Nothing to See Here...

[kaoden39]

Yes, it is the powdered pudding mix. I happened to get it on sale for a dollar a box. I loaded up on it.

 

[Carolwoodpr]

Thanks for answering my CP question. I am sorry you can't enter now for the new dates you are going. That sucks.

Sherry and Laurie, I sure hope the two of you can meet up again. That would be so cool.

I wish I could meet up with you on my trip ladies but neither of you will be there, it has been years Laurie and I miss you. And Sherry it feels like it has been years from reading your report. I would love to meet you one day.

You mentioned your horrible computer issues, which my son can complete relate to by the way - he has a dinosaur for a computer and it is so slow and painful to use. But you didn't mention your back that I saw. Is it feeling better? I sure hope so.

I can't wait until the next installment of your trip report. I am loving the pictures.

 

[6Smiles]

Loving all of your photos and it is great that you were able to change your dates. I will miss you by 2 days, but will also be meeting up with Laurie at some point. These trips are coming up faster than I can wrap my head around it just does not seem real yet.

 

[tksbaskets]

I loved the dusk at RS shots!

DizNee has me hungry now - three of my fav. eateries on her agenda!

 

[Sherry E]

So the meals planned for Monday is:
Breakfast at Carnation Cafe
Dinner at Big Thunder BBQ

Tuesday meals are:
Breakfast in the Concierge Lounge
Lunch at Jolly Holiday
Dinner at Cafe Orleans

Wednesday we are starting our day at Surf's Up at 7:20am (and you know I would be thrilled if you could join us.....my treat!!) But you would have to miss out on the EE. So give it some thought and let me know.

Hmmm. The BBQ looks enticing. I'll think it through. I may not know what I'm doing until I actually get to DLR and see how things are rolling along and how much I am getting accomplished from my checklist of things to do.

Thank you for offering to treat for Surf's Up. That's very sweet. I may very well take you up on it and skip EE, but I'll figure it out when I'm there.

Yes, it is the powdered pudding mix. I happened to get it on sale for a dollar a box. I loaded up on it.

I'll look for it sometime before the season ends.

Thanks for answering my CP question. I am sorry you can't enter now for the new dates you are going. That sucks.

Sherry and Laurie, I sure hope the two of you can meet up again. That would be so cool.

I wish I could meet up with you on my trip ladies but neither of you will be there, it has been years Laurie and I miss you. And Sherry it feels like it has been years from reading your report. I would love to meet you one day.

You mentioned your horrible computer issues, which my son can complete relate to by the way - he has a dinosaur for a computer and it is so slow and painful to use. But you didn't mention your back that I saw. Is it feeling better? I sure hope so.

I can't wait until the next installment of your trip report. I am loving the pictures.

Thank you. I answered the back question yesterday (in my above reply to TK).

This computer that I have is beyond simply being slow. It totally freezes up. Sometimes a single web page will not load for 30 or 45 minutes, for example, because the browser cannot function properly and process all the 'script' on the page. No one could actually work on this computer on a daily basis. The kind of work I used to do sometimes involved producing documents for people with a speedy turnaround - meaning that sometimes they'd need something done within the hour or sooner - and doing a lot of things online (such as forwarding e-mails to people before they left the office, etc.).

That kind of time-based work cannot be done on this PC because it constantly freezes up or malfunctions. A client doesn't want to hear that I can't forward an e-mail on his behalf - in the next 5 minutes - to one of his clients because my computer froze up, or that I can't type a letter for him in the next half-hour because my MS Word is acting crazy.

You'd know what I meant if you actually saw what this PC does in person. All of the software, browsers and applications are damaged and 'buggy'; there's a bad sector in the hard drive; the operating system cannot be replaced/updated; the Flash keeps crashing, etc.

As for Laurie and I meeting up - Laurie and I will run into each other at DLR, I'm sure. We've met in person so we will recognize each other - plus, I'd recognize her family from the photos I've seen. I don't know yet what I'm going to be doing beyond my first day at DLR. I have things I want to accomplish, but I kind of want to wing it and just roam freely, playing it all by ear.

At this point, I just want to actually get there - get to DLR and get settled in - and then worry about everything else later.

What's funny is that, even though I joke about running into Laurie by the Christmas tree at the PPH - because that would be the most obvious place to run into each other, since we're both staying there - what will probably end up happening is that we won't see each other in the most obvious spot, just because that would be too easy. We will probably bump into each other in a totally unexpected place, like, say, in a gift shop in the middle of Frontierland or something.

Loving all of your photos and it is great that you were able to change your dates. I will miss you by 2 days, but will also be meeting up with Laurie at some point. These trips are coming up faster than I can wrap my head around it just does not seem real yet.

Thank you, Kris!

Laurie is going to be at DLR long enough to where she will probably be meeting up with people every day! She should just set up a location - like Santa's photo spots at the hotels - and let people come to her!

I agree - these trips are coming up very fast. I was not prepared in any way to go to DLR in just a few days. It seemed to creep up very quickly. I don't really feel prepared to go there in 10 days either, now that I've switched dates, but at least I can try to get in the right frame of mind.

I loved the dusk at RS shots!

DizNee has me hungry now - three of my fav. eateries on her agenda!

TK -

Thank you!

I've never even tried the BBQ (or Surf's Up, for that matter). That is something I'd like to do at some point.

Sometimes I think I'm going to be hungrier than I am, and I don't end up eating too much at all. Other times I go too long at DLR without eating anything substantial (I'm not counting the peppermint ice cream!) and finally I have to eat something. Sometimes I just want something small, like a hot dog or a simple sandwich with no sides - not a full meal - but then I see the prices and think, "I don't want to pay $8 for a hot dog. I may as well just get a meal."

I keep telling myself that I'd like to try Flo's in Cars Land - despite reading only mediocre-to-poor reviews of the food there. I don't know if this will be the trip for that, though.

My time at DLR is really going to fly by, and I also want to do things like eat the yummy spaghetti at Storytellers again because I already know I enjoy it. Seeing that I don't eat all that much when I'm at DLR to begin with (I won't eat more than one meal a day if I am by myself), I have to choose my very few meals wisely.

 

[Sherry E]

In the last post I left off in Cars Land (11-12-12), as dusk fell on Radiator Springs. The striking, craggy red rocks nestled against the backdrop of the fading clear blue sky provided a dramatic contrast.

Anyone out there who is interested in photography (be it amateur or professional picture-taking) should try to arrange to be near those red rocks of Cars Land just before it gets dark, for some prime photo-taking opportunities.

Continuing on...

I left Cars Land (temporarily). But don't worry - I made sure to get back there a bit later for more attempts at nighttime photos...

​

I made my way back to Buena Vista Street.

Here is where I will freely admit that I could not get one single decent photo of the Storytellers statue during this entire day trip (and it will be one of my goals on my upcoming holiday trip in 10 days).

Why is that, you wonder? Well, in the daytime there were always too many people around the Storytellers statue and I could never get a clear shot of it without them in it so I gave up and figured I would revisit the statue later.

When I went back to the Storytellers statue at night, again there were lots of people around it and next to it. I had to literally snap the shutter super-fast in between people posing with Walt & Mickey, just to be able to get anything.

BUT because the lighting had changed and it was now almost nighttime, this would require some experimenting with my camera's settings to try to get a decent picture that was well-lit enough to showcase the features on the faces of Walt and Mickey, but without looking washed out.

I was not successful because I just didn't take the time to fiddle with the settings as all of the people walked around, next to, in front of and behind the statue. This is one of those situations in which I will have to practice and practice and have patience, waiting for all of the people to move away. I just did not have the patience at that moment so I ended up with garbage.

An experiment in terror, if you will...photographically speaking.


These are the reasons why I need to go back, have some patience and wait for people to leave so I can play with the camera and get something halfway decent.

As I've always said, I will show you my good photos and my not-so-great photos (if the not-so-great photos are relevant in any way to what I am describing). I usually do not edit my pictures for my TR's unless it is an extreme circumstance.

So this was the unedited version of the Storytellers photo - which is horrible, as you can see...

This is the "auto-fixed" version of the same picture - which is weird and unnatural-looking. It almost looks like it was taken at 2:00 in the afternoon!

This slightly edited version (via Photobucket) is only a wee bit better than the unedited version...

And then I tried to take a version with a flash - just to see how it would look! Yikes! The horror of it all! Eek! It is truly, deeply awful...and for this I apologize and ask you to show mercy...

So the moral of the story is to either use a DSLR camera at this Storytellers location after dark - or in any spot where there is not a lot of light - or get a PhotoPass picture.

...OR have patience and take the time to find the right setting on your point & shoot camera to get the best possible picture your P&S camera is capable of taking! I just didn't have the patience to wait for all of the people to clear out.








I had much better luck with the Buena Vista Street Christmas tree! I kind of like the way these photos came out - the dark blue of the sky sort of complemented the blue tones in the tree, in a way (or vice versa)...

...Except for that this one is a little blurry...

But these are good! Now I'm getting my photo groove back after being defeated by a statue!

I stopped in Elias & Co. to see the (very bright) Santa photo spot...which is reminiscent of the old department store Santa set-ups that I used to visit as a wee tot in Los Angeles (though not in the 1930's! Let's not get crazy now...I'm not quite that old!)...

...Not sure what I was going for with this picture. I don't even remember taking it! It could have been an accidental picture!

Okay, as much as I love Buena Vista Street I must admit that the old Golden Gate Bridge made a much bigger impact during the holidays than this Glendale Hyperion Bridge makes...

...And Main Street really makes more of a nighttime impact during the holidays than Buena Vista Street makes. But Trolley Treats is pretty festive...

You all know how much I love me some holiday window displays and little houses & trees made of cookies and candy! Trolley Treats did not disappoint!

​

Coming up next, as I continue on with pictures from my holiday visit to DLR on 11-12-12...looking at the sequence of photos, apparently I started taking more shots of merchandise, which must have been when I left California Adventure to head to Downtown Disney and "the Christmas Village" at the ice rink. So I will be back with those pictures!

 

[Sherry E]

Second post for today. Continuing on at DLR - 11/12/12...

After giving up on the statue pictures I decided to head to Downtown Disney, with the intention of seeing if the "Christmas Village" with holiday treats and treasures had miraculously appeared at the ice rink since I had been there in the morning, and to see if the lines were too long at Earl of Sandwich for me to get a Cannonball meatball sandwich...

I stopped in World of Disney. I really like this "Lightning Mickey" design!

​

More from Downtown Disney (11-12-12) coming up!

 

[Carolwoodpr]

Sherry, I know you said you didn't like the Walt and Mickey pictures but I have to say that I loved all of them. Having never seen this statue, your pictures gave me a picture in my head of what I have to look forward to seeing.

I have to agree with you on the color of the sky in the Christmas Tree pictures on BVS. Amazing pictures of that tree. How did you get them without so many people? I would expect people to always be at the base, so I am quite impressed with those pictures too.

And what can I say about the food porn at Trolly Treats. I can't wait to go into that store to see what else they offer and to get me some of that candy in the window. I LOVE your window shots.

Alex is lucky, he has two computers. So sorry yours is so bad. That is how Alex's desk top computer is. He is lucky though he got daddy's old laptop so uses that for almost everything now. He has to keep it plugged in because it won't hold a charge, but that is no big deal. I had problems uploading a cd to iTunes the other day. One CD took 45 minutes to upload and I was going crazy. I couldn't imagine having to wait that long every time I tried to do something. You must have the patience of a saint.

I know we have got to be getting close to the end of the trip report but we have something to look forward too. Your next trip report. That trip is only 2 weeks away. I can't wait for you to get back to your home hotel and have a blast.

 

[Sherry E]

Third post for today. Woo hoo! Continuing on in Downtown Disney - 11/12/12...

I love this cute stocking that World of Disney was selling...

Forgive these blurry ornament photos below. This was another case in which there were so many people walking in front of me, around me, behind me and trying to get past me that I just snapped quickly and didn't really steady my hand to get clear shots! I didn't have the patience to deal with it because I seemed to be in everyone's way as they tried to get by me.

But...blurry or not, you can see that this is a really cute ornament!

Well, this photo isn't too bad...

This one is bad...

There was a fantastic display of these resin 'ear hat' ornaments - with lots and lots and lots of different Disney designs painted on the ears. I only took pictures of a couple of different ones, but there were many, in all sorts of Disney themes. You could get 3 of them for $50, which is a lot of money but they are sturdy and can work as figurines to display when not serving as ornaments.

This was one of my favorite designs for the ears ornaments...

Love love love the Evil Queen-themed ear hats!

The annual World of Disney "Nightmare Before Christmas" tree..

To everyone who uses Facebook out there, I thought these two shirts were adorable...

It's complicated, to say the least!

Over at Build-A-Bear, the wonders of Rankin-Bass were being celebrated once again, with many Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-inspired displays and toys...

Now! Let's check out that magical "Christmas Village" that was so looking forward to. It was pretty anticlimactic in the daylight. What about at night? Did the "Village" come alive?

You be the judge.

Exciting stuff, huh? That was it for the "Christmas Village" when I was there. Maybe it's more exciting now that November is almost over and December is upon us. Maybe it will feel more Christmas-y and Village-y to me when I am there in 10 days.


Earl of Sandwich was too crowded for me to deal with getting a sandwich, so I headed back towards DCA.



...With a stop at Marceline's Confectionery first...

​

More from Marceline's Confectionery in Downtown Disney (11-12-12) coming up!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Nice pictures Sherry.

The Christmas Village that I saw during my trip wasn't that all great as I have read. Just regular stands selling Christmas merchandise and not too many different activities that night.

Excited that you will be back at the DLR during the Holiday season in 10 days.

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry, I know you said you didn't like the Walt and Mickey pictures but I have to say that I loved all of them. Having never seen this statue, your pictures gave me a picture in my head of what I have to look forward to seeing.

I have to agree with you on the color of the sky in the Christmas Tree pictures on BVS. Amazing pictures of that tree. How did you get them without so many people? I would expect people to always be at the base, so I am quite impressed with those pictures too.

And what can I say about the food porn at Trolly Treats. I can't wait to go into that store to see what else they offer and to get me some of that candy in the window. I LOVE your window shots.

Alex is lucky, he has two computers. So sorry yours is so bad. That is how Alex's desk top computer is. He is lucky though he got daddy's old laptop so uses that for almost everything now. He has to keep it plugged in because it won't hold a charge, but that is no big deal. I had problems uploading a cd to iTunes the other day. One CD took 45 minutes to upload and I was going crazy. I couldn't imagine having to wait that long every time I tried to do something. You must have the patience of a saint.

I know we have got to be getting close to the end of the trip report but we have something to look forward too. Your next trip report. That trip is only 2 weeks away. I can't wait for you to get back to your home hotel and have a blast.

This computer wouldn't even be able to load anything from a CD to iTunes. It would freeze up. It's almost 13 years old and has suffered major damage. In fact, I was just trying to get into my last post here to edit it and it took 20 minutes just for the edit feature to open up. I don't have the patience of a saint at all. This PC tests my patience, my sanity and my temperament on an hourly basis! There are times when I have literally almost tossed it out the window.

The BVS tree did have a lot of people all around it, everywhere. But for some reason I could deal with the people around the tree better than I could deal with the people around the Storytellers statue! I think the fact that the statue is at a regular height and not elevated makes a difference. We can't aim our cameras upward at it to take photos like we can with the Partners statue. So the people around it seem more intrusive!

Thank you, as always, for the very nice compliments.

Nice pictures Sherry.

The Christmas Village that I saw during my trip wasn't that all great as I have read. Just regular stands selling Christmas merchandise and not too many different activities that night.

Excited that you will be back at the DLR during the Holiday season in 10 days.

Thank you, Bret.

Don't worry - I have not forgotten about your TR. I have seen what you've been posting and am fully planning to go back to your TR (and to "Boo to You") after I get done with this report (which will be very soon) and before I head out on the next DLR trip. Your fireworks pictures and your IASW pictures were absolutely spectacular - really, those fireworks photos were probably the best ones you've taken so far. And your IASWH photos are always good, but these seemed particularly crisp and clear. Good job, Bret!

I saw your Christmas Village pictures and I noticed one extra stand with merchandise that was not there a few days earlier, when I was at DLR. So they added that in but not much else. It wasn't that exciting of a Christmas village, was it?

One thing I wondered was, when you were at DLR was there a tree up in DTD (other than the little trees at the Village)? If not, I wonder if there is some kind of DTD tree there now. I think that DTD needs a big tree.

 

[Sherry E]

Fourth photo post for today! Yee haw! (So if you don't flip back to the previous page you are missing out on a lot of pictures!)

Continuing on at Marceline's Confectionery, Downtown Disney, 11-12-12...

Trees made of candy!

Goodies!

One of my 'avant garde' shots of the World of Disney window display!

And...while still trying to compose myself after the excitement of the Christmas Village, I went back to Buena Vista Street...

And then I moseyed back to the Paradise Pier area...

Finally, after only eating ice cream, peppermint bark and drinking a big Coke, I caved in to hunger for 'real' food and stopped in at a rather un-crowded Taste Pilots' Grill for a burger and onion rings...and a Coke in a holiday cup!


Burger & onion rings - $10.49
Coke - $2.99
AP 15% discount - $2.02
Tax - $.89

TOTAL = $12.35

Over to A Bug's Land/Flik's Fun Fair...

And who's that hiding in the shadows in his cute little Santa suit?

And what do you think my next stop was going to be? It shouldn't be a surprise!

​

More nighttime Christmas fun in Cars Land (11-12-12) coming up!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Hmmm. The BBQ looks enticing. I'll think it through. I may not know what I'm doing until I actually get to DLR and see how things are rolling along and how much I am getting accomplished from my checklist of things to do.

Thank you for offering to treat for Surf's Up. That's very sweet. I may very well take you up on it and skip EE, but I'll figure it out when I'm there.

As for Laurie and I meeting up - Laurie and I will run into each other at DLR, I'm sure. We've met in person so we will recognize each other - plus, I'd recognize her family from the photos I've seen. I don't know yet what I'm going to be doing beyond my first day at DLR. I have things I want to accomplish, but I kind of want to wing it and just roam freely, playing it all by ear.

At this point, I just want to actually get there - get to DLR and get settled in - and then worry about everything else later.

What's funny is that, even though I joke about running into Laurie by the Christmas tree at the PPH - because that would be the most obvious place to run into each other, since we're both staying there - what will probably end up happening is that we won't see each other in the most obvious spot, just because that would be too easy. We will probably bump into each other in a totally unexpected place, like, say, in a gift shop in the middle of Frontierland or something.

Laurie is going to be at DLR long enough to where she will probably be meeting up with people every day! She should just set up a location - like Santa's photo spots at the hotels - and let people come to her!

I'll let you decide and if you want to join us for any of the meals....we'll figure it out!!

That's funny....... We'll never see each other at the PPH, but run into one another in the gift shops.....or bathroom.......or on the train.......etc. You would think the hotel would be the place or coming or going.....but you're right....we'll probably run into each other in an unexpected place!!

Hmmmmm, a meet-n-greet place for me?! I like it!!!

 

[Sherry E]

I'll let you decide and if you want to join us for any of the meals....we'll figure it out!!

That's funny....... We'll never see each other at the PPH, but run into one another in the gift shops.....or bathroom.......or on the train.......etc. You would think the hotel would be the place or coming or going.....but you're right....we'll probably run into each other in an unexpected place!!

Hmmmmm, a meet-n-greet place for me?! I like it!!!

As long as your phone # is the same, I still have it stored in my phone and can call or text when I figure out what I'm doing.

I think that's what will happen - we'll probably never see each other in the most obvious places (at the PPH, or crossing the street from the GCH to the PPH/vice versa), but will run into each other in some random unexpected spot.

After last year's fiasco - in which my 'friend' "M" and her group ran smack dab into me in the middle of DCA, immediately after flaking out on me and blowing me off for other people - I think anything is possible!

Yes! You need to just get your own little meet-n-greet spot and let the masses come to you!

 

[Carolwoodpr]

Hmm...your burger didn't look that enticing in the photo. Was it good? The onion rings looked good, but sparse.

Again, you got me with the candy porn. Those ribbon candy Christmas tree's you took pictures of, for some reason they remind me of my childhood but I can't exactly remember why. Maybe when I see them in person the memory will come to me. That reminds me of a story I shared on facebook about a ceramic Christmas tree I inherited. Hopefully soon you can accept my friend request and see the post - I think you will like it. And yeah, I know, getting FB to load is a pita.

I too like the Cheshire Cat hat Christmas ornament you took a picture of. I may have to purchase that for my tree this year.

Sherry I am absolutely loving all the pictures and you are making my anticipation higher with each and every post you make. I guess I should get over to the Christmas thread and see what is happening there but I have been so busy time is of the essence and your TR comes first in my mind.

When you post pictures from the trip you are taking in a few weeks I will be absolutely giddy with anticipation for our trip since we are going a week later. I can't wait to see those pictures, and hope and pray that you get to see the Candlelight Processional.

Maybe you and Laurie should do all of those meals together, girl you need to eat when you are there, and this would force you to do it! So if you can swing two additional meals since Laurie is going to treat you to surfs up, go for it. Live on the edge.

Are you planning on Goofy's Kitchen with Shawn and Jackie? You mentioned meeting up with friends so had to ask.

 

[PHXscuba]

Those ear hat ornaments are absolutely adorable! Must ... resist ... urge ... to check Disney Store online (like I haven't spent enough there already).

Loving the Marceline's photos. I'm not as wild for the pre-packaged stuff at Disneyland, but anything fresh in the case just makes my mouth water, even from 400 miles away!

How frustrating with your computer. I have had times like that. How about for the next one you get a laptop that you can move around to get away from the sunny window or sit somewhere you can get your leg comfortable? Here's hoping!

PHXscuba

 

[Sherry E]

And where have I been since I posted the fourth installment of photos until now? Trying to get my computer to work. Again, it froze up. Then it started to work again, and then it froze again. And then I lost the entire post of photos for the fifth installment of the day, so had to copy them again.


Anyway, this is the fifth photo post for today. Even though my computer has been freezing up and staying frozen in between each of these posts, I still forge ahead! I am more stressed and anxiety-filled because of it, but I have to get this finished.

Continuing on in Cars Land as nighttime settles in - 11/12/12!

Snowy was still quite the popular car about town, and the people were still lining up to get PhotoPass pictures with him. I had to snap quickly to get him without people posing in the shot.

At Fillmore's Taste-In...

At Mater's Junkyard Jamboree...the tree is very beautiful, in a wacky automotive sort of way...

These are the lights on Mater's tree...

This is the Petting Zoo - I think it could have used something more than just the garland. It looks like it needs a little miniature tree, I think.

Sarge's Surplus Hut's tree...

This tree at Sarge's is absolutely gorgeous!

Over at Flo's, there is a nighttime PhotoPass person set up in front...

The tower of tires at Luigi's is not all that impressive as a holiday 'tree' - they could have done more with it. In the Disneyland holiday TV ad, this tower of tires looks more decorated than it actually is.

​

Coming up - I will wrap this photo report up with the final few photos from my very productive day trip to Disneyland Resort (and especially Cars Land/Buena Vista Street) on the first day of the holiday season - 11/12/12! (But don't worry - there will be a photo bonanza coming soon, in the wake of my 12/9-12/12 DLR holiday visit.)

 

[Sherry E]

Hmm...your burger didn't look that enticing in the photo. Was it good? The onion rings looked good, but sparse.

Again, you got me with the candy porn. Those ribbon candy Christmas tree's you took pictures of, for some reason they remind me of my childhood but I can't exactly remember why. Maybe when I see them in person the memory will come to me. That reminds me of a story I shared on facebook about a ceramic Christmas tree I inherited. Hopefully soon you can accept my friend request and see the post - I think you will like it. And yeah, I know, getting FB to load is a pita.

I too like the Cheshire Cat hat Christmas ornament you took a picture of. I may have to purchase that for my tree this year.

Sherry I am absolutely loving all the pictures and you are making my anticipation higher with each and every post you make. I guess I should get over to the Christmas thread and see what is happening there but I have been so busy time is of the essence and your TR comes first in my mind.

When you post pictures from the trip you are taking in a few weeks I will be absolutely giddy with anticipation for our trip since we are going a week later. I can't wait to see those pictures, and hope and pray that you get to see the Candlelight Processional.

Maybe you and Laurie should do all of those meals together, girl you need to eat when you are there, and this would force you to do it! So if you can swing two additional meals since Laurie is going to treat you to surfs up, go for it. Live on the edge.

Are you planning on Goofy's Kitchen with Shawn and Jackie? You mentioned meeting up with friends so had to ask.

Thank you.

The burger at TPG is something I've gotten before. It's okay - not great, but it hit the spot at the time.

My trip is in 10 days. I probably won't get too many of those photos posted before you leave. Maybe some, but not many.

I don't know what my Orange County friends and I are doing yet. I always see them on the first day when I do these trips. All I know is that I'm seeing them. Anything else will be figured out when I see them.

I'm not on Facebook enough to keep up with status updates. Laurie knows this about me. Michele knows this about me. I can't hang out on Facebook for more than a few minutes at a time because I just don't have the patience to deal with my computer freezing up - especially when Facebook is not a mandatory thing. It's not something I have to do. And I sometimes go a week or two without signing on at all.

I'm not even sure I'm joining Laurie for one meal, and now you've got me eating at least 3 meals with her and her family? I appreciate the input, but she and I will figure it out.

It's not a matter of living on the edge/not living on the edge or eating vs. not eating. It's a matter of doing what I want to do or not doing what I don't want to do - like, for example, IF I decide to do the Early Entry to DCA on my final morning, which I won't know until closer to that day, I'd like to be free to do it. This is a solo trip for me, remember? I have a bunch of things I want to try to accomplish, and not much time to do them. Plus, I'm not necessarily interested in eating at all of the places that Laurie has carefully planned out for her family! Also, I like to eat when the mood hits me and when I feel really hungry - not necessarily at a set time.

So I will play it by ear and see what happens as I go along. Right now, as I mentioned earlier, I just need to get to DLR and get settled. Then I will see about everything else.

Those ear hat ornaments are absolutely adorable! Must ... resist ... urge ... to check Disney Store online (like I haven't spent enough there already).

Loving the Marceline's photos. I'm not as wild for the pre-packaged stuff at Disneyland, but anything fresh in the case just makes my mouth water, even from 400 miles away!

How frustrating with your computer. I have had times like that. How about for the next one you get a laptop that you can move around to get away from the sunny window or sit somewhere you can get your leg comfortable? Here's hoping!

PHXscuba

PHX -

There were many, many different ear hat ornaments, in all sorts of Disney styles. They were so cool. If I were still a collector like I used to be in the old days, I'd probably be buying all of them. Now, I can look at them and appreciate them...but I don't need to have them. (Just remember - you can get 3 of them for $50 at World of Disney!)

A laptop would be nice. At this point, a whole new desktop system would be nice. That's what I need - a whole new system, with all new software, a new printer that is small enough to fit on my table, a new monitor. The works. This one is just too damaged and old (the hard drive is basically like Swiss cheese) to fix.

 

[tksbaskets]

I speechless! Five great installments in one day?? We have to break out

I think my favorites are of CL at night. I can't get over how wonderful the whimsical decorations are. Tires, air filters, all at their twinkling best.

Of the merchandise I like the cookies and milk for Santa set.

OH, I love the new digs for the Santa op. I just watched Miracle on 34th street and it does have the same vibe.

Hope you are feeling tons better!

TK

 

[kaoden39]

I am thinking that maybe it is a good thing that we didn't go. I would shot my entire budget on the ornaments! They are so cute!