Everything is Everything

Disney Divas Xmas 2009 - Day 3

2009-12-22T08:50:00.015-05:00

weather: 45 degrees at 7am...warmed up to about 56 during the late afternoon, dropped down to low 40s around 9pm.

We decided to wait until after 10 am to head to Hollywood Studios as it was supposed to break 50 degrees by then. LOL. The bus situation this trip has been a pain. I don't know if they don't have enough buses running or new drivers or what but we have spent more time waiting on buses than ever before. Three Magic Kingdom buses came with not a single bus to another park! Finally got a bus to Hollywood Studios about 40 minutes of waiting at bus stop. It was crowded but we were able to get a seat as our bus stop was the first so most of the people on it were getting off at later stops at our resort. By the time we made the loop and headed out....it was wall to wall people standing room only.

Getting off at the park was not much better. It was reasonably crowded going through the bag check line (we decided to bring a backpack today with extra sweatshirts LOL). I renewed Tey's annual Pass - yay they are still offering the Florida Resident 3 months free on an annual pass promo. So her pass is good until March 2011..I renewed my pass back in October. Once we got to turn styles it was crazy people everywhere and once inside.....wow! Should have known then and left but we didn't. It was far too many people! Tried to ride Toy Story but the standby line was 90 minutes, no thanks. And all of the fast passes for the whole day had already been given out! Wow! We went to Studio Catering Company for lunch and both got chili dogs with chips and chocolate cake. This dining plan is killing us with all the food LOL.

The hot dogs under the chili were burned to a crisp in places but we did not feel like fighting the crowds to go back up and complain so did not eat those parts. The chili was bland...basically beans and meat with no spices or flavor but it did the job. The chocolate cake had peppermint flavored sprinkles on top and was surprisingly moist and choco-good!

I did notice that they had closed the High Octane Drinks that was right next to Studio Catering...booohoo! I loved their Red Hero (Meyers dark rum, blackberry brandy, banana liqueur and juices) - would've been great way to warm up LOL!

Anyways, we wandered down Streets of America and went to Youse Guys Moychandise (love that name! LOL) to look around and found our annual Xmas pin - we buy a new Holiday themed pin every year to commemorate our trip....AND surprise surprise everything was half off! So even better! We wandered by The Little Mermaid and the line was ridiculous so then headed to the candy shop on Sunset Blvd and used snack credits to buy a bag of cotton candy and Tey got a large cup cake that was mostly frosting LOL!

We sat and watched the traveling players do a skit and laughed our heads off. We decided to go ahead and head to EPCOT since the park was so full. The boat came just as we walked up and it took about 30 minutes (with the 3 stops in between) to make it to EPCOT. EPCOT was busy but not congested like Hollywood Studios. Whew! WE walked through France and hear Pere Noel. Then saw the newer terrace garden at Morocco. I got a sangria and el kiddo got a hot mint tea from Morocco stand. The tea was basically green tea poured over mint leaves. We then hit the stores in Japan and Tey bought herself a small Daruma doll (it is basically a roundish head with large eyes and no irises. you paint in one eye when you make a wish, you then paint in the other eye when that wish comes true). Be sure to listen to the Daruma Doll Maker storyteller if you are at EPCOT during Xmas time. We also got to see the candy maker, Miyuki, create a yellow dragon lollipop. Nice! Also stayed for the Japanese Taiko drummers - Matsuriza.

From there it was off to the American Adventure and the Kwanzaa storyteller. Tey gets a kick out of that every year as she wants to start celebrating it and knows all the days and principles. The line for santa was long but not horrible. Also noticed a stand that was closed but that had a sign saying it sold hot spiced cider and other holiday goodies Yum! Next was a quick jaunt through Italy. There was a large crowd there so we bypassed it. At Germany I got some GlubWien - which is a warmed, spiced wine. It was very good! While I sipped on that we listened to Helga
tell the story of Martin Luther and the first Xmas Tree and talk about nutcrackers and she lead us all in a round of O' Christmas Tree. There is a surprise visitor during her story but I will not tell!

Off to the African outpost to look at hand carved canes and masks. We took a break to shoot a quick trip account on my video camera LOL. At this point we were both cold and tired and decided to forgo the Monkey King in China and head back to hotel to rest a bit before 7pm ressies at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco. One quick stop at Club Cool to sample coke products from around the world (we never get tired of this one)

We relaxed at the hotel until about 5:45 and headed back out....ok the bus situation was even worse. No buses for a while then finally at about 6:10 ended up with Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and EPCOT all coming at once but the driver of the lead bus (HS) was having issues with wheelchair ramp so that took another 6 minutes to straighten out. And then had a repeat at each of the remaining 3 bus stops in the resort before finally heading out to EPCOT at 6:35! Drove me nuts LOL! But it is Holiday time so it is all good. Just meant we would take the boat across lagoon to Morocco instead of walking. Got to EPCOT around 6:45...talk about cutting it close. Timed it just right and made it through Future World and to the boat launch just before boat left. Walked into Marrakesh with 1 minute to spare LOL.

The girl checking people in was rather rude and curt. And I saw several people giving her the evil eye after she spoke with them. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated and while our table was not right on the floor where the band and belly dancer perform, we had a great view. Tey got some more mint tea and I ordered a Tangiers Breeze (vodka, midori, pineapple juice) garnished with a date and a cherry. For our meal Tey got the Couscous M'Rouzia Fass: braised beef served with caramelized onions, raisins, honey, almonds, and eggs while I got the chicken kebabs which came with couscous with raisins and spicy marinated sliced olives. The olives were divine and I could have eaten a ton of those! The bread served was soft and warm and delicious. Even the water was crisp and clear and good.

Our waiter and busboy team, Amine and Rashid, were very nice but disappeared for long periods of time and not good about refills. We arrived just as the belly dancer was finishing a set but she came back out during our dessert. It was very entertaining.

For dessert we both ordered the Bastilla (crispy leaves of pastry topped with vanilla cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds and cinnamon)...all I got to say is WOW!!!. The cream reminded me of an unset custard and the dish was huge and looked kind of a mess but when you put it in your mouth? Holy cow!! Could not stop eating it! Amazing. I also ordered coffee and I have to say it was about the best cup of coffee I have ever had on Disney property!

We finally wobbled out - over stuffed but happy. Walked back around to Future World as the boats had stopped in prep for fireworks. The temp had dropped and neither of us felt like waiting around for the fireworks in the cold so we just headed for the bus....we ended up standing as it was packed but thankfully it was a short trip. We were both pleasantly exhausted.

Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom, Grand Floridian Gingerbread house, Sanaa

Disney Divas Xmas 2009 - Day 2

2009-12-21T09:12:00.007-05:00

Date: Sunday, December 20

Weather: 45 degrees when we got up - stayed in low 50s until afternoon when it got up to about 58 LOL! Low 50s/high 40s when we went to dinner

Ok I found out today just how big a wimp I have turned into since moving to Florida! I was born and raised in New England and have only lived here for 7.5 years but it was too durn cold for us yesterday to do much. LOL.

We had breakfast in the room and then since the wind was so strong decided to drive to Downtown Disney instead of waiting for the bus. Figured we would stop by EPCOT on the way back to hotel. Had ressies for 7:05pm at Cali Grill.

Downtown Disney parking lot was packed! Had to drive around a lil bit to even find a spot and finally lucked out. It seemed a tad warmer there than it had at CSR so we were glad of that. We were both ready for lunch as we had goofed off at the hotel a bit before finally leaving so we decided to try Earl of Sandwich as we had not been there in a few years. There were 2 people in line ahead of us but all the tables were taken! People getting in from the cold I guess.

The CM who took our sandwich order was rather abrupt and short when I tried to ask a couple of questions but we refused to let that put us off. Everyone else was pretty friendly. Tey got the Hawaiian BBQ (ham, grilled chicken, Hawaiian BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese and pineapple) with chocolate milk while I got the BLT and a soda. We both got the Brownie sandwich for dessert. The Hawaiian BBQ was ok the sauce is more of a sweet and sour than a BBQ. The BLT was great! As for the Brownie Sandwich...it looked like it had cream in the middle but it was really like a frosting...far too hard and sugary to be really good.

From there we went to the Pin store and picked up a couple new pins including new ones for the Princess and the Frog and a few for the kids that Tey regularly babysits for. We walked through several other stores just being silly and Christmas shopping for friends back on the West Coast. Then we went into my favorite store - Basin. Love that place. Plus they give an Annual Passholder 10% discount on purchases.

We played with catching a movie but decided that we really did not want to sit in a theater and after people watching until we got too cold, headed back to the car. Tey was still sleepy and had caught a slight chill the night before so we decided to bypass EPCOT and headed back to hotel. We kept feeling like we needed to go SOMEWHERE and not just sit in the room but realized that hey this is our vacation so we can do what we want...even if that included nothing at all. Tey took a much needed nap and I did some work UGH!

We got ready and left for Cali Grill around 6:15pm as I was driving. Tables in Wonderland is a great program if you are an Annual Passholder or Florida Resident as it gives you 20% off meals and alcohol plus free valet when you are dining at a resort hotel! So we valet the car and headed on up to the 2nd floor to check in even though we were early. The guy checking us in ( I am drawing a total blank on his name right now) was from Ireland! I mentioned that I had gone there last year and that spawned into a lively discussion on Northern vs Southern Ireland and places to go see when I go back....hopefully next year! While waiting for the escort up to the 15th floor another couple that was dining at Cali Grill asked me about Ireland as they had overheard the convo and of course I had to recommend that they go! LOL.
We were seated within 2 minutes of arriving upstairs and our waiter turned out to be from our home state..about an hour away from where we are from! So that degraded quickly into a who can do a better Boston accent contest between us all with other tables laughing at us. It was great.

We were not real hungry so decided to forgo appetizers. Tey was adventuresome and ordered the Bison (which was new on the menu today) with mushroom risotto and turnips. I love Bison but was not sure how she would like it so I ordered the filet of beef just in case so she would have another option. Both were delicious and we split the too plates. I was not a big fan of the risotto as it was chunkier and crunchier than I expected but kiddo loved it. the bison was wonderful (would have been better if Tey had ordered it medium-well as opposed to well done) as was the filet. I even ate all my broccolini! LOL.

The pomegranate martini I ordered was so good I had to have a second and Tey got a virgin strawberry daiquiri (was included in dining plan!) For dessert, she ordered the Valrhona Chocolate Cake which for Xmas came with peppermint ice cream and pomegranate macerated cherries....sooooo good! I got the Buche de Noel or Yule log with cranberry compote and ginger cookies. Did not like any of it. The yule log was dry and bland and the cookies were like cardboard with only the slightest ginger flavor. But hey you live and you learn. LOL. Also ordered coffee with dessert...can you say warm coffee colored water? Blek. Let Tey have some to warm up.

Tomorrow plans: Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Restaurant Marrakesh

Disney Divas Xmas 2009 - Day 1

2009-12-20T08:36:00.010-05:00

Date: Saturday, December 19

Weather: windy, temps - 65 during the day and in high 40s at night

We arrived at Coronado Springs around 11:30am and the check in line was so-so. I did notice that the line for those who did on-line check in was longer than the regular line and did not seem to be moving quickly. That made me glad I had opted not to do online check-in ( I wanted to make a room request at the desk). I asked for a room in Casitas 1,2, or 3 and was told no problem but that it was not ready yet but should be ready in the next hour or so as most of the rooms in that section were already cleaned and mine should be done soon. So we decided to head to Pepper Market for some lunch and first meal on dining plan. I wasn't real hungry and neither was kiddo so we just split a chicken quesadilla (which was cut into 3 rather large triangles) and each got a drink and split the dessert. - so I just had to pay for the drink. The quesadilla was very good. Nice flavor in the chicken and very cheesy. Would definitely try it again.

For dessert we got their version of Strawberry shortcake which was really just 2 layer white cake with strawberry filling and icing....but man was it good! The cake was very light and the strawberry cream filling was great..not too sweet, same for the icing. It was so good that we ended up getting a second one LOL! Hey we are on vacation after all!

I called at 1pm to check on the room but it wasn't ready so we went into gift shop and I surprised DD with a Tinkerbell Disney gift card for her use on this trip as an early Xmas gift. We then decided to walk over to the arcade and use the 30 minute play card that came with our package. Could not get it to work so we stretched out on loungers by the pool and relaxed a bit while reading. It was very breezy which made it chilly but we were right in the sun which felt so nice and made the breeze tolerable for us as we had on fleece jackets and jeans. I did have to wonder at the number of parents who were all bundled up in sweatshirts and jeans and scarves etc and their kids were not only in the pool swimming which was fine but running around on the playground in nothing but their wet swimsuits in the cold...i see some sick kids this week.

Anyways. I called back around 2 and the room was still not ready..hmmm what happened to ready in an hour? LOL. But it was fine. check in is not officially until 3. But then I remembered that I had parked in the 30 minute parking spots out front OOPS! so we headed back so I could move the car. Decided to move it to Casitas 3 as the check in CM had said that was where our room would be. We sat there reading and joking around and finally around 3:15 the room was ready. we were able to get everything upstairs in 1 trip since we opted not to bring the Christmas tree and all the decorations this year along with all the gifts etc. We did bring a wreath for the door and a string of lights for the window though.

We then headed to Winn Dixie to get breakfast foods and snacks as I had not had a chance to shop before leaving home that morning. We got back to the room around 4:30 and since we had 7:30 ressies for Kouzzina at the Boardwalk, we just decided to unpack and relax a bit before heading out. I made the mistake of deciding to use Disney Transport to get to the Boardwalk instead of driving...it is basically right down the road from us so that was a bonehead move. But I commute a good distance for work every day so when I go on vacation I like to just park the car and not use it unless we are going off site...big mistake! LOL We left the resort at 6pm just to allow plenty of time on a bus headed for Hollywood Studios (planned to catch the boat from there to the Boardwalk).

Of course the bus had to go to the other stops in the resort and then we hit some traffic jam so did not get to Hollywood Studios until almost 6:45!! When I say it is right down the road..I mean it...it is a straight shot on the opposite side of road. Crazy! The line for the boat was almost to the big Xmas tree! We had to wait through 2 boats to get near the front of line and it was as the 3rd boat was pulling in that I remembered the walkway to the Boardwalk. DOH! I am choosing to blame it on all the cold meds and antibiotics I have been on this week for my total brain freeze LOL!. I am usually more organized and on the ball than this. But it was all good. We boarded the boat around 7:15 Yikes! Ressie was for 7:30. It took 8 minutes to get to the first stop - Swan/Dolphin. We decided to get off there and walk over the bridge to the Boardwalk instead of staying on the boat as it had to stop at the Yacht/Beach Club before getting to the Boardwalk and the captain said that would take about another 15 minutes. It was about a 5 minute walk to the Boardwalk and we went in to doors of Kouzzina with 1 minute to spare!

There was quit a crowd in the entry area but we got our pager and waited maybe 7 minutes to be seated. I now think some of those people came in to get out of the cold as it was very breezy and chilly on the Boardwalk last night. LOL! We were escorted to the table by Charlotte was was very friendly and chatty. Our table turned out to be right next to the open kitchen and DD got a kick out of watching the chefs though everytime they would yell Opa! She would jump LOL! I got a kick out of that. LOL.

Our server was Patrice and while she was very nice and friendly, she seemed stressed and out of her element. She would disappear for long periods of time and forget to bring things we asked for. She kept apologizing and saying it was crazy tonight. While yes the restaurant was doing brisk business, unless something was happening behind the scenes, it was no busier than any other restaurant I have been to on a Saturday night. Actually it was more calm.

I decided on the Cat's Ouzu-tini (Absolut Vodka, Metaxa Ouzo, Pineapple Juice, fresh Lime Juice, and Pomegranate), though I was not sure how that would taste combined but it was actually pretty good. The black licorice undertone worked. DD ordered a Mega-Berry Smoothie (Raspberry Puree and Nonfat Yogurt blended with Odwalla Berries GoMega). We started with Kouzzina Spreads (Harissa Yogurt, Kalamata Fig, and Chickpea Hummus with Grilled Pita). We both loved the Harissa Yogurt...nice blend of spicy and sweet and sour. Second was probably the Fig. I usually love Hummus but this hummus was chunky and a weird consistency. The flavor was good but the texture was off. DD ordered the lamb shank and I got the pastitio (Greek-style Lasagna with Bucatini Pasta, Cinnamon-stewed Meat Sauce, and Bechamel). The pastitio was interesting flvor and very good. I am not a big fan of lamb but DD seemed to like it and she has never had lamb before but wanted to try something new. We were full and sleep so took dessert to go. I got Loukoumades which are greek donuts drizzled with honey and DD got Galaktoboureko which is semolina custard baked in phyllo dough which we ate later in the room. Both were just ok to us.

We caught a bus to DTD as it was after 9pm and HS was closed. It was very cold at this time and we ran into several ticked of New Orleans Saints fans as it was around half time and the Saints were down 17-3 to the Cowboys LOL. There were some very rousing debates and convos between them all at the bus stops and on the buses LOL! We finally got back to room around 10pm! Learned my lesson (yet again)...will be driving from now on to meals at other resorts!

On a side note ran into several people who had checked out of hotel already just to find out their flight back up north had been canceled and were having a mad scramble to get a room. This hotel is pretty much full up as most of the Disney resort is this time of year. I felt so bad for them and hope that everyone got accommodations and do eventually make it home safely.

Tomorrow plans: EPCOT, DTD, Cali Grill

Day 2 of Disney Xmas

2008-12-21T07:01:00.014-05:00

Tey slept until about 9am then when she got up we set up our tree and decorated our room. Breakfast was cereal and oatmel in the room with some juice. I took some pics of view from our room, which I thought was great.

We headed out a little before 11 to drive to Universal Studios. I was a bit worried about the crowds when I realized that the Jaws/KingKong garage was closed and we ended up directed to the Spiderman/Cat in the Hat garage. But once we got into park, the crowds were big but not unmanageable and a lot of the rides had a 5-10 minute wait with the big ticket rides like Hulk roller coaster had a 30 minute wait. Dueling Drgaons also had a 5 minute wait. I think this was because part of Lost Continent section is closed for construction of Wizarding World of Harry Potter so people were getting confused by signs and directions.

The line for Grinchmas was huge though and it was a hot day so we just ended up sitting in the shade nearby and listening to the show though we could see part of it. Looked very cute. We may try to go back later this week as el kiddo is getting over both sinus and ear infections so she gets tired easy.

We walked around for awhile then went to eat a late lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. It was just ok. Our waiter was also just ok. No real personality. Nice enough but very automatic if you know what I mean. Which was a change from the girl who seated us who was very animated and chatty. After lunch Tey wanted to return to hotel to rest for a bit so off we went!

We took a nap and did not get up until 6pm. LOL. At that point Teyonna plugged in her Play Station and played for a bit while I organized some things and finished unpacking. We were going to go to Fantasmic or Illuminations but decided to just hang at the hotel so we walked down to the concierge to pick up Luau tickets and book a dinner for the next day then to Pepper Market for a bite to eat.

The tree in the lobby is gorgeous!

The concierge was not able to get us dinner at O'Hana's at all but she was able to get us a Cat 1 seating for Hoop Dee Do for the next day. I did Hoop Dee Doo for the first time this past fall with my friend Nikki and we had a blast. I think my daughter will really enjoy it as she likes slapstick and corny jokes. At Pepper Market we both went to The Wok, I got the Burbon Chicken and she got the combo plate of roasted pork and Spicy Kung Bao Chicken. Everything was good but I will say that the spicy chicken is SPICY...has a nice heat to it since I like spicy food but my daughter thought it was a little too spicy. So be aware.

We walked the grounds for a bit and were able to watch the higher flying fireworks from Illuminations at EPCOT which was very cool. It was a very nice night, just a slight chill and all we needed was a sweat jacket. Back to the room around 10pm, plug in the tree for a bit and that was it for the night.

Tomorrow: EPCOT, Hoop Dee Do Review

Check-in and MVMCP

2008-12-20T08:16:00.023-05:00

Day 1 of Disney Divas Xmas 2008 Trip.
We did not hit the road until about 2pm as I was waiting for a delivery from UPS. We got caught in a traffic jam through Tampa but made it to Downtown Disney by 3:30. I switched out my Florida Resident 3 day pass for an Annual Pass and bought Tey's pass. We pulled into Coronado Springs at 3:50. I was wondering why the car line was so long to get through the gate and boy did I find out. The guard on duty was a very friendly and chatty fellow. Did I mention chatty? He must have talked to us for 7 minutes about I don't even remember what with the line of cars backing up behind us. He was so cheerful and happy it was hard to cut him off but he finally let us go. Check-in was not bad at all. There were maybe 4 people in line ahead of me and it moved fairly quickly. When it was my turn I chatted a bit with the cast member (Emma) and she commented on how tall Miss Tey is (she is 13 but stands just shy of 6'). I then asked her very nicely if there was any way to get one of the newly refurbed rooms and she was like let me see what I can do. She looked on the computer and then excused herself and spoke with someone else who pulled up another computer. When she came back she did not say anything until she was circling our room location on the map and saying we now have a waterview! (I booked standard) So we ended up in Casitas 1 on the 4th floor! YAY!!! We drove around to our building and I am now so very thankful that I went ahead and bought a small luggage cart! It was only $21 but it saved us extra trips to the car. We got all the big stuff (as we also bring a big plastic storage bin of decorations and small tree) in the first trip. The room is gorgeous! But I will say that I am not sure how long they will keep the all white bedding! While beautiful and rich looking with kids and adults spilling things etc, these will not be snowy white for long! I also really like the carpeting LOL. The desk chair was a tad uncomfortable though so I moved one of the ottamans over and use that at the desk. Anyways, we left out and headed to Winn Dixie real quick to stock up on snacks and breakfast items before going to the Magic Kingdom. Winn Dixie is only about 5 miles away if you go out Hotel Plaza Drive ( headed towards Goodings) but take a left instead of going straight. Follow around and Winn Dixie is on the right hand side. We got back to hotel around 6pm and brought in the last couple of small things along with the groceries. Then headed to the bus for Magic Kingdom as we had tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP). The wait was maybe 5 minutes and the bus was not packed but boy when we got to the park we hit it at wrong time as it was just gone 7pm so there were hoards of people trying to get through bag check and entrance turn styles. We had to go to will call window to pick up tickets and that line moved pretty fast. By the time we got tickets, the line for bag check and turnstyles were only 2-3 people deep! LOL. So lesson learned either get to park early or later not right at 7pm. I have to say that there is no better feeling than that first view of main street at night during Christmas time! Walking out onto the square and seeing the tree and the lights and snow and music and of course Cindy's Castle all lite up just does my heart good! We headed to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear after a 5 minute wait. I totally kicked Tey's butt! We walked out and got right in line for the 8pm show of Twas the Night Before Xmas (this is a must see - too durn cute!). We got good seats and the show was entertaining as always. We then just walked around taking in the sights and sounds. Most of the big rides - The Mountains, Pirates etc all had maybe 10 minute wait. But I did notice that some of the more kid friendly ride - Snow White, Pooh etc had 20-30 minute waits. We got a couple churros and water in Fantasy land..I did notice that the lines for the free hot chocolate and cookies were pretty short and they seemed to have more locations than in the past. On to Haunted Mansion, which we literally just walked right in and on! The 8pm parade which ended up starting closer to 8:45pm was on then and by the time we came out of HM it was over, the line was backing up to Liberty Square! Good timing! We then walked through Frontier land and stopped at Pecos Bill for some chili cheese fries (yes it was junk food night) LOL. We realized that it was almost time for the 9:30 Wishes fireworks so we hightailed it to Mainstreet and got a spot right in front of Crystal Palace to watch. It wasn't too crowded where we were and we were able to sit which was nice! Tink is still so cute flying over. After the fireworks we were both exhausted and decided against staying for 10:30 parade so we headed to the shops to get our MVMCP 2008 pins. They had one little display and in the past on the last night of the party, the merchandise was marked down....not this year! Though they have marked all ornaments and tree skirts down 50%. I won't get into the argument I had with a CM about a misplaced sign. LOL. When we came out of the shops I realized it was only 10 minutes til parade time so we decided to wait as we have never caught the Xmas parade. We sat on the steps of city hall taking silly pictures: We had a great spot and alot of people had cleared out of the park so we had an unobstructed view of parade. My daughter loved it and it was so cool watching her face as each float turned the corner! It reminded me how young she really is as she comes across older than she is. I have a couple of video snippets from parade which I will post later. We hung around main street for a bit after the parade then caught the bus(standing room only) back to Coronado. Got back a little after midnight. Tomorrow: Universal Studios and Grinchmas, set up out Xmas tree and lights.

Christmas Prep

2008-12-19T10:40:00.006-05:00

I finally finished making my Chrsitmas cards. LOL. Late as usual. One day I will stop procrastinating so damn much! But her are a couple of the ones I made:

We are just about packed for Disney. Just waiting for a package to be delivered and then we will hit the road. Can't wait! Teyonna is bouncing off the walls. She needs to go take a nap though since she was up until 3am and we have the Xmas Party at Magic Kingdom tonight until midnight. LOL.

I was able to get all of her gifts into one large duffle bag so that was good and all of our Xmas decorations for the hotel room fit into this plastic storage bin I bought except for the damn tree!!! It is just a smidge too long! Grrrr! Oh well. At least we are driving so not that big if a deal.

About to load up the car and get this show ont he road if only the UPS man would hurry up!!!

I will check in again from Disney.

Disney Divas Xmas 2008

2008-12-16T12:31:00.010-05:00

This will be my daughter and I 4th Annual Disney Divas Xmas trip. For the last 3 years we stayed at the Polynesian but due to the economy and a desire to stay longer and do more we decided on Coronado springs. Plus my closest friend will be staying there with her family towards the end of our trip. I did put in a request for one of the newly refurbed rooms so we will see how that turns out. While the old rooms are more colorful, the newer rooms have the flat panel TVs fingers crossed

Old rooms

Newly refurbed room

We have very few things strictly planned out as we really like to just get up in morning and say hmmm what do we feel like doing today? LOL. But we do have a some ADRs: Garden View Tea, Cali Grill, Raglan Road, O'Hana's (our traditional Xmas Eve breakfast) and The Luau (our traditional Xmas Day dinner).
This year we do plan on spending at least a day at Universal Studios to check out Grinchmas.Other things that we would like to do are Fantasmic, Osborne Lights, Candlelight Processional ( on Xmas eve, we usually get some fried ice cream from funnel cake stand and grab a bench somewhere outside the American theater and listen), Downtown Disney. And how can I forget - our first night we will be attending MVMCP!

The excitement is mounting every day! Tomorrow is my last day of work until Jan 5th. And then I will spend Thursday finishing up Xmas shopping and running errands then we hit the road on Friday (it is only about 1 hr 15 minute drive).

As usual I will do daily trip reports live from the resort with my daughter giving some comments/observations from a young teen point of view!

Grand Cayman Adventure

2007-10-30T20:35:00.000-04:00

We just got back from a few days on Grand Cayman. Teyonna and I met up with Nikki and her family there for her cousin's wedding. It was expensive as all hell with a conversion rate of
$1 Cayman = $1.25 US. Yikes! That is 25% added to the already high ass Cayman Island prices. For example, simple burger and fries was $12.50!!! Went to grocery store and a 6 pack of soda was $7.50.

But we did spend some time at Boatswains Water park, really at the Turtle Farm there. Have some great pics of Tey and Nik holding the turtles:

All in all we had a good time and it was nice to get away for a few days. Now it is back to the real world and my sucky job...LOL

Soul stirring Sunday

2007-03-04T21:43:00.000-05:00

OK day 2 of the new do and I am already remembering why I like braids so much! LOL. After not having to wrap my hair at night or wear a shower cap for 2 years.....this will take some getting used to! My friends and family already have bets going on how long I will last before the braids are back. LOL

On a more serious note....

My cousin Troy's youngest of his 3 daughters was hit and killed by a car this weekend. She was only 14 years old. He saw it happen and is totally destroyed. I was shaken but ok until I talked to him today and hearing his pain and hearing him apologize to ME for not being able to make my wedding 8 years ago was too much. As if that is his biggest concern right now. I lost it when I got off the phone and finally cried. I wish there was something I could do to take away his pain. I decided to do the star registry thing...I know I know, the star will not officially be accepted in her name by astronomists but I wanted to give him something tangible. So I pick Ursa Major ( The Big Dipper) as the constellation for Rockie's memorial star and dedicated it for the date of her death. The gift card says something along the lines of...."Dear Troy, I know I can't give Rockie back to you but I can give you a piece of the heavens in her name so that when you look at the nighttime sky, you can see her spirit twinkling down at you. Love, CC & Teyonna"

Corny I know but I wanted to give him something besides flowers that will die. So they will be sending him a framed certificate with the star name (his daughter's name) and dedication date and location int he heavens. Plus a star map with her actual star circled. Real or not, the sentiment behind my gift is very real and meaningful. So if you can, keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Life can be shorter than we plan so hold on to your loved ones and make sure that everyday they know how much you care. No regrets.

Peace, Love and Hairgrease,
~CC

Got my hair did

2007-03-03T12:35:00.000-05:00

just got back from getting my hair did...lol. after 2 years of braids, I decided to take them out for a bit and get my hair flat-ironed. OMG it has grown so much. For those that don't know....over 2 years ago I had a bad experience with some hair dye - LOL. Took alot of my hair out and broke off the rest, the top part was less than an inch long! After getting my hair cut to just below my ears, my hairdresser convinced me to do braids. I hav elistened to her and followed all of her instructions...Well today I found out that the last 2 years have paid off!! I am a hair flipping fool!! Will be going to buy a new outfit and accessories and makeup and stepping out tonight! I feel free!

Catching up

2007-02-15T20:08:00.000-05:00

Well my darling daughter is being honored for academic achievement by a local college with other middle and high school students in our county. She is amazing! I made her this card to express how I feel about her...

This weekend is also soccer tournament time. Basically the end of theseason. So we will be up at 6am on Saturday to head 45 minutes away for the first game and then her team plays their second game later that afternoon at that same field and then we get to repeat it all the next day! And of course the temp is supposed to drop to just above freezing over night - woohoo! LOL! Gotta make sure to stop at Starbucks for some nice hot coffee. So wish them luck!

Valentine's Day was interesting, we decided to go out to a mother-daughter dinner and the wait ended up being 1 hour 40 minutes!!! I was so mad today when I found out that her best friend and her mom went to the restaurant I tried to get Tey to go to and they only had a 5 minutes wait!!!! GRRRRRR. Next time I will be picking the place.

Guess that is about all for now. Later!

Perfection Personified

2007-01-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

sitting here watching IdleWild and drinking pomegranate martinis. Chilling on my new sofa and pondering the meaning of life. Life - a funny concept. My life is a utter mess right now and it is my own fault. I mean other people have been contributing factors but the blame rests wholly and solely on me. Yet the one thing on this earth that I am proud of and have faith that I did right was my daughter. She is just one of the most awesome people I know, and since she is a part of me, a living, breathing, walking, talking piece of my soul then doesn't that mean that everything that is right and wonderful about her is inside of me? She is strong and brave and responsible and kind and funny and charming and smart. So doesn't that mean that deep down I also have all of those traits? That she is me in some ways?

They say we live through our kids and watching her I know it is true. While I may not be all those things in my own life....when she needs me...I am each of those things in turn or collectively depending on the situation. It is humbling. But she gives me the strength and desire to do better and more and greater. If for no other reason that she is such a reflection of myself that I want that reflection to be wonderful and grand and amazing. She has all the potential in the world. It is at her feet, awaiting her command. She is the person I could have become if I had had a mother like myself.

There has long been a debate of nature versus nurture. Well my daughter and I prove it. She has all the skills and abilities I do except she has someone totally in her corner, who lets her know it every day. Who she knows will keep her in line but also got to the mat for her if anyone stands in her way or messes with her. This gives her the confidence and foundation to go out and conquer the world. I never had that - the support and unconditional love. And I wonder what could have been. I make up for that everyday with my daughter.

She is simply, in my eyes at least.....perfection personified.

Grease brought me a realization

2007-01-24T23:50:00.001-05:00

Teyonna's middle school got the rights to the musical Grease and are putting on a dinner theater production of it in April. Well Tey tried out and was cast as a preppy girl and chorus member. So tonight we had the kick off meeting for the cast of Grease. I do not consider myself poor or disadvantaged but I sometimes forget that we live in a pretty rich area and my daughter attends a well moneyed school. I live smack dab in the middle of million dollar plus homes. I lucked up on a new apartment development (which has since gone condo) in the area when the X and I split up. So the rent while still on the high side was affordable and the area is very safe plus it has taken off since then. Well I got kind of reminded tonight that we are so not one of the privileged. To pull into the parking lot of her school in my Hyundai and there is a fleet of Jags, BMWs, Mercedez, Range Rovers, Hummers, etc. Was on thing then to go in and see the women just dripping with bling wearing Prada shoes and carrying $1000 purses etc ( LOL - I was cracking up). Well they took one look at me in my Payless shoes, Lane Bryant outfit and turned their collective surgically enhanced noses up at me. I actually found it amusing, which seemed to piss them off even more.

They went out of their way to let me know I was not welcome. We had to get in line to pick up informational papers and the other parents acted like I did not exist, they stepped right in front of me, cut me in line, ignored me when I said anything etc. Not one parent would respond when I said hello. They just do not realize that growing up as a black female in a small town on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, I have dealt with all kinds of ignorance and discrimination and in the summer all the "rich" people came to town, opened up their 14 room summer "cottages" and treated us local like crap. I know I sound jealous and jaded but I'm not. I had to work for enough of those people and became privy enough to their lives to know that while they had a whole hell of a lot more money than my family did...they had the same problems and then some. Now I won't lie and say it would not have been nice to have some of that money but when they forgot to appear carefree and happy, they really seemed actually kind of lonely and sad.

Well back to the school. There was a mother who was sitting at my table and I wondered why she did not go get an info packet and when I offered her to share mine, she smiled and said that she was deaf. I was able to communicate to her that she needed a packet then I spent the rest of the 1.5 hour info session, writing down the main points she needed to know so she would not miss anything that was not already in the packet. This seemed to make me sink even lower in the other parent's eyes. I heard a mother in front of me turn around look at us and say to her friend in a loud whisper, "why is she bothering with her?" and nudge her head at us. Now since we were at the back of the room with no one behind us....I whispered in an equally loud whisper "Why do you care?" She huffed and turned red and turned around and proceeded to make comments about "her kind" and "don't get me started on that other one".

Now I don't know if there was history between her and the other mother I was helping or not but damn, can you grow the hell up and get some manners? It was in that second that I realized something....they may have more money than I will ever see in my life but I have something that they most likely will never have - a good heart. I may be a bitch on wheels a good portion of the time but I have never been one to walk away from anyone needing help and the other parents proved that money doesn't buy you everything....well at least not the things that count.

Peace, Love and Hairgrease
~CC

Coming up with a plan

2007-01-21T18:03:00.000-05:00

Kind of a weird weekend. I took friday off because....well just because. I promised myself more of that this year, me time. Even if I don't do a blessed thing productive but to have some time with no demands or expectations. Later in the year I will focus on productive things but for now I just need to get in tough with who I am now since most of the time I feel like I am living with a stranger. So family, friends, work whatever all take a backseat ( except of course for my daughter but even she will have to learn that mommy does need a few moments to herself every now and then she is almost 12 so more than old enough to understand).

I keep focusing on my weight but I am fighting a losing battle there until the get the rest of my emotional baggage packed and on a plane to Faraway City. So I am not really ready to touch the deep painful stuff yet though I know it is the primary root of the evil that invades me. So I will instead be a coward and take the easy way out by dealing with the periphery items in my life that need to be addressed - the high school sweetheart, my job, housing situation, finances etc. I know, I know - those are all actually kind of major things but if you knew the darkness within, you would understand that those are a piece of cake by comparison.

So first the high school sweet heart. I have made the decision to cut contact with him. Now I just need to get the energy to tell him. LOL. Lately I have been doing this ostrich thing with my problems which is not like me. So I am not taking his calls or returning them or text messages or e-mails etc....by the way, how the hell do you end up broke and homeless, living literally on the street but still have a cell phone and e-mail? LOL. Sorry sidetracked thought there. So that is a decision made no matter how much it hurts due to our almost lifelong ties but it is a very necessary one. Kind of my start to letting go of the past and Jess is very, very much part of my past and has so foreseeable roll in my future. If he is meant to be there then he will show back up with a sign but until then - adios mi amigo.

As for the job situation. I am finding more and more that I hate my job and that I wish I could be more of a full time or at least more time spent being a part-time mom. Having to hold everything down by myself with no family around is tough. I am paranoid that I am gonna screw her up and give her the same complexes and insecurities I was bred to have. Please don't let that happen. I think I am doing ok but the stress is too much sometimes. ok back to my job, I am basically being look at to take over for my team lead. He has put it on my performance eval that he thinks I would be the perfect person to take his spot when he moves up the ladder later this year ( he is finishing up a management training program which will put him in upper management). Well I am finding that I really don't want his job. When I first started with my company almost 10 years ago, I was very career driven and goal oriented. Right now all I want is to make a good living and have some peace. And while having his job would give me a better living, I am doing good now and there definitely would be no peace ( I basically do most of the aspects of his job now so I do speak from a place of knowledge, not conjecture. But at least it is not all my responsibility and I can give stuff back to him to do when it is too much. But to be fair, I am still doing my own job while covering for him most of the time.) I don't want to be the type of employee who just comes to work, puts in my 8 and goes home with not a lot of extra effort or initiative in between. But I busted my ass like a demon last year to justify a pay grade promotion this year ( which I will not find out about until end of April) and it was not worth it. I was exhausted all the time ( I do have a lot of health issues which does not help not to mention the 2+ hour commute round trip each day), I was cranky and edgy and stressed and I guess right now just is not a good time for me to have added professional responsibility on top of everything else.

Housing situation - I signed a contract to build a house last May (2006). Well the house was not supposed to be complete until May of this year (2007) so I had planned it all out financially to have all my bills paid and the closing costs etc saved by then. Well the builder moved up my closing 6 months to November 2006!!! I tried and tried and there was just no feasible way I could comfortably close on the house and pay the mortgage and my remaining bills (including student loan and paying off the divorce since I was the primary breadwinner) and I had a $4500 lease break penalty on a lease that I would not have signed if I had known the house would be done early. So I had to decide about walking away from my $5000 deposit or facing foreclosure in about 6 months. My family was not trying or able to help. I chose to lose the money, which hurt but was the lesser of 2 evils at the time. Well now my lease will be up in May and I have to decide if I am going to try to convince the owners to renew it at a reasonable rate with a home buying clause or if I am just going to move to a cheaper rental and save even more money to buy a house next year? Obviously I really can't buy this May since I now have to make up the $5k deposit I lost. Not to mention I got stupid after the decision was made and that takes us to finances.....

Once I broke the contract, I was mad and upset but also relieved.....a new house was right up there with work....more responsibility than I really wanted or needed right now. I realized that I was only buying a house because people said I should. Because almost all my friends are in a house and I feel that by my age I really should be in one also. But deep down I knew the whole time I was not ready. So when I cancelled the contract, I withdrew the money I had saved to that date for the house and blew a good portion of it on new furniture and upgraded the Xmas trip I took with my daughter. I also bought the laptop I am now typing on and got a new camera. That is when I realized that I had not really bought myself anything in about 3 years. Did I need to go overboard like that? No but hell for the first time in my life I felt like an adult - LOL. I did not have to ask anyone else for permission to do what the hell I wanted. I still have some money left and I promised myself I would pay off a couple credit cards early ( they are scheduled under my current budget to get paid off in May) and maybe my student loan. But I am having a hard time writing those checks. I am liking looking at my bank account and seeing several zeros. It is not a lot of money by any means but it is probably the most I have every had in my checking account at one time. I usually stash money in other accounts so I forget about it and won;t touch it. Anything in checking is open season. LOL. So I want to be better about that and start keeping financial promises to myself this year.

Wish me luck!

Peace, love & hairgrease,
~CC

Mud Pie Mojo Dreams

2007-01-16T20:34:00.000-05:00

Sitting here watching American Idol. What happened to good old fashioned family and friends who told it like it was and did not, I repeat, did not let you go out and make a fool of yourself? If you couldn't sing, you knew it....if you didn't know it, someone made sure to tell you. LOL. Oh well it does provide some good entertainment though I have to wonder - how many know they suck but just want the moment of fame?

Anyways took my daughter to see crazy doctor ( as I call the therapist) today. She only goes once in a while to discuss her anger and abandonment issues since the divorce. Well they ended up having a grand conversation about how different I am now and how quiet and not like the mom she used to know. How I sometimes just get lifeless or zone. Which is very true. I have been very good at hiding what is going on with me at work and to other people and I try to do the same at home but I think the strain of holding up a false front all day every day causes it to crack around the edges once I am home though I try desperately to hold on to it until she goes to bed. So something to think about and work on. I have noticed that I am becoming socially inept though. I spend so much time alone and behind closed doors that while I used to be very capable of handling myself in just about any social situation, I now have a hard time even having a one on one conversation with someone. Hell I went to lunch with 2 girls from work who I usually get together with once or twice a month for lunch and I was like a zombie. Usually we get along good and it goes smooth but I just did not have it in me to even pretend that I was into what they were saying. I didn't care one way or the other, no anger or sadness just numb and it is spreading. I just I think the cracks inside are getting bigger. More things to consider.

Broke my diet today by taking DD and her best friend to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream before the appointment. Mud Pie Mojo - YIKES!!! Coffee ice cream with oreos, peanut butter, fudge and whipped cream all mixed in...OMG. I have a new food group! Right up there with Merlot and Twizzlers and Starbucks. It was to die for - just oozing with fudgy peanut butter goodness with a hint of cafe au lait. Wow! Please sir, may I have another? But now I have to do an extra work out tomorrow morning - UGH! But I do believe it was worth it must stay away from that place except in my dreams. gives a new meaning to Sweet Dreams.

Peace, Love & Hairgrease,
~CC

Bright, Sunny Sunday

2007-01-14T10:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday!
Got some necessary feedback from my last post and has given me a lot to consider.
As for today, el kiddo had her usual Saturday sleepover at my house with her best friend so I made them breakfast and am now chilling on the couch. Did not make it to the Farmer's Market like I wanted to this morning for so good, cheap, fresh fruit and veggies. Damn! But it's all good. I am laying on my new love seat ( which I am just thrilled with, see photo below) reading a book and checking e-mail. Waiting for the New England v. San Diego game at 4:30pm - Go Pats!!! I may live in Florida now but I am truly a New England girl at heart and I crack myself up sometimes at how prudish I can get at some things....throwback to growing up in a very small New England town I guess. But I am working on it.

I am trying to get the motivation to finish a novel I started writing about 2 years ago. I am down to the final chapter but I guess I just don't know how I want it to end since the main character is a spin off of me in a lot of ways. The book started as a factual accounting of the end of my marriage and then took on a life of it's own and became a kind of fictional romance( for lack of a better genre) novel. So maybe I can't finish it yet because my life is so unsettled and I don't want to end it unhappily but I am not yet in a place to believe in happily ever after. The funniest part about writing the book was that as I was writing it I let my sister and best friend read it. Well my sister ( without my knowledge or consent) had my dad read it. Well there are some very racy and explicit scenes in there just like any good romance novel - LOL. Well my dad read it and then was like "well um wow, all that sex stuff, CC sure does have a good imagination huh?" LMAO! Mind you I do have a daughter so obviously I know something about sex but I understand his shock. LOL. But he has been after me ever since to finish it and try to get it published. That has to be a good sign cuz the man may read every published newspaper every day from cover to cover but he only books he will read are autobiographies or political commentary. So that is one of my goals for the year - to finish the book and consider trying to get it published. That along with finally getting serious about losing weight and attempting to date should keep me very, very busy this coming year. Wish me luck! I may start posting excerpts here. We will see.

peace, love and hairgrease,
~CC

letting go of the past

2007-01-12T19:53:00.000-05:00

OK how do tell someone to get out of your life after being in it for 21 years? I mean hit the road and don't look back. No regrets no recriminations. Just goodbye.

My high school boyfriend tried to make a full time come back into my life about 3 years ago when I was going through a very sudden and painful divorce. I have tolerated him this long (not as a boyfriend or lover but as a link to my past) because I was thinking my bitterness over my marriage was what was making him so annoying to me and because he had been there in the darkest days and hours. He will always have a part of me as we were together six years and were engaged when I was in college not to mention that just about every time one of us ended a relationship with someone else over the past 15 years, the other would come along to fill the empty space. It was just a given. Like an unspoken agreement between us. Funny thing is that in all that time, we have never been actual lovers. I mean we have messed around and stuff but have never had intercourse no matter how close we came. It was admirable at first because we were waiting for marriage then broke up for a bit and both virginities went out the window then got back together and decided to wait. I have no idea why during all of our rendez vous, we have never taken that step though we often were hovering right at the edge of reason. So I can't even say that sex is what keeps me from cutting him out of my life like a cancerous tumor. I think sentiment is the real culprit.

Let me explain that one - back when we first met at the age of 14, I was actually calling his friend my boyfriend, had been for almost 2 years. On that day he told his boy, "sorry dude, you know you just lost your girl, right?" It was another year before he and I actually started "dating" and he scared the hell out of me with his intensity and firm belief that I was the best thing ever to happen to him. That I was the smartest, the funniest, the most beautiful person her had ever met. That is all a bit much to take in at 15. But even then, even with all the words (he always has been a word pimp and I will ever be a word ho LOL!) and his wealth of emotions, he did not know how to appreciate me or show respect or not be totally selfcentered.

I have watched him make screw up after screw up in his life and in mine. He is one of the most charming, personable and friendly people you would ever meet, well read and very intelligent but the flip side of his coin is highly manipulative, spoiled, self-centered and just plain stupid. Sounds harsh, I know, but there it is. Ever hear the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions? Well that about sums him up. I know he never means to be petty or self-serving or arrogant or hurtful but.... he is. I know he would give me the shirt off his back and put the world at my feet, as long as someone else handed it to him first and he did not have to break a sweat. He would drape me in diamonds and feed me the sweetest ambrosia, but he would not want or desire to work for it or earn it. He will not active;y participate in his own life or mine. One of his favorite sayings to me when I ask him how he can be so comfortable with me doing everything and him doing nothing is "I would rather owe you than cheat you." See what I mean? There is always a caveat - if he can't do it grand style then he won't do it at all.

Get rich schemes are his specialty. He is always willing to put his last dollar into some hair brained plot because he never worries about going hungry or doing without because there will always be someone to bail him out before it gets too bad. Yes, he is currently homeless and all his possessions are in a single duffel bag but he knows he has a safety net in his friends and family so it doesn't bother him. He just camps out at whatever handy 24 hour restaurant nursing a single cup of coffee and plotting his next grand idea. If it is honest labor or not glamorous work, he wants nothing to do with it. Let me be fair, he will do it for a minute until he breaks a nail or dirties his hands then he comes up with some excuse - oh I quit because I did not like the way the boss treated someone else, or I left there because I did not feel like I was getting the right training to do the job or whatever he pulls out of his ass, but does he wait til he has another job first - oh hell no, that would make too much sense.

I am finally getting to a better place and ready to try dating again for real (I dated some after the divorce but it was very halfhearted and painful). He has told me that he will never respect any other relationship I have since to him, I will always be his girl. He calls me constantly and leaves messages about how much he loves or misses me (I have not seen him in almost a year though he moved to my area 2.5 years ago to be near me). IT is kind of creepy actually. It would be creepy and flattering if it were not for the fact that I believe his professed love is a control mechanism. He doesn't even know me any more. I barely know me. I am such a different person from 3 years ago let alone 9 years ago when we were last together really dating. I have taken time away from his calls and know that it is time to break the tie with him but then there is a part of me that does not want to hurt him like that since I know how all to well how that feels and there is a part that I do not want to claim that is scared to let go of the only person who adores me and worships me - even if it is all a sentimental lie.

The lie he tells when he says he loves me and the lie I tell myself when I say his words don't matter.

Holidays anyone?

2006-11-15T20:06:00.000-05:00

I know it has been a very long time since I blogged - bad CC!! But things have been very hectic and crazy and I just have not felt like it. Getting out of a funk and failure mode but now I am faced with the holidays, which I just do not really celebrate anymore but I try to do fun things for my daughters sake, even if they are not traditional or "the norm".

Tey and I are booked at the Disney Polynesian Resort for 6 days/5 nights over Xmas. This will be the second year in a row of us going there for the Holidays. So far I have tickets for Mickey's Very Mery Christmas Party the first night and the Polynesian Luau on Xmas day for dinner. I also have a character breakfast and afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. It should be alot of fun. No clue why I am so excited all of a sudden but I am. I know that Tey is also looking forward to it and she does not know that we are staying at our favorite resort or that we are going to the Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom....SURPRISE! I can't wait to see her face.

I still hate Xmas time - ALOT - as that is the time of year that my marriage ended very suddenly going on 3 years ago. So I am glad that I am now able to find something to look forward to during a very depressing time of year...I do not do family gatherings or anything anymore and I still cannot stand to put up decorations or a tree or anything so this is how I get off the hook...since we are out of town anyways, Tey lets me get away with not decorating..LOL! We have a 2 ft tabel top tree with mini ornaments and lights that we bring with us along with stockings etc and Tey has a ball decorating our hotel room. I will share photos when we get back.

peace, love and hairgrease,
~CC

Wise BBQ Chips

2006-09-07T21:22:00.000-04:00

How come at a job the people who do all the work always get more dumped on thier plate with little appreciation and no extra money while the folks who don't do jack get the promotions and raises? Does it make any sense? Actually I guess it does because the people doing the dumping are the now managers who were yesterdya's total slackers. Going through crap at work that just pisses me off but hey I need my job so I can't quit yet and tell them all to plant a big, wet, juicy, sloppy one dead on the crack of my big ol ....uh hm you get the idea. LOL

But on a lighter note, Nikki is coming back down in 35 days - YAY (yes she was just here a couple of weeks ago for her Bday)...She is an absolute Disney freak...while Teyonna and I are Princesses so we are going to the Wine and Food Festival for the weekend at EPCOT. Should be a lot of fun. Trying to squeeze in afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian while we are out there. And of course we have to go to the Magic Kingdom and check out the new and improved Pirates of the Caribbean ride complete with Capt Jack Sparrow...woohoo! She told me to watch out because this will be Disney - Nikki style and I told her to watch out because it will be Disney -Princess Style. smile.

We were cracking up because she reminded me of our shared love of BBQ Wise potato chips and how when she was here we went grocery shopping and they were out of them! We both just stood there looking at the empty shelves and each other - totally at a lost for what to do. Teyonna was like "what's the big deal?" I am not sure who gasped louder, Nik or me...LOL Poor Tey she just does not understand yet the un-ignorable (a word? lol) food cravings of 2 pleasing plump, single, depressed, PMSing women..LOL

So I was like hey there is a 7-11 down the street, I will pull up front and you run in. Nikki was like deal! So we hurried up and checked out - since there was other food in the basket afterall and peeled out of the parking lot to travel the 1.5 miles to 7-11. Where Nikki came out empty handed! DAMN THEM!!!! For the love of God didn't anyone understand? LOL

So then I said well there is another grocery store a couple more miles down the road but parking is a nightmare so I will just idle out front. We all held on for a bumpy ride because by this point we both knew we would not be going home without those durn chips!!! Even if we had to drive to where the hell ever they make them and camp out. While I sat out front just hoping and praying that she would find them, time ticked by and I started to get anxious. So I whipped into a newly vacated spot, effectively cutting off some chick who was so NOT in a hurry ( total nother rant right there, why do people get on the road at 5:30 in the morning if they have no freakin place to go and drag thier asses? ) ok back to regularly scheduled program - LOL

I ran in the door and blessed be there was Nik and Teyonna in line with not 1 but 2 bags of those beautiful chips! Our eyes met and she held them up victoriously and we both almost did a touchdown dance right there in the store. LOL . It was a wonderful ride home, full of laughter and song, so unlike the tension filled desperate flight in search of Wise BBQ potato chip!

Just had to share that story because I am sure the security cameras in the first store caught our expressions and how still we were and they wondered what are those two up to? lol

peace, love & hairgrease,
~CC

Friends

2006-09-06T19:35:00.000-04:00

Ok kinda of hectic couple of days at work and I have been coming home and falling out. LOL.

My daughter is now all registered for soccer, she has her audition for the school news channel anchor position and she has decided to run for student council! What does all this mean? More work for me! But it's ok, I want her to be a well rounded young lady and as long as she maintains her perfect grades then it's all good.

Now to finally jump in with the blog challenges from The Red Lilly.....today's topic was:

Attached at the hip? Two Peas in a Pod? How did you meet your s.o./best friend? Tell us about that first time meeting them. Did you hit it off instantly or think they were stalking you?

I would have to talk about my closest friend Nikki. We actually met online...on a message board for cruising. She and another girl (let's see, I will call her Sha-Na-Na to protect her innocent children - lol) were going on their first cruise and I was going on my 3rd. It just so happened we were going to be on the same ship (one I had been on before) and they had tons of questions so we e-mailed back and forth the months leading up to the cruise. They lived in New Jersey and I was in Massachusetts at the time. We agreed that we would meet up the second night on board at one of the bars.

When I first met them, I actually did not take to Nikki right off. I mean I had nothing against her and did not dislike her or anything. I guess I felt I had more in common with Sha-Na-Na at the time as far as our lives were concerned. We didn't really hang out on the cruise though we ran into each other here and there. When we got back the three of us continued to e-mail and talk on the phone though once again I spoke more with Sha-Na-Na than with Nikki. I even went to Jersey a couple of times to hang out and helped with Sha-Na-Na baby shower. Over time, I got to see just how truly disturbed and unstable Sha-Na-Na was...ok the ho was straight crazy! Stalking, a tripping and just barely walking this side of the law most of the time and dragging her 2 boys into all kinds of mess and leaving them places while she went stalking her latest man.

And I started backing off from her but Nikki and her had been friends for awhile so they stayed friends and I was kinda on the fringes though Nikki and I started talking more and more. Finally there was a major blow up between me and Sha-Na-Na and I just left that whole situation alone....I can turn on the TV for a daily dose of drama, did not need it from her. Soon after she and Nikki also parted ways. Nikki and I kept in contact though it was more like we would talk once a month or so..of if things were hopping or we were real bored we talked more often. But we always stayed friends and everytime we spoke no matter if it has been 4 days or 4 weeks since our last conversation, we always picked it right back up as if the time had never passed.

Then I got married...I will spare us both the details and she was my travel agent for the whole wedding ( got married in the Bahamas) and she was one of my bride's maids. Then she got married a few years later and let me tell you everything conspired against me returning the favor. I was in a car accident that August ( she got married that November) which totaled my car and tore muscles in my shoulders, neck and back and herniated a disc. I was out of work for 2 months. I was a bride's maid and a month before the wedding I got pretty sick and ended up with an auto-immune disease that was attacking my skin. I ended up in the hospital the week before the wedding. I got out a couple of days before but my body was covered with gauze and padding due to the nasty sores and scars...and since the dress was this hot strapless number, I bowed out of being into he wedding and she totally understood. But it gets better....we drove to Orlando for the weekend since she was getting married at Disney. Teyonna had not been feeling great but I thought it was just a cold. Well the day of the wedding dawns bright and beautiful and low and behold, Tey is running a 104 fever and totally lethargic....had to rush her to the doc so I missed the wedding. Turns out Teyonna had scarlet fever! So then I had to call Nikki's mom at the reception to let her know since Tey had been around the other kids the day before. Nikki has never made me feel bad or guilty for missing her wedding. She has made a point of telling everyone that I did everything in my power to be there and went through a lot just to make it to the hotel. Gotta love her for that.

Well now I am divorced and she is filing for divorce and we are closer than ever and for the last 3 years or so we talk every single day, often several times a day. She has been down to Florida about 3 times a year to visit since my marriage ended and I just went up to Jersey for my bday this year...sounds unfair but let's face it...where would you rather spend your time? Trenton, NJ or Florida on the Gulf of Mexico? LOL so she is always ready to hop a plane down here. I am actually trying to get her to move here and she is trying to get transferred - watch out world! We are so much alike but so different that it works. Both very family oriented and do what needs to be done and put others before us but where I am a fireball, she is very calm. Where she is laid back I am a go getter. We support each other through the stupidest ideas - LOL and are always ready to ride or die - "He said/did what to you?? Let me take off my earrings and put on my ass kicking shoes."

It has been 10 years and my daughter calls her auntie Nikki and she is a part of my family - blood or no blood. I am closer to her than anyone and it proves that people get brought into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime and you never know which it is going to be unless you have the patience to wait and find out. And Nikki has proved that my patience was well rewarded and I could not ask for a better confidante and partner in crime. I just hope that I can live up to the blessing of our friendship. Love ya girl!

ol' crazy Nikki on 70's night

peace, love and hairgrease,
~CC

Lazy Sunday

2006-09-03T22:59:00.000-04:00

Doing better today. Had a 4 hour phone conversation last night until 4am! LOL but it was nice to actually talk to another human being and not all superficial crap but just honest what is on your mind stuff. It reminded me of everything I have been avoiding in life - intimacy, closeness, kindness, compassion, concern and love. Not saying I am ready to run out and be around people but it was a nice change. Sometimes we need a reminder of what we have turned away from to make us refocus and put our lives back in perspective. I am going to try to make an effort to get out more and do and see the things I have been wanting to ...I do not need a husband or a boyfriend or whatever to live my life. Hopefully I can keep this newfound conviction but to keep it real..probably not.

But as a result of last night, I slept off and on all day and did not leave the house or do anything really productive. I would say it was nice for a change but aside from he sleeping part, this summed up most of my weekends when el kiddo does not have activities...just me sitting home waiting to go back to work. That, I do want to change. I live in a beautiful place with tons to do, I need to get out there and do it. I just sometimes get so tired of having to be strong and do what is necessary instead of what I want to do. I feel like I have been doing that all my life and I am sick of it. To take a line from The Color Purple - "All my life, I've had to fight..." LOL, sorry couldn't help it. Tyler Perry is one of my favorite people and he always uses that line in his movies and plays. Did I mention the HUGE crush I have on him...lol. Probably the one man right now who would make me rethink the whole - "I am never getting married again" edict.

Right now I am watching Ella Enchanted with my daughter and her best friend. Lord that is my life...I usually do not get to watch adult movies (and no I do not mean porno! LOL). It is a cute movie though and the girls really like it.

I did manage to cook dinner tonight since I felt I had to do something since I was lazy all day...skirt steak, mashed taters and sugar snap peas. Was good if I do say so myself. smile. I have promised myself to start my diet tomorrow and start back to working out at least 3 days a week to start. Keep your fingers crossed for me! LOL.

On a sad note - my sister's best friend ( they have been friends for like 34 years so she is more like family than anything else)...her daughter was shot yesterday in a drive by shooting in Boston. She was riding to drop her husband off at work so she could use the car to go pick up their baby at his aunt's house...they just got married August 5 of this year! Well shooting broke out on one block they were driving down and her husband pulled her down and threw his body over hers. The bullet came in through the door and went into her thigh. The hospital feels that they would cripple her for sure if they try to remove it. So they are going in on Tuesday to put in pins and try to reinforce the bone but there is no guarantee that she will walk again or that she will not be crippled anyways. She is only 29 years old and has a 1 year old daughter and a brand new husband and was supposed to complete her Master's Degree this December. So please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I am going to go finish watching the movie...I forgot to fill you in on the high school sweetheart but I will just keep you hanging until tomorrow..smile. Good night all!

peace, love & hairgrease,
~CC

Pity Party Night

2006-09-02T22:44:00.000-04:00

OK day 2.

Not even sure where to start. I am struggling with weight and self hate issues today for some reason. I know I seriously need to lose weight, not even sure when the hell I gained all this weight. But it is seriously out of control now and I need to take it in hand like I do my child. The whole self hate thing I know is tied to the divorce and family stuff. I have never felt good enough for my family. We have never been a lovey dovey supportive group...we are all over achievers to a point and it stemmed from one--upmanship more than anything else. We are not close...though I do have 2 sisters, 2 brothers and a half brother - my half brother is a whole nother entry that I am not prepared to address at this time. But I am the youngest of my other brothers and sisters by a lot - there is 21 years between me and the oldest and 13 years between me and the second youngest. So I did not grow up with them but I do have neices who are my age so it always made me feel like I did not fit in anywhere in my family and people did not know how to treat me since I fell between the cracks...not a one of my neices and nephews ( I have 12 nieces and nephews and 13 great nieces and nephews) call me aunt CC. My child calls all of my brothers and sisters aunt or uncle so and so. It is hard. I feel disrepected though logically I know I really shouldn't but it is still a hard place to be in.

I am still waiting for the pain of my divorce to fade. I am really hoping it starts to do so soon. I have gotten real good at pretending to be normal when around other people. But nights like tonight drive it home and make me realize how isolated I have become. My daughter is sleeping at a friends house and I am sitting home alone drinking and wandering the house. I am still young and should be out somewhere, on a date, with friends, something but I have become very anti-social....which is so not like me. Or at least not like the old me. I did not realize how much I defined myself by my marriage until it was over. But it is like I have become a different person, just avoiding life in order to avoid hurt. It is depressing and pisses me off but I have not found the motivation to change it.

ok enough of all that. LOL. Time to lighten up.

Question - why is it that once you have a child you no longer can count on going to the bathroom alone? Every single time I go to the bathroom it seems my daughter just comes in to ask me something or to see what I am doing or to chat. I am like - "EXCUSE ME?!?!?! Do you mind?" LOL. Maybe it is just me but I don't think so.

my daughter's best friend slept over last night and my daughter is sleeping there tonight ( it is like that just about every weekend). So sad that my 11 year old has waaaay more of a social life than I do. LOL! She want to be America's Next top Model. Here is her posing:

Too much for me!

I also need to Catch ya'll up on my high school boyfriend who moved to Tampa to be near me when he heard that my marriage was ending. He was always on of my closest friends and I made the mistake of thinking that we could finally make it work ( we used to be engaged) but he has turned out to be an even bigger disappointment than my X-husband, if that is possible....but I will get into that later. I am hungry and tied and cranky so I will end this now before I ruin your day - LOL!

peace, love & hairgrease
~CC

An Intro

2006-09-01T18:55:00.000-04:00

My blog day 1.

After much thought, I finally decided to try to start a blog, so bear with me while I get the hang of this and get it looking all fancy smancy and pretty like.

I am a divorced mother of a beautiful 11 year old daughter. My X-husband does not have anything to do with either of us by his choice and that has probably been the hardest part of being faced with a very sudden and unexpected divorce - my daughter's hurt and abandonment through no fault of her own but more on that later.

I am originally from Massachusetts but now make my home in Florida and love it! No snow! Woohooo! I have not been home in over a year and I know that is not sitting well with my family right now and they are really pist but I have to do what I have to do for me and mine, in order to get to a better place and stabilize our lives so they will just have to understand...and if they don't then too damn bad, I have lived most of my life for what other people want and need and right now I have to do the same for me and my daughter. Whew, ok that mini-rant is now over. LOL

I work as an engineer but I am far too creative for that job....LOL..gets me in trouble everytime. I started out as a business major in college but accounting kicked my behind and I was doing bad in school, so I had to pick a new major. Which I was bummed about because I just knew I was going to be a marketing genius but there was just no way I could pass accounting and I was not up for the challenge back then. So the guy I was crazy over at the time ( though we were just friends) was an electrical engineering major. I figured well hell I can do that and get to spend more time with him - cool! Long story short, sometimes when you can't motivate yourself in the right direction, fate steps in and steers you where you need to be, by any means necessary. In my case it took a tall, dark, handsome frat boy to get me where I needed to be. I ended up Dean's list my first semester in the program and did not look back. LOL

But in my spare time I paint, draw, scrapbook, read, dance, sew, cook..all very unengineering like pursuits. LOL. Very unlike most of my co-workers thus I don't really deal with too many people outside of work. But it gives me time to focus on my daughter and she is a blog entry all in herself so maybe I will make that my next subject - my beautiful, smart, wacky, caring, silly child. I swear she keeps me going. I would have given up a long time ago if it was not for her. She has saved both my life and my sanity more than once and the least I can do in repayment is raise her in a safe, loving, supportive home.

Ok I am getting too mushy so it is time to sign out for now. I am looking forward to giving a peek into me and my world. I didn't think I would be comfortable with this but I feel that it will be ok.

peace, love & hairgrease
~CC