Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A Little Disney for You

So, as I've mentioned a few times, we went to Disney World a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time.

I'm not going to give a play by play because I don't have the desire to do it, and I'm not sure you really want to read it all. I'm going to let photos do most of the talking for me. I'll give you a little background first:

We flew to Orlando (on Darryl's air miles) the Sunday of Labor Day weekend and came back the following Saturday. It really was a great time to go. Sunday, after we arrived at the hotel and got settled, we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom for a while. It was PACKED. We figured it would be, though, because of the holiday weekend, so we just dealt with it. The rest of the week, however, was pretty ideal in terms of crowds, line waits, and so forth.

We did all four parks -- Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. I think the Magic Kingdom is our favorite by far, but probably because it has more rides and things that all of us could enjoy.

Here are some photos, really in no particular order.

This is the night we went to dinner in Cinderella's Castle. Yes, I have on Minnie Mouse ears. Don't hate. (Also, those ears might have helped distract from the horrible hair day I was experiencing. At least I fooled myself into believing that.)

Amelia is standing in front of the Tree of Life at the Animal Kingdom.

Look! Amelia can also hold up the EPCOT golf ball. Impressive, yes? (By the way...the ride inside that ball, Spaceship Earth, was one of Amelia's favorite rides. We rode it at least three times.)


Amelia and, obviously, Cinderella. Can you stand the cuteness??


Here we are at Chef Mickey's, which was lots of fun.


Hanging out with Cars at Hollywood Studios.


Amelia and Tinkerbell!


I love this photo of Amelia and Princess Tiana.


Look, Rapunzel is THE princess to see right now. We made several attempts to see her and finally did on Friday. (And even though we made a beeline to her location, there were still about 20 people in front of us.)


I adore this photo of Amelia and Mickey.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Random Stuff--In List Form

1. Today is the last day of my teaching gig. It really hasn't been too bad. The worst part (besides getting up at 4:20, yes, 4:20, in the morning) has been teaching the same class five times. Monotonous? Yes.

2. I realize I still need to do a Disney post. I just haven't had the energy while I've been teaching. Maybe it will develop later this week. I also want to strike the fine balance between keeping it succinct enough not to bore those who don't give a rip and making it thorough enough to satisfy the grandparents.

3. I am obsessed, and by obsessed, I mean I want to watch this show every time I have a spare minute to do so, with...


Seriously, I cannot stop watching this show. I started watching it on Netflix, and I am almost at the end of Season 3. I need to just go ahead and finish up the series (before the fifth season begins in 2012) so that I can move on with my life.

4. Amelia went to her first birthday party for one of the friends at her "new school." We had a great time, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the moms. It definitely was not as awkward as I thought it would be.

5. Speaking of birthday parties, Amelia has decided she wants a Toy Story party for hers. I was a little bummed because I was hoping we would be throwing an all-too-sweet princess party, but after looking around at some stuff online (and realizing it's not my party, so it isn't all about me), I'm getting pumped about the Toy Story theme. (And I failed to realize what all the fuss was about Pinterest until I started finding some cute pics. Now I've gotta say that I LOVE Pinterest.)

6. Back to TV...I have boldly decided not to watch Dancing with the Stars this go-around. I want to say, for the record, that I don't mind Ch@z being on the show at all (just wanted to separate myself from the nuts who are sending him death threats), but the cast is just kind of unappealing as a whole. And Grey's Anatomy (who began the season with the most.....drawn....out....premier....ever) is on my list. It has a couple of episodes to shape up, or it's outta here. And Glee...you better watch your back as well.

7. This list was riveting, yes?

Monday, September 19, 2011

The Blog Forecast for This Week

I'm not sure how much I'll blog this week since I'm doing this "teaching gig" all week. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. takes a toll, y'all.

We had a good weekend, filled with hanging out, eating good food, and watching football.

And now I'm tired.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Back

A few days ago, my friend/former colleague Tim contacted me to see if I would be interested in teaching some Graduation Writing Test review sessions at the school where I used to teach for the next week and a half or so. I took him up on the offer, and yesterday was my first day back for this little stint of teaching.

It's a pretty sweet gig, actually. I'm in a conference room that has windows on two sides overlooking the football field. I have five groups of about eight students each. All the lessons have been planned, and there is no grading.

And I get to see my old work friends.

But I've gotta be honest: 4:30 hit me HARD this morning. And "real" shoes. My toes hurt so badly at the end of the day.

It was a good day, though. I had a day full of hugs and "glad to see yous" from former colleagues and students.

It felt good to be back for a while.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

For Darryl's Co-Workers

A few of Darryl's co-workers read my blog -- primarily, I think, for material they can use to harass Darryl with. For example, when I posted the story a few weeks ago about Mr. Longface, Darryl arrived at his desk only to find a photo of Mr. Longface hanging on his wall. :-)

Darryl said they were tired of reading about scrapbooking...they wanted more Darryl material.

Well, gentlemen, your wait is over, and your patience is about to be rewarded. I present to you Mr. Incredible:



You're welcome.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Last Week...Disney World!!

Last week, the three of us went to Disney World.

And frankly, I'm still so Disneyed out that I don't even think I can form a coherent thought about the trip. The thought of blogging about it in detail exhausts me.

We had a great time, though. Amelia is at the age where she thinks that everything is real. Every time we rode a ride that involved space (like the ride in the giant golf ball at EPCOT), she thought we were really going to Outer Space. ("Mom, we just went to Outer Space!!") On the Peter Pan ride at the Magic Kingdom, she thought that we were really flying in a pirate ship.

How fun is that???

And, of course, she was all about the princesses because, as you can probably guess, she thinks they are really princesses.

I'll share a few things this week about the trip this week along with a few photos here and there. Bear with me, though, while I'm still in recovery mode. :-)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Like Everyone Else

I realize I dropped off the face of the blog world last week, but I'll write more about that tomorrow.

For now, I want to talk -- briefly -- about yesterday.

I started to write something about 9/11 yesterday, but I decided against it. Mainly because I don't really know what to say about it that hasn't already been said more eloquently than I could say it.

I don't think my memories of that day are particularly unique from everyone else's.

Like everyone else, I can remember where I was when "it" happened.

Like everyone else, I can remember my feelings of overwhelming sadness, fear, anger, and loss combined with a sense of unity and of pride in my country.

Like everyone else, I can remember American flags being flown from front porches.

Like everyone else, I was glued to the news for days afterward.

Like everyone else, I was humbled and inspired by tales of bravery and heroism in the face of unexplainable tragedy.

As I watched the ceremony unfold from Ground Zero yesterday, the magnitude of 9/11/01 seemed as great as ever, but so did the fortitude of the American spirit.


(If you are interested, our church showed this video yesterday.)

Friday, September 02, 2011

Why I Scrapbook


I know, I know...you are OVER the scrapbooking thing I have going on this week. I get it. But it's my blog, and this is what's on my mind this week...

I get some flack for being a "scrapbooker." Good-natured flack, but flack, nonetheless. I know before I started scrapbooking, I thought that the people who did it were older women who wore sweaters with images of horses or cats stitched into them, and they sat around with their like-minded friends and they all scrapbooked photos of their cats.

And then I started meeting people who were self-proclaimed scrapbookers, and they were closer to my age and pretty "with it," and my image of scrapbookers started to change.

Now the cool/hip factor really has nothing to do with why I scrapbook, but it did change my perception of scrapbooking and the people who do it. (For the record, some scrapbookers are TOTALLY what I originally pictured...but they are a minority, I would say.)

So back to why I scrapbook...

When Amelia was about seven months old, she was crawling around in our then guest-room-converted-to-a-playroom. There was this thing she would always do...she would make a beeline across the carpeted room to the threshold that led to the hardwood floor of the hallway. Once she reached the hardwood floor, she would turn around, sit down, and laugh, like "Ha ha! I escaped! Try to catch me now!" and she would crawl on.

I remember watching her and thinking, "I never ever want to forget that."

But I realized that if I didn't write it down and record it in some way, I would forget. And then I realized that her life was going to be series of things I wouldn't want to forget, and that if I didn't write them down, I wouldn't remember them.

And while Amelia started out as the motivation for my scrapbooks, over time, scrapbooking has become more about "our" story as a family. I know that many people -- like me -- began scrapbooking when they had kids, but man...what I wouldn't give for an album that chronicled the first few years of our marriage, just to see how far we have come from those days. A Project Life album from 1999? THAT would be a treasure, my friends. :-) The trips, the friends, the routines, the clothes, our tiny 3rd-floor apartment...sure, I have photos and souvenirs and such, but I'd love to have it "recorded," you know?

This past weekend, Heidi Swapp made this remark in her keynote speech, and it has really stuck with me:

"If no one remembers it, it is like it never happened."

That one sentence completely embodies why I now record the details of our lives. True, we can't record EVERYTHING. Nor do we want to remember everything. But the little moments that make up the story of our lives, I want to remember a lot of it.

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Creative Escape 2011--Part 3

Okay, back to Creative Escape...

First, I realize I never showed you the view from my room.


Pretty sweet, huh?

Anyway, Saturday night, the evening concluded with the traditional celebration. Here's a photo of the three of us. (If you can't tell, there was a bit of a '50s theme involved.)


We had dinner, and then there were TONS of door prizes. Blayne won a Cricut (!), and I was THRILLED to win a package of goodies from American Crafts. (I'm not being sarcastic about the being thrilled part. A) I never win anything, so I was shocked I actually won something, and B) I love American Craft products.)


Then Heidi Swapp herself -- the creator and hostess of CE -- delivered the keynote speech. That woman has yet to speak without making me cry, and this time was no exception. She truly has an inspiring passion for recording memories, and this year her emphasis was on how the details of our lives are "worth remembering."

(Cathy took a photo of Blayne and me with Heidi Swapp and I would put it here, but I don't have it yet. I'm sure you are disappointed, especially since you are probably like, "Enough about Creative Escape, already!")

I mentioned on Monday and Tuesday about what a thrill it was for me to meet and take a class from Ali Edwards. Well, Saturday night was a bonus because I got to meet and talk with Becky Higgins, the creator of Project Life!


She wasn't a teacher at this event; she just came to the Saturday Celebration. She was so nice! I told her how much I appreciated Project Life, and she hugged my neck, asked me questions...it really was great talking to her.

One of the things that both she and Ali have done for me is realize that some of the best photos to take are everyday moments -- routines, playtime, work, chill-out time, etc. So I was a bit over the moon that I got to meet two of my favorite people in the industry in a 3-day period.

Sunday morning, we flew home. The three of us really had an awesome time and were completely inspired to continue recording our memories.


(And thank you for enduring my Creative Escape recap for this week! I also need and want to include a HUGE thank you to Darryl for being super-dad/super-husband while I was away! And..AND...the house was cleaner when I returned than it was when I left it!)