*rub rub rub*

It's 78 degrees in Florida!

The 20 Days of Christmas - the rest!

18. Which do you prefer? Giving or receiving? I like both. I mean, who doesn't like getting gifts? Although I really like having people open stuff I've purchased for them. Since I shop so early, and wrap everything in the same wrapping paper, it's always a surprise for me when they open somthing, since I've already forgotten what's inside!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I like that 'wassling' song.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum!

The 20 Days of Christmas - question #16 & #17

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I always enjoyed my family's tradition of purchasing a live tree on Christmas Eve and decorating it that evening. Even when my dad broke down and bought a fake tree, we would still always put it on on Christmas Eve.

17. What tops your tree? Nothing - it's just a branch sticking up. I was never a fan of any store bought angel or star. Maybe eventually I'll find one that I like. At work we have an electronic Mickey who is hanging on to the tree with 1 hand and ringing a bell with his other hand. It's pretty cool.

Edit: Happy 1 year anniversary to my blog!!! It was 1 year ago today that I was sitting home by myself, bored to death b/c Jonathan was in Missouri for Christmas, debating on whether to go to Walmart or watch Jurassic Park (JP won). Congrats blog - you are 1 year old today.

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 15

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? So many to choose from! My mom makes some killer peanut butter square with chocolate on top. Julie makes some molassic cookies with fantastic frosting. And, just for more fat, I like those cookies with the hershey's kiss on top. Yum!

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 14

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? I enjoy the overall festivities, the decorations and the time to reflect on the past year.

The 20 Days of Chrismtas - where is #11?

My friend Julie send me this questionare thru e-mail, but she left off question 11! I think we all need to brainstorm and think of a question #11.

12. Can you ice skate? Heck no! You would think that I could, since I'm a pretty good rollerblader (haven't fallen yet! *knock on wood*), but my ankles can't handle it.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No - but I wish i did!

Edit: Jonathan and I went to Banana Republic and he bought a suit jacket, pants and blue shirt for our wedding. He didn't want to buy a black one, he picked out a tan/cream color. He wanted something 'cruise-y'. He's lucky he doesn't have to pay for somebody to alter it (like my stupid dress!)

The 20 Days of Christmas - questions 9 & 10

I think I'm running out of "days of Christmas", so I better speed up this process!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Never! Tempting as it may seem, I always open Christmas morning.

Actually that's a lie. For the past 3 years I've opened presents on 12/22. Since Jonathan always goes back home to Missouri for Christmas, we open presents before he leaves. This "Christmas" for me will be on Wednesday, 12/21.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I have a little 2.5' tree. I have about 15 different Disney ornaments on it and colored lights. Although that's all just conicendence (sp?). Eventually I'll have a full tree (when I buy it 75% off at Target after Christmas) full of a range of ornaments. Trees that have a theme are always so nice and pretty, but just not my style.

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 8

8.When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember when I figured it out. Looking back, it wasn't that challenging. Each Santa gift didn't have a gift tag, it just had your name on it in big bold letters. It was always my mom's handwriting. :0)

Even though I figured out the Santa thing, I never really let on that I realized. I wanted to keep it magical for my brother, who is 6 years younger than me.

Side note - Jonathan and I went to Epcot's Candlelight processional last night. Steven Curtis Chapman (Christian singer) was the narrator. His road manager is a relative of Jonathan's, so we got some sweet VIP seats. Normally you have to wait for an hour in line, and then sit way in the back. It was nice to casually flash my VIP badge and get escorted to the front.

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 7

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: I can't really think of any 1 memory that stands out.

I guess I remember crawling under the 10'x4' plywood with my mom's ceramic village on top. All the ceramic houses and trees were lit up, so it was bright underneith the plywood.

My brother and I would always 'sort' out all the gifts into piles, just to see who had the most. Also, it was just fun to slide gifts all over the carpet.

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 6

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My family never had any real food traditions. We just eat the traditional turkey dinner.

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 5

5. When do you put your decorations up? When ever the heck I want to!

This year I did it on Thanksgiving, but that's just because I was bored. Normally I like to stick to an "after thanksgiving" policy. I only have 1 box full of decorations, so it didn't take me that long. I'm counting down the days until Target's after Christmas sale starts! Bring on that 75% off!

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 4

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but that sounds like fun! If I ever had a Christmas party I totally would. That would make for a goofy party game.

I think I read somewhere that mistletoe is a poisonous plant?!?

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 3

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored lights all the way!

My mom used to torture me b/c she did our entire house in white lights. Boring! Although, I must admit, white lights are much more classy that colored lights. I like my Christmas lights Osborn/MGM Studios style!

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 2

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa always wraps his presents. That makes is way more fun to unwrap things - oh the suspence!

The 20 Days of Christmas - question 1

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate all the way! Put a candy cane in your hot chocolate - good stuff! It's sad that there is really need for any hot beverages in Florida. :0(

I admit, this was an easy question. I've never had Eggnog in my life. Any drink with the word "egg" in the title scares me.

Ok - now share your answers in the comments section!

I've got wedding fever!

No, not my own wedding fever ... somebody elses!

Last Saturday I was a bridesmade (and Jonathan was the best man) in Bill and Melanie's wedding.

Both the reception and the ceremony were in the Hyatt hotel (right across the street from Downtown Disney). They was nice and convenient. It's always kind-of a pain to drive from a church to a reception hall.

And ... hold your breath ... I think I'll actually wear the dress again. Can you belive it?!?

rub, rub, rub

I drove past a Walgreens last night. The electonic sign said:

5:58pm
85 degrees

Gotta love it!

Save the date - for real this time!

Jonathan and I are getting married on 1/15/07!

Why did we pick a Monday you might ask? That's because we'll be married on a 4-night Disney cruise.

They are planning everything, and it's actually a reasonable price.

More details later ... I'm actually getting ready for another wedding. My friend Melanie is getting married today. I am a bridesmaid and Jonathan is the best man.

edit: Actually, there isn't much more to tell. It's just a wedding/honeymoon combo. It will just be the 2 of us. I've got 2 months to go find a dress. I don't think I'll get a "wedding" dress from a bridal store. I'd like to find something very simple and white. We'll see what I can dig up. Jonathan would like to have some kind of reception/party/something later on (in the summer???).

It's Peanut Butta Jelly time!

Or more specifically, "Jelly Time".

I saw a woman last night, at Downtown Disney, wearing jelly shoes - in high heeled wedges!

I wanted to take a picture of them, but I couldn't make myself less obvious.

Let's all admit it - who owned a pair of jelly shoes?!?

Photos for Hiromi:

Pop Century

It never fails.

Every year we (Disney Cast Members) get a coupon book for the Holidays. One thing in the coupon book is a 50% off coupon for 1 restaurant inside a park, and 1 restaurant outside the park. The coupons start on 11/1 and end on 10/31 the following yer.

Every year, at the end of October, I'm strounging around to use my coupon for ouside the park.

Jonathan and I just got back from the Pop Century resort (which is, ironically, where I used my coupon last year as well). I really enjoy their food courts food. And I think the resort is so neat!

Jonathan's favorite food is the tie dye cheesecake! Here is a really pixel-y photo I found on google.

Yum!!!!!!!

Contest!

I need a new blog title. "Cavender Family Blog" doesn't make much sense, since I'm the only one in my family who actually posts!

I know you guys are creative ... bring it on! :0)

DVC rules!!!

Guess who was the guest speaker at the big DVC meeting on Wednesday ... Grant Hill!!!

I couldn't believe it!

After he was done speaking I left the meeting to go tot he bathroom, and Grant was walking down the hallway. I debated on running after him (I keep a sharpie on my keys at all times - for these types of senerios - and I had a napkin for him to sign), but I decided against it.

I was bummed he didn't stick around for autographs and photos after the meeting, but it was still pretty neat to hear him speak.

And if you don't know who Grant Hill is - shame on you! Go watch some NBA.

Top 5 movies I love, that most people have never heard of.

5. Top Secret - very Naked Gun-esque staring a young Val Kilmer. If you like Naked Gun, I highly recommend renting this movie. The plot is an Elvis-style singer goes to Germany during WWII.

4. 3 Ninjas - a stupid kids movie with a lot of cheesy 1 liners.

3. Tales from the Crypt - I can't even think of what the movie is actually called! I'm so embarrased! It's not the Bordello of Blood movie, it's their first movie. Jada Pinkett Smith is the star. Something about a house possessed and zombies or something. When I saw this movie in theaters (about 10 years ago???) I actually left the movie, saw the theater next store where the movie was starting again, and snuck in to watch it again. I've never done that before.

2. Army of Darkness - I suppose a lot of people have heard of this movie, if you are into Bruce Campbell. I keep trying to share my love of this movie with other people who have never seen it, but nobody seems to get it.

1. Million Dollar Mystery - I absolutly love this movie, and I have never met anybody else who has ever seen it, much less heard of it. I can't even find it on DVD.

Top 10 scary movies

I love horror movies! I might go as far as to say that it's my favorite movie genre (although action and comedy are both high on my list).

Honorable mention:
Se7en - not super scary, but one of the few movies that I actually screamed out loud at the movie theater (during the scene with the guy and all those air fresheners)
Saw - not so much scary, but what a great plot!

10. Cabin Fever - again, not terrifying, but there are some distrubing scenes. This movie didn't get a not of playing time in the theater, but I absolutely loved it!
9. Wrong Turn - you can't go wrong with a bunch of inbread hicks from the south.
8. Candyman - good old fashioned Chicago movie
7. The Ring - I think it was only scary because I sleep next to a TV, so I couldn't really sleep that night.
6. Jaws - the ocean still scares me!
5. Aminityville Horror (2005) - I honesly can't remember why this movie scared me, but I remember that I left the theater scared.
4. House of 1000 courpes - classic!
3. The Hills Have Eyes - more inbread hicks, but this time from Arizona. I can't wait for the sequel.
2. High Tension - scary and a great plot twist at the end!

And there is a tie for the number 1 spot . . .

1. Hostel - still freaks me out for this day. The images in this movie will haunt you for life.
1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2005) - The next installment comes out on Friday!

So, who agrees with me? Or who has something I missed? Bring it on!

The Grudge

I had my very own "Grudge" moment this morning.

I was taking a shower and washing my hair. As girls do, we pull all our hair on the top of my head and scrub. As I ran my fingers thru my hair I hit something hard.

Being naked (therefore vulnerable I suppose) I got kind-of freaked. Was it a cockroach? Was it some plastic thing? Was it a hand of a ghost of a Japenese boy?

I immediatly turned off the water and hopped out of the shower. I looked in the mirror hoping to see what it was (please don't be a dead cockroach!!!). I couldn't see anything.

Being afraid to touch it (it might be a cockroach!) I flattened my hair in my towel, hoping to touch the hard thing thru the towel, but my towel was too thick.

Finally I shook my hair and something flew out of my tangles. It was a 4" plastic type wire thing. I have no idea where it came from, or how it ended up in my pillow, but I was slightly releaved.

Top 5 Family Guy moments

Since I'm running low on stuff to talk about and pass the time, I'll start posting some random Top 5 or Top 10 countdowns. Those are always fun!

And if you don't watch Family Guy on Sunday nights (Fox!), you are missing out big time!

Honorable Mention: The fact that Peter has a helicopter and his own Hindenburg. "How can you afford these things?" -Joe
5. Peter and Stewie go to Disneyland and ride Indiana Jones
4. Peter sings and plays Rock Lobster on a guitar
3. Stewie farts and pops a blood vessel in his eye
2. Chris falls into the A-ha video "Take On Me" (greatest song ever!)

And, with out a doubt, the all time best Family Guy moment (makes me cry with laughter every time I see it) . . .
1. Banana Brian - Peanut Butta Jelly Time! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please google "Peanut Butta Jelly Time". You won't be dissapointed.)

Top 10 hazards of living in Florida

10. The air conditioning bill
9. Love bugs (impossible to clean off your car)
8. Tampa Bay Rays (man, they are awful!!!)
7. Locals driving
6. Tourists driving
5. Hurricanes
4. Frizzy Hair (from the humidity)
3. Sunburn
2. Roaches
1. Lizards (those suckers are fast!)

Testing, testing ...

I seem to be having difficulty posting photos, so here are some testers ...

Guitar Hero

This morning I went to Walmart with Jonathan. He was getting an oil change. Unfortunatly the wait time was 2.5 hours!

As we strolled around the huge store looking at random stuff, luck was on my side. What was the Playstation 2 game available for testing? Guitar Hero!!!

I was introduced to this game at my friend Julie's house this summer. It's so much fun! It's very similar to Dance Dance Revolution, but you use a guitar instead of a dance matt. The game is the ultimate test of your hand eye coordination. As you see 1 of 5 colors on the screen, you have to press that color button on the guitar, and 'strum' the guitar at the same time. And, all the songs on the game are 'real' song. My favorite is More Than a Feeling by Boston.

I'm debating on buying the game (when it becomes a PS2 greatest hit for $20!), but the only problem is that my little hands can't reach all the colored buttons at the same time, so I'll never be able to master the game.

Typhoon Lagoon

Last weekend Jonathan and I went to Typhoon Lagoon. I had forgotten how much I love water parks! Except for the part where your sunscreen gets in your eyes - I don't like that much.

The new-ish water "roller coaster" Crush 'n Gusher is super fun!

And little cheap ole me even bought a picture from the photo pass guy! Jonathan thinks it should be our wedding photo. Even though he was joking ... I think it's actually a cute idea.

Live in Missour-A?

Then vote for Jonathan's dad! www.howald4judge.com Woo-hoo!

I think I'll start blogging some "top 5" or "top 10" lists. Any suggestions?

Do me a favor ...

Next time you have to call a call center related business - don't call 5 minutes before they are scheduled to close (7pm), and proceed to talk for one and a half hours (8:30pm).

Although, OT = cha-ching!

Invincable

Awesome movie!!!

Jonathan and I just got home from seeing the movie Invincable. It was super! They ended the movie at a perfect time - I was speechless. If you love football, you'll love this movie! If you don't like football, you might like this movie a little bit!

The best part was the very end, where they show real footage of Vince Papale playing. Did I mention it was awesome?

Go, go, go!

I like it hot, hot, hot!

So I came home the other day, and my air conditioning had turned itself off. It was 89 degrees in my apartment! I guess there is a little tray, and when it fills up with water, the a/c shuts off. 89 doesn't sound that bad, but in a little tiny apartment it was sweltering! * * * * Why won't blogger allow me to use the 'enter' key?!?

Summer movies: 5 down, 0 to go

I finally saw all 5 summer movies I set out to see!

And I saved the best for last. Snakes on a Plane was awesome!!!

You may be surprised to learn that it actually had a plot. It was both scary and funny. And I even got a little misty eyed during one scene.

I love movies where there is a huge cast of characters, and since this movie was filmed on a plane, you got to know about 1/2 the people on board. It was fun to guess who would live and who wouldn't.

If you google "snakes on a plane t-shirts", there are hilarious products for sale. Check out these beauties:

I can't recommend this movie enough! It's super fun, and I can't wait to buy it on DVD!!!

RIP - Jonathan's shoes

Jonathan's had these brown sandals since I met him. They've been slowly falling apart ever since. He tells met that he's had them since college (2000?).

On Sunday morning, before we left to meet Terry and John they officially fell apart. As you can see in the pictures, he did have a back up pair (that he bought the same time as the originals), but they aren't as comfortable (b/c they aren't broken in yet!). See his nerdy socks with the sandals? Poor guy.

The shoes are sitting, alone, in his apartment complex's dumpster.

Survey says ... (part II)

-O.T.H.E.R.T.H.I.N.G.S.-
[i know]: how to graph like a champion
[i want]: a house
[i have]:
[i wish]: on train tracks
[i hate]: people who can't read directions
[i miss]: Disneyland
[i fear]: people I love dying
[i hear]: Futurama
[i search]: for junk on ebay
[i love]: Jonathan
[i care]: about my future family
[i always]: drink milk
[i dance]: home alone
[i sleep]: very well!
[i cry]: during The Notebook
[i do not always]: wear my engagement ring
[i write]: on this blog every other day
[i confuse]: Andy sometimes
[i can usually be found]: on my pink bean bag chair
[i need]: some healthy food

Survey says . . . (part I)

(also stolen from Monica)

[my name is]: Amber Lyn Cavender (Howald <-- that sounds weird)
[in the morning i am]: bouncy, I never hit snooze
[love is]: super fun!
[i dream about]: math

-W I T H .T H E. O P P O S I T E. S E X-
[what do you notice first?]: teeth and shoes
[last person u slow danced with]: a guy named Eric Estrada (for real!) at a wedding

-W H O .W A S .T H E .L A S T. P E R S O N-
[you talked to on the phone]: Jonathan
[hugged:] Jonathan
[you instant messaged]: Jonathan's (cute) brother
[you laughed with]: Futurama

-D O .Y O U / / A R E .Y O U-
[could you live without the computer?]: I have before, but it's pretty boring
[what's your favorite food?]: currently I'm loving blueberries
[whats ur favorite fruit?]: I should've read this before - blueberries
[what hurts the most?] my legs during the marathon
[trust others way too easily?]: I rarely trust anybody

-N U M B E R-
[of times i have had my heart broken?]: 1
[of hearts i have broken?]: 1
[of tight friends?]: I really don't have many "tight" friends
[of cd's that i own?]: 50 ish
[of scars on my body?]: nothing big
[of things in my past that i regret?]: I'm sure there are small things, but nothing I can think of

Find of the century!

One thing I discovered about Illinois is the abundance (sp?) of rockin' thift stores! I need to find some in Florida that aren't gross.

Here's the find of the century from a thift store. Total cost for a fitted and flat sheet = $3.

Now I need to buy a twin bed and become a 8 year old boy. (ha ha ha).

P.S. For the non-Star Wars fan, these are from Empire Strikes back.

Hiromi's Wedding

In keeping with the theme of the month, 'weddings', here are some photos from last Sunday. My 2 friends, Hiromi and Mike (who I kind-of matched together) got married. It was a very small ceremoy (less than 30 people) in a Japanese restaurant. We had a private room where the ceremony took place as well as dinner. It was great fun!

My Best Friend's (brother's) Wedding

(The bride and groom -- no rice throwing, just wave your ribbons around. It sounded strange at first, but it made for some sweet photos)

Otherwise known as "the fanciest wedding I've ever been to". This took place 2 weeks ago in Illinois. Friday night was the rehursal dinner. The church part was Saturday at noon. The reception was Saturday at 6pm (big gap huh?). Sunday we had a post-wedding slip 'n slide party. Monday I went IKEA and thrift store shopping, then flew home. It was a busy weekend!

Boy, does it make you feel old when your friend's brother (who was about 5 year old when you first met him) gets married.
(my brother and I at the rehursal (sp?) dinner)

The church part was nice (in a church full of stain glass windows), but the reception rocked! The room was a 1/2 circle, with the curve of the circle being all glass. When they were announcing the bridal party all the shades went down. And when it was time for the bride and groom to arrive, all the shades slowly started going up, and you could see them walking around outside the building. Pretty cool.

For some reason I didn't take many pictures of the wedding ... but enjoy!
(I'll embarrass my friend, and host for the weekend, Julie. "Snap into a Slim Jim! Oh yeah!")

Thank you everybody!

Thank you so much for all the kind words in my last 2 entries. I didn't want to turn into one of those mushy girly brides-to-be ... but the dark side is so appealing!

I'll make a vow to not bore you about my engagement for the next 3 blog entries!

For now, here are some photos of the cutest couple ever (that would be me and Jonathan if you were wondering ...)

The ring

Why is it so impossible to take a picture of a ring? I got one good close up. As you might be able to tell, it's a small square, a big square and another small square.

It's white gold (does that mean inexpensive silver?). Regardless, I love silver!!!

I forgot how many karots (sp?) it is. I think entire set is 1. We actually bought both rings as a set a while ago. I got to pick out my engagement ring! I suppose part of the joy of getting engaged is a surprise ring, but I'm a glad it wasn't a total surprise. I mean, what if I didn't like it?

Did I mention that I love it?!?

I hope the pictures are clear enough. Enjoy.

Save the date!

Jonathan and I got engaged on Saturday!

I had just gottten off a 8:15-6:45pm OT Shift at MGM Studios. He suggested going to the Magic Kingtom to ride pirates (oh the joys of living close to WDW - we can pop in at 8:30pm at night when we're bored).

After pirates, we watched the fireworks. Later he said he wanted to do it around the fireworks, but it wasn't a good spot/time.

As we ran thru all the Main Street shops on the way out of the park we stoped in the Camera Store (what's that place called?). We walked to the far back of the store where they show old Mickey cartoons, and have really cool cardboard cut outs used for photo ops. He taped me on the shoulder, and when I turned around he was down on one knee.

He said, "let's get married" and pulled a ring out of his pocket. I guess it was more of a demand than a question. Ha ha ha.

I put the ring on, and we walked hand in hand out of the Magic Kingdom. I've never worn any jewelry before, so it's strange that I don't feel strange/itchy wearing this ring. I guess it was meant to be.

Good thing too, b/c I'm getting old!

Oh, and reference to the title, there really isn't a date to be saved ... I just was struggling to think of a good title name.

Slip 'n Slide

Warning: If you're about to use a Slip 'n Slide, make sure you stretch first! We had a party on Sunday night, and Monday morning my upper arms were soooooooooooooo incredibly sore. What a wimp I am!

These photos are myself, my friend Julie and her boyfriend.

Central time zone here I come!

I'm leaving in 20 minutes for the airport - heading off to Illinois! My friend's brother is getting married, and I'm crashing the party (well, I did get an invitation, but 'crashing' sounds cool).

I'll post photos when I get back. The wedding should be a blast - this is a total party family!!! Plus I haven't seen my brother in over a year. He just got back from Vegas, so that should make for some interesting stories . . .

Summer Movies: 4 down, 1 to do

I finally saw Pirates 2 on Sunday (I had to wait 2 whole days!). We got tho the theater 1 hour early, so we got a great middle seat for the sold out show.

Like all middle movies of great trillogies (Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future 2), this movie was all about plot, plot, and more plot. It just kept bringing up stuff, trying to tie the first movie into the 3rd installment.

I was sad at myself for being annoyed w/ Jack Sparrow's craziness at the very beginning. And it was way too long, but I still enjoyed it.

I was confused (but when aren't I confused?) about certain plot points. I'm sure after seeing the movie 100x on DVD those will all clear up. And what an AWESOME ending!!!

Great movie quote:
Jack: "Elizabeth (dressed as a man pirate), you should be wearing a beautiful dress or nothing at all. I happen to have no dress in my quarters."

***SPOILER***do you want to know what happens after the credits?
The cannibals are all seen dancing and bowing down to their new god. Who is it you may ask? The jail key dog! He's sitting in the chair, all dressed up as a cannibal god!

I'm embarrased to admit (more stuff). . .

I think it will make an amusing post about all the embarrasing/stupid stuff I do. Come on everybody, admit stuff with me!

1. Did I even spell "embarrased" correctly?
2. I can't get enough of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. Did you see the way Benji looked at Donyelle on Wednesday night? I wish a guy would look at me like that!
3. Black jelly beans ... enough said.
4. Boxer briefs are darn comfortable.
5. So are granny panties!
6. How much I make per hour ... it's too embarrasing to admit!
7. I love hand me down clothes, from friends or ebay.
8. I've lived in Florida for 4 years, and have never been to the beach.
9. I'm on the White Sox bandwagon.
10. I had cereal for dinner every night this week.
11. I have more internet friends than real friends - not that that's a bad thing!
12. I love MTV's Real World vs. Road Rules challenges

I think I'll publish this post now ... but I'm sure I can think of more stupid stuff later!

Yo ho, yo ho ...

... I rode the "new" Pirates of the Caribbean ride at WDW on Saturday!

Let me preface this with my intense worry when I heard that they were making changes. I didn't like the fact that Disney was getting "hip" and adding elements from the Pirates movies into their ride. The charm of Disney is that it's timeless.

Thankfully they didn't change much!

The coolest change is a 'waterfall' with a reflection of Davy Jones at the beginning. Your boat goes straight thru his face on your way into Pirate land.

One bummer is that they took out that talking skull head that says, "dead men tell no tales". Or, maybe because I went during 'soft opening' they were putting him back in.

Thruout the ride, the only changes were Capt. Barbosa on that giant pirate ship (very realistic looking), and 2 or 3 Capt. Jack Sparrow's. The Jack Sparrows were really realistic looking! You know how his body language is really fluid yet jerky? They captured that in the animatonics.

My only complaint (besides skull head being missing) is the ending scene. It's Jack in the 'booty' (ha ha - treasure) room. But they took out lots of the treasure; the room doesn't look as elaborate as before.

Best part of the ride - only 10 minute wait time!!!

Bob Iger

Jonathan (being Mr. Big Shot I won Partners in Excellence) was invited to a big meeting last Thursday at Disney.

He wanted me to post this picture of him and Bob Iger (the new head of Disney - he just took over to Michael Eisner).

What a surprise - Jonathan has red eye!

Food, Rain and Superman

Jonathan's parents are in town for a week, so that means party time for me! His parents are so sweet, and always insist on taking Jonathan and I out for dinner.

Unfortunatly, the minute they drove into Orlando, the rain started, and it hasn't stopped yet. It makes it hard to do any outside activities. Hopefully it will cooperate on Saturday afternoon, when we dine at Liberty Tree Tavern in honor of Jonathan's mom's b-day.

Last night we all saw Superman Begins together. I was pleasently surprized. The movie had action and some tender moments between Clark and Lois' son. There were also some pretty awesome previews before the movie for Spiderman 3 and Pirates 2.

I'm embarrased to admit . . .

. . . that I'm still eating bags of black jelly beans I bought at Target's "after Easter sale". Yes, I realize Easter was over 2 months ago, but I love them so much. Sadly my bag is almost gone. Another 10 months I'll have to wait!

Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

I'm sure we've all seen this e-mail floating around, but I find it hilarious every time somebody forwards it to me.

Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity.
1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."
5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling Diamonds"
7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."
8. Don't use any punctuation
9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."
12. Sing Along At The Opera.
13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?
14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.
15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.
16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.
17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"
18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

I'm getting a pool installed!!!

Wait ... no I'm not. That would be my next door neighbors. They got a pool installed this morning at 7:30am!!!

What is the deal with that? Don't cement mixers and some other big truck know that I don't have to wake up until 8:13am for work.

Grrrrrrr!

Photos from Missouri - part 2

After I finally got over my car sickness, Jonathan, his dad and I went to Onondoga Cave. The walking tour was 1 mile thru the cave.
Obviously, these stalagmites (sp?) are called "The Twins". (everybody giggle at their name ...). Stalagmites 'grow' 1 inch (or was it 1 cm?) every 10 years (I think?). These suckers were about 8' high! The white one is still 'live'.

The next picture shows some "bacon grease" dripping off this mini cliff. The tour guide said that rain water mixes with 'acid' in the ground as it seeps in to the cave, which forms all these amazing things. Water from the ceiling kept hitting us. I couldn't help thinking of the Animal Kingdom 3D movie "It's Tough to be a Bug", "Oooooh, I hope none of you are allergic to acid."

As we exited the cave, there were some bats hanging out (no pun intended) by the door. One started swooping around. The guide said they won't touch you, but they will get pretty darn close to you (before their sensors kick in, I guess). Being the pansy that I am, I ducked. Being the pansy Jonathan is, he ducked too. He knocked heads and I let out a little scream. How embarrassing.

It was hard to take pictures inside a pitch black cave. I didn't have a 'cave setting' on my digital camera. And it was freezing in there!! I think the tour guide said it was 57 degrees. One lady on our tour had shorts, a tank top and flip flops on. I don't know how she survived.

Photos from Missouri - part 1

Jonathan's family lives on a farm. They have over 1500 acres. Here are 2 photos of the back yard. Who knew Missouri was such a hilly state? (Maybe lots of people, but not me!). It was a pretty sweet view.

And here is a shot from the front yard. (Blogger isn't letting me format the phots. The picture with the white flowers is the front yard). We drove thru the farmy part. From my limited knowledge of farms, I think they just grow hay and they have lots of cows. Jonathan's parents don't do much (or any?) farming. His grandpa still does some farm work, and has a group of people who work for him. The coolest part was a 1/2 acre cemetary smack dab in the middle of the farm; old and new graves were in there. I wanted to get out and explore, but I didn't want to seem like a freak in front of Jonathan's dad (did I mention he's a judge?).

Here is one of the farm dogs, Squeaky (or is it Sparky).