The REAL Disney Magic

Going to Disney at Christmas was the BEST way to start my Christmas vacation. It was perfect--although a bit cold.

Friday after the Faculty Christmas Luncheon (I won beer again, woot!) Tanya and I headed to Orlando. I bought a Disney vacation package about a year ago and couldn't book it when Liz was in town, so I decided to save it for Christmas, and I'm SO glad I did. It was three nights at a resort and two tickets for two people to two parks at Disney. The drive up was a little intense because it had been raining ALL DAY and it continued to rain into the evening, but we got there in about 4 hours and had an early and relaxing night at the resort.

The next day we decided to hit the park in the afternoon and stay until the fireworks at night, so we needed something to do in the morning. The front desk recommended this place called WonderWorks, which was like a sciency play place. It was pretty fun, I have to say. It was a perfect morning.

Here's me in a space suit... My shoulders were too broad to really fit inside. lol

And here's me laying on a bed of nails. Surprisingly comfortable!

Yay for nerdiness on vacation!

After lunch at WonderWorks, Tanya and I headed to the Magic Kingdom where we were planning to meet Lora and her friend Sammy. Tanya and I got to Disney just in time to get a prime spot for Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Parade. Yay Disney Christmas magic!

Here's me on a decorated light pole. Can't resist the cheesy photo ops!

Once we met up with Lora and Sammy, we headed to Space Mountain (new and refurbished!). It was worth the 90 minute wait! We also rode The Haunted Mansion (it was kinda special and delayed, lol), the Jungle Cruise (pun-tastic!), and I think that was all! I just wanted Disney Christmas magic, so the rides didn't matter that much.

At 6:15, they have a Castle lighting ceremony that was perfect. I almost cried it was so beautiful. And I found out Tinkerbell is actually a Tinker-tranny (she's played by a boy), which was kind of magical in it's own way. lol.

So anyway, Cinderella's Castle gets all lit up for Christmas, and it's so pretty and magical it makes me want to cry. This picture doesn't even do it justice at all, but here's a group photo.

*sigh*

The next day, Tanya and I went to Animal Kingdom, which I wanted to see because I've never gotten the chance. Here's the Christmas tree that greeted us.

I actually ran into a high school friend in line for Everest, the first ride we made it onto. She gave us the scoop on what to see, so we had a plan for the day. Everest was fun (a roller coaster type ride), and I wanted to be sure to go on the safari, and the "It's Tough to be a Bug" show in the Tree of Life, and the dinosaur ride was a must as well. We actually tried to do the dinosaur thing first, but it was broken so we had to wait and come back. The lines, though, weren't bad at all. I don't think we waited more than an hour to do anything.

Okay, so the safari was cool. You basically ride around and, like, see animals and crap. There's a story line to it, just like with every ride at Disney, but I just wanted to see the animals, and see animals I did. Here's one of the giraffes next to a Baobab tree. Awesome.

After the safari we managed to make it onto the dinosaur ride, and here's our souvenir photo to prove it. :)

By far the coolest thing at Animal Kingdom is the Tree of Life. It's the central focal point of the park, kind of like Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom, and I'd seen a special on it on the Travel Channel. Up close, it's beautiful. It's intricately carved and extremely beautiful.

After our animal-filled morning, we headed back to the resort to chill for a bit. I napped and Tanya watched the end of the Dolphins game. That night, we went to Downtown Disney to play at Disney Quest and eat dinner. Disney Quest was fun, it's a bunch of virtual reality type games and activities, and I got a cute little boyfriend from Honduras who told me I was cute on the Magic Carpet game. We were in love for two minutes and it was awesome. lol

We ate dinner at The House of Blues, then went back to Disney Quest until 9:45, when we went to see The Princess and the Frog. I kind of love the fact that I saw a Disney movie at Disney. And it was a good movie, too. I really enjoyed it!

The next morning, we ate breakfast at a Waffle House, which makes me so happy. Waffle House brings happiness to my soul, I can't even lie. We were back in Miami by 2 after a great weekend.

I'm currently back in Michigan for the holiday and I'll be here til the 30th. I'm excited to be here and can't wait for it to snow!

Merry Christmas and much love.

The Holidays are Upon Us...

I know... It's been too long. I'm sorry about that, but I DO have a lot to update about, so get ready!

First of all, I meant to mention in my last post that, well, a while ago now, UM had an advanced screening of Precious and Tiffany and I went. That movie... was brutal and beautiful all at the same time. It's hard to describe it--it's almost so shocking you don't even react to it. I dunno... I'm really happy I saw it, and everyone in that movie or that had anything to do with it deserves a nomination of some variety. It was definately an experience, and I would reccomend the movie. But be prepared for brutality.

Now onto my Thanksgiving celebration. I went to Eric's house on FIU's campus and he made an amazing turkey. It was only his second bird, but man, was it good! He's a winner, ladies and gentlemen! In fact, here he is with our little friend...

I contributed pumpkin pie (which Rent-A-Husband ate four pieces of) and rosemary, garlic, and goat cheese mashed potatoes, which were DElicious. Rent-A-Husband made stuffing (enough that I ate it for the next two weeks) and sangria which was like the nectar of the gods. Here's our little bartender doing what he does best...

Eric's friend Lora was also in attendance, and she's super fun and awesome. It was a tiny but lovely little party. Afterwards, we played Apples to Apples and this happened...

There is no coincidence, my friends. :)

Also in the holiday spirit, Tiffany and I had a Winter Party to celebrate all things winter. We had our tree up and made wintery food (cheese and beer soup, ham, hot chocolate) and had people over for a potluck. However, we had to clear some counter space to put out all the food (there were crock pots, plural, involved) so we put the liquor in my bathtub. I thought it would be hilarious to take a picture with all of it so... I did!

Nothing says "Joy of the Holidays" quite like a bathtub full of liquor. Nose and horns provided by Tiffany.

And this is our happy little holiday crew, minus Bubba, who's still in Michigan. :(

The night ended, as so many good nights do, with Apples to Apples. But for some reason, I wasn't winning like I usually do. Totally disappointing. Anyway, it was a great time and thanks to everyone who was there! :)

Oh, and just for good measure, here's our tree this year. Tiffany did it in purple. Quite pretty.

Let's see, what else? Two weekends ago I went to Orlando to with Eric to see RENT with the original Mark and Roger. I actually met Anthony Rapp (Mark) in college; he came to Grand Valley for a talk and he signed my CD and sang and talked for a bit. It was awesome. And seeing Adam Pascal (Roger) live has been a dream of mine since I first saw the show in 1997 or 8. I LOVE his voice--I want to liquefy it, put it in a tank, and shower in it every day. That's how magical it is to me. Seeing the both of them was a dream come true--no lie--and I enjoyed it so much. Plus, it was great to spend a day in Orlando with Eric and Lora, and even Lora's mom. It was so, so, so great.

Last weekend I spent at school for ETC #59, which was, as usual, great. I'm always blown away by the ETC experience and the kids that attend. This one was particularly emotionally exhausting for several reasons, but we all made it through and are better for it. I gave the talk on trust and it went pretty well, and a kid was actually able to open up to me about some stuff that was going on with her that she doesn't share, so that was awesome.

Speaking of... one of my kids stayed after school twice this week and, like, poured her heart out to me. It was great, in a way, because I think she really just needed to talk and have someone listen, but in another way it was so tough on me because, like, how do you convince a 17 year old girl she's not in love? Or that there WILL be other boys who will love her? It was hard, but I was there for her so hopefully, that's what she needed. She said to me before she left that she'd heard that sometimes God speaks through other people, and that maybe I was one of those people. I really hope that's true.

Anyway, at the moment I'm killing time before Tanya gets here because we're going to Orlando today! I want to see Disney at Christmas, so I'm really excited.

Wish is safe travels and I'll be in Michigan on Tuesday!

Much love.