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Do you ever feel like, after you've been blogging for awhile, that you just keep talking about the same things over and over? I seriously feel like one of the dullest people in the world. I wish we had the money and time to take an exciting vacation somewhere different. I think I need a change in scenery. Maybe later this year...
Also...I'm SO happy Big Love is back! The Season 3 opener was fabulous. I won't say anything else in case anyone who loves the show hasn't watched yet.
Bold = I've done it
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day
Hope everyone had a happy New Year! We went to Betsy & Richards for their 3rd annual party and had a great time, as always. Looking forward to good things in 2009, although I have had bad luck with the odd-numbered years in the past. Both 2005 and 2007 left a lot to be desired, while 2004, 2006, and 2008 were all great years for us. I plan on breaking that pattern this year.
I was pleased when Richard got the fire pit going and they passed out pieces of paper for people to write down the things they wanted to leave behind in 2008 and throw into the fire, and I really couldn't think of anything non-political to write. Last year was a completely different story. I had fun tossing a "Screw You AAA!" message into the fire. But this year, Tadd and I have both had decent jobs and things have been good.
Plans coming up...Our office is closed tomorrow, so I am enjoying a four day weekend. Tadd has to work tomorrow, so after vacuuming up the living room in the aftermath of removing the Christmas decorations, and writing out Christmas thank you cards, I may go to the movies by myself. Not sure yet. Saturday night, my cousin Brianna is spending the night at our place, and then Sunday, Tadd and I are taking her to Epcot. It's our one last hurrah before she goes back to Massachusetts and we go back to work post-holidays. I believe Sunday is also the last day that Disney has their holiday celebrations going on, so we'll get to see Illuminations with the extra Holiday fireworks! I'm excited for Brianna to see that, because they really are spectacular and we haven't gotten a chance to see them so far this year.
Next Friday, we are meeting a bunch of friends at Rising Star at Universal Citywalk for Tadd's 28th birthday. That's the kareoke place where they have a live band and backup singers. SOOOO much fun! Even though I refuse to actually participate...I just like to watch everyone else make fools out of themselves! It will be even more fun when it is Tadd and all of our friends doing the singing.
Getting ready to head over to my parents house for a family Christmas Eve get together. My cousin Brianna is in town from Boston. I haven't seen her in two years, so I'm excited to get over there. Anyways, hope everyone has a very happy happy holiday weekend! And with that I will leave you with two of my favorite pics from the Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom...From the only ride we rode that night; the teacups!
I joined two websites over the weekend...Twitter & Flickr.
http://twitter.com/ruledbymercury
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruledbymercury/
I need friends in both places, so please feel free to friend me if you have accounts on either site!
After a hellish bout with the stomach virus made popular by cruise ships called the Norovirus, I am BACK! Yes, my grandfather brought the Norovirus to Thanksgiving and it made its way around my family. I started feeling twinges after I got back from Black Friday shopping with my mom, and by 4pm I was down for the count. Tadd tucked me in bed and I nodded off for a couple of hours only to wake up to the sound of him wretching in the bathroom as well. We both stayed in bed all day Saturday and by Sunday we were feeling well enough to put up the tree. I don't have much else to say about the Norovirus, other than I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!
Unfortunately, I made it back to work on Tuesday to find that I was all alone during what is likely the busiest week in the entire year for my industry. My boss's kid is severely ill, our data entry specialist was out with pink eye, and the other case manager is in NJ due to a death in the family. That left just me. The data entry person came back Wednesday, and my boss was finally able to come in for a half-day today, but I have been doing about six times the amount of work I normally do and my stress levels have been through the roof. I'm trying to console myself with the fact that the week is almost over, but I have NEVER been this behind before. Through no fault of my own, of course, but it is bothering me all the same. I'm only one person! Luckily, everyone should be back in the office on Monday and the December new business should start tapering off. But sometimes it feels like I'll NEVER be caught up again.
In happier news, we got a new camera on Black Friday! We got the 10.3 megapixel Kodak that was on sale at Target for $89.99. It's not the fanciest, but it is worlds better than the camera we have had since we first got married in Summer 2004. I can't wait to take it along for our Disney weekend a week from tomorrow. I am SO looking forward for a little getaway, and it will definitely give us a reason to try out all the features of our new camera.
Five day weekend ahead for me. I took Monday off as one of my end-of-year "use it or lose it" vacation days. And just in time because, although this was a short week, I feel like I did enough work in 2.5 work days to equal about 2 weeks worth of work. This is the busiest time of the year for the benefits administration industry...lots of companies have their open enrollment periods in December and January, plus the end of the month is usually hell anyways, PLUS this was a short month. Ugh.
We had friends over last night for drinks, pumpkin cheesecake, and Wii games. Only a few people were able to make it due to either working late, being out of town, or having guests in from out of town, but that's ok. We had a nice time regardless and it was a good excuse to clean my house from top to bottom in preparation for Christmas decorations.
Right now I'm starting to make broccoli casserole to bring to my parents house. It's my first time making it, so I hope it's good. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is on. Pretty soon I will be making cinnamon rolls and using them to bribe my husband out of bed (he's still snoring away). As usual, we're going over to my parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner with my grandparents and aunt & uncle. Then tomorrow is the traditional mother-daughter shopping excursion. We're going to Target and I'm hoping to get one of the $89.99 digital cameras. We need a new camera desperately and you just can't beat that price for a decent point-and-shoot. Saturday I plan to start decorating...we'll probably put the tree up that day. I can't wait! I just LOVE this time of year.
Anyways, hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
This is seriously the BEST time of year to live in Florida. The weather has been SOOOO NICE lately! I love being able to wear a light sweater, and open all the windows, and turn off the air conditioning, and just enjoy it. We were thinking about going out to the Magic Kingdom this weekend so we could spend some time walking around in the glorious fresh air, but apparently this is a really busy week at the parks because a bunch of schools in New Jersey have the week off or something. TouringPlans.com is calling this weekend as a 7 out of 10, whereas next weekend is averaging as a 5 out of 10. So we're definitely going to go next weekend, as long as the weather holds up.
Tadd is helping Ryan and Rick move into their new place today, so I'm pretty much on my own. This morning I went on a little shopping spree. JCPenney is having a huge sale, so I got 2 sweaters and a shirt for about $40. Then I went to Bath & Body Works, because I had a $10 off $30 coupon burning a hole in my pocket. I got a 2-pack of Cinnamon Pumpkin plug-in air fresheners, a Christmas Tree scented candle in a festive glass holder for Tadd's man den (he LOVES pine/forest-type scents), a Creamy Nutmeg scented candle for me, and a three-pack of trial-sized lotions in the limited edition holiday scents (Vanilla Bean Noel, Twisted Peppermint, and Winter Candy Apple) that I'm going to bring into work and split with some co-workers. All of that for only $22! Then I went to Yankee Candle, where I got four holiday scented tarts (I think I got Egg Nog, Holiday Apple Wreath, Jack Frost, and one other scent...can't remember). Then I got a small jar candle with a new scent called Silver Bells, which smells SOOOOO good! I think we are now FULLY stocked on Thanksgiving/Christmasy fragrances! But that's ok because I love all the holiday scents for this time of year. And luckily Tadd does too.
Tadd just found out that he might have to travel to Atlanta for work for a few days in mid-December. Unfortunately, it might mean we have to cut our WDW holiday weekend getaway short. He wasn't supposed to go until January, but they just opened up a session in December, and they would really rather him go sooner than later. I'm really hoping it doesn't work out. I've been looking forward to this little getaway for months. I don't know why they assume that they can give a month's notice for something like this right smack in the middle of the holiday season and expect people to be able to go. But if he has to, he has to. In this economy, I'm just glad he has a job and don't want us to do anything to jeopardize that.
We had a lovely time this past week and I am so sad to see it end. Unfortunately, back to work tomorrow. I am consoling myself with the thought that I took the Monday after Thanksgiving and the Monday after Christmas off, so I have two five-day weekends to look forward to. Also, Tadd and I are taking a long weekend in December to do all the Christmasy stuff at Disney, so we have another mini-vacation in the works.
We all really loved the cabins at Fort Wilderness. I was worried that it would be too small or that the sleeping arrangements would be awkward, but it actually worked out really well. Tadd and I got the big bed in the bedroom, Tadd's mom and brother got the bunk bed, and Tadd's uncles shared the murphy bed in the living room. And it really was adorable. Like our own cute little cottage in the woods! We rented a golf cart for our four days, which was great. I only wish we could have had two golf carts, since we had 6 people. Instead, Tadd would take two trips from our cabin to either the Outpost bus stop or the Settlement boat launch, shuttling us wherever we needed to go. Even with the 2 trips, it was much more efficient (and more pleasant) than the Ft. Wilderness internal bus loop. I'm not huge a fan of Disney busses, although I understand how they have their place in the transportation system. We also found that we preferred to take the boats whenever we could. The only time we used our own cars was on the last day after checking out of the cabin. Tadd and I agreed that it would be so much fun to get a group of our friends together and rent a cabin or two with them. Even if we didn't make it to the parks, there is so much to do in the campground, it could be REALLY fun! We would both love to stay in the cabins again, although the price is definitely too high for just the two of us, but would be great to split with a group of friends.
I really think Tadd's family enjoyed themselves. We tried to inject some special things into each day of the trip. Sunday morning we checked in and spent the afternoon at the Studios. We rode all the rides and Tadd's mom got to see Fantasmic for the first time. Monday morning we went back to the Studios at opening to be able to get on Toy Story Mania before the crowds hit. Then we went back to the cabin to relax before our late lunch reservations at Whispering Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge. We got caught in a rainstorm on the way back from lunch, so we took a little bit to dry off and get ready for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. Tadd and I had printed custom shirts for everyone for the party, which was fun. When we got to MK, Tadd took his brother into the Main Street Barber Shop and they got colored gel combed into their hair. Between our shirts, the boys' colored hair, and our various other Halloween accessories, we all looked very festive! Tuesday we went to Epcot for the Food & Wine Festival, but surprised Tadd's mom with tickets for a special behind the scenes tour of The Land Pavilion. She is an avid gardener back in Tennessee, so she LOVED it. Bet met up with us for part of the day too. Tuesday night, back at the cabin, we used the grill in front of our porch to toast some marshmallows, which was a fun treat. Then Wednesday, after checking out and returning our golf cart, we had a lovely breakfast at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian resort, before heading off to our last day at Animal Kingdom. The four days were VERY tiring, but so much fun!
Then on Thursday, we introduced Tadd's mom to the wonder that is Ikea. They don't even have Target in their tiny town in Tennessee, so Ikea was extremely exotic to her. She LOVED it. We went shopping a few other places that she doesn't have in her area between Thursday and Friday. Then they headed home in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
As I am finishing up my vacation, my parents are just starting theirs. They will be gone for the next three weeks on a European cruise. They flew to Dublin today and tomorrow they will be in Venice for the start of their cruise. Sooooo lucky! I can only hope that someday Tadd and I are able to do something like that.
In the meantime...GO SOX!!! We are watching game 7 vs. the Tampa Bay Rays right now!
Pictures from our vacation:
Album 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33547&l=f8edc&id=504344522
Album 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33556&l=4e260&id=504344522
Originally when we made plans for my in-laws to come to town, I was only going to take the first half of the week off. But since then I decided to see if I could get the rest of the week off. I really didn't know how my boss would react, so I hemmed and hawed awhile about it. Today, I finally bit the bullet and asked and she was TOTALLY fine about it! I filled out the request and it has already been approved and put on the company calendar. So I have a full week of vacation to look forward to in two weeks!
Woo hoo!
It has been a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time since I've taken a full week off of work. Actually, I think it was 2005 when Tadd and I took a cruise with friends.
