Happy New Year

I took some time off work (I got 11 days for the price of 3 - thank you, state holidays) and did a little traveling, watched my quarterback make football history, visited family and tried to get some rest.  It's been a great few days to escape from the real world, but it's about time to get back to reality and everyday life.

I'll make today simple by simply saying:

Happy New Year to all of you out there.  I hope it's a fantastic year for everyone - and if you have ever dreamed of taking that trip to Disney World - do it.  Don't wait til "the kids are older," or "just a couple more years."  Don't let it pass you by. I promise you, it will be worth it.

Here's to 2012.

It's Almost That Time.

I was lucky enough to be able to see all the fabulous things Disney World has to offer at Christmas.  And I truly do feel that it is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life.  It really did give me the warm fuzzies just looking at it and taking it all in.  The decorations on Main Street, the Santa hats adorned with Mickey ears, the millions of lights in Hollywood Studios, and of course, Cinderella's castle. 

Ahhh, Cinderella's castle - the most beautiful sight in Magic Kingdom at Christmas.  The thing gives you chills when you see it NOT lit up, but when the sun has gone down and it's time for the lighting ceremony - I suggest you have your hiney parked right in front of the thing and wait. You will not be disappointed. As a matter of fact, it will pretty much put you in a fantastic, euphoric mood for the rest of the night, if not for the rest of your trip.

It's the epitome of holiday cheer. It's the reason you you sought out Disney World at Christmas time.  It's the reason you and your family are hugging in the middle of the park for no apparent reason. But, it's okay... you aren't alone.

I can't wait until the day comes that I can head back and witness it all again. But until then, I will relive in pictures.  Happy Holidays everyone.

WHO DAT?!?

It's Sunday, which means it's GAME DAY in the Henderson household.  Before there was even a love for Mickey, there has been an  undying devotion to the New Orleans Saints.  We have been die hard fans way before they won the Super Bowl (wait, let me pinch myself again... my Saints won the Super Bowl!), and since we usually go to Disney World in the Fall, we are inevitably there during football season.  So we mix our love for the Saints and Mickey the best way we know how.

We make Mickey ears shirts adorned with Saints fun! And yes, those are Mickey ears on Drew Brees' helmet.  We wear these in the parks on Sunday and they get a lot of attention. We will see sports jerseys from just about all the NFL teams, and it is so fun to walk past another Saints fan and simply say, "Who Dat!" We get it. It's in our blood.

Having smart phones has made it much easier to keep up with games since they are rarely on TV in Orlando (Saints games).  But, when that just isn't enough, you can always head on over to ESPN Zone in the Boardwalk area.  But be sure and get there super early if you want a table! The place fills up fast.  There are TV's all over the place, so you will be able to watch your game on one of them.  It's a really fun atmosphere, too.  If you are on your way to hearing "It's a Small World" in your sleep, this can be a great break from the action. 

I'm telling you, there is a place for anyone and anything in Disney World. For those of you who may think it's simply childish and there's nothing to do but ride Dumbo and look at the castle, you are so mislead. We've been 5 times in 3 years and it's always an adventure and we always find something new. 

But, since I am home for this game, I need to start preparing for it. When we are home, we fly our yard flags, put a jersey on our dog, make nachos and watch the game from the best room in the house....

Coffee with Mickey

It's cold this morning - or at least by Louisiana standards.  And I love it. I was made for cold weather. The summers here make me so irritable and cranky that I look forward to the two or three months of non-sweltering heat.  And I don't have to work today! Woo hoo!  I've been working quite a bit these days, so being able to sit home in my red Mickey Mouse pajamas and sip my coffee from my Mickey Mouse mug is making me very happy.

I have a coffee mug addiction.  No, seriously... I do.  I collect them and I make sure to get a commemorative one from every vacation or attraction I visit. My cabinets are overflowing with mugs, but I just love them.  I now have 5 Mickey Mugs and they are by far my favorite (with my Saints mugs and Wizarding World of Harry Potter running close seconds).  Chris tells me I don't need to get anymore, but I can't resist. 

So, today I won't ramble on and on, I will just sit here and sip my Mickey coffee from my Mickey mug and stare at my Christmas tree.  It's just one of those mornings I need to have some quiet and relax.  I hope everyone out there has a great weekend.

Cheers!

Holy crap, what a terrible day at work today. What a terrible week. Dang, a terrible month!  Hospital life is tough, which is why I give thanks to Louisiana's own; drive-thru liquor stores!  I really don't think any other state has them, but we sure do like 'em down here! 

I don't drown my sorrows in alcohol, but on a dreary Friday with no work in the morning (that's a first in a few weeks), I decided to get Chris and myself a couple of frozen daiquiris.  Two for one. Woo hoo! 

So, why in the world am I even mentioning this?  Because it made me think of the tradition Chris and I have started on our trips to Disney World.  No matter what is going on at any other park, the first park we always hit is Epcot.  No, we don't skip over to the Magic Kingdom to witness Tinkerbell fly, or to capture the warm fuzzies of Main Street.  We head over to Epcot - for the beer.  After a long day of travel, the first thing we want to do is go have a quick bite to eat and some beer. Or in my case, a Grand Marnier slush in France.

Most people walk into Epcot and mozy over to Soarin' or Test Track, but we keep on walking - all the way to World Showcase and take a right (never a left).  We don't want Mexico's churros and margaritas.  We want fish and chips from London and a big ole honkin' Guinness.  The big beer, the one you've been practicing for.  We have our snacks, we have our beer and slush and we mozy.  We stroll.  We sit on a bench and take a deep breath and look at each other and say, "Whew.. we are finally here. Cheers!"

Then, the fun begins.  Each year we tackle it and each year we fail.  I know you've heard of it, and you may have even attempted it yourself.  Yep -  you guessed it....

This is when you attempt - and I say attempt - to hit every country in World Showcase and grab an adult beverage from each one. It may sound easy, but it is much harder than you think.  We get about half way through and can't take anymore. We never get drunk, just FULL.  We shoudn't start with Guinness, but how can we resist?  But it really is fun and by the time we make it over to Germany, I grab some of my favorite wine and am ready to sit down and people watch.

We get a good spot for Illuminations, watch the show (which always brings tears to my eyes) then call it a night.  To us, there is no better way to start out our Disney vacation.  Shoot, being tired from the travel then having our bellies full of food and drink, we sleep so well and actually wake up super refreshed and ready to tackle whatever we will be facing the next day. I suggest you try it sometime, you may actually enjoy it and you may be starting your own new tradition.

Now, if you'll excuse me - my daiquiri is melting....

The best Soarin' ever.

Chris and I are childfree - by choice - which really freaks a lot of people out.  We are one of those couples that had the discussion early on...


"Do you want children?"
"No! Why? Do you?"
"No."
"Okay, good. We can keep dating."


And it took forever for our parents to accept the fact that they would not be getting grandchildren from us. Thank goodness my sister provided two grandsons, and Chris' sister provided two granddaughters.  So, we are an Aunt and an Uncle, and we enjoy that role.  Have fun with them, but give them back.


We have a lot of people try to convince us of all the wonderful things we are missing out on by not having kids - and in turn, we have a lot of parent's sighing by the time we explain how wonderful it can be without them.  There is no right or wrong answer here. I wholeheartedly believe as long as you  make the decision based on your true feelings, all will be well.


I will admit that there are times when kids get on my nerves. My tolerance for screaming and crying is a lot lower since I have not had the opportunity to learn to deal with it (or tune it out).  But there are also times when I watch a child and my heart just fills up with love and joy for the sheer innocence and beauty they possess.  One such occassion happened to us on Soarin'.


As we were standing in line watching the boarding video, there was a kid who was about 5 years old talking really loudly to his dad asking him if he was going to go in soon.  This was one of those "on the nerves" moments.  He just kept asking and asking..."are we going in, Dad?  are we going in, Dad?"  You could tell he was excited, but geez.


So we go in and strap ourselves in for the ride.  I was on the left end of one section, the little boy on the far right end of the next, so we were across the aisle from each other.  He was still a little too excited for me, but the ride was about to start.  He was sitting on his legs so he could see and he had his hands placed on his knees. For some reason, I saw this and thought it was really cute. You could tell he was ready to go.  As we were taken up for our Soarin' adventure, that's when my heart absolutely melted.


As the wind started to hit his face, his first word was, "WOW!"  As we started to fly over the trees, again, "WOW!"  At every turn, "WOW"  Then it really happened. He starts telling his dad, "WOW! Dad, I'm flying!  I'm really flying!"  And his dad said, "Yeah, you really are, buddy."  Goodness, I'm getting as choked up and teary-eyed now as I did that day. At this point, I was no longer even watching the screen, I was watching that little boy and his dad share his son's real, first flight.  I had NEVER seen a child so fascinated and excited over anything.  He kept telling his dad he was really flying and his daddy assured him he was.  I was in tears.


As we landed, he was still so excited and he couldn't stop talking about it.  After we unbuckled and started to walk out, I walked over to the little boy and asked him, "Did you like that?"  He looked up at me and had the most beautiful and sincere look on his face and said, "oh yeah.. WOW!"  My eyes were still so full of tears. I looked at the dad and told him, "Thank you for letting me share that with y'all.  Your son just made that the best ride ever for me."  He looked at me like he was a little embarrassed, but his son was saying, "daddy, I flew!"  and I think he got it.


I looked over at my husband and his eyes were full of tears as well. So, yeah - those are the things we know we are missing out on by not having kids.  Those are the special moments for parents.  We walked out and down that walkway hand-in-hand without saying a word. It was a special moment.  Then we got outside and my husband said, "Are you ready for a beer?"  "Yep."

I need a do-over.

My first trip to Disney World was in September 2008, and as I mentioned in other blogs it was the best trip I think I could have ever imagined.  I honestly have nothing bad to say about the entire vacation.  So, naturally, when something leaves that big of an impression on you, you just HAVE to return. Right?

Well, we did.  It took us a year, but we headed back in December of 2009 because it was time to experience Christmas in the parks.  Now, I had heard about the crowds during Christmas week, and since we were spoiled with little to no wait during our last trip in September, we knew we would have to go a bit earlier. So, we went the first week of December, and I can't describe to you how excited we were to go! We made Christmas shirts to wear to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We picked new restaurants to try. We brought our good cameras because we knew the Osborne Family Lights were going to be spectacular.  Nothing was going to ruin this trip - it was destined to be pure magic!

Wrong...

This trip turned out to be so horrible.  Once we returned, I swore it was not worth it and I would never do it again.  Why, you ask?  First was Pop Warner Football kiddos.  I knew it was going on, I wasn't surprised by that when I got there, but I was shocked at the number of cheerleaders taking over the parks.  Loud cheerleaders.  Break-out-in-routines-in-line-and-yell-in-my-ears cheerleaders. They were everywhere.  I was a cheerleader. I appreciate the whole scene, but not in my face while I'm trying to enjoy the beauty of the parks.  Secondly, it was "crowded." I look back at it now and realize it wasn't crowded at all, but compared to no waits in September, a 20-30 minute wait was terrible. Thirdly, it was hot. Then cold. Then hot. Shoot, I live in Louisiana and experience this every day of my life, but I didn't pack right.  I had watched the weather forecast so carefully for this trip, but it was so off. I didn't pack enough short sleeves and way too many long sleeves.  And the last thing that made it horrible?  My foot.

I had had surgery on my right foot in October of 2008.  It went perfectly, healed well and I had no issues.  It was time for me to have the same surgery on my left foot, so I scheduled it in August of 2009 - 4 months before our trip - plenty of time for it to heal, just like the other one did.  Well, it wouldn't heal. Even a week before the trip I was still making trips to the podiatrist to figure out what was going on. I was in so much pain and so sick of walking around in that boot, I needed relief.  I was forced to wear a smaller boot while at Disney World, but every day I was nearly in tears from the pain.  My bones had been cut in half, re-aligned and held in place with pins.  Well, come to find out (once we got home) the pins had started to fail and separate from the bone without my bones being fused together. I was essentially walking on a broken foot bone. Dang! No wonder I was so freakin' cranky!  I was actually put back into a cast and back on crutches 4 months after the initial surgery... it was torture.

So, my memories are not what they should be. I have some great ones (the toy soldiers in the Christmas parade, the Christmas tree at Grand Floridian, Cinderella's castle), but most of what I remember is being miserable and cranky. And looking back, none of those things listed above was even bad - they were simply bigger in my mind at the time. I was thinking the trip was a bust because I couldn't get comfortable and in turn, I couldn't see it for all it's glory.  That's not fair.  It's not supposed to be like that.  I don't want those to be my memories of Christmas at Disney World. 

So, in honor of the Christmas season, I hereby declare a do-over!  Hey, Honey... guess where we're going next year?