Another St Patty's Day Gone...

Tuesday March 17th

Most people who know me well know this is my favorite holiday of the year. I dust off my clover antlers and pull out my green shirts in order to celebrate properly. This year was slightly different because we didn't have plans to go out afterwards for drink green beer and Irish car bombs. This year I got us tickets for RIVERDANCE. Those of you who do not know what Riverdance is, it's an Irish dance performance by about 50 talented individuals. Mike wasn't really sure what it was when I begged him for tickets but he humored me and let me buy them. It's the last year they will perform it live so it was my final chance to see it!

After an uneventful day at work, I left early to meet Mike for dinner before the show. We found a decent parking spot (although we later learned we should always back in to a parking spot for easy access OUT of the parking garage) and our seats were perfect. We sat in the middle of the middle of the main floor - row 18, seat 24 & 25. It was a great view of the stage and not so close/far away we missed anything. The show was all I expected it to be and even impressed Mike. Unfortunately I couldn't take photos but I'll see if I can find something online so you know more what it was like.

My only complaint were some complete idiots behind us in the auditorium. I think it was a first date for the couple because the man was constantly trying to impress the girl with stupid comments (spoken quite loud because obviously the girl was deaf and dumb as I will elaborate on) and the girl seemed completely enthralled with everything he said. He would start with, "Oh, they have fiddles! My uncle plays the fiddle" and she would respond "Ooh, what's a fiddle?" and he would respond, "It's the thing the guy on stage is playing in the orchestra." And she responds, "Woooooow, how neat." Besides the fact the "orchestra" was a 4-man band and the fact the lady did not know what the hell a fiddle was, it was a minor distraction compared to the "oohs" and "ahhs" and "wows" I heard throughout. the. whole. performance. I tried to give them my dirtiest looks but they were too busy pawing each other and commenting on the dancers to notice. Honestly, if you pay $50 a ticket, please have the courtesy to KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT and enjoy the show. I have said my piece.

After the performance it was pretty late so Mike and I headed home. We really had done our St Patty's day thing the weekend before so there wasn't much more to do. Another St Patty's Day down... hopefully many more to come =)

Wednesday, March 18th

Today wasn't very eventful. I did some planning for my boss Kim's baby shower making the game sheets and getting together a list to shop for the next day. Kim is having her first child in May and our whole team is very excited for her. We started a pool to get a gift from her registry and the generosity of people really surprised me. We raised enough to get her a travel system set from her registry and that was WAY more than I ever expected!

Thursday, March 19th

Today was the day my coworker Erin and I went shopping for Kim's shower. We had a lot of donations from people for cake and game gifts so we only needed to get finishing touches and the travel system from Babies R Us. It was a little more complicated than we thought getting the stupid box from the store to the car. It was a lot larger than I thought it would be - bulk wise - so I was very happy Erin was there to help me.

After shopping we went out to eat with our friend Sondra at this new Japanese restaurant. I'm not a sushi fan at all - can't stand fish - but there were other things for me to get on the menu. I was adventurous, to a point, and tried a dish I can't even remember what it was called. I liked it though - it was a noodle and chicken dish with a special sauce on it. We had a nice girls night out and afterward I went home and wrapped presents =)

Friday, March 19th

Today was the day of the shower! Overall I was very distracted by the party planning so I was completely worthless at work. I was so excited because Erin got some great decorations and Traci bought the perfect gifts for the game I had planned. Since it was a work shower, I didn't want to do the usual games like smell the diaper or guess the baby food (not downing those games, but we had men coming to the party so I had to have something they wouldn't scoff at). I found this neat game called "The Price is Right - Baby Shower Edition". Since we're a finance team, I thought it was right up our alley. Traci got 10 common baby items and we had people guess what the prices were. It was a lot of fun and people really got into the game. I was happy it turned out well =)

Afterward we had cake and punch and socialized a bit before returning to work. We had so much cake left over, even after inviting several departments from the surrounding area, so I took the rest to the R&D (Mike's department) to polish off the rest. If you know the R&D group, they are not really ones to do events like birthdays or baby showers but they are totally up for any left overs you want to bring them. I had no even set down the cake before I had a group of 5 men following me to see where I would set it down. As soon as it was down, the men were on it. I barely had the word out there was cake available before the cake was almost gone. As funny as it was, I'm grateful they were up for helping us not waste cake =) Saturday, March 20th

This was my weekend of baby showers. Today was my friend Carin's baby shower at our friend Chris's house. It was a lot of fun and we did do the typical baby shower games like guess the baby food, baby bingo, etc. I won a really nice candle in baby bingo! I also got to see another coworkers new baby - just 2 weeks old! All these babies are making me feel my biological clock ticking! =)

Sunday, March 21st

Today Mike and I took it easy. We went to church and watched half of the second season of the Wire. We are addicted to TV series.

Monday, March 22nd- Friday, March 27th

Overall, this was a pretty uneventful week. We made one trip to my parents house to help them figure out why their new virus system was blocking everything. Luckily it was an easy fix or just telling the firewall the printer is not dangerous and some pop ups are okay to view.

Friday night we made a trip out to Grand Rapids to visit Mike's parents. We had a really nice dinner out and evening talking with them. I came home with a ton of new books I can't wait to start reading. I can't remember titles right now but I'll let you know when I find one I really like so I can recommend it. Right now I'm on a biography kick with the Tudors since that season is about to start up, I want to be up on my history!

Saturday, March 28th

Today we had a pretty packed schedule. We woke up and went out to breakfast (kind of a weekly tradition) and afterwards came back to get some yard work done. Mike wanted to thatch the yard to get rid of the dead grass and let the good grass grow in nice. It wasn't the best weekend for it but we're running out of weekends before spring really comes and the grass starts growing frequently. We managed to borrow the neighbors mower and supplies so we could both do the yard. A few hours later we had it all done and just in time to run in the house and shower and get ready for the symphony.

Saturday night we had plans to go to the KSO's performance of Beethoven's 9th. My Aunt and Uncle also got tickets and invited us over for dinner before the show. Mary made a very nice meal and I was in love with this garlic/brie/date appetizer. I ate way too many. After dinner we made it to the show - in the rain - and enjoyed the performance. I'd never been to a KSO performance before but I think they did a pretty good job. Mike and I both agreed the brass section was a little too loud throughout the performance but besides that, I liked it. Don't we sound like snobs =P

Sunday, March 29th

Today was another busy day. After church we headed to Battle Creek for lunch with my parents and my sister Cami and husband Paul. We all met up at Ruby Tuesday and had a pretty nice meal. We discussed more TV shows and what we've been up to lately. Before we knew it, it was 4:00 and raining/snowing. Horrible weather. We all took off early to get home safely.

Sunday night Mike and I watched the remaining episodes of The Wire. We are now on to Season 3 but these Net Flicks videos take too long. I really wish on demand had stuff on demand at all time, not just certain times.

Monday, March 30th & Tuesday March 31st

This week has been pretty slow. Mike and I are keeping busy with work and just general home stuff. We had a lot coming in the next month. Easter will be here and I'm hoping to have one of my nephews come for the weekend. I'm trying to have my nephews/nieces over more often on an individual basis because they all are growing up so fast on me I feel like I can't keep up any other way!

Plus, it's Mike's birthday next month and we're planning to go to a Casino to celebrate his big 3-0. I'm also bombarded by wedding and baby showers. Spring is definitely in the air and I'm just not ready for it!

I smell SPRING!

Tuesday, March 3rd

I have no clue what I did this day. I have a vague recollection of discussing in great detail the horrible event on the Bachelor where he dumped the girl he originally asked to marry him for choice #2. (Yeah for said dumpee who is now a star on Dancing with the Stars!)

Wednesday March 4th

Today I worked hard to get a bunch of work done before Jury Duty on Thursday.

Thursday March 5th

Jury Duty! Finally, something interesting I can talk about.

I was called for Jury Duty in early February but I had to defer until March because of our trip to Florida. I had a momentary panic attack at work on Wednesday. I filled out the required paperwork for Jury Duty with my first summons but after I deferred my day, they sent me another pack. I didn't fill out the second because I thought they'd still have the first. Then I thought to myself on Wednesday, what if I was supposed to fill that paperwork out? I had visions of huge fines and reproachful looks for my lack of intuition. I called up the County Clerk's Office quickly and was relieved to find they did have my paperwork so I was no in trouble. Phew.

I had mixed emotions about going. On one hand I wanted the experience and I thought it would be a neat break from work but on the other, you never know what you're getting into and it could take a very long time. Luckily for me, I was selected to be 1 of 6 jurors and it was a short case. Overall the entire experience was interesting. I'm a big fan of court shows like Law and Order but of course it wasn't anything like that. The case we sat for involved two women and an assault and battery charge over a stupid parking spot. After an entire day of listening to almost completely different testimonies from various people involved and just witnesses, it was a tough decision. For the most part, I thought both girls were insane. By the time the trial was over, I didn't believe either girl and thought it was a waste of tax payers money for us to sit and debate such trivial issues =P

Ultimately, we could only agree on one part of every one's story as true and the defendant even admitted that she hit the girl when she was down. We agreed she was guilty and I was the lucky soul who got to look the girl in the eye and tell her we found her guilty. Strange part was I felt like I should explain why we came to that conclusion. Ultimately, both girls were way wrong but it was her last punch in front of two witnesses... It was like I fired someone with no explanation. That sucked.

Friday, March 6th

Mike and I spent an exciting evening in front of the TV.

Saturday, March 7th

Today we had an appointment to recheck Anya's blood work. Overall, she's doing great. We're having a hard time getting her dose exactly right but we're closer every time. Mike and I have been so please with the Texas Corners Animal Hospital and Dr Brett. He doesn't like to take the credit for Anya's recovery but we're very willing to give it to him. I will post pictures of what she looked like before and what she looks like now. Overall, it's a dramatic improvement and we have all the hope in the world it will continue to be so. Unfortunately Anya's gained a lot of weight from this thyroid correction but I rather have a chubby cat with fur than a skinny unnaturally hairless one =)

Saturday afternoon we went to see "Watchmen" with Melanie and Bruco. I wasn't very impressed with it but I wouldn't say it was a waste of money either. I think if you were a fan of the comic books you would really enjoy the film. Afterwards we went to Martini's, an Italian Restaurant downtown, for dinner. We all called it an early night and went home.

Sunday, March 8th

Today Mike and I spent an exciting afternoon cleaning the house. I think we also watched some episodes of the Wire. We recently signed up for Netflix and Mike's been having a lot of fun picking out movies for us. Oh yeah, we also saw American Psycho. I'm apparently too snobby or just too stupid to get the hype from that movie. I do not find stuffing a cat in the ATM funny. No, not at all.

Monday, March 9th

Today I was home sick and miserable. I think I watched some movies and tried not to wallow in self-pity over my uselessness.

Tuesday, March 10th

Today I felt better so I returned to work. Nothing exciting happened while I was away.

Wednesday March 11th

Today was another uneventful day.

Thursday, March 12th

Ah! Thursday was a good day. Today was the day that I met Sondra for the first time. Let me back up... My brother-in-law Steve is recently single and I'm trying to remedy that situation. I asked a few friends at work if they knew of anyone I could set Steve up with and my friend Erin actually knew of someone. I went out to a local bar/restaurant with Erin to meet Sondra. I thought she was fantastic so I called Steve to tell him he needed to go out with her. After a little pleading to trust my judgement, we decided to go out on Saturday on a tripe date (me, Mike, Steve, Sondra, Erin and her date Andy). Ah, setting people up is always so thrilling!

Friday, March 13th

Mike worked late. I watched TV.

Saturday, March 14th

Today we met up with Melanie and Bruco for an early breakfast at O.P. downtown. They were celebrating St Patty's Day on Saturday too for those of us who cannot party hard on Tuesday. Mike had two green beers with his eggs and bacon and I tried a pretty awful Celtic Lemonade and decided to stick with what I know is good. I can't stand beer to begin with - making it green just makes it worse. Anyways, we were there until about 11 and then I made Mike come with me to Kohl's to look for jeans. We both made out pretty well with new outfits for our night out with Steve and his new date. I didn't get a picture though... we just weren't thinking photos for some reason.

Saturday night went pretty well. After the initial awkwardness of meeting someone new, I think Steve and Sondra liked each other well enough to at least start as friends. Of course I'm hoping for more but I know better than to push anymore than I am =) Sondra gave Steve her number so let us all cross our fingers they both can find happiness!

Sunday, March 15th

To say we were tired today is an understatement. We were out until almost 3 a.m. and it was a long day considering we woke up so early. Steve was staying out our house for the night so when he woke up the next morning at 8, I was dragging. We managed to go out to breakfast to discuss the night before and send him on his way.

Afterwards, Mike and I crashed until almost 3 p.m. I got up and started picking up a little around the house and Mike went back to work and was there quite late. If you can't pick up the trend, he has a deadline of Wednesday the 18th to get his project completed. He and a bunch of other engineers and team members are working very long hours to get this project completed. I'm a project widow during such times.

Monday, March 16th

Today was pretty uneventful. I went grocery shopping, started laundry and now I'm catching up on my blog.

Mike is still working.

Tomorrow should be pretty interesting - besides being my FAVORITE holiday of the year, St Patrick's Day for those of you living under a rock, Mike and I are going to see RIVERDANCE!!! I'm a huge fan of Irish music and dancing. The only reason we are going is because I begged and pleaded for Mike to let me use the credit card during the wedding/honeymoon time so I could get advance tickets for great seats - it's Riverdance's last tour so it's my last chance. Thankfully I have a very understanding and giving husband so he let me splurge and he's being good enough to come with me. I hope it's a great show!

Playing Catch Up...

Sorry it’s been awhile! I’ve been feeling lazy lately =) I did download a bunch more pictures on my picasa site if you want to see additional photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/dssmolsky

Saturday, February 21st –

Today we woke up late – I mean late. We were so dog tired after a day’s travel and a week of fun that when our alarm started blaring at 6:30 a.m., we literally ignored it. We didn’t get on the road until 10 p.m. and we still had plans to stop by the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky.

Needlessness to say when we finally arrive at the Mammoth Caves around 1:00 p.m. we weren’t on a great start to our journey. I was hopeful the caves would be a walking around tour so we could go In, take a picture and move on but we were not so lucky. First, let me describe the lovely weather we were having. Through all of Georgia and most of Tennessee the weather was sunny with a few clouds. By the top of Tennessee we started to have pouring rain. Overall it wasn’t that bad but it was certainly frustrating driving through it in the mountains. By the time Kentucky rolled around, we were approaching sleet. At our Mammoth Cave destination the weather was cold, wet and very dreary.

Despite the dismal weather, we actually lucked out because of it. Unfortunately the only way you can view Mammoth cave is with a tour guide. We had to pay for a 2-hour tour to view the caves and because of the weather we were lucky to find space right away. I didn’t realize the caves were such a hot spot for tourists. Anyways, the caves were pretty neat. I wouldn’t say phenomenal because I was kind of expecting lots of cave rocks like with spikes and everything but it was mostly open and just large. We learned the original purpose of the cave was mining during the War of 1812. They used the dirt for ammunition somehow. It was pretty amazing to see how the slaves managed to live in such dark, dank conditions and how they rigged up a pretty ingenious water pipe system with giant hollowed out trees. Once the war was over, the caves turned into a tourist spot for the wealthy and have been toured every since.

One pretty neat thing we got to see was this one area where some of the original visitors wrote their names with the heat from candles. It’s hard to describe so I’ll try to find a picture. Because we were a smaller tour we had time to see if but it’s pretty rare normal tourist can go up into that place. I felt special =) We also got to experience “total darkness” when they turned all the lights off in the cave. They said there are only two places you can experience total darkness: caves & the bottom of the ocean.

After the tour we pretty much ran out to get back on the road. The weather was still miserable but we made it through okay. I was able to stop in Muncie around 8:45 p.m. to get my Thai food! I’m thrilled to know it’s still as good now as it was back in college. Of course that means whenever I’m out there again, I’ll make Mike stop in again with me =)

The roads were pretty good up until the Marshall exit off I-69. Unfortunately we were heading right into a snow storm so for about 10 minutes I couldn’t see a thing. I worried we might end up either in a ditch or crashing into someone who panicked in the blinding snow. Luckily neither happened and besides a few very rude truck drivers who didn’t seem to notice smaller cars can’t see and zoomed by, we made good time and arrived at home around 1 a.m. on Sunday.

Sunday, February 22nd –

I imagine you can guess by now that on Sunday we were exhausted. We slept into until almost noon and spent the rest of the day in PJs watching TV. We caught up on American Idol, Big Love, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and my 17 & Counting show. By the evening Mike needed to start packing for his business trip on Monday. Luckily we didn’t need to do laundry since most of the clothes we took to Florida were warm-weather clothes. After packing we went to bed early.

Monday, February 23rd-

Early Monday morning I dropped Mike off at the highway car pool parking lot to meet up with the rest of his group for his business trip to Chicago. They were driving so the poor thing had to sit in a car for another long period of time once more. Oh, not to mention by this time Mike had a full-blown head cold that later on in the week turned into the flu. It was a rough trip for him.
As for me, I went to work and was happy to see nothing earth shattering happened while I was gone. After work I went grocery shopping, ran some errands and started laundry. It was a very uneventful night for me but I was happy to have some low-key moments!

Mike made it to his conference in Chicago and had a pretty busy day and night with the conference people. He said the trip is going well which is always a good sign!

Tuesday, February 24th –

Mike is still gone but I’m finding things to keep myself busy. I was very proud I made it to the gym that night and worked out very hard for an hour. My doctor says in order for me to lose weight I need to work out for at LEAST 50 minutes a day and at least 4 times a week. I didn’t think I could do it but so far so good. Exercising is not really my favorite thing.

Another exciting note, today our final pieces for the dining room set arrived! We have a beautiful china cabinet and two more chairs. Besides a slight cushion mix-up where we only received 1 of 2, everything arrived safely. The room is really coming together. If only I could find time to either paint the room myself or find someone I want to hire =P

I didn’t hear from Mike today because he had too many meetings and got in too late. I don’t like him to call when it’s really late because then I’m already sleeping and I’m not the best person to speak with when I am rudely awakened =) I did send him some nerdy pictures of the cats though to remind him of home. I’ll see if I can get them downloaded to the computer from my phone.

Oh! Did I mention today is Marti Grais and I didn’t have one paczki! After working out an hour and only burning 700 calories, I thought it was a bad idea to waste it all on one very high calorie treat =P I hope some of you experienced a few in my stead!

Wednesday, February 25th –

Today is Ash Wednesday but I could not drag myself out of bed to attend the 6:30 a.m. service. I feel guilty about it but I hope God will forgive me. They did have other services but I couldn’t make the times work with my schedule. As today is the start of lent, Mike and I exchange email promises about what we’ll give up. It’s always a negotiation. I decided this year to hit a little more home than just chocolate and I gave up caffeine. Mike could not do that drastic so he limited his pop intake to 3 a day and gave up fast food again. It’s rough giving up what you really love. I didn’t realize giving up caffeine would open my eyes to how much stuff actually HAS caffeine in it. I’m drinking herbal tea and water. That’s about it. I would love to drink Spite and Root Beer all day but the calories are overwhelming. I’m not really a fan of caffeine free pops so I’m kind of stuck.

Overall the day is a normal work day. I’m scheduled to babysit for a friend of mine so they can attend a reward dinner. I arrive at 5:30ish and they take off for downtown Kalamazoo. Their two girls – Haylee & Lexis are really sweet kids and we had a great time. We ate dinner, cleaned up the dishes and then had a very competitive match on Nintendo Wii. Don’t ask me what game it was because I have no clue. It was still fun though. The girls went to bed at 8 and my friends were back by 9:30ish.

By this time Mike was finally home from his trip. He was very ill at this point so he spent most of the night resting and watching TV until I came home. Since he wasn’t feeling well, we didn’t stay up long before heading to bed early.

Thursday, February 26th

Today I got to start my day off with a dentist appointment! Yeah… how exciting. Thankfully it was just a cleaning and everything turned out great. I have no cavities but I opted to come back next Friday to fix a worn down filling. Apparently I have a filling that’s naturally worn down over the years and it’s created this annoying gap between my teeth. I thought it was a cavity but apparently it’s not. My dentist said I could have it refilled and that would fix the problem so I’m going with that. Not that carrying around dental floss all the time is hard but it’s certainly annoying.

I don’t think we did anything else exciting except go to the gym and watch American Idol. Go Kzoo native Matt Giraud! He still has a chance in the wild card round…

Friday, February 27th –

Today was very uneventful. Mike and I went to work, worked kind of late, came home and made sure the couch didn’t grow legs and walk off. Very exciting Friday night.

Saturday, February 28th –

Today we slept in and when we got up we made a quick trip to the local greasy spoon for breakfast. After breakfast we came home to relax before our busy evening. Mike is still sick at this point so he sleeps through the afternoon on the couch while I catch up on the last few episodes from season 1 of “Rome”. I’m quite depressed I have to wait another month to see the final season. I wish they’d come out with a third season…

Anyways, after Mike’s nap and my TV time, we get ready to go to Bruco’s 30th birthday party at OP downtown. We’re slightly later than expected because I can’t find anything I want to wear out. I need to go clothes shopping. Anyways – when we finally arrive we meet up with Bruco, Melanie and friends. We had a really nice time with everyone but didn’t stay late. We were supposed to go to another party after theirs but Mike wasn’t completely well yet and I was kind of partied out. We’ve been on the go so much I just wanted to go home and veg =P

So, we did. We came home and once again made sure the couch didn’t grow legs and walk away while we watched more episodes of “The Wire” on demand. Then we went to bed.

Sunday, March 1st –

Sunday we got up on time to go to church but still ended up late anyways. We’re terrible at getting around quickly. After church we met up with Nolen & Krisha to play a few rounds of bowling. Mike and I kicked butt as a team but I have to say he was the one holding us up. I didn’t even break 100. I did pretty good for me though!

After bowling Mike took off to help Nolen with a project at work. He was gone about an hour. After he came home we went out to try to start up his car. It’s been sitting in our garage untouched since like October. We tried to start it a few weeks ago but the battery is completely dead. Now that the weather is less snow and more clear skies we hooked up the cables and jumped started his car. Luckily it works great so we don’t have to worry about towing it anywhere. It will be nice to have 2 cars again! Carpooling is only fun for so long =P

Once his car was working again Mike took off to get a haircut and run some errands. I needed to go grocery shopping again so I made a list and went shopping. By the time I got home it was time for dinner and we needed to clean the litters and pet houses for the garbage on Monday. Once those very exciting tasks were over we watched the newest Big Love episode. I swear that show gives me heartburn. Who can go through so much without keeling over!? Does anyone else watch the show??? =)

Monday, March 2nd –

Today Mike and I started a new strategy I hope sticks. We both want to go to the gym but in the evenings we always run out of time. We decided to try the morning thing again and actually made it up with little problem today. I wouldn’t say we weren’t tired but we at least made it up and dressed before 6:20. Our bigger shock was the blast of freezing cold weather. The radio said something about record lows for this time of year at like 7 degrees. Obviously Mike and I were not prepared for that when we came out of the house wearing workout sweatshirts. We’ll pay more attention to the news tonight for tomorrow’s forecast!

We’re both excited to have our evening to ourselves now that our exercise is done for the day. I’ll probably have to start some laundry though. No matter how much I do, I always feel like laundry never stops piling up. I know that’s a common theme for most but seriously, we’re only two people!

Half-Way Home

Friday, February 20th -

After a 10 hour drive, we are finally in Chattanooga, TN. Overall the trip went well. We left at 9:30 this morning which was a little later than expected but for us I thought that was good. We said our good byes to Sara and family. Robert was very enthusiastic about his good byes and gave us huge hugs and said "bye!" I'm not sure he really understands good-bye means we're not sticking around =) Oliver on the other hand got the idea and wasn't happy we were leaving. He wanted to finish the roller coaster and was sad we had to go before it was finished. He told me he would work on it while I'm gone and also recruit Leon from home to help him with the motor. I am to ride the finished product with him the next time we come down to Florida.

The drive was pretty smooth with only a few heavy traffic areas. We stopped a few times for breaks and to switch drivers. We had lunch at "Ye Old Buffet" which wasn't too bad for a small town diner. We went with buffet since we didn't want to stay long and I didn't want to have fast food. We arrived at our hotel around 8 p.m. and checked in. We put our bags in the room and then went to dinner right away. We had plans to go to a movie or out for a drink afterwards but half-way through dinner we both were falling a sleep in our chairs. We wussed out and returned to the hotel right away.

Luckily our hotel is much nicer than our first one from last week. We never know what we'll get with the Hotwire deals but we lucked out this time and got a very nice king-sized bed with a very soft mattress and fluffy pillows. Of course we could just be more drawn to it after sitting very uncomfortably in a car for so long =P Mike is testing out the softness as I type and I'm relatively certain once I'm done blogging he will be out. It's been a long day.

We're hoping to be out of the hotel by 8 a.m. tomorrow. We passed some caves on the way down which looked really interesting and we want to try to see one before we get home. Plus, I want to make another stop in Muncie to try for my Thai food again! Even if we eat dinner before that I'm taking home a large order of take out! I miss that Pad Thai...

We hear the weather in Michigan isn't great and we'll return home to snow. Not really looking forward to that but I suppose we had to realize vacation was over sometime =) We'll be careful and assume we'll be home later than originally expected.

Trip Down Memory Lane & Roller Coaster Creation

Wednesday, February 18th -

Today Mike and I slept in a bit and then got ready to visit my old high school town - St. Cloud. Sara and family were planning to spend the day at Disney so we had some time to ourselves. First, I'm not as familiar with the area anymore since it's been over 10 years since I lived here. We decided to program the GPS to find my old High School since it was an easy location to find. I used to be somewhat familiar with the Kissimmee/St. Cloud when we lived here but the way the GPS took us I had no clue where we were. Finally, when we reached the town of St Cloud I started to recognize some land marks. I thought it really strange I didn't notice anything before the town but then Mike looked at the map and we discovered why. Strangely enough, the GPS is programmed to automatically takes the shortest possible route - no matter how much it doesn't make sense. We took this ridiculous detour that cost $4 in tolls only to find out if we had remained on the road we started on, we would have reached the same destination approximately 2 minutes later. Seriously!?!?!?

Anyways, my old town was pretty much the same but only with a few areas built up considerably since I left. My old High School looks the same with a few newer buildings. Mike was amazed we had hallways completely outdoors and took several pictures of it. We also drove by my old house and my old Middle School. We began to look like stalkers driving by at slow speeds through the school parking lots taking photos out the window and smiling at anyone who happened to see us. Luckily we weren't questioned by anyone but I had my concerns!

After wandering around town for awhile we headed back to the Villa for lunch. We watched a bit of TV and then took off for Mike's tee-time at 3 at a local golf place. We met up with two different couples who were golfing at the same time. They were both nice and it was good for me to have someone else to talk to since I don't golf and after awhile watching Mike play gets very boring. Unfortunately the course was very busy so we were constantly waiting for the people in front of us to finish playing. We only made it through 9 holes before Mike called it a night.

When we returned to the Villa we arrived at the same time Sara and family were returning from Disney. They were all tired and tried to get the children to bed quickly. Mike and I ate dinner and then chatted with the family until 9ish. We decided we wanted to see a movie so we went to see "He's Just Not That Into You." We really enjoyed it and laughed often. It's a chick flick for sure but it's not so bad you can't bring your date with you =) Since we didn't go until late, the movie was over after midnight and we went straight to bed once we got home.

Thursday, February 19th -

Today we really slept in... until 11 a.m. We were tired and I did wake up earlier but Michael (Sara's husband) had repair people and the manager of the Villa coming to discuss business and various things with him. I thought it wouldn't take long so I stayed in bed. They took longer than expected so finally at 11 I stopped snoozing and got breakfast. Mike followed my lead and got up soon after.

After breakfast or lunch however you view it, we went swimming with the boys and Sara. It was raining but overall wasn't too bad and just created a misty sensation with their screened in pool. We were out there for a few hours and got some great pictures of the boys having fun. Robert has finally decided Mike is actually Mike but sometimes gets confused and calls him Mark anyways =) When we were done swimming, Robert went up for a nap, Mike, Michael and Wilf went to the community center for a round of ping-pong and I stayed back to build a roller coaster with Oliver.

We didn't get very far with the roller coaster. Since Robert was sleeping we couldn't get all the "supplies" we needed to build, Oliver said. However, we did improvise and got a good start on the motor but unfortunately I won't be here long enough to help him finish it. Mike and I brought out the Hot Wheels racing set we bought at Wal-Mart to make up for the Mr Potato Head mistake and that seemed to go over very well. It was a bit of a mess making it but once it was up Oliver enjoyed playing with it.

After building the roller coaster motor and playing with the cars for awhile, Mike and I had to leave to meet up with my college roommate, Nikki. She's working in Tampa and we arranged to meet up with her and her boyfriend Sandy for dinner. We had a really nice time with them and ate at a pretty authentic Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately we couldn't talk too long because they had to work the next day and Mike and I needed to drive back and start packing for the trip home tomorrow.

Packing really isn't fun... overall we got most things packed but there are a few odds and ends we still need in the morning. Our plan is to get up at 7, get ready and hopefully be out the door by 9 a.m. Sara and family are going to Disney again so they will leave around 8:30 a.m. if all goes well. Hopefully we can catch them in the morning before they go! It's always hard working around two busy schedules =) We'll drive straight to Chattanooga, TN again and then on Saturday we'll be home pretty late in the evening.

Mike and I have had a great time here but we're ready to go home. We'll miss the warm weather but it's nice to be in your own environment and home. We especially miss our pets... how sad is that? =)

Experiencing the Magic is exhausting!

Tuesday, February 17th -

Today we woke up very early to have a full day trip at Disney World Epcot and Magic Kingdom.
Mike and I were very excited to see Disney together. We purchased a Hopper Pass so we could visit more than one park in one day. Sara and her family all came along for the morning with us. Since she and her family come often they knew a lot of tricks and short cuts for having a good time. For example, we sprinted across Epcot to sign up for Fast-Pass tickets to Soaring, a newer ride at their Land exhibit. We got there 5 minutes after it opened and our Fast-Pass was for 1 that afternoon! Crazy how fast they fill up and I'm glad they knew that trick or otherwise we wouldn't have waited the 2+ hours to ride it.


We spent the time waiting for our Fast-Pass by going to other exhibits around. Mike and I liked the race track ride and the Mission Space. I especially liked the Mission Space thing. It was a mission to Mars and has simulations for taking off from a space craft and traveling through space. Very cool. After wandering around for awhile looking at everything it was already almost 1 and we needed to go to catch our Soaring Fast-Pass ticket. Everyone but Sara, Robert and Clare were able to on the Soaring. For those of you who don't know, it's like a giant IMax screen with a bit of a ride attached to it. Oliver did a great job on it. He wasn't scared and even thought to raise his feet when Soaring went over water. When we asked if he thought he would get wet he replied, "No, I didn't want to lose my shoes!"

There were many very cute statements by the kids over the morning. First, Robert is attached to Mike and likes him very much. Unfortunately he keeps calling him Mark and has no progressed to correcting him when Mike tries to tell him that's wrong. He says, "Uncle Mark!" And Mike will say "No, I'm Mike." Robert replies, "No, you're not. You're Uncle Mark." Robert helped Mike buy a pretzel and drink and when we all sat down to eat it, Robert took a sip of our diet coke and exclaimed to Mike, "That is NOT juice!" Mike and I thought that was so cute =) Then, while we were in line for Soaring Robert watched our drink cup with pride. When we got back the straw was gone, the cap was pushed in and Robert told us he "dropped" it while we were gone =)

Oliver is very bright and questions many things intelligently. When I told him the race track ride took his picture while he was on it and he could buy a copy if he wanted he told me that was impossible. He's thinking of his digital camera and how when he takes a picture he has to have the actual camera to take the photo off. He said if the camera was on the track they could not have a copy without the camera present! For the past few days we have also been discussing building a roller coaster and his imagination and ideas are all very smart and well thought out. When I told him I have to leave on Friday he said that was not enough time for us to build a roller coaster and it will be up to him to finish the task!


After Soaring we sprinted again to catch our lunch reservation in Italy. The wonderful thing about Epcot is they do a great job of having very authentic foods in their various countries around the world theme. The food at the Italian restaurant was very delicious and Mike and I ate much more than we needed to. We weren't hungry again until well past 9 that night =P After lunch Mike and I broke off from Sara and the family to head to Magic Kingdom. We spent the rest of the day running around on the all the rides. We managed to make it on the all rides I cared about - Tea Cups, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and the New Stitch ride. Overall Mike liked looking around more than rides so he was fine with riding just what I wanted to ride. I did get some pretty funny pictures of us on the Tea Cup ride - we had ourselves spinning at a nauseated pace!





By 8:00 Mike and I were exhausted... we made our way out of the park and to our car back at Epcot. By about 9 we were on the road the heading to a restaurant for dinner. We had a really great time at the park and after dinner we headed back to the villa and crashed.

Today we're heading out to visit St Cloud, my old high school town, and find a golf course for Mike to play half a round at. This afternoon we're hoping to swim with the kids and maybe Oliver and I can work more on our roller coaster!!!

Meeting Uncle Mike & Aunt Debra

Monday, February 16th -

Today Mike and I finally met my nephews Oliver and Robert. We met my niece Clare the week of our wedding but over the years there just hasn't been an opportunity to meet the other two children. I heard rumbling around at about 6 a.m. but I was too tired to drag myself out of bed. Finally around 8 a.m. I got up and ran into the bathroom to make the best of my hair and find my glasses before I introduced myself to my nephews.


Robert was the first one to see me emerge from the bathroom and gave me a friendly "Hello!" Oliver was slightly shy about meeting me but soon warmed up once I gave him a big hug and told him I was happy to meet him. Both boys were very active with their toys in the morning and for them it was much later in the day because of the jet lag. Mike woke up soon after me and came out to meet the boys. Robert is slightly confused by this new Uncle we produced. He solved the problem by continually calling Mike "Mark" who is actually his OTHER uncle on his father's side. Over the day the name flip flopped from Mike to Mark but we imagine by the end of the week he'll have it right.

We brought gifts with us for the children. I got Oliver a "Mr Potato Head" which was unfortunately a little too young for him once I actually saw him with it. He was very polite but we could tell he likes his trains better =) Luckily Robert liked it and the duck we bought him that waddles when you drag it with this string. Robert really liked him and the three balls that fit in his mouth. He would sometimes pull the duck too fast and it would tip over spilling all the balls across the room. Robert is very neat for a 3 year old and refused to play further until all the balls were properly placed back in the duck's mouth. Clare was more interested in the cardboard box holding her 5-new teething balls. They're kind of neat little balls with different designs and movements so babies can look at the different colors, insides, etc.



After the gift opening session Oliver, me and Ann all worked to set up these train tracks like a roller coaster. Unfortunately we didn't have enough track and it wasn't designed to do what we wanted. Our cars met nasty fates of running into walls or falling from tall structures. We had a great time but now Oliver has the idea that we will build our own roller coaster as soon as possible. He has an incredible imagination and it's fascinating to hear how he wants to build his indoor roller coaster that starts from his bedroom upstairs.

Trains soon were boring and the kids went to the local club house to watch "Wall-E" with Ann. Sara took Mike and I around the Villa to see the sites and attractions. It's a very beautiful place with many things to see and do. On another visit we'll have to take in more the opportunities.




We discussed roller coasters and swimming at lunch at TGI Fridays. We all enjoyed a big lunch and headed back to the house afterwards for Robert and Clare to take a nap and Oliver to swim with his new "swim clothes" in the pool. Mike and I headed to Downtown Disney to look around and buy our Hopper Pass for tomorrow.


I am amazed how much the land has changed in just 10 years. Open fields are now filled with shopping plazas, apartments, hotels, grocery stores and incredibly tacky advertising schemes like giant mermaids spread across a blue building advertising what I can only assume is tacky souvenirs. Disney Downtown has expanded but for the most part stayed the same. I made Mike take me to several stores to look around and we tried on some pretty cool hats. I got him to try on a Captain Jack hat from Pirates of the Caribbean but he wasn't as thrilled as me. I was also very happy to find Stitch hats! For anyone who has seen my desk at work, you will know how much I love Stitch and how excited I was to find the hats. I had Mike take a picture since the hat itself was too expensive to justify buying =P






Once the sun went down, the temperature fell about 20 degrees and Mike and I were ready to quit walking around. We headed back to the Villa and met up with Michael and Sara for a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. Mike and I bought a few things and picked up another toy for Oliver since our first one was such a flop =P This time we think we have it right - a racing car track with loops and cars designed to stay on the track! I feel better about this gift. At least it's in the right age bracket!

Right now we're getting ready for bed. We have a long, exciting day planned for tomorrow. We bought Hopper Passes for the day to visit the 4 Disney World theme parks. I'm preparing my walking shoes and sunscreen for an early morning and long day in the sun. Mike has never been and even though I still remember the lay out of all the parks, I'm anxious to see the new updates!