Monday Musings: Disney

 Last week was our big family vacation.  A full week at the Walk Disney World resorts. Five days, four parks.  We played hard, ate too much, and walked miles and miles every single day.  It was fun.  It was exhausting.  I may try to share more details by writing a recap for later this week. But you can definitely catch the highlights all week long on my Instagram.  (In fact - I hope people don't start getting sick of all my Disney-related posts!)

I will say that if you have any Star Wars fans in your family - Galaxy's Edge is a must-see!  One of the highlights of our trip for me was to see our grown daughter's face light up like a little kid when she walked into that area of the park and especially when she saw the Millenium Falcon.  Which the entire family had a grand time "piloting" on Smugglers Run.

All the females in our group wore appropriately-themed outfits for each of the parks.  Animal prints for Animal Kingdom, Star Wars for Hollywood Studios, Disney characters for Magic Kingdom, and "World Traveler" t-shirts for Epcot (created for us by my youngest sister).  Were we just too cute?  You better believe it!  

Since I was in vacation mode, I had no goals set for last week except to relax and have fun.  Mission accomplished.  Rest and relaxation are exactly what we need from time to time.  

Now vacation is over and it's time to refocus and get back to my routines.  

Goals for This Week:

• Create Thankful Thursday drafts for next quarter
• Begin selecting Sunday Inspiration quotes for the rest of the year
• Ship open Etsy orders
• Create 5 new listings for the Etsy shop
• Track all food 
• Drink at least 64 oz of water each day

What are your plans and goals for the week?

Friday Favorites: Vacation Mode

One of my very favorite things is a vacation.  How could it not?  Let's be honest - have you ever heard anyone say "I don't really care for going on vacation."?  Probably not.

I enjoy traveling so much.  Whether it's somewhere close such as Gatlinburg, a trip to the beach, or somewhere farther away, like New York... or Tokyo.  And I am all about doing the touristy stuff where ever I go.  The cheesier, the better!

Last year, we took the grand kid and went to Disney World with my sister and her family.  As much as I love Disney, the best part of that trip was taking the grand kid and getting to see him enjoy it for the first time. It was so much fun.  It was also go, go, go for a full week.  From the minute the parks opened in the morning until they closed at night.  In the central Florida heat and rain.  If you've ever been - you know exactly what I'm talking about!

This year, I spent a week on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina with just the Man of the House and the Male Offspring.  It was more of a relaxing type vacation.  Waking up to watch the sunrise over the ocean, lazy days on the beach, eating yummy food at local restaurants and visiting local sites.

We ate far too much at Hudson's Seafood House on the Docks, Skull Creek Boathouse and Bullie's BBQ.  I enjoyed driving down to Harbour Town to explore the village and climb the Harbour Town Lighthouse.  Yes, me - the lady who is terribly afraid of heights. I really did it!  All 114 steps of it!  The views from the top are beautiful. Well worth climbing all those stairs.

We also took a day trip down to Savannah.  There was a LOT of walking involved.  And of course it was H-O-T.  But it was still very nice.  I enjoyed walking and window shopping along River Street.  They were filming scenes for the new season of Ozark (which I've never seen) at the Joe's Crab Shack, but all we saw was a lot of crew and equipment.  We had lunch at Moon River Brewing Company.  Good food, a good beer, but no ghost sightings.  (The place is supposedly haunted)

Sadly, the Man of the House lost his phone on the beach the night before we left.  And within 48 hours of arriving home - mine completely died!  This means that the only pictures we have are the few of mine that were saved to OneDrive.

We've only been home a couple of weeks, but the Man of the House and I are already talking about some trips we're planning for this fall and winter!

What's your favorite vacation destination?  Share in the comments.

Feeling Better On Long Island

When we last left the tale of my adventures in New York, I was slowly recovering from a horrific stomach ailment.  Fortunately things improved from there.

Thursday morning found me feeling much better.  Not exactly my best, but compared to the day before - MUCH better!

The Man of the House was scheduled to spend all day at a local business, so I was on my own for entertainment.  After dropping him off, I decided to spend a relaxing morning at the hotel.  Take a long shower.  Watch some tv.  Enjoy the quiet.  Then it was off to meet him and one of his customers for lunch.

The afternoon was made for exploring Sayville.  I was completely charmed by this little town!  Wide quiet streets.  A cute little main street area full of mostly local shops and boutiques.  I strolled through town, did some window shopping, got chatted up by a couple of locals, petted a couple of dogs, grabbed a coffee, and even found a yarn shop. (Which, in my opinion, is always an indicator of a good day)

Sadly, my stomach started hurting again, and since I had no desire to find myself vomiting on the sidewalks of Sayville - I decided it was best to go take a nap until time to pick up the man.

On Friday, the Man of the House was finished with work obligations by lunch time and we were ready to do a little exploring.  We found a local bagel shop/deli for lunch and hen hopped in the car to cruse around Long Island.  After passing a sign saying we were only about 29 miles from Amityville - our destination was decided!

Despite it's creepy reputation due to the horror book and movies - we found Amityville to be quite beautifu!  Gorgeous homes. Plenty of waterfront property.  Another charming little Long Island town. (I seem to find myself using the word "charming" a lot when talking about Long Island.  What's that about?)  And yes...  we did find THE house and drove by, because sometimes we're big nerds like that.

After that we took the back roads to Sayville and back to Ronkonkoma.  It was another early night because Saturday was scheduled for our big day in New York City!  We'll talk about that next time...

When the Big Apple Bites Back

A couple of weeks ago the Man of the House and I headed north for several days on Long Island.  It was a business trip for him.  I got to tag along for a little sightseeing and we stayed an extra day to tour New York City.

I want to tell y'all what a great trip it was.  And we'll get to that.  In another post.  Unfortunately, it didn't start off as well as one would hope.  No, wait ... I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let me back up.  It started out just fine. Before taking a sharp downhill turn.

We left bright and early on a Tuesday morning.  Pre-bright and early, really.  It was a 5:30am flight.  Our local airport suggested arriving 2 hours before your flight, so we were there just after 3:30am.  Of course, what they didn't mention was that airport personnel such as airlines and TSA agents don't arrive until 4:00.  Which would have been nice to know, since that would have meant an extra 30 minutes of sleep.  But, we were first in line to check in and go through security, so it's all good.

Flights went smoothly and we landed at JFK before 10:00.  Had our rental car and were making our way through the insanity that is Queens traffic by 11:00. (Seriously, that was cra-zy!  And it wasn't even rush hour!)  Fortunately, once we got past Jamaica it opened up and we had smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Ever heard of Ronkonkoma,  NY?  Me neither.  Not before this Spring.  The best I can tell you is that if you take a map of Long Island and point smack dab in the middle - that's about where it is.  (I might be off a little... please don't hate on the little southern gal Long Islanders.)

We had a whole afternoon in front of us to do whatever we wanted.  But after being up to get to the airport at 3:30, all we really wanted to do was take a nap.  And after grabbing some lunch, that's just what we did!

Once we caught up on a little sleep, we drove over to Sayville. Found a local seafood place for dinner and did a little exploring.

It was an early night, as we were driving out to Orient Point in the morning to catch the ferry across Long Island Sound to Connecticut.

(Hang on... this is where things get ugly)

I woke Wednesday morning with a bad headache.  That's an understatement of epic proportions.  It was terrible.  Horrible.  Excruciatingly painful.  But I tried to be logical and think positive.  I had taken two flights the day before with altitude and pressure changes wrecking havoc on my sinuses.  I was probably dehydrated.

Take a shower, I thought.  You'll feel better after that, I thought.  I.  Was.  Wrong.  After the shower my head still hurt.  And then the stomach pains began.  I kept trying to power through. The stomach pains got worse.

I kept telling myself it would pass.  Until about 15 minutes before we had to leave.  When I found myself knealing in a hotel bathroom being violently sick to my stomach.  That's when I accepted that I was not going to Connecticut that day.  You know how after you vomit you usually feel better - at least for a little while?  Nope.  Not even a little.

I felt bad that I had to stay behind.  The Man of the House felt bad, because he had to leave me there.   But he had appointments scheduled.  (This was his business trip, remember?)  So, he went.  But not before going down to buy me a couple of bottles of ginger ale.  And after hours of alternating sleeping curled up in a fetal position and vomiting; I did start to feel a little better in the early afternoon.

And that's why this was my view for most of my first day in New York...

Things did improve quickly and the rest of the trip was better.  But we'll get to that in the next post...

Currently July

On this first Wednesday in July (really?? July already??)  I find myself again linking up with Jenna at Dearest Love and Anne at in residence to let you know that in July, I am currently...

Wishing: I could go spend a day or two just sitting on a beach somewhere doing nothing but sinking my toes in the sand and reading a good book or two.

Celebrating: My daughters 22nd birthday later this month.  And my niece's 10th birthday!  (gulp!!) Where does the time go??

Wearing: I'm still rocking the skirts and dresses. I'm not much of a shorts wearer and it's just so easy and comfortable to toss on a maxi skirt or a cute dress and a few accessories.

Cooking: A lot of crockpot meals!  It's been so hot, I don't want to turn on the oven at all, and the stove only as much as I absolutely must.

Planning: A few "day-cations" and mini-cations with the family during the remainder of the summer.  And I'm going solo as I head out to Oklahoma to visit my sister and her family soon!

You can also find me connecting at these Blog Hops and Link Ups:

Juana Mickels: Wednesday's Prayer Girls

WholeHearted Home: Wholehearted Wednesdays Linkup
We Are THAT Family: Works For Me Wednesdays
Woman to Woman: Word-filled Wednesday
A Little R & R: A Little R&R Wednesdays
Joy Dare Blog: Capture Your Journey Link Up 
My Daily Walk in His Grace: Winsome Wednesday

A Spirit of Gratitude: Zoo Edition

While in South Carolina on vacation, we drove into Columbia to visit Riverbanks Zoo.  A good time was had by all...

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

Sleepy lions

Fuzzy gray baby flamingos

Penguins

Baby koala

Feeding giraffes

Grand baby trying to tickle gorilla feet through glass

Laughing at the grand baby

Posing grizzly bear

That THIS was behind glass!

Aquarium

Clown fish (aka: Nemo)

 

Cotton candy

A Spirit of Gratitude: Lake Murray Vacation Edition

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

Foggy lake mornings

Ducks swimming past

Morning talks with the female offspring

S'mores by the fire pit

A hawk in the front yard

Heron walking along the shore

Swimming in the lake

Evening thunderstorm

Trip to the zoo

Afternoon naps in the shade

Relaxing in the sun

Sunset over the lake

Male offspring in the kayak

A wonderful, relaxing, and memorable family vacation

Getting Back

It's been over a week since we returned from vacation.  Nine days to be exact.

And in that 9 days I have managed to write exactly zero blog posts.

The week before vacation, I was a writing machine.  Completing some long neglected drafts.  Creating selections from all new ideas.  The words just seemed to flow from my fingertips.  I had enough posts written and scheduled that most days while I was away there was a fresh shiny new something for all of you to read.

However, now it seems as though all my creativity slipped away into the waters of Lake Murray.  Or perhaps baked away in the South Carolina sun. 

Since returning home, I haven't had the spark to sit down at the computer and put my thoughts into print.  Not a one.  I have picture, upon picture, upon picture from our week away which should be included in a write up or two about our get away. 

I'm starting to have a few tiny little fleeting moments of inspiration.  So, hopefully all of that will be changing soon. 

Vacation is over.  It's time to get back.  To everything.

What To Do This Summer

June 21 is here!  Summer has officially arrived people!!  Yippee!!

Many of us probably think summer and immediately think about tans, vacations, lazy summer days, and hot summer nights.  And yes - I think of the same things.  (well, not so much the tan.  I'm a burner.) 

However, I have also been thinking of some things I would like to do this summer.  Aside from day trips with the family, having a great vacation, and trying not to turn into a crispy lobster-colored version of myself.  And here it is... (true to my very nature as a list maker) my Summer 2013 To Do List.

• Learn to make Risotto
• Spend more evenings out on the back porch, reading or just relaxing
• Learn to make real pudding (not from a box)
• Use up stash of leftover yarn making baby hats. 
• Donate them to pregnancy support group in town
• Eat less meat and pasta
• Get to the gym more
• Put down the crochet hooks and knit something
• Try out more of the stuff on my Pinterest boards
• Go for a hike by myself

Miss Me?

Miss me?  Even notice I was gone?  Ha!  That's what I thought!  It's OK.  That's exactly how I intended it!

The Man of the House and I headed over the mountain to Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge for a three day weekend of anniversary fun.  Grown ups only.  Did all sorts of touristy stuff.  Took dozens and dozens of pictures.

That's right... Three days worth of blog fodder.

Stay tuned!!  Exciting trip posts to come!

Sweet Surprise

While cleaning the bedroom today and straightening up my nightstand,  I decided to store the power cord for my Nook in the center storage compartment when not in use.  As I opened the small doors, I was greeted with a sweet surprise.  There - tucked toward the back was a clear plastic baggie, with several pieces of saltwater taffy inside!  Forgotten leftovers from our family vacation to the Outer Banks this past summer.

My mind was immediately transported back to relaxing, warm days on the beach, the sound of the waves in my ears, the sun soaking into my skin.  The taste of fresh seafood dinners.  The family fun exploring lighthouses, searching for the remnants of shipwrecks, and standing on the replica Queen Elizabeth II at Roanoke Island Festival Park.  And of course - the joy of the moment when finding Orangesicle salt water taffy at Forbes. 

It was a true moment of serendipity.  A pleasant reminder of those happy memories. 

Bodie Island Lighthouse

After visiting Cape Hatteras lighthouse, we stopped on the way back at Bodie Island Lighthouse.  (according to locals - that's pronounced "body", not Bodie with a long O)  The lighthouse is not open for climbing and is undergoing a lot of restoration work recently.  Last year when we drove by the entire structure was surrounded by scaffolding.

Sunrise On Kill Devil Hills

It Was Good - While It Lasted

Ahhh... vacation.  A time to relax.  A time to unwind.  A time to slow down and just enjoy each day.  And that's exactly what we did.

This year's trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was another big win.  Sitting on the beach, soaking in the sun, the surf, the sand.  Light houses, historical sites, surf and sound fishing for the guys.  It was a glorious, stress free week!   (Disclaimer - several of the next few posts to this blog will be trip related.  So, if you're interested in our vacation - you're in for a treat.  If you're scowling at the idea of having to sit through a slide show of our trip - you may want to just skip reading those posts.)

But, as we know - all good things must come to an end.  As did our vacation.  With a bang.  Literally.  As we started to cruise our way out of the Piedmont and into the Mountains - the family vehicle chose that moment to throw a rod.  Bringing the trip to a rather abrupt end.  Fortunately it was at the end of the trip.  And we were close enough to home to have family come rescue us rather quickly and close enough to have the car towed to town.  Unfortunately we are now looking at the unexpected expense of putting a new engine into the vehicle. 

What is it with us, transmissions, and vacations??  We ended up with this car 5 years ago when the transmission went out on our minivan while in Florida!  Only 2 exits away from our destination of the day: Sea World.  That time we were also fortunate to be within driving range of the Florida relatives and to have a brother in law who worked for a car dealership. 

They say there's a bright side to every penny.  I suppose our bright side is that even when these automobile related disasters occur we have never been stranded in the middle of nowhere, and it has never ruined the actual vacation.  Which was good... while it lasted.