghanistan for a bit.  It's lovely this time of year...he is excited.  [There really should be a sarcasm font]

I will be spending my time working, hanging with The Pea, catching up with all the friends I have been neglecting, blogging, planning my next Disney vacation, and masturbating (where the hell IS Bob anyway?).

So, on to the details...of our Disney trip (naughty monkeys!) 

It is finally set...we were able to get part of our week at Wilderness Lodge ( http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/villas-at-wilderness-lodge/ ) but because the weekend was booked solid we will stay at Bay Lake Towers (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/bay-lake-tower-at-contemporary/ ) Saturday and Sunday.  At first, I was a little leery of a "split stay" and thought about continuing to waitlist the entire stay at Wilderness lodge, but now that it is done, I am thinking it worked out for the best, and am going to keep it just the way it is.  The first two days will be Magic Kingdom focused (you can WALK there from BLT, we are used to a 30 minute bus ride!) the next four days we will split evenly between all four parks and the resort.

I have until May 14th to get a rough idea of where we want to be and when, because that is the day I am able to make my dining reservations; there are a few that it will be important to book early.  Because TheGuy has never been, he really doesn't know what he wants to do (or what we will miss, which is good, no pressure if I can't work in certain things).  We did watch the planning DVD though, and I showed him some pictures and told him about some of our options.  When I asked for his top two he said Star Tours (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/hollywood-studios/attractions/star-tours/) and the Fireworks Dessert Party (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/tomorrowland-terrace-fireworks-dessert-party/).  The Pea's top two were Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/bibbidi-bobbidi-boutique/) and dinner in the castle(http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/cinderellas-royal-table/).      

I just want to be there, and quite honestly, plan it.  I really do get a lot of joy in making the plan (even if we don't follow it).  As it unfolds, I will fill you in.

In the meantime I will leave you with this...totally random, but I liked it and wanted to share.