In Search of My Body - Not the One I Ate, VOL 7! Princesses? Nope, just us Goddesses!

[AKASnowWhite]

Just back from my "run". I use that term very loosely tonight. It was more like a....slog. Jogging like a slug. It was really hard. I can definitely tell when my nutrition is "off". But it's done. Cross it off the list for today.

Yeah the weather is interrupting my US Open Strange times with Serena today.

no kidding! She went all "John McEnroe" on the official Not a happy day for Serena

Thanks for all the birthday wishes.

Paula - I'm so, so sorry! I don't know how I missed that yesterday was your birthday! Glad to hear it was so wonderful

 

[adsrtw]

Hey everybody! I'm back from visiting the monks and nuns. It was a beautiful trip. We are definitely building some friendships.

I will post a TR with a few pics later after I study.

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Hey everybody! I'm back from visiting the monks and nuns. It was a beautiful trip. We are definitely building some friendships.

I will post a TR with a few pics later after I study.

Can't wait to hear about it!


Kat & Cathie - hope you are having fabulous trips to WDW!



I'm frustrated with me today. I'm making things so much harder than they need to be...unnecessarily. Will I *ever* learn?

 

[cathie1327]

Hello my friends!!!! Reporting live fronm hollywood studios while waiting for fantasmic. And let me tell you.....it is a wonder I am alive and able to post right now!!!! Tell you why in a minute

We started off our day today with tower of terror and rock n roller coaster. My two favorite rides at disney. After running to get a fastpass for tsm, went on the backlot tour. They have changed it some since we came last year. I'm not sure if I like it or not.

Then it was off to sci fi dine in theatre for lunch. We really enjoyed it! The parents got a special anniversary greeting and even two free mugs full of caramel corn!!!

After lunch we went off for our first ever time at lights motors action. It was closed for us last year, so we were excited to see it this year. I really liked it and got tons of great pictures!

After muppets 3d we got a spot for ock party bash. I saw this one at disneyland before it came here, but I still really like it. Of course, I love anything that makes me feel like a big kid

We went on the great movie ride after ther parade then used our tsm passes. I even got to see luxo jr come out!!!! carlos' mom loves star tours so it was off top that (blah) then indiana jones.

Dinner was at backlot express. I have to say I am so impressed with the chicken nugggets at wdw lol. They are huge!!!! After dinner we saw little mermaid and walked through one mans dream then....well then to the part where I am lucky to be alive.

We decided to see the second showing of fantasmic at 10. I assked the cm by the street where the line was for fantasmic at about a quarter till 9. She said because the second one wasn't as crowded that there wouldn't be a line, and so we just stood oin the area in front of the theatre entrance. Well about 20 mins later they announced that they'd be moving the group up so people weren't in the street. Man. I know people are rude...I've alwaus understood it but never like I did today. I honestly thopught I'd be trampled within an inch of my life. Peoplke were pushing to get past uis.... Like there easnt room for frickin thoudands of people in there... (Shakes head)

Last year we did the fantasmic dining package with the seperate entrance so we didn't have to contend with it...I'd read on the dis that it was bad but never thought itd be like that...

Anyway today has been hot and rained a couple of times but not all day like yesterday so that was nice! Can't complain really when it was 50 degrees at home in denver today *snicker*

Hope everyone has a fantastic and will taljk to you tomorrow after a day at my favorite park, epcot!!!

(Ps. Sorry for all the typos! Typing on a blackberry is a pain!)

 

[adsrtw]

Here it is! The not so long awaited the University of Evansville Religions of the World field trip report.

The background: The degree program is set up so that we move together as a group through the courses for the next 3 years. This is our first course and really was our first time at getting to know each other (each course is an intense 5 weeks). It is an adult learning program, so most of us have a little life experience (hint-we have a diverse age group). We have about 25 in our program.

It was still dark when we had to catch the bus at UE, 5am to be exact. Our bus driver was very very funny. The youngest member of our group was late as usual. Our first destination was Shakertown in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky - about 3 hours away, plus a stop for grub.

Background on the Shakers. They had some positives and some negatives. I'm not going to judge, so I will leave my commentary out of it. They believed in equal rights for everybody (they started in the civil war era), even women and slaves. Everybody was entitled to an education too. They were pacifists. Very orderly and symmetrical. Men and women were separated. They believed in no nookie. Also, everybody shared work equally.

Anyway, we pulled up to Shakertown and it was so peaceful. We are in the heart of the bluegrass state. Our tour guide, Georgie, thought we were still on the bus, so she ran, literally, to greet our bus. Then ran back to greet us at the visitor center. She was great. Think of a very thick southern accent with a Katie Couric personality. She took us through a few of the houses and then to the Shaker service.

A few highlights of the main house. The main house had over 3000 pegs to hang things on (chairs, hats, etc). All space was utilized to the best of their ability. The kitchen had running water before any other village ever dreamed of it. The decor was very simple but beautiful. Ever heard of Shaker furniture? This is them.

On to the Shaker service. A lady named Rebecca showed us a glimpse of a service. The meeting house has rows of benches that face each other. Men on one side, women on the other. The middle was open for singing and dancing. Rebecca's voice could melt butter. Absolutely hauntingly beautiful. She sang a few Shaker songs and demonstrated the dancing techniques.

Next up was our catered lunch. Wonderful! We had a private room. On the menu was some of the best cole slaw I have had in years. Very oniony, light on the dressing, and tons of fresh herbs. We had cornbread sticks with homemade butter. Yum! Pecan chicken, with real mashed potatoes, and fantastic green beans. For dessert, we had a choice of lemon or chess pie. Everything was incredibly delicious. I had no guilt what so ever because the late girl was wearing a pedometer. We had walked 3 miles and hadn't even finished our day.

After lunch, one of the workers was walking the Oxen. They were almost as tall as him. The oxen that I have seen before have all been gray. The boys were bright red with huge horns. The hooves were nearly as big as a draft horses hooves. And guess what?!? They adore people, especially kids. Very spoiled and very loved. The handler said they were donated to Shaker village because they had been injured. The owners were facing making the euthanization decision. To explain how big these boys are, the handler was nearly 6 ft tall and he could barely see over them.

We walked around some more and then made our way to the Abbey of Gethsemani. The review is coming up next!

 

[DisneyWorld Delight]

Banner night!!! 2 Trip Reports.

Cathie - loving your report! And I'm impressed you did all that on your crackberry. I'd have said "screw all those schmucks at home, bwahahahah"

Amiee - WOW WOW WOW!! You are doing an awesome job with your report. Very detailed. Love it. Keep going, espically with all the "other details" - not just what you did, but the WHYS of the religions. Did you have the Lemon or Chess Pie? And what the heck is chess pie? And now I need some pie. Pecan sounds about right.

Watching the VMA's. Ahhhh, R Patz/Edward - you are so lovely and English. YUMMY!!!! Oh and did you see Kristen Stewart's hair cut! It was pretty.

 

[SeptemberGirl]

Loving all the pics, trip reports, and general merriment!

Keep it coming - I'm sitting here reading!

 

[adsrtw]

Banner night!!! 2 Trip Reports.

Cathie - loving your report! And I'm impressed you did all that on your crackberry. I'd have said "screw all those schmucks at home, bwahahahah"

Amiee - WOW WOW WOW!! You are doing an awesome job with your report. Very detailed. Love it. Keep going, espically with all the "other details" - not just what you did, but the WHYS of the religions. Did you have the Lemon or Chess Pie? And what the heck is chess pie? And now I need some pie. Pecan sounds about right.

Watching the VMA's. Ahhhh, R Patz/Edward - you are so lovely and English. YUMMY!!!! Oh and did you see Kristen Stewart's hair cut! It was pretty.

I knew you would appreciate it Lyz! Ok, brief interlude before finishing the monks. The whys of the Shakers.

Mother Ann Lee was the founder. She was a Quaker but converted to her own religion. She had an epiphany while she was jailed for speaking out against the church of England. Her epiphany was that she was the second coming. She convinced 7 followers and they made their way to America. The reason for no nookie is believed to stem from her losing 4 children by the time she was 18. I would probably think that way too.

Anyway, she was a very dynamic speaker and was able to convert many people. Everybody was required to surrender all of their posessions to the community - land, money, furniture. Everything.

One thing we learned was that many children arrived there. They took in orphans. They were self-sufficient. Nobody went without the basic needs - food, shelter, education, freedom, etc. They were also known to buy slaves and bring them to the back to the community. Once in the community, they were freed and given the choice to stay or go.

And now to answer the most pressing question!

I had chess. Think pecan pie without pecans. The crust was homemade. At the end of our day, we had logged over 7 miles (I deserved it).

 

[cathie1327]

Entertaining myself while waiting in the bus line....hehehehe....that's the only major complaint I've had thus far. There must be a LARGE influx of people staying at the all stars because the bus lines at night have been awful. Hoping its better tomorrow since people from the weekend will be gone...last night we waited almost an hour to get on the bus. (Eek!) Tonights bus line is moving fairly fast so hopefully it won't be too bad.

Honestly, that's why its my "crackberry" because I can't say screw it, I keep thinking I have to stay in touch with the world ALLLL THE TIIIIME lol. So really. I don't mind as long as yall don't mind the typos

And I'm just glad that there's someone "back home" interested enough to want to hear a live report lol. Though in all reality I'm probably geographically closer to most of you being here than if I were at home haha

As I meant to say in my last post..hope yall have a fantastic week

 

[DisneyWorld Delight]

The reason for no nookie is believed to stem from her losing 4 children by the time she was 18. I would probably think that way too.

SO? Was Nookie allowed between husband and wives or are you saying "None at All"? Hence the reason to take in orphans and slaves, to keep the Shakers a'goin?

And now to answer the most pressing question!

I had chess. Think pecan pie without pecans. The crust was homemade. At the end of our day, we had logged over 7 miles (I deserved it).

Totes! How freaking weird is that, that you say "chess pie" and I think pecan pie sounds good and it IS like pecan pie. Lisa has a PSS - photo sixth sense and I have a PSS - pastry sixth sense.

Entertaining myself while waiting in the bus line....hehehehe....that's the only major complaint I've had thus far. There must be a LARGE influx of people staying at the all stars because the bus lines at night have been awful. Hoping its better tomorrow since people from the weekend will be gone...last night we waited almost an hour to get on the bus. (Eek!) Tonights bus line is moving fairly fast so hopefully it won't be too bad.

It's that free dining!!!!

Ok, who is watching the VMA's?!?!?! Beyonce is one serious class act. I loved her already, but WOW!

 

[adsrtw]

The Monks of Gethsemani!

We hopped on the bus and drove to Trappist, Kentucky about 45 minutes away. St. Meinrad is near my home, so I had a little bit of a picture in my head before we arrived. We pulled into the visitor center and was greeted by a very spunky brother named Camillus from Philadelphia. I wanted to take him home with me. Wonderful man. He walks with a cane and has hearing aids in both ears, but boy is he a talker. He has been with the Abbey since 1940, he was 15. He made sure that we all sampled the fudge and showed us exactly where it was located. His sidekick was Father Seamus from the Bronx. They were a hoot. Think about the monks on Sister Act. They talked to us for nearly an hour and showed us a video. They explained they were placed in that job because of their 'shyness.'

Near the end of their talk with us, Father Seamus asked Brother Camillus to tell us what he ordered on the train from Philly to Louisville. He got a 'kid in a candy store' look on his face and said meat and then chuckled. Father then explained to us that Trappists are vegetarians.

They are known for their bourbon fudge and cheese. They sell their goods on Monks dot org. It's very good and a little of both came home.

We made our way to their cemetery and found Thomas Merton's grave. He is probably the most influential person in American Catholic History. Very beloved. His was a very talented writer. Dr. Perkins spoke a bit about him and then led us to vespers.

We sat in the balcony, so that we didn't disturb any of the retreat visitors or the monks. Their chanting was beautiful. We were in awe.

 

[adsrtw]

Lyz questioned this:

SO? Was Nookie allowed between husband and wives or are you saying "None at All"? Hence the reason to take in orphans and slaves, to keep the Shakers a'goin?

There were no husbands and wives. Their marriages stopped and they became bothers and sisters. If they were caught doing the deed, they were forced to leave. Yep, exactly the reason for the orphans and slaves. Yes, it was great that they did that, but it was completely self-serving.

 

[adsrtw]

Good Morning!


Woo Hoo! I am waking up the thread.

Let's Dance

Have a good day everybody!

 

[SeptemberGirl]

I've been to Shaker villages - well, since they died out, it's more of a cultural thing, right? Great descriptions! But the monks! OMG! I'd love to go there. Yes, Merton is hugely influential.

Tell us more.

 

[3DisneyKids]

OMG, I am in heaven!

Login and get to read TWO trip reports! SO happy!

Amiee--sounds just great I am so interested in all of this. Fascinating to me. Thanks for taking the time!

Cathie--wow, sounds like you got a lot in at DHS! Are you doing everything as the 4 of you or are you and Carlos breaking off and doing your on stuff? And by all means, keep those reports coming. We don't care about the typos! Just want the details. And this was one of the best uses we found for smart phones during our last trip. Any time we had to wait for something (which is like always at WDW), we could update people or check our e-mail or whatever. Didn't feel like we were just standing there.

Oh--for iPhone people--I have a couple of GREAT apps. One is WDW Wait Times. You can check the wait time of any ride in any park. Not sure how accurate it is, but I check it periodically and think to myself, "Hmmm...at this time of year and at this time of day, that sounds about right..."

The other one is WDW Dining. And it has all of the menus. Now, I know we all know most of all of the menus anyway, , but still this is a huge help, especially for us since we are vegetarians and often need to look at the menus first to see if there is anything (other than one pasta dish) for us.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Oh and BTW, week one was a huge success. Back ON and staying ON. The clothes that I was busting out of last week at least fit now (and they should be big on me), so at least I know things are working and I am back headed in the right direction.

 

[lisaviolet]

Reading. LOVING it all Amiee and Cathie. Just hushing my mouth because I'm very emotional these last few days.

So keep it coming.

 

[Dizneydawn]

Good Morning all!
Huge busy weekend here! Carpet cleaned the whole house and some furniture. Completely emptied Baylor's old room to get ready to paint it a pale yellow for a guest bedroom. Now we need to go through Baylor's inventory to delete and deplete since he wants so much stuff still from Treyner's room he is now residing in.

Laundry loads done and general Halloween decorating begun.

Treyner went to Vegas for the weekend and got blisters from walking the strip. He is talking to the coaches today and hopefully will have some sense of direction. If he is staying - I fly out the first weekend of Oct to see him. If he is leaving - he will fly home sometime in Oct to surprise the kids and see some of their games. Much cheaper to fly one person here then Chad and I going there seperately with hotel and food costs to boot.

Carsyn has new settings for her device - better managemnet on some levels but the side effect is the stimulator is also hittinga nerve in her leg - so it will randomly just strat shaking. Not cool and we are back to doc again today.

Baylor is doing well in school - they are trying to mainstream him into a few classes - he had his first football game on Friday and we need to figure out a way to protect that ankle better. Have meeting with private attorney tom. for him - wanted to settle with their homeowners insurance on our own but our health insurance company is not going to let that happen. Just a cruddy deal.

Ate well this weekend - heading to run errands now -will check in later!

Lisa - looked onlinbe and there are 2 variations of the cameras that you have - which one is yours?

Paula - Happy Birthday. You have been great to yourself this past year and it shows! hope this year is even better!

Kelly - va va va voom!

Lyz - watched the VMA's also - Beyonce was gracious and Kanye just lost any future record sales form this house! What a jerk.

E - sorry for rainy Sat. at soccer - have been there many times!

Cathie - thanks for the mini updates - so fun!

Everyone else! Thanks for sharing your life. It makes a great start to the day reading about trips and joys and even daily struggles. Working from home can get lonely sometimes and you all help with that!
not a happly situation there.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Just hushing my mouth because I'm very emotional these last few days.

Spill if you want.

Dawn--so are you actively going after the homeowners at this point? And these people are the parents of one of Baylor's friends, right? How is that going? I mean, do you run into them in town or at school and stuff? Is it hostile or awkward and all of that? Are Baylor and the kid still friends?

 

[adsrtw]

A quick pop in at lunch.

The trip - I am facinated with culture and history, so this is right up my alley. My roommate this weekend took tons of pictures, so I will have some up at a later time. I left my camera bag at home (I left at 4:30am, oy!). Yes, Shaker Village is a cultural thing now. There are still 3 members left in Maine. A company bought Pleasant Hill and incorporated it as a non-profit. They restored it and it is amazing. Simple elegance.

On another note, we walked nearly 14 miles the entire weekend. Yes, it was stopping and starting, but it was great.

The monks were fantastic. I would love to take a retreat there. Very humbling and peaceful. Their video brought me to tears at one point when they showed holding a vigil for one of the monks who passed away. Many of the monks have no family. The love that was shown was amazing. I could only hope to have 1/2 of the faith they have. Very uplifting.

I can't wait to talk about the nuns. Fearless! The ultimate Cosmo ladies.