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

[3DisneyKids]

OMG, so exhausted. Long story, but I ended up coaching Riley's soccer team today. And we got clobbered. I feel just awful. More later.

 

[adsrtw]

Hi All -

My shopping is almost over. I'm getting the kids a Wii as their main gift. <and bought TSM for me> Found lots of clothes for the kids at a great price too. I stuck to my Thanksgiving plan, but I have to admit that I want to hop in the car and visit with my Aunt & Uncle while having another slice of blackberry pie.

E - Zhu Zhu gate - I hope those mean men get what they deserve. I think it would be cool to get a reporter on the scene to shed some light. Love the tree!

Nancy - room makeover sounds cool!

Kelly - can't wait for a TR

Everybody else - will be back later. Just got a spyware alert...again. Sigh.

 

[DisneyWorld Delight]

Hi everyone. Just got back from the party/wedding reception at the job site we remodeled in 3 months. The party with the deadline we were working toward. Everything looked awesome and it was all very fancy. I felt like I was in a movie. We were in a humongous tent outside that was heated and had lights. There was a band playing and a wedding singer. The food. OMG. SO GOOD. Made awkard small talk with all kinds of people who of course think my husband is wonderful. Good times, lol.

 

[goofyfan-12]

So glad you were finally able to get that taken care of! Socks too? Or just shoes today?

<sigh> I love new running shoes.

Nancy - got two pairs of socks to try

Balega drynamix moisture manager and Smartwool's ultra light cusion phd. Need to try them out and go from there. I'll let you know how I am doing. My hamstring is still bugging me at times so i need to do some stretching and some ice to see if I can finally kick this. I have my physical with my doctor in a week and a half so I can ask him if it is still bothering me.

OK off to bed for me.

Big news though - my college buddy proposed today and she said yes. I am so over the moon happy for them both!!! Now I guess I have a wedding coming up that I will need to look hot for...

 

[3DisneyKids]

Good morning!

Paula--wow, what news for Tom! Keep us posted. And yes, you WILL look hot at the wedding!

Not much to report. Having a mellow day, which is much needed after the past 4 days of nonstop running. Family game night tonight. I have a 6-miler scheduled, so we'll see. Running on the astro turf yesterday re-inflamed my shin splints/stress fracture, so I am stressed.

Have a great day!

 

[AKASnowWhite]

Morning all!

Erika - yikes! Be careful of those shins! So - how did you end up being the Designated Coach yesterday anyway?

Paula - no doubt you'll be hot for the wedding!

Lyz - awkward small talk. That's exactly how I always felt at Stephen's corporate crap that we used to have to do (now that he works remotely, there are no more of those obligations!) Isn't it funny to listen to people who only know your spouse professionally?

Seth goes back to school today. I may have to drive him to Vermont - still working out that little logistical issue. There's a guy who lives in our town who is a junior there and has his own car - he's offered rides to Seth before, but we've never taken him up on the offer. I had asked Seth earlier this week to contact him & see if he can hitch a ride. It just seems crazy for everyone to be driving up there if it's not necessary. Of course, he waited until yesterday to try to reach him, and thus far has not heard back. <grrrr> It's not that I mind going - it's just that it would be nice to know what my day is really looking like today. I can think of a lot of other things that I could be doing with my 7 hours today if I'm not spending them sitting on my butt in the car!

 

[lisaviolet]

Morning all!

Erika - yikes! Be careful of those shins! So - how did you end up being the Designated Coach yesterday anyway?

Paula - no doubt you'll be hot for the wedding!




Seth goes back to school today. I may have to drive him to Vermont - still working out that little logistical issue. There's a guy who lives in our town who is a junior there and has his own car - he's offered rides to Seth before, but we've never taken him up on the offer. I had asked Seth earlier this week to contact him & see if he can hitch a ride. It just seems crazy for everyone to be driving up there if it's not necessary. Of course, he waited until yesterday to try to reach him, and thus far has not heard back. <grrrr> It's not that I mind going - it's just that it would be nice to know what my day is really looking like today. I can think of a lot of other things that I could be doing with my 7 hours today if I'm not spending them sitting on my butt in the car!

Good question for Erika. Fine work Nancy.

Yes, on the Paula. Oh yes - she'll be!

And on the bold. Did it go quickly? Did he get to his workout for you?

As for the 13 since mid September - I was embarassed to come on here today- no that's not the word because that's disrespectful to all your wonderful thoughts. I don't know what the word is. I wrote the 13 because I had to make myself remember and not be such an idiot thinker. (13 means little losses really do add up!!!!)


Thanks Paula about the end of the challenge. Exercise is fine. But I'm eating for my mother - eating like I'm going into hibernation and no doubt eating because I've been successful - my all time favourite choice!!! So chances are slim but thanks everyone.

 

[lisaviolet]

Made awkard small talk with all kinds of people who of course think my husband is wonderful. Good times, lol.

Oh that's so nice Lyz. Not the small talk - the husband. He must be so proud, eh?

 

[lisaviolet]

Im so tired! Ive just loaded all my pictures onto the computer but Im too tired to upload them to photobucket - I will be doing this first thing in the morning! Promise!

Kelly! If I wake up one more morning without your TR - I'm going to lose it!

Thanks for you lovely comments.

Oh guys - I've been Mad Men nuts. In the last week and a half I've watched all of Season One - most of Season Two - and the last three episodes of Season Three. So fascinating - the times.

 

[lisaviolet]

Glad you enjoyed the picture Kat. I think of you every single time I pass by.

 

[DisneyGalUK]

Ok, so I finally uploaded my photos so here is the much awaited, and no doubt badly written TR!

Friday - Day of Arrival!

At 10am I met all of the group at the airport, made the small talk, found my roomate - the usual! We had a pretty good flight over to Orlando, flight was on time, the weather made for smooth flying and we got upgraded on the flight! Score!

We arrived at the hotel and were greeted with:

How cool is this fountain! Every morning we sat out by this fountain and had a coffee whilst we waited for the group!

This is the view from the window:

Thats the new Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (or something like that!) in Islands of Adventure!

We had a walk round the hotel, and checked out the pool:

It was a pretty quiet night because everyone was tired from travelling, and we knew we were up for Breakfast at 7am for Universal Studios!

 

[DisneyGalUK]

Saturday - Universal Studios

After what seemed like 20 minutes of sleep we were up for Breakfast before going over to Universal Studios.

I loved how close the hotel was to the parks, 5 minutes walk and we were greeted with:

I was so excited at this point! I love love love roller coasters - the bigger and faster the better!

After the usual tourist photos, we went in:

We had a VIP tour guide who we met up with, which meant we went behind the scenes and didn't have to queue for any rides!

We went to see Shrek 4D which was fantastic, also the Simpsons which was unbelievable but my favourite ride in Universal was:

Here are some random pictures I took, I just loved how everything was themed into different cities, and of course the Christmas decorations were great!

Continued.....

 

[DisneyGalUK]

More random pictures.....

Just like being in New York

We also went to see the Hollywood Horror Make-up show - it was so funny! I would highly recommend it!

After going on all of the rides we headed back to the hotel because we were going to see:

The show was great! Not what I expected, and I was a little freaked out when they came in the audience for volunteers, but apart from that it was very funny!

After that we ate at:

We had Empanadas (?) for starter, followed by Skirt Steak with crispy onions and chick peas then for dessert Mango Cheesecake

We ended the night at Rising Star kareoke bar (no, I didn't get up and sing!) - this place is so cool, you sing kareoke with a live band and backing singers (plus, the guy who hosts the night is hot! )

 

[3DisneyKids]

7.5 mile run--done. WORD. And you know, I could have done an even 10 miles, but I got kicked out of the gym. I ran on the TM to protect my shins and it worked. But our little gym closes at noon on Sundays so I had to leave. First time in FOREVER that it wasn't a strain. I felt like I could have just kept going. LOVE that feeling.

Kelly--YAY for starting the TR! Wow, the pool at Hard Rock looks awesome! Can't wait for the next installment!

Lyz--wow on the wedding! So glad everything was done on time and they were happy.

Nancy--Where are those pictures of Seth? Hope you have find him a ride back up there. And you get him back in just a few weeks this time!

Ok, about the coaching. What a nightmare! This isn't just a little pee-wee league. This is the Maine Premier League (I'm not bragging here. Those who are in the know about soccer know about "premier" leagues. It is a specific level where the play is a lot more competitive, they travel all over the place for games and all of that. Pretty intense for this age group.) Anyway, the team has FOUR coaches. All very experienced and have been coaching for years and years, are certified, the whole bit. Well, 2 were out of town for the holiday, one had swine and the fourth guy's dog was hit and killed by a car earlier in the day. So there we were, a team without any coaches and it was game time. I was the only mom who had any experience playing, so I stepped in to coach. It was completely chaotic on my nerves. Holy crow!

How I wish we could have had a better showing. We got shelled 8-1. But our team is U-11 and the other team was U-13 so we really didn't have much of a shot. We played them 3 weeks ago as well and lost 7-0, so I don't think my coaching had anything to do with it. But still. I know Riley was really disappointed in me and that just kills me.

I have to give these boys credit, too. I mean, they didn't miss a beat having me coach. They are really conditioned to be respectful players. They all just naturally called me "Coach" even though I have known them all since they were in diapers and they have all called me Erika since they could talk. And they listened to everything I said and did what I told them to do. I made some "different" decisions and asked the captain what he thought and he just said, "You're the Coach. What you say, goes." I was really surprised that there was no eye rolling or anything like that. Anyhow, I really hope it never happens again.

 

[3DisneyKids]

KELLY! Awesome pics. And OMG! Holy Skinny! You look fabulous! it looks like the parks were totally empty...yes?

 

[DisneyGalUK]

Sunday - Wet N Wild

Obviously, this is a waterpark so I didn't take any pictures! No thank you, you all don't need to be scared by my bikini pictures!

Needless to say, the water park was excellent. Im a real water baby so I was in my element with all the slides!

We were there until around 3.30pm then we headed back to the hotel before going out to eat at:

I had Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp with Fries and it was to die for! Not the fries though, they were horrid!

I really enjoyed this restaurant, it was themed like Forrest Gump and when you sat down your server came and asked three questions based on the film, then came back later on for the answers - we got all three right

A picture of part of the group - there I am, right at the back!

After we had finished eating we were meeting the rest of the group at Pat o Briens for the duelling piano players but we had a bit of time so we went to Margaritaville for a Margarita, as promised! I can't find the picture from here, but it wasn't a very good one - it was blurry!

The duelling piano players were very funny, many drinks were consumed (their signature cocktail is the Hurricane, and it hits you after about 2 sips!) then back to the hotel about 1am!

 

[DisneyGalUK]

KELLY! Awesome pics. And OMG! Holy Skinny! You look fabulous! it looks like the parks were totally empty...yes?

Why thank you! Pictures from the waist up are always good!

And yes, the parks were so quiet! I thought they would be much busier! The new rollercoaster (the rip rockit one) had the longest wait which was about 1.5hrs (I dont know why, I didn't rate it AT ALL!) but the other rides were max 10-15 minutes waiting time.

The tour guide we had called it 'the lull before the storm' - we left the tuesday before Thanksgiving and she said they were expecting bigger crowds that weekend!

I'll post the last 2 installments in a little while - im getting pins and needles in my feet from sitting down too long!

 

[DisneyGalUK]

Ok, my legs are back to normal now!

Monday - Universal Islands of Adventure

I was really excited about IoA, because I knew they had the Spiderman ride which I'd heard was amazing, Dr Seuss (who I love!) and lots of water rides!

When we walked in we were greeted with the sight of the Christmas shop, which is open all year round!

I loved walking round this shop, I bought some cute Dr Seuss christmas tree ornaments and the delightful Peanut Butter Cookies...so good!

The first ride we went on was Hulk:

Very good, lots of loops and really fast! We rode it twice, back to back!

Spiderman was just as fantastic as I'd heard, and after we'd rode it the guide took us behind the scenes, told us all about the ride, and we walked in on Spiderman getting into his costume!

We went to Seuss Landing afterwards:

Where I met a couple of friends:

After a few more rides and lunch we came across this sign:

Oh yeah, we were nearing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! So Excited! The guide told us lots of cool stuff about it, what rides are going where, and you can really see Hogwarts starting to take shape!

Yes, thats me and as you can see im very excited!

Continued.....

 

[DisneyGalUK]

Monday - Farewell Dinner

In the afternoon we went on all the water rides - and we got absolutely soaking wet to the bone! We were so glad the weather was nice!

After that it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for our farewell dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe:

Love the car inside!

The meal we had here was unbelievable!

1st course - Roasted Tomato and Tortilla Soup, served with flatbread and oil
2nd course - Salmon and Cream Cheese with Melba Toast
3rd course - Raspberry Sorbet
4th course - Filet Mignon and Chicken Marsala with Mushroom Risotto
5th course - Well, I'll let the picture tell the story!

Tiramisu, with Creme Fraiche and a White Chocolate Piano with Dark Chocolate piano keys, and two truffle balls!

This was me when they brought it, as I'd swore I wouldn't be swayed by dessert!

This night was great - everyone was swopping stories and photographs and just generally having fun! Also, the tour operator had their own photographer, so we had a sneak peek of his photos on a slideshow - he popped up in the most inappropriate places
They are sending us a copy of the CD with the pictures on so at a later date I may have more photos to post!

 

[DisneyGalUK]

Tuesday - Final day

We had free time on this day as we were checking out at 2pm so we had a late breakfast, then just hung around by the pool! It was really relaxing, and afterwards I went round the hotel and took some photographs:

This is the area where the telephones are! So cool! The photographs are pictures of celebrities who've stayed at the Hard Rock!

Elvis's jumpsuit, decorated for Christmas!

The Hotel Bar

Beatles Lyrics on the wall!

This hotel was PERFECT for me - I love music (as you can tell by my t-shirt on the Universal Studios day!) so to see all of the music memorabilia, and have constant music playing all day was right up my ally!

All in all it was a fantastic trip, really wonderful! I really haven't done it justice in this mini-tr! We literally went on EVERY ride in both parks, it was truly awesome!

I hope you enjoyed this!